I was later corrected and said essentially that servers really need to jump on board.
I saw reason in this so I attempted to do such.
I started out by using forge and adding sponge to it. So far so good. Everything works. Sponge has created its files and is loading in the console.
Then I started looking for plugins. And of course this is where I start to falter.
*GriefPrevention[ Thread ] : No mod released.
*Prism [ Thread ]: No Mod Released
*PermissionsEx [ Thread ]: Lack of documentation (Thanks MoeBoy76 for writing up some) // latest version doesn't start with the latest version of sponge.
*Core [ Thread]: WORKS! An easy (although op) replacement for essentials. I feel almost like the plugin creator has added too much to this one plugin but hasn't perfected any of it.
The above are the reasons why I am unable to upgrade. This plus the fact that I'm constantly seeing posts about Sponge changing their apis thus making plugin creators rewrite bits of their coding only slowing down progress. It feels very much like the beta mod that it is. I just do not see myself moving to 1.8 until I am confident in my ability to have a functional and stable server without having to constantly stress why certain plugins are no longer working or worrying about an update that fixes one bug but breaks every plugin I have installed.
Some good news.
For those trying to venture through Sponge and are reading this thread, I do have some substitutions for you to try to use. I would like to see more servers on 1.8 so that hopefully more plugin creators also move that way and pick back up their plugins they haven't started/finished.
*GriefPrevention:
Griefprevention is a land claiming tool that is simple to use for players. As we all know, simplistic is key for our players. None of the alternatives I have found is as simplistic as GP is but they come close.
-- Polis Closer to Factions or Towny, this plugin can protect against griefers. I was intending to use this as it would be the closest to serve my purpose.
-- Zones within the Core plugin.
Again, this plugin has so many features but not one of them feel completed. The Zones part of the Core plugin functions very similar to GP IF it functioned at all. I never could make a zone.
*Prism:
-- Just one alternative for Prism/Hawkeye/whatever you used to use: BlockTrackR
I haven't gotten to the point I could test it so I have no idea if it works. What threw me for a loop was when the creator wrote: "You can use the web interface to retrieve them en mass or via the in-game tool that I've botched together." I'd personally not like to use a tool someone blotched together.. In any case, its the only alternative to Prism atm that I saw.
Having said all this, I would MUCH rather be on Minecraft 1.8.8 and with the very latest version of Pixelmon (Not talking about Pixelmon Legacy) when I start up. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get me to that point so that I am confident in the condition and quality of the server, please let me know!
Thanks!