RENMX | Forum

Got to Minecraft late in the game (about 2-3 months ago), and have finally gotten bored of single player, and am looking for a multiplayer server. Y'all seem friendly and mature enough, but looking at your dynmap, I'm a little intimidated by just how much of the map is inhabited. Even areas that don't seem to have many towns seem to have uninhabited homes and structures. What's the best way to get an 'in' on this game, start an empire, etc, etc?

Well, it depends on what you're really looking to do. There are three main options. The first would be if you were wanting to start a town/empire, you could use the /biome command we have to find a spot in the wild and start up a spawn and such for players to utilize. Another option would be to join a town and follow the guidelines of those and use the area they provide for you to build. The third is just to go into the wild (the map may seem quite filled but I can assure you, there is plenty of free space out there haha) and basically play minecraft just with a ton of added benefits the server has included. As you've probably seen, you won't have to worry about grief as the survival server is strictly no griefing.
Hope this helps

Would it be smart to join a town until I better understand the ropes, rules, customs, etc?

Yes. Join a town that encourages resident shops. Also in a protected area

Others prefer to create one if they knew how to earn money consistently

Alright, how would I go about seeing what towns are out there? In-game chat? Forums? I can't get to the IRC yet.

I'd say the easiest thing to do would be to actually see the towns due to the large options out there (small, large, pre-built, in progress, new, old etc.) Though this isn't necessary so you could just talk to some mayors / town members that could give you tips and insight on the town.