Here is a list of basic Minecraft server commands that you should know to operate a Minecraft server. For a more complete list, see the Minecraft Wiki.

You can enter these commands directly into the server command prompt window or proceed them with a slash (/) in the chat window in-game (as long as you have operator permission).

In case you don't know who he is, Robert (Bobby) Kotick is the CEO of Activision Blizzard, one of the largest "interactive entertainment" companies in the world. Through a "laser focus" on profits, Mr. Kotick has earned quite a reputation among gaming enthusiasts.

Many of the below quotes come from financial calls and the verbiage reflects this. We gamers understand the importance of profit, but feel that it should not be the main guiding principle in a gaming company.

These tips are focused on public-server players. To play an offensive mini-sentry engineer effectively, you must ignore conventional wisdom. The mini-sentry is not an area denial weapon like a level 3 sentry, and you should not sit behind it or bother wrenching on it (it's non-repairable). You must be aggressive and clever in your mini-sentry placement and in how you engage enemies with your shotgun.

I'm not the first to ask for or dream up a Steam PC game rental or rent-to-own service, but until they offer it, I don't see the harm in speculating. There is undoubtedly a huge market of untapped potential here. Other companies have offered rental services, but none come even close to the reach Valve has with Steam. Here is my idea for a Steam Rent-to-Own service:

Here are some screenshots from the game Skyrim.

For better screenshots in Skyrim, you should first turn off the HUD. This removes the compass, the cross-hair, destination markers, and other screen objects. Just open the developer console by pressing tilde (~), then type in tm and hit enter. The HUD will disappear, including the developer console itself. The game will still be frozen, but don't worry it hasn't crashed. It's because the dev console is still up. Hit tilde again to leave the dev console and resume play.

A floating island created in Minecraft. The inside of the island is hollow, with a hidden trap door that leads to it. Screenshots were taken with John Smith Texture Pack.

These tips are focused on public-server players. The key to a successful scout here is to avoid damage, flank opponents to take advantage of lax teamwork, and not get caught in an awkward position.

After patch 1.3, this is no longer needed. If you haven't yet, turn off V-Sync to reduce mouse lag!

Prior to patch 1.2, Skyrim had an odd issue with the vertical mouse movement being synced to the frame rate. After patch 1.2, you should now experience consistent mouse movement regardless of frame rate (now you may want to disable v-sync), but your vertical and horizontal movement may still be out of sync. If they are, you can try adjusting the fMouseHeadingYScale and fMouseHeadingXScale variables, which can be found in the [Controls] section in Skyrim.ini:

Turning off V-Sync in Skyrim will improve mouse responsiveness, particularly in the menu, and may also increase frame rate. To turn V-Sync off, you need only add iPresentInterval=0 to the [Display] section of Skyrim.ini. Skyrim.ini can be found here:

After patch 1.3, this is no longer an issue. If you haven't yet, turn off V-Sync to reduce mouse lag!

Skyrim has an odd "feature" that causes vertical mouse acceleration to be tied to the current frame rate. This means that in areas of low frame rate (busy city areas), the vertical mouse movement will be lower and out of sync with the horizontal mouse movement. In areas of high frame rate (and with V-Sync off), it will be the opposite.

Disabling the Bethesda Logo movie that plays at the start of the game is very easy and will reduce the time it takes to get into the game. To do this, simply rename, move, or delete the BGS_Logo.bik file. Depending on where you have Steam installed, that file may reside here:

Anisotropic Filtering affects how sharp textures look at a distance, especially textures that are at extreme viewing angles. Skyrim allows you to choose from 2, 4, 8, 12, or 16 anisotropic samples, or to leave anisotropic filtering off.

Here is a table of the PC version of Skyrim's Low, Medium, High, and Ultra quality presets that you can select in the Skyrim launcher. At the bottom are screenshots showing each setting, with both an indoor and an outdoor environment comparison.