The removal of unlimited nametag feature

unlimited-tags-removal.md

About

Unlimited nametag feature hides original nametags and display armor stands instead. It was created back in MC 1.12, where we were actively suffering from 16 character limit in prefix and suffix. The very next version mojang removed the limit. Had they done it 1 version sooner, this feature may have never existed. It has unlocked a lot more than just that, and has become quite popular (about 20% of servers using TAB have it enabled). However, as time goes by, this feature is becoming more and more complicated to maintain, which made me decide to completely remove it. It was a good run, but I don't want to keep going.

Reasons for removal

Main reasons for removing this feature include:

• Code is becoming more and more complicated, especially to support all MC versions.
• There are tons of totally random bugs which I have no idea how to fix, as well as server bugs preventing it from working properly.
• Mojang is (albeit extremely slowly) making this feature less and less useful with less and less limits in vanilla nametags.
• People constantly keep asking the same questions over and over (top question being why they cannot see them with F5), making it by far the highest time investment into the feature (far more than coding itself)

What's next

• As of TAB 4.1.6 (Released with MC 1.21), this feature will be marked for removal:
  • NO support will be provided
  • All wiki references will be deleted (besides the feature page itself, which will have a warning on top)
  • No bugs will be fixed anymore and all existing bug reports will be closed
• A new branch called 5.0.0 was created, which has the feature removed. This branch will become the active one.
• 4.x branch will no longer be actively maintained, only receiving support for new MC versions and critical bugfixes (in other features)
• Github actions will only contain dev builds of 5.0.0 version, instead of 4.x
• When MC 1.22 hits (expected date is June 2025), version 5.0.0 will be released, fully removing the feature
• 4.x branch will only receive updates for new MC versions without any other changes and stay on github to compile for anyone who still wants the feature and doesn't care about anything else

What can you do?

Let's go through all ways you can deal with this:

• Find alternative way to display information using existing features:
  • 16 character limit on <1.13 - Update to 1.13+
  • Belowname limits - Update to 1.20.3+
  • Multiple lines - You'll need to display everything you want in just 2 (almost) fully customizable lines instead. It's enough to display everything important (prefix, suffix and Belowname).
  • RGB Username - Beg mojang to add hex support to team color
  • Changing player name - There are nick plugins that offer this (actually changing player's name in game profile and sending modified packet), although I am not aware of any good one. This is a very complicated process with tons of side effects that need to be accounted for, so it will not be added into the plugin.
• Stay on TAB 4.x. If you are stuck on MC versions older than their player base, you can also just keep your plugins outdated as well. The plugin works and currently doesn't have a single bug affecting Bukkit installation, so you won't be hurting at all. Even if one is found, it will be fixed. We still have a year to go afterall.
• Look for alternative plugins willing to deal with this mess. You can check these 3rd party plugins out (not affiliated with me in any way, use at your own risk):
  • UnlimitedNameTags

Feedback

While nothing you can say will change my mind, you can share your feedback below, such as questions or things I made unclear or forgot.

If you dont want to support the feature, why not make it an open source addon that the community can maintain then? as a seperate plugin that hooks in. Its one of the core reasons people use TAB.

It will stay as a separate branch that anyone can compile. The plugin offers so much more than this - it's the best at every job it does. Removing one job that doesn't even have a competitor won't make it inferior.

Can u say what is the branch, is the core of a lot of servers like the mine. Thank you

Can u say what is the branch, is the core of a lot of servers like the mine. Thank you

Both branches can be seen at https://github.com/NEZNAMY/TAB/branches

unlimited-nametags made it possible to display the player's clan.
I hope in v5 it will be possible to display on the second line not HP, but your own placeholder (now it also allows, but with an empty placeholder the line becomes terrible).

Since 1.20.3 you can display any placeholder, not just a number.

I use it like this currently, will this still be possible to have a placeholder on the second line? I dont want health...

<username / afk /  is PvP tagged>
<Tag set by player>

As I said many times already, since 1.20.3 you can put any placeholder into belowname.

As I said many times already, since 1.20.3 you can put any placeholder into belowname.

This is true. But it works very poorly.
If the placeholder is empty, an empty frame will appear.

Yes. Mojang designed the feature that way.

Will 5.0.0 also bring the supported versions to a "reasonable" amount? (Something like 1.19.4+ instead of 1.5-1.21)?
I've always wondered why you make yourself so much work to support so many ancient versions that have more bugs than active players?

The famous 1.8 combat community can just run a modern server with a "Bring back 1.8 combat" plugin instead of being hard stuck on that ancient buggy version and bothering devs to support that madness. I run such a setup for my PVP modes and it works perfectly.

No, reducing supported version interval is not planned. The work is done already and removing it wouldn't really help that much.
However, it will include performance optimizations (on Paper 1.20.5+) by using direct NMS code instead of reflection, which will not be available on older versions.

Ah okay

Hello, I think it’s perfect. I completely understand what you're talking about as a developer, since every software or program has a life cycle and requires its own maintenance; it doesn’t last forever. Obviously, it gets increasingly difficult over time. For that reason, I fully support NEZNAMY and everything that has been said. The function may be unsustainable, but perhaps there’s a way I’ve thought of that could make it possible. It would involve several changes and, obviously, would take time and a lot of work. We appreciate all the work and the open-source code. What more can we ask of Neznamy for all these years of work, both free and premium, which has been great for the community? Of course, we will continue to count on you. Maybe we’ll look for an alternative, possibly tags or something that can help us break the nickname limit. It’s a challenge, but it’s possible. Stay strong, and this is for those who come to complain: 'Remember, TAB has always been free and premium, and the developer has always worked hard to update it, so no complaints and be grateful.

Would you consider supporting it as a premium addon?

No, I tried going premium, y'all have showed me a middle finger. I don't want to do that feature anymore, free nor paid.

Don't remove this feature because it's very useful, it works much better than other name tag plugins so try to fix it instead of removing it.

U mean nametag here right?
if so whats the java method?

Don't remove this feature because it's very useful, it works much better than other name tag plugins so try to fix it instead of removing it.

I have been trying to fix it for 5 years now and still get random issues from people who refuse to cooperate. I no longer want to fix any bugs in it, which is one of the reasons for removing it. Therefore, asking me to "fix bugs" doesn't make any sense.
You can still use regular nametags with prefix and suffix.

U mean nametag here right? if so whats the java method?

There is no java method for updating your game, you'll need to choose the correct version when launching the game.

i am on 1.20.6, but the only way i know how to set a nametag is with player profiles, which have a 16 character limit

i am on 1.20.6, but the only way i know how to set a nametag is with player profiles, which have a 16 character limit

Yes, player names are still limited. You can change them with game profile, but prefix/suffix is still an available feature.

i am on 1.20.6, but the only way i know how to set a nametag is with player profiles, which have a 16 character limit

Yes, player names are still limited. You can change them with game profile, but prefix/suffix is still an available feature.

but i have prefixes that have a gradient across the player's entire name which team prefixes cannot do

Unfortunately you'll lose this feature. You can stay on 4.x. You still don't have to worry about it for a year, at which point it is highly unlikely you will still be running the server considering average server lifespan. If you will still be around, you will still be able to compile it yourself.

I have been using this feature for 3 years now. I will miss it.

(it means certified sigma)

bruh what i have it enabled in config and have restarted the server multiple times

bruh what i have it enabled in config and have restarted the server multiple times

You probably disabled its parent feature - scoreboard-teams. What does that have to do with future removal of this feature?

Unfortunately you'll lose this feature. You can stay on 4.x. You still don't have to worry about it for a year, at which point it is highly unlikely you will still be running the server considering average server lifespan. If you will still be around, you will still be able to compile it yourself.

I appreciate you giving the heads up to us server owners. However, just because a lot of servers end quickly, doesn't mean nice, long lasting servers don't use and appreciate this feature... It's very wack for you to vindicate the removal of this feature because the average server lifespan is short.. I understand and respect your other reasons, and appreciate your work. But that specifically is not valid.

I don't care about for any new features, so I will compile the old version myself when updating to 1.22. Thank you for providing that!

I didn't say I'm removing it because servers shut down quickly, I just see it as another way of dealing with it - users forgetting (old ones leaving and new ones never finding out).

I was mainly using it to use custom colors in nametags, is it even possible without it? Seems like it just gets changed to the closest vanilla color there is.

I was mainly using it to use custom colors in nametags, is it even possible without it? Seems like it just gets changed to the closest vanilla color there is.

Yes, just legacy colors, it's also explained in the main message, as well as wiki.

I don't think this won't affect the users too much. Since TAB still offers Belowname feature. I think one option you might want to consider is to expand the Belowname feature. Similar to how scoreboard was created, you can apply the same feature like adding a condition and shows a different belowname value. This may not provide multiple lines but this will definitely resolve the issue where you can display different information based on the condition, example, if you are on specific world.

I don't think this won't affect the users too much. Since TAB still offers Belowname feature. I think one option you might want to consider is to expand the Belowname feature. Similar to how scoreboard was created, you can apply the same feature like adding a condition and shows a different belowname value. This may not provide multiple lines but this will definitely resolve the issue where you can display different information based on the condition, example, if you are on specific world.

Conditional placeholders are supported in both text and number/fancy display.