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.

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.