Because everybody need a home with bunnies, today we have minor changes to the benefits of two of our player ranks.
1) Master rank can now claim 2 homes.
2) Legend rank can now claim 3 homes.

Between the 1.8 update, the soon-live name changes, and the fact the plugin is still abandoned, it's time to drop Duckshop. The plugin will be officially removed within a few days. If you are only using SignShop for trading, you should be mostly unaffected.
The difference between the shop types can be seen on our wiki entry for shops:
pearlmc.net/wiki/shops/

Any Duckshop signs found marked empty are subject to removal and shops in official areas may be closed if they are still exclusively or majorly using Duckshop signs.

For reference, this is the thread forewarning about the removal
http://pearlmc.net/threads/new-shop-plugin.19/

I ended up being in a spot that last night was better for doing the update and we're now at 1.8.
While there may be some small details to still smooth out (please report any concerns), the update went very well.

Some notes...

• You can use the new recipes as long as you have the right ingredient items. That includes slime blocks.
• Rabbits can spawn in existing chunks if their normal spawning conditions are met. Guardians may also spawn in existing chunks, even without a monument nearby (I'm uncertain if this is a bug or intentional). Endermites should also spawn with the right conditions.
• If you're lucky, there might some areas that get the new stone types as part of retro-gen. Be aware, retro-gen only occurs in areas that only were generated and not explored....

The last few weeks, cyberdrifter and I have been privately testing the upgrade process to 1.8 for Pearl. I had hoped to get the update done last week, but there was some delays. I do believe though, once a particular issue with Grief Prevention is worked out, we should be able to step up to 1.8. Possibly within a day if things go well.

In addition to the server update, please take note that Mojang has finally set a date for allowing self-serve name changes. The intended date is February 4th. While I believe most of our plugins will be ready, I cannot guarantee that there will be no bugs. If you're considering changing you name, I suggest waiting at least a few days so there is a chance for bugs to be discovered, reported, and potentially fixed.

Here's the full blog post from...

For a lil' extra fun, a special winter-themed kit has been added to the server. Just be at least Tourist ranked and use "/kit winter" in-game.

For those interested, the "exact" time of the solstice is supposed to be at 6:03pm EST.

If you're in the southern hemisphere, hopefully you have a wonderful summer solstice day - and you're still welcome to chill with us in the northern hemisphere on the server!

I've applied a premium theme/style to the website. While one of the previous looks is still available (style chooser near bottom of page), I hope the new look will be enjoyed by both current members and new visitors. Additionally, you may notice some small adjustments to features in the coming weeks.

Please do let me know if it appears anything has broken. No need to be shy of telling me to do some fixing.