@Feuerstern_ That graph is not very representative of the severs running sponge because AFAIK there is no mcstats plugin for sponge.
There is bStats bStats - Global Sponge stats though not all sponge servers will be using a stats plugin
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forums.spongepowered.org got 185 new members in the last 30 days, while SpigotMC got >160,000 in the last year. MCStats doesn’t show all Sponge servers, but it doesn’t show all Spigot servers neither. The values are good enough to show the proportions.
[quote=“simon816, post:21, topic:13592, full:true”]there is no mcstats plugin for sponge.
[/quote]
There’s been mcstats for sponge for a year. You just have to include the class in your code and change two lines that are outdated.
Indeed, the Bukkit derivatives have a much bigger profile and are more readily seen by newcomers. They also have the advantage of a large library of pre-existing plugins.
However, a common setup is to add only (bukkit-implementation) + (some version of essentials). Sponge can offer something similar, albeit in a different form. It may be of great service to Sponge if such a package were set up to facilitate new users. As you say,
Agreed. It’s already possible to do more with SpongeVanilla thanks to the SpongeAPI. Although I’ll be the first to admit that there’s still some ways to go to a full-feature overlap.
One caution I have with MCStats: some folks have been dropping it (or disabling), owing to debate about whether or not it will continue as a service. I’ve no doubt the bukkit implementations have the major slice, but the numbers are a little malleable.
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MCStats doesn't show all Sponge servers
It actually doesn’t show any Sponge servers - I’m not aware of a single plugin for API 5 or 6 that uses MCStats.
The hardest part for myself was to get the essentials going. I owned a minecraft server two years ago which used bukkit. There were hundreds of guides/videos out there which helped a lot. Even as someone who was completely new to this topic it was not that hard to get a decent server running.
A few days ago I decided to start a server without even being aware of sponge. Did a little research and it seemed like sponge was the only solution for forge + plugins. Took me a few minutes to realize that plugins are now mods as well.
The first problem: Where to start ? I could not quite remember which plugins I had used back in the day but after some help and research I picked a combination of old/new ones. I decided for PM/GP Project Worlds/Project Portals / Aroma Backup. The second Problem: PM and GP don’t work very well together, had to switch to LP. The third Problem: Combination of Permissions/Options/Configs/Flags. Back in the day I had one permission file and the config for every single plugin I used.
Third Problem: Documentation in general - Some Mods/Plugins don’t even have a little hint how to use them. Some wiki’s are really helpful.
What I would have appreciated : Step by Step instruction what to do for the most important plugins. Most people just want to have a few basic permissions, prefix and claim protection. Why don’t write a tutorial on that with example configs. Maybe I will with my basic knowledge 
We won’t complain if you do.
One problem that exists with this process is that there is not a 1:1 correspondence between the commands available in the wider realm of Bukkit plugins, and those available in Sponge plugins. Sometimes the options are lesser, sometimes greater, so decisions and compromises sometimes need to be made about what gets to do what and how.
Also not that our official documentation, including SpongeDocs, avoids any bias toward to against any particular developer, mod or plugin. So we can’t make official recommendations on how to, e.g. port a Bukkit server running essentials to it’s nearest Sponge equivalent. However, third parties are welcome, and even encouraged to do so. Anything that assists in providing a smooth transition to a Sponge powered server is a welcome contribution.
Docs for many plugins could stand to be improved; we’re hoping that the imminent launch of Ore, our very own plugin hosting solution, will help accelerate this process. We’d be happy for users to encourage the various developers whose plugin documentation is lacking to fill in the blanks.
Thanks for all the replies, some very interesting discussions.
I have seen the Ore section and it looks like a very good setup. In terms of plugin documentation, would it be possible/a good idea to add in a requirement for any approved Ore listing to include proper documentation as part of the approval process? Perhaps include a generic format of what kind of information is required? (such as a ‘complete’ list of commands and perms including explanations to what each actually does)
I know this may discourage plugin devs and add more work to thier already busy schedules, but being able to understand how to use plugins I feel is just as important as the plugin itself, it does also go some way to reducing the overall workload for plugin devs who I expect will be pretty tired of answering the same questions over and over.
I know Devco have got ontop of things, (don’t they always) but as mentioned above they do have a dedicated dev team of thier own, whilst this is no doubt essential it can be very difficult for smaller networks like ours to attract volunteers with the required knowledge. I am by no means a java programmer or capable of implementing fixes/plugin updates and/or customisations to fit our requirements as we haven’t really needed to before but I am worried that this will become a requirement for all network owners.
In terms of sponge, we have very few exclusive plugins to make our systems work. Additionally, I release a lot of my plugins in some way, sometimes just on my github. ClearMob is the plugin I started into Sponge with, and it is publicly available here on the forums, (Its a ClearLagg port)
Besides that, we use Pex, and Griefprevention, which are both freely available here. Nucleus as well.
Yes, this will very much be required once Ore is fully launched, right now we are still in a bit of a rollout phase, plugging some holes and what not before we fully facilitate the move from the Plugin Releases section on the forums. You can expect to see more documentation and guidelines on the approval process soon™.
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Excellent news, thank you!