server.properties, spawn-protection.. wtf is it?

what is spawn protection and what effect does it have on a server?
i'm currently experiencing a rather large spawn area that i want to tighten up a bit, is this how i fix that?

 

hello well it does matter because it protects spawn from anyone its not the best and i would recommend 00 'zero' for good measure and just install a plugin if you want to protect.

 

i don't care if people are protected by a plugin tbh, i want to make my spawn area smaller to fit in my city

 

I highly recommend the plugin Spawnr by amd3th. The spawn problem is not due to the spawn protection but due to actual bugs in mincraft beta server that notch has not fixed yet like the glitchy cows and such. With spawnr, you can set the spawn and every time you respawn, you will respawn to that exact point

 

spawn protection makes anyone who is not op unable to edit the world within the set perimeter.
I.E.
Spawn protection=10

within a 10 block radius any non-op cannot remove or add blocks.


-B.S.

 

The problem with that is that creepers can still make craters. Players spawn in crater and then they can't get out.