Mojang has been paying attention to what some Minecraft server hosts are doing, and they’re taking action.
Minecraft’s EULA allows for server hosts to ask for donations, but Mojang is now stating point blank that these same hosts can’t use this to sell perks. On Reddit, dev Broes explained their stance:
We’ll most likely hack down on the fact that most people give ‘perks’ for donations—which under almost all laws makes it a purchase. You cannot ‘give’ people ranks based on an outside payment. It’s really simple, money you spend outside of the game cannot reflect inside the game at all.
This doesn’t mean the end of selling things completely for Minecraft servers either, as cosmetic additions, like flags and colors, don’t affect gameplay and are allowed.
Mojang may be revising their EULA very soon to better reflect their stance, but in the meantime, if you want to see the fans, many of whom used to host Minecraft servers themselves, talk about this in detail, you can go through the reddit here.