After much thought, I think we should start a new 1.13 world but leave the old world online and accessible, much as was done with the original Hometown server world.
It's true that a lot of people don't want to stick around because the server hasn't updated, and we don't want to lose them. Map congestion and clutter have been a problem for some time and are only going to get worse. The new features would be fun to work with. The accessory worlds (resworld, nether, end, etc.) are all overdue for a reboot. Uber's new plugin would allow us to rebuild the server shop with, hopefuly, fewer of the lag issues that have always plagued it in the past. There has also been discussion among staff of some other important plugins that have been abandoned by their developers and are getting way out of date, but would be problematic to replace on the existing server or to update to 1.13.
On the other hand, a fair number of people are unable to run 1.13 reliably on their computers. ArtMap (and I assume various other plugins) hasn't been updated, and a whole lot of people have sunk an awful lot of work into many wonderful builds they don't want to lose access to. There's still a great deal of uncertainty as to when or whether it will be possible to reliably convert a 1.12 server world to 1.13, and if we do try to upgrade the exisiting world, there's a chance it could end in disaster and we'd wind up having to start over anyway, but lose the old world too.
Regardless of which path forward we take, it won't make everyone happy, and we will likely lose some people who would have stayed if we'd chosen a different option. My understanding is that the new server equipment should be adequate to the task of keeping both the current world and a new map running, so unless there's some reason Frost hasn't shared that this could not be done, I think it may be the most practical solution.
As lowlung noted, there'd be the question of what to do about server funds/vehicles/etc. as well as HomeTown features which are of great value to the community and would be sorely missed. I do think it might be worth discussing whether some crucial public resources and unique builds could possibly be preserved and copied over, whether via WorldEdit, Schematica or some other method (obviously, any such project would not be something that could be done for every player, or for every build for our prolific community builders, and would need to be determined by staff on a case-by-case basis.)
Although I understand this wasn't the case the last time the server reset--and also, by way of full disclosure, I do have a vested interest in this matter--I also think it would be fair to at least discuss some sort of token compensation for those veteran players who've voted hard to achieve a high rank, and/or who have invested a lot into the server by way of donations/VIP/etc., especially if it happened recently. Needless to say, that would have to be done with an eye toward fairness to newer players and starting out with a more level playing field, literally and figuratively.
Either way, it's going to be complicated and messy, things will inevitably go wrong, we will suffer some losses, and we've got a lot of work ahead of us, whether now or further down the line. So I do not believe we should allow those things to sway our opinion one way or the other.
It's true that a lot of people don't want to stick around because the server hasn't updated, and we don't want to lose them. Map congestion and clutter have been a problem for some time and are only going to get worse. The new features would be fun to work with. The accessory worlds (resworld, nether, end, etc.) are all overdue for a reboot. Uber's new plugin would allow us to rebuild the server shop with, hopefuly, fewer of the lag issues that have always plagued it in the past. There has also been discussion among staff of some other important plugins that have been abandoned by their developers and are getting way out of date, but would be problematic to replace on the existing server or to update to 1.13.
On the other hand, a fair number of people are unable to run 1.13 reliably on their computers. ArtMap (and I assume various other plugins) hasn't been updated, and a whole lot of people have sunk an awful lot of work into many wonderful builds they don't want to lose access to. There's still a great deal of uncertainty as to when or whether it will be possible to reliably convert a 1.12 server world to 1.13, and if we do try to upgrade the exisiting world, there's a chance it could end in disaster and we'd wind up having to start over anyway, but lose the old world too.
Regardless of which path forward we take, it won't make everyone happy, and we will likely lose some people who would have stayed if we'd chosen a different option. My understanding is that the new server equipment should be adequate to the task of keeping both the current world and a new map running, so unless there's some reason Frost hasn't shared that this could not be done, I think it may be the most practical solution.
As lowlung noted, there'd be the question of what to do about server funds/vehicles/etc. as well as HomeTown features which are of great value to the community and would be sorely missed. I do think it might be worth discussing whether some crucial public resources and unique builds could possibly be preserved and copied over, whether via WorldEdit, Schematica or some other method (obviously, any such project would not be something that could be done for every player, or for every build for our prolific community builders, and would need to be determined by staff on a case-by-case basis.)
Although I understand this wasn't the case the last time the server reset--and also, by way of full disclosure, I do have a vested interest in this matter--I also think it would be fair to at least discuss some sort of token compensation for those veteran players who've voted hard to achieve a high rank, and/or who have invested a lot into the server by way of donations/VIP/etc., especially if it happened recently. Needless to say, that would have to be done with an eye toward fairness to newer players and starting out with a more level playing field, literally and figuratively.
Either way, it's going to be complicated and messy, things will inevitably go wrong, we will suffer some losses, and we've got a lot of work ahead of us, whether now or further down the line. So I do not believe we should allow those things to sway our opinion one way or the other.