Well color, a couple questions.
1. Is there a world border. And if so how big is it on violet.
2. Are there kits.
And just FYI be prepared I'm fairly good at factions if I do say so my self.

PETS!

Disclaimer: I'm still a very new player to the server, having only been here a week or so. As such, my knowledge of the culture and customs of the server is somewhat limited.

There are a couple of issues with the Towny land claim system. One is the learning curve just to get started with it. Everything is based on chunks, which can be confusing enough for those new to the game, having to watch coordinates in F3 or look at boundaries via F3-G. All of the interaction with Towny has to be done via commandline, and the commands are in themselves pretty arcane. Even established players appear to have trouble at times keeping up with what command does what. Is it /plot, /town, /towny? I wouldn't be surprised if some of the players who have unclaimed builds are in that state just because they can't figure out how to do so. Maybe they don't understand that founding a "town" is the way to protect even their isolated homestead. (Yes, my builds are claimed.) Maybe someone with a firm grasp on how Towny works could write clear documentation or record videos from the "if you want to accomplish this, do that" perspective, rather than the current "here's an extensive list of commands with little info on how to use them".

Another issue, as mentioned by Book_Mouse, are the relatively high prices involved in land claims. The price on bonus plots isn't too bad, as the requisite points can be earned fairly quickly from voting. Upkeep, on the other hand, will eat a new player alive. At $100 per plot per day, it adds up quickly. Perhaps it could be reduced to $50 per day to still have the effect of culling inactive players' claims while making it more affordable to all.

An argument might be made for new players to join an established town, but that has its own issues. How is a newbie to know a good town from a bad one? How does a newbie trust that a mayor won't decide to raid their plot? What happens when their mayor takes a break and stops paying the upkeep? Also, the rules of a town can seem oppressive to some. Sure a limit on build height keeps the cobble nerdpoles to a minimum, but then who really wants to live like a peasant in the shadow of someone's castle any longer than they have to?

I disagree with the sentiment that we should allow raiding of unclaimed builds, as it will just lead to unhappiness for anyone who finds themselves griefed. Arguments will break out, and there will be bad feelings all around.

TL;DR - Lack of user friendliness in Towny and high costs are likely contributing to unclaimed builds in the wild, but these can be fixed. Don't allow griefing because it'll bring unecessary drama.

So, I'm going to counter point Neko just a bit to say I laid my vote for stealing in the wild. First, since chests can be locked easily - just lock your shit up! Since the question was posed as stealing - not griefing or destroying builds, that's a pretty low bar to overcome.

Also, though I've been around awhile, I started on the NewScarlet Server as poor, broke fresh meat because it took awhile for our crates to transfer. With the jobs plugin, gaining money is not that hard. Also, just checking what the shop needs and selling stuff, it's pretty easy to make good money just mining your first couple days.

I recently played another server with jobs because I wanted to check out their "custom enchants" (which were way over-the-top-confusing, but I digress.) In just a couple hours I had $12,000 from mining and farming jobs alone. And they limited to just two jobs at a time!

I think adding maybe stealing - but not destroying builds - could be a good add.

TLDR;
1.) GUI would be nice, and i am sympathetic to your thoughts NekoHunter and Book_Mouse. Made some suggestions below. Because i'm old skool i love commands.
2.) Sorry about my list if it seemed out of context (https://supernoobs.net/threads/a-very-unofficial-collection-of-commands.2968/) it was just a memory aid.
3.) I'm happy to help anyone get started with commands for claiming and setting perms.
4.) If you want to be a Bandit go to Violet.
5.) Claiming over ruins and keeping the stuff should be made ok with a process involving staff. (/PV1?)
6.) I want to be a Pirate.
7.) I have far too much time on my hands at the moment.
8.) Merry Christmas.

I realize this may be a bit late to the party, so sorry about that... and it's mainly in response and agreement with NekoHunter and Book_Mouse that the console command nature of Towny can be a little tricky.

I recently posted a tongue in cheek list of commands with very little info on how to use them, simply because they were the commands i used a lot, and also they were meant as a partial solution to some FAQ's in chat that day, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It was not my intention to write a random lit of commands or a "how to" guide but simply a memory aide that i use when, as you say things get a little confusing. I'm old skool, and using a console and command line comes quite naturally to me, so i guess i didn't really have such a steep learning curve, i just expected it to be this way.

Never the less I totally take your point NekoHunter, and i am completely sympathetic to the idea that a nice GUI or "tag the corners of the areas i want to claim" system with a GUI to "click set" perms would be a nice way to go. I also saw a system where you buy one more more sponges which you place at bedrock, it then protects an area (50x50, 100x100 blocks...) and comes with a GUI to set perms, this is the equivalent of claiming an area, then you can add friends to your area up to a maximum of 4 (a little like skyblock i guess) BUT if you want to add more and get residents, then you have to start using Towny commands and upkeep kicks in. Just throwing some thoughts out there.

Personally i am really biased towards Towny command style, (I'm a linux geek) and although the wiki and my post may be a little daunting, it is in my comfort zone, and once i got my head around it, it was all good. If anyone wants some basic help and i'm around i'll happily walk them through the getting started process.

My apologies if my post ( https://supernoobs.net/threads/a-very-unofficial-collection-of-commands.2968/ ) added to the confusion.

While i'm being a busy body and sticking my 2 cents worth in.. Just a final thought on unclaimed land or towns that fell to ruin... again this is just my personal ethos. I wouldn't grief, raid, or steal, cos i'm me, and Them's the R00Ls.. and since it is really easy to make cash, and obtain everything, even quite rare stuffs, i don't see the point. The only merit i can see is if you are claiming a bit of land near a ruin, and want to bulldoze the ruin then there should be some method to take ownership of what you find after a reasonable period of waiting time... (stick all the loot in a /PV1 maybe?) much like lost and found? this would obviously need staff involvement and some extra work.... HOWEVER...

Now Violet is up and running... i am starting to feel my inner Pirate/Bandit coming out... and may well be raiding and pillaging and plundering my way across the landscape. MWahahaha. But then it' is Sunday and i just really fancy a nice cup o' tea, and a bit of farming. Cheerio for now, much <3, Arfer.