---
type: User Story
title: "US-003: Identify protected players"
description: Mark actively protected players with a visible leaf prefix wherever Spigot supports it.
status: done
---

# US-003: Identify protected players

As a **server participant**, I want protected players to be visibly identified so that their Leaf status is clear before I interact with them.

## Acceptance criteria

- [x] An actively protected player has a configurable leaf prefix before their name in the player list.
- [x] An actively protected player has the same prefix before their overhead name where Spigot supports it.
- [x] An actively protected player has the same prefix in standard Spigot chat where the active chat format supports it.
- [x] The default prefix uses a leaf symbol with readable spacing and Minecraft-compatible formatting.
- [x] The prefix is removed immediately when the player opts out or is opted out by PvP or an administrator.
- [x] Prefixes are suppressed while Leaf is globally disabled and restored for online opted-in players when it is re-enabled.
- [x] Prefix updates do not overwrite unrelated display-name text where the Spigot API allows the values to coexist.
- [x] Scoreboard-team and third-party chat-plugin compatibility limitations are documented, and unsupported integrations fail without affecting protection state.
- [x] Repeated opt-in or reconciliation never produces multiple Leaf prefixes.
- [x] Opt-out removes every managed Leaf prefix while preserving unrelated name formatting.
- [x] A stale Leaf prefix left by an earlier plugin instance is normalized instead of duplicated.

## Related

- [US-001: Opt into Leaf protection](us-001-opt-into-leaf-protection.md)
- [US-002: Relinquish protection when attacking](us-002-relinquish-protection-when-attacking.md)
- [US-006: Configure and persist Leaf](us-006-configure-and-persist-leaf.md)