See title.
The server MOTD is the only place that doesn't support raw JSON text input, and only allows a direct string. The MOTD is formatted via § all the time.
I'm aware this is a borderline change request, but § has been deprecated for years (since 1.8) and this is the only common-usage place still standing in the way of its removal.
Thank you for your report!
We're tracking this issue in MC-112699, so this ticket is being resolved and linked as a duplicate.
If you would like to add a vote and any extra information to the main ticket it would be appreciated.
If you haven't already, you might like to make use of the search feature to see if the issue has already been mentioned.
Quick Links:
📓 Bug Tracker Guidelines – 💬 Community Support – 📧 Mojang Support
📓 Project Summary – ✍️ Feedback and Suggestions – 📖 Game Wiki
-- I am a bot. This action was performed automatically! The ticket was resolved by one of our moderators, and I left this message to give more information to you.