With the 1.3 update, different kinds of slabs (half-blocks) were added. If you make a Wooden Slab, it looks like wood. But, if you try to destroy it, an axe doesn't work well and a pickaxe does. Also, when you destroy it, stone particles will appear, NOT wooden particles. And finally, when you make a double slab, it looks like a wooden plank but it is actually stone, requires a pickaxe to easily break, and has stone particles.
There's some mixup in the coding that all half-blocks/half-steps/slabs, whatever, are identified as stone. The suggestion here is that this be fixed.
I'm assuming it was done to avoid creating a brand new block type. So instead of creating a new "wood" half block they just change the stone ones to look like wood, achieving the desired look but without requiring the use of an entire new block type out of their limited total possible.
There might be a way to adjust the particle effects and required tools without needing a new block, but for right now I'd say just be happy that them doing it this way means a whole extra (hopefully brand new) block type is possible in the future.
There's some mixup in the coding that all half-blocks/half-steps/slabs, whatever, are identified as stone. The suggestion here is that this be fixed.
There might be a way to adjust the particle effects and required tools without needing a new block, but for right now I'd say just be happy that them doing it this way means a whole extra (hopefully brand new) block type is possible in the future.
Using a Mob Spawner and a Stick to Master the Animal Kingdom
He's probably right.