[README file for ftp.lambda.moo.mud.org:/pub/MOO/papers]  -*-text-*-

The files in this directory are reports and other papers written on the subject
of mudding.  The endings of the file names tells something of the format
they're in:

	.txt	plain ASCII
	.rtf	Microsoft's Rich Text Format
	.html	World-Wide Web's HyperText Markup Language
	.latex	LaTeX format
	.ps	PostScript format
	.dvi	TeX's DeVice Independent page description language
	.tex	TeX format

Files whose names end in `.Z' have been compressed using the standard UNIX
`compress' utility.


DIAC92.*:
    Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual Realities

    This paper was written by Pavel Curtis (aka Haakon, creator of LambdaMOO)
    for submission to the 1992 conference on Directions and Implications of
    Advanced Computing, sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social
    Responsibility.  A version of this paper was also published in the small-
    press magazine `Intertek'.

MUDsGrowUp.*:
    MUDs Grow Up: Social Virtual Reality in the Real World

    This paper was written by Pavel Curtis and David Nichols, both of Xerox
    PARC, for presentation at the Third International Conference on Cyberspace,
    held in May, 1993.

JupiterAV.ps:
    The Jupiter Audio/Video Architecture: Secure Multimedia in Network Places

    This paper was written by Pavel Curtis, Ron Frederick, Michael Dixon, and
    David A. Nichols, for presentation at the ACM Multimedia '95 conference.

JupiterWin.ps:
    High-Latency, Low-Bandwidth Windowing in the Jupiter Collaboration System

    This paper was written by David A. Nichols, Pavel Curtis, Michael Dixon,
    and John Lamping for presentation at the 1995 conference on User Interface
    Systems and Technology.

communicative.txt:
    Better Living Through Language: The Communicative Implications of a
    Text-Only Virtual Environment, or, Welcome to LambdaMOO!

    This is a paper by Eva-Lise Carlstrom, a student at Grinnell College, also
    known at `PatGently' on LambdaMOO.

conv-structure.*:
    Conversational Structure and Personality Correlates
    of Electronic Communication

    This is the bachelors thesis of Jill Serpentelli, a psychology student at
    Haverford College, also known as `TamLin' on various MUDs.

CulturalFormations.*:
    Cultural Formations in Text-Based Virtual Realities

    This is the masters thesis of Elizabeth M. Reid, a student in the Cultural
    Studies program of the English department at the University of Melbourne.

electropolis.*:
    Electropolis: Communication and Community on Internet Relay Chat

    This is the honors thesis of Elizabeth M. Reid, a history student at the
    University of Melbourne also known as `Ireshi' on IRC.

ethnography.*:
    Virtual Reality: Reflections of Life, Dreams, and Technology
    An Ethnography of a Computer Society

    This is a paper by Michael S. Rosenberg, a student at Northwestern
    University, for a class in ethnography.  The culture studied is that of
    LambdaMOO, though all of the names have been changed to protect the
    identities of the participants.

Evard.ps:
    Collaborative Networked Communication: MUDs as Systems Tools

    This is a paper by Remy Evard, the head of the system administration group
    at Northeastern University, presented at the 1993 LISA conference.

GenderMOO.*
    Gender Differences in Text-Based Virtual Reality

    A paper by Lynn Cherny, a student at Stanford University, also known as
    `lynn' on a variety of MOOs; the paper was presented at the Berkeley
    Conference on Women and Language, April 1994.

identity-workshop.*:
    Identity Workshop: Emergent Social and Psychological Phenomena
    in Text-Based Virtual Reality

    A paper by Amy Bruckman, a student at the MIT Media Laboratory also known
    as `Mara' on TrekMUSE and `jaime' on several other MUDs.

MOOGopher.*
    Collaborative Information Retrieval: Gopher from MOO 

    A paper by Larry Masinter, a researcher at the Xerox Palo Alto Research
    Center also known as `Grump', `Froxx' or `Larry' on LambdaMOO and other
    MUDs, and Erik Ostrom, a student at Gustavus Adolphus College also known as
    `JoeFeedback', `Geust', or `Erik' on LambdaMOO and other MUDs.

mudreport.*:
    Interactive Multi-User Computer Games

    Written by Dr. Richard Bartle, one of the authors of the very first MUD,
    this is a reformatted version of a report commissioned by British Telecom
    plc.  The main component of the report is a comprehensive overview of what
    then constituted the major products in this category.

VillageVoice.txt:
    A Rape in Cyberspace, or, How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit,
    Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database Into a Society

    This is an article written by Julian Dibbell that originally appeared in
    the December 21, 1993 issue of the Village Voice newspaper, in New York
    City.  It concerns the infamous `Mr. Bungle Affair' that was one of the
    primary catalysts for the development of organized democratic institutions
    on LambdaMOO.

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Currently unavailable:

HighWired.txt:
    Not Just a Game: How LambdaMOO Came to Exist
    and What It Did to Get Back at Me

    An essay written by Pavel Curtis as a chapter in the forthcoming book `High
    Wired: Negotiating the Tight/Trope of Educational MOOs', edited by Cynthia
    Haynes and Jan Rune Holmevik.

VirtualIdentities.ps:
    Virtual Identities: The Social Construction of Cybered Selves

    The Ph.D. dissertation of Christina Allen, formerly a student at
    Northwestern University and now at Electric Communities,
    Inc. (callen@communities.com).