<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method --> <!--X-From-R13: "Zrnpu, Penq PO" <Zrnpu.Penq.PONouc.pbz.nh> --> <!--X-Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 16:20:03 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 813EBA1AF80CD111B44F00805F15B4650148A55A@itntl-msg02.itntl.bhp.com.au --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:Leach.Brad.BA#bhp,com.au"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00404.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00406.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg01179.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00411.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00405">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00405">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00405">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "Leach, Brad BA" <<A HREF="mailto:Leach.Brad.BA#bhp,com.au">Leach.Brad.BA#bhp,com.au</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 09:16:07 +1000</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Tuesday, July 14, 1998 12:21 PM J C Lawrence <claw#under,engr.sgi.com> wrote: > On Mon, 13 Jul 1998 11:50:39 -0700 (PDT) > Adam Wiggins<adam#angel,com> wrote: > > > The answer is that it is invitation-only, and at its core a > > dictatorship. This keeps quality up, but number of players low > > (have we ever had more than about 20 active posters at any given > > time?). I think most here would agree with me that this is a > > desirable effect; you could do a mud the very same way as long as > > you didn't mind spending a lot of energy on it and after four years > > only having 20 active players. :) > Has anyone actually tried running a mud as an invitation-only service? How successful has this been? I am extremely impressed with the quality of this list, and at this stage I would like to run my mud as such a service. There seem to be a few issues with this, however. Do people log on for the "average 4 hour per day" as they do on other muds? Do they get bored and leave due to the lack of people on? Is the player base centralised a common logon time? [That question is important to me as I live in Australia :-) ]. How is motivation retained for the implementors? [MUD-Dev stats snip'ed] > The period when the list /was/ invitation only (remember, that hasn't > been true for several months now) was significant however. It allowed > the list culture to evolve, consolidate, and to become deeply accepted > by the membership. This is important to the extent that it provides a > commonly agreed upon and accepted premise for new members conform to > and join. > Imagine the fun you would have with such a player base for a mud. :-) From a personal point of view, the culture of a mud is one of the key factors for me. I have played an old EoD based Diku mud for years. The code is, well, primitive (Sorry Greg :-), but it has such a distinguished culture (to me). I continue to go back and play there over and over. > In the MUD world this would be equivalent to having a > beta-test period to form a central knot of players for the new > players, once the game is opened to the public, to coalesce about. > I can see my mud never getting out of the beta stage... [Closing comment snip'ed] I would love to have a culture built up in my mud from this method, but there are other "experiments" I would like to "run". One of the other methods I would like to try is to have (initally) a "rule-less" mud. There would be no rules set by the admin - it would all be left for the players to inadvertantly set and enforce. I am not sure this would be successful. It has worked for the human race, but then again, we were faced with the options of evolving into a society with culture, or at the other end of the scale - extinsion. As there are no consequences of any actions from a mud, I cant see any result apart from extinsion - except if a very strong culture is formed by a tight knot of players. Even then, the chances of the mud forming into a culture that *I* like, is limited. I dont think I am prepared to put the time in to a mud to find that I dont want to be there/play it after a certain period of time. Maybe it can be a project for a University experiment (or a concurrent server to my "real" mud) in the future. That's all for now, -Brad <sig snipped> </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00952" HREF="msg00952.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> J C Lawrence <claw#under,engr.sgi.com></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00411" HREF="msg00411.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00404.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Ansii color, needing some specs and or pointers.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00406.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01179.html">No Subject</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00411.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00405"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00405"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: let's call it a spellcraft</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="01245" HREF="msg01245.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: let's call it a spellcraft</A></strong>, Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Sat 26 Sep 1998, 02:58 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01333" HREF="msg01333.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: let's call it a spellcraft</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 28 Sep 1998, 17:21 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="01271" HREF="msg01271.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: let's call it a spellcraft</A></strong>, Travis Casey <a href="mailto:efindel#polaris,net">efindel#polaris,net</a>, Sat 26 Sep 1998, 19:01 GMT </LI> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="01179" HREF="msg01179.html">No Subject</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Thu 24 Sep 1998, 05:42 GMT </LI> </ul> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00405" HREF="msg00405.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong>, Leach, Brad BA <a href="mailto:Leach.Brad.BA#bhp,com.au">Leach.Brad.BA#bhp,com.au</a>, Tue 28 Jul 1998, 23:20 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00411" HREF="msg00411.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong>, s001gmu <a href="mailto:s001gmu#nova,wright.edu">s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</a>, Wed 29 Jul 1998, 04:02 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00952" HREF="msg00952.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Sat 05 Sep 1998, 01:07 GMT </LI> </UL> <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="00406" HREF="msg00406.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong>, S. Patrick Gallaty <a href="mailto:choke#sirius,com">choke#sirius,com</a>, Tue 28 Jul 1998, 23:57 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00412" HREF="msg00412.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method</A></strong>, quzah <a href="mailto:quzah#geocities,com">quzah#geocities,com</a>, Wed 29 Jul 1998, 04:17 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>