Re: Back from Texas; relay almost done

Grandsire, C.A. wrote:

> J. Barefoot wrote:
> >
> > Well....? Do we get to read it now? Or have you already webified
it and I
> > just missed it? And btw, what's a mud/moo setup?
> >
>
>         I second it. Sally, what's a mud/moo setup?
MUD = Multi User Dungeon (as per Dungeons & Dragons)
MUSH = Multi User Shared Hallucination
MUCK = Multi User something-that-sounds-like-MUD
MOO = Mu*, Object Oriented

Like old-fashioned text adventure games, these are based on
roleplaying games but have a computer replace the traditional
"Dungeon
Master" or "Game Master."  One interacts with the game by typing text

commands and receiving a text response.

Unlike old-fashioned text adventure games, they allow more than one
user at once, so characters can virtually meet each other in virtual
spaces constructed of narrative.

They are an old feature of the Internet -- older than the World Wide
Web by several years.  An artifact of the Paleolithic era, when
people
still knew how to use Telnet.

Some Mu*'s are competitive and combat oriented -- "games" in the
strict sense.  You can win or lose - or at least, become more
powerful
or start over again.

Some Mu*'s are far more interested in simulation than competition,
and
possess a vestigial combat system or none at all.

Some, sometimes called "Talkies," are primarily social, and exist so
that people can virtually hang out in virtual spaces and develop
their
typing skills.

Some are dedicated to the creation of a fictional world, and one must

stay "in character" as one's fictional self as much as possible.

Some are created strictly by one person or a small group of
programmers and writers; others allow anyone to create their own
virtual rooms and objects, and to program them to interact with other

players in particular ways.

There's lots of information on them available to the diligent web
searcher. :)

I played a few in days of yore; ran one for a short time (a MOO).
Haven't lately.  But they're lots of fun.

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             edheil@postmark.net
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