Chapter 11: Net interactive (3 of 4) -- MUDs

     Multiple-User Dimensions or Dungeons (MUDs) take IRC into the realm
of fantasy.  MUDs are live, role-playing games in which you enter assume
a new identity and enter an alternate reality through your keyboard.  As
you explore this other world, through a series of simple commands (such
as "look," "go" and "take"), you'll run across other users, who may
engage you in a friendly discussion, enlist your aid in some quest or try
to kill you for no apparent reason.
     Each MUD has its own personality and creator (or God) who was
willing to put in the long hours required to establish the particular
MUD's rules, laws of nature and information databases.  Some MUDs stress
the social aspects of online communications -- users frequently gather
online to chat and join together to build new structures or even entire
realms.  Others are closer to "Dungeons and Dragons" and are filled with
sorcerers, dragons and evil people out to keep you from completing your
quest -- through murder if necessary.
     Many MUDs (there are also related games known as MUCKs and MUSEs)
require you to apply in advance, through e-mail, for a character name and
password.

       Example session on HoloMuck 

      Different MUDs and MUCKs may have different commands, but generally
use the same basic idea of letting you navigate through relatively simple
English commands.  Every Friday, Scott Goehring posts a new list of  MUDs
and related games and their  telnet  addresses in the newsgroup
rec.games.mud.announce. There are several other mud newsgroups related to
specific types of MUDs, including rec.games.mud.social,
rec.games.mud.adventure, rec.games.mud.tiny, rec.games.mud.diku and
rec.games.mud.lp.
     When you connect to a MUD, choose your password as carefully as
you would one for your host system; alas, there are MUD crackers who
enjoy trying to break into other people's MUD accounts.  And never,
never use the same password as the one you use on your host system!
     MUDs can prove highly addicting.  "The jury is still out on
whether MUDding is 'just a game'  or 'an extension of real life with
gamelike qualities'," says Jennifer Smith, an active MUD player who
wrote an  FAQ  on the subject.
     She adds one caution: "You shouldn't do anything that you
wouldn't do in real life, even if the world is a fantasy world.  The
important thing to remember is that it's the fantasy world of possibly
hundreds of people, and not just yours in  particular.  There's a
human being on the other side of each and every wire!  Always remember
that you may meet these other people some day,  and they may break
your nose.  People who treat others badly gradually build up bad
reputations and eventually receive the NO FUN Stamp of Disapproval."