An Ethnography of a Computer Society
Virtual Reality:
Reflections of Life, Dreams, and Technology
An Ethnography of a Computer Society
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* Welcome to WolfMOO! *
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Running Version 1.5 of WolfMOO
ArchWizard: Belgarath (aka Wolf)
Wizards: Polgara (aka Aunt.Pol)
Belgarion (aka Garion)
Beldin (aka Hunchback)
Belkira (aka Kira)
Beltira (aka Tira)
Type `connect Guest' to connect to a guest character,
`create ' to create a new character,
`connect ' to connect to an existing one,
or
`@who' just to see who's logged in right now.
For example, `create Munchkin frebblebit' or `connect Munchkin frebblebit'.
To disconnect, either now or later, type `@quit'.
After you've connected, type `help' for documentation.
Please email bug/crash reports to wolf@pseudo.comp.com.
>create Ethnographer culture
*** Created ***
The Coat Closet
The closet is a dark, cramped space. It appears to be very crowded in
here; you keep bumping into what feels like coats, boots, and other people
(apparently sleeping). One useful thing that you've discovered in your
bumbling about is a metal doorknob set at waist level into what might be a
door.
Don't forget to take a look at the newspaper. Type 'news' to see it.
>out
You open the closet door and leave the darkness for the living room,
closing the door behind you so as not to wake the sleeping people inside
The Living Room
It is very bright, open, and airy here, with large plate-glass windows
looking southward over the pool to the gardens beyond. On the north wall,
there is a rough stonework fireplace, complete with roaring fire. The east
and west walls are almost completely covered with large, well-stocked
bookcases. An exit in the northwest corner leads to the kitchen and, in a
more northerly direction, to the entrance hall. The door into the coat
closet is at the north end of the east wall, and at the south end is a
sliding glass door leading out onto a wooden deck. There are two sets of
couches, one clustered around the fireplace and one with a view out the
windows.
You see a newspaper, Welcome Poster, README for New MOOers, The Daily
Whale, a cuckoo clock on the mantle, Cockatoo, Electronic Ownership Tally
Board, Ice Block, 1934 Buick, lag meter, and Zeebmobile here.
===========================================================================
"You have entered the Twilight Zone
Beyond this world strange things are known
Use the key, unlock the door
See what your fate might have in store
Come explore your dream's creation
Enter this world of imagination."
"The Twilight Zone" -- Rush
INTRODUCTION
A world of imagination. A world of dreams. Hidden amidst the complex
computer systems that criss-cross the world can be found MUDs. Multi-User
Dungeons. Computer programs that allow people from all over the world to
communicate...to interact...to create and dream and live in ways that they
cannot in their real lives. Their life at home is their real life...their
lives in the computer is their "virtual reality". A world where
imagination holds sway...where dreams can come true...a world which I have
studied...a world known as WolfMOO.
I first heard about WolfMOO from a friend of mine at school who needed
help connecting to it, and asked me since I knew a lot about computers.
From the very beginning the entire thing was fascinating. I had heard of
MUDs before but never actually experienced one and was interested to see
what it was like. It turned out that WolfMOO was quite different than my
expectations. With my friend's tales and stories of the MOO ringing in my
ears, I eagerly leaped at the chance to study the culture and background of
WolfMOO and to return to the fascinating world I had only caught a brief
glimpse of previously.
The paper is basically divided into three sections. The first deals
with the individual players and their characters, the second concerns the
MOO community as a whole and how it interacts, and the third discusses real
life behind the MOO. I plan to avoid discussing the technical aspects
behind the computer system as much as possible, but have included a brief
description of technical details about the computer networks and the MOO in
Appendix A. Because of the frequency and variety of folk terms throughout
the MOO and this paper, a glossary has been included in Appendix C.
The culture of WolfMOO is quite diverse and complex. In this paper, I
hope to describe the people who frequent the MOO, to explain its social
structure, how and why people have become so addicted to this form of
communication and interaction, and what effects the MOO and real life have
on each other.
===========================================================================
Hackers' Heaven
This room just exudes technobabble. Every time you turn around, it seems
something incomprehensible is being uttered. You feel alternately
delighted with the arcane environment and baffled by the other occupants
Before asking a question, see if you can figure out the answer for
yourself by reading the manual, looking through the help texts, or reading
the various books in the Wolf House Library (n, e, e, u, e, n from the
living room). If you still feel the need to ask a question, just blurt it
out! (And don't whisper it to Aunt.Pol, either. Other people know stuff
too!) If your question involves something that gave you an error message,
remember the EXACT thing that was printed. Write it down if necessary, but
don't be vague! This applies to getting help too; say what object and verb
are giving you trouble... If it's a syntax error, read about the 'publish'
command from within verb editor, so we can see your verb.
The north wall contains a small grimy window. A small sinister-looking
plastic device hangs from the ceiling. A plaque labelled "READ ME" is
nailed to the west wall. A tall glass cylinder sprouting slender tubes
rests on a silver stand. Several thin drips hang enticingly from the
bottom of the machine. The southern doorway reads "eciffO etavirP
s'loP.tnuA". The ceiling tiles are very disarrayed here.
You see File Cabinet, the Beltira Memorial Fission Reactor and Power
Supply, harmless geusting simulator, generic byte counter, Political
Bumpersticker, WolfMOO Official Helpful Person Badge Dispenser, Pewter
Dragon, List of Generic Parentables, Etymology of `Biffle Dink', Anarchist,
Belkira's World Tour 1992, and 1593028 here.
Flipper, Egg, Seal, Bugs, Horsey, Crysilla, Cricket, Beetle, Flub, Garion
(distracted), Lelladorin (daydreaming), Buzzer, and Aunt.Pol (asleep) are
here.
Horsey says, "nope, Bz"
>emote waves
Ethnographer waves
>look Beetle
Beetle
Beetle stands about 5'9, and when the light hits him JUST RIGHT, he looks
like a dead ringer for Matthew Broderick Beetle is wearing a long sleaved
silk shirt, and matching cotton slacks. Both seem overly baggy, but Beetle
seems to like them. He seems to be in a really good mood.
He is awake and looks alert.
Carrying:
staff named "Dealer"
Silver Band (worn)
average ring of keys
Tape Recorder
Bottle of Wine
suit of chainmail
greaves
dagger named "Frick"
dagger named "Frack"
vambraces
skull-cap
===========================================================================
"All the world's indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage."
"Limelight" -- Rush
PART I: THE PLAYERS
When a person first logs into WolfMOO they have to create a character.
How they design and describe their character depends largely on who they
are, their background, and their interests; both in real life and of the
MOO. Once they've created the character they have become the players...the
basis of the MOO.
1. BACKGROUND
The best word to describe the players is "diversity." Although the
majority of the MOOers appear to be college students from the United
States, it's very difficult to make generalizations about the backgrounds
of the people on the MOO. People from countries all over the world have
logged in, such as Canada, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Netherlands,
Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Russia, Iraq, Finland, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Israel, Australia, and Sweden. Ages
range from as low as sixteen or even younger to people well into their
forties. Occupations include many areas well outside of computers such as
psychology, music, anthropology, theatre, and law.
There are a few generalizations that can be made though. Although I'm
sure none of them hold true for every player who logs into WolfMOO, they
certainly capture the essence of a majority of the players. Most of the
players are male, college-age students in the U.S. It's been suggested
that as many as 95% of all WolfMOO players are male (Curtis). Most seem to
have or had at one time a very strong interest in science-fiction and
fantasy. Themes from popular works of science-fiction can be found all
over the MOO, especially in places such names and descriptions. Perhaps
most of all, frequent MOOers must have an active imagination. Since
everything is text-based, without a vivid imagination, all of the
descriptions would seem empty, lifeless, and uninteresting.
Obviously this does not sum up every player, but it gives a basis of
understanding of where a lot of the things that happen on the MOO are
coming from. It helps to remember that you're dealing with a fairly
intelligent, fairly young, fairly imaginative group of individuals when
trying to piece together events.
2. THE CHARACTER
One of the most important aspects of the MOO is the character. It is
through the character that players interact and communicate. Almost every
aspect of an individual's character--everything from description to gender
to messages to
possessions--can be controlled, altered, and customized to the personal
needs, interests, or whims of the player.
A. CREATING THE CHARACTER
The process for creating a character is quite simple. At the initial
welcome screen (see page 1) the player only has to type "create Name
Password". Assuming no character with this name already exists (in which
case the computer will tell you to try again) the new character is created,
and from there it is up to the player to provide as many or as few details
as he wishes in order to fleshen out the character and bring it to life.
1. NAMES
The very first thing a player must decide upon creating a character is
a name. Like anything else on the MOO, names can be changed, but, for the
most part, people keep the name they chose upon originally creating the
character (the major exception to this is morphing. See Glossary). The
names people choose can come from anywhere: a popular form of fiction
(books, TV, movies), nicknames, silly sounding names, descriptive names.
(See Appendix B, Table 1, for a sampling of some of the names found on the
MOO). About the only name a player will never choose for their character
is their real name. I only came across one regular who used her real
name...or more accurately a variation of her own name. Her characters'
names (she has two that I know of) are her first and last names spelled
backwards.
2. DESCRIPTION
As in real life, a person's appearance lends largely to the way other
people will react and interact with them. Unlike in real life, MOOers have
the option of completely controlling their appearance. They can look like
anyone or anything, be any gender they wish, and can change anything they
choose as often as they wish. Descriptions of the MOO range from single
one-liners to complex, full-page length essays on what the character looks
like. The average description is probably from about six to eight lines
long (See Appendix B for examples of different types of descriptions).
The longer descriptions tend to come from people who like to write and
want to leave nothing in doubt, "This is what I look like!" Very short
descriptions depend on a number of things. Some are due to laziness, some
are due to a lack of imagination, and some are due to a calculated effort.
One of my informants told me that she had not given her character a
description because she received a lot of unwanted attention in real life
from her appearance, and she wanted people on the MOO to react to her for
who she was, not what she looked like.
To a large extent, the most important aspect of a character's
description is their gender and this, like all other aspects, can be
controlled and chosen at will. There are currently ten different genders
available on WolfMOO: neuter, male, female, either, Spivak, splat, plural,
egotistical, royal, and 2nd. The three most commonly chosen genders are
neuter, male, and female. The only difference between each gender as far
as the computer is concerned is that each has a different set of pronouns
that goes along with it (See Appendix B, Table 2).
The choice of gender can be much more difficult than might be
imagined. Although most players tend to stick to their actual gender,
there is quite a bit of crossing over. The percentage of female players is
much smaller than the percentage of female characters. There are many
reasons why a male player may wish to have a female character. Male
characters tend to pay more attention to female characters than to other
male characters. Curiosity as to what it's like to be female is another
motivation. Some male players find it fun to create female characters with
provocative descriptions, to act in a very flirtatious manner, and then to
try to entice male characters into sexually explicit conversations or into
netsex. It has been observed that very few female players would actually
want to do this (for reasons running from women's rights and sexism to
being a nice person), and that most (but not all) female characters on the
MOO with provocative descriptions can be assumed to be male.
In fact, female characters on the MOO often receive such a hassle from
male characters, that a large portion of the female players choose to have
male or neuter characters. The female informant I mentioned before who
gave her character almost no description in order to prevent people from
becoming interested in her because of it, has a second character that is
neuter which she uses on the rare occasions when she gets completely fed up
with the harassment her female character occasionally gets.
There is only one character that I know of who regularly switches
between male and female. His name is Jean-Marie. Her name is Marie-Jean.
Depending on the mood he/she is in will decide which sex she/he chooses to
be at any given moment. It turns out that in real life the player is
female, but there was no way for me to know this just from the character's
description.
This brings up one of the most important aspects of the MOO. There is
no way for you to know what any new people you meet on the MOO really look
like or what sex they are. Even if the description they give their
character is actually their real life description, it is still only through
your imagination that you can picture the person. You could pass someone
on the street with whom you'd spent hours talking, playing games, and
sharing secrets, and never realize it.
===========================================================================
Aunt.Pol says, "Lelladorin is cuter that Garion."
BasTyra says, "Come here and give me a kiss, you big strapping hunk of
wizard!
Aunt.Pol is making it up
Marie-Jean's body suddenly begins to emanate a rose light. She is
enveloped in a shimmering nimbus as her features begin to melt and flow.
The light begins to shade to grey and increases in intensity until, with a
bright flash and an orgasmic sound, he becomes Jean-Marie.
Aunt.Pol says, "Garion is cuter than Hunchback though."
Jean-Marie says, "I'm cuter."
Aunt.Pol isn't making that one up.
>emote thinks Erato is cuter than Garion but then she's almost the only
MOOer he's met.
Aunt.Pol says, "Of course, you have to realize that my definition of
cuteness is dependent entirely on length of hair."
Ethnographer thinks Erato is cuter than Garion but then she's almost the
only MOOer he's met.
Jean-Marie's body suddenly begins to emanate a grey light. He is enveloped
in a shimmering nimbus as his features begin to melt and flow. The light
begins to shade to rose and increases in intensity until, with a bright
flash and an orgasmic sound, she becomes Marie-Jean.
Thalis has met no MOOers...sigh.
Ant has shoulder-length hair. How's that?
Aunt.Pol says, "Medium cute."
BasTyra has longer-than-shoulder-length hair. Ha!
Ant says, "Jet black, no lie."
Garion mentions that syrup is the authority on People Cuter than Garion
Ferris sighs. His hair is reasonably short at present, so he's not cute.
Salmrissa should extend her description's hair, since she's not a RL girl
anyway.
>emote:'s hair used to be shoulder length but has been cut shorter and must
therefore be non-cute.
Marie-Jean says, "Well, Aunt.Pol, if you judge long-haired people to be
cute, then that places BasTyra high on the scale."
Ethnographer's hair used to be shoulder length but has been cut shorter and
must therefore be non-cute.
>emote knew that, but Syrup wasn't logged on.
Aunt.Pol yays BasTyra!
Ethnographer knew that, but Syrup wasn't logged on.
Marie-Jean notes that BasTyra has gorgeous blond hair.
BasTyra considers whining for quota on the strength of his hair.
BasTyra says, "I'm such a gorgeous bitch!"
Aunt.Pol considers recycling BasTyra despite his hair.
Aunt.Pol says, "After all, you've already been through it once!"
BasTyra notes he can recycle himself just fine.
Marie-Jean says, "Well, when you met me, Aunt.Pol, you must have judged me
extremely non-cute, considering MY hairlength."
Ant says, "Oh, did I say I had shoulder-length hair? I think I may have
confused you. You see, I'm very cute because, though my hair is
shoulder-length, I left my shoulders three floors down from here so that
makes me VERY cute, indeed."
Ferris tells Aunt.Pol to recycle BasTyra and keep his hair for rehself.
===========================================================================
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
for they are subtle and quick to anger."
_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_, J.R.R. Tolkein
PART II: THE COMMUNITY
What is WolfMOO? Why does it exist? Perhaps it's stated best in one
of the MOO's introductory documents (help introduction):
WolfMOO is a kind of virtual reality, in which players move about
from place to place manipulating their environment in what we
hope are amusing, entertaining, or enlightening ways.
WolfMOO is more of a pastime than a game in the usual sense;
there is no `score' kept, there are no specific goals to attain
in general, and there's no competition involved. WolfMOO
participants explore the virtual world, talk to the other
participants, try out the weird gadgets that others have built,
and create new places and things for others to encounter and
enjoy.
1. GEOGRAPHY
The world of WolfMOO consists of a series of interconnected rooms,
each with it's own description and function. Each room is separate and
distinct from the others. The characters in one room can all interact with
each other and other objects in that room, but cannot see what is happening
in another room (unless it is relayed to them from some device, such as a
puppet).
The basic layout of WolfMOO is based on a house; a very large,
convoluted mansion with just about anything and everything that can be
imagined in it (See Appendix B, Table 10 for the MOOs description of
WolfMOO House). Some of the more important rooms in the house include the
Living Room (see p. 1), the Dinning Room, the Kitchen, and Hacker's Heaven
(see p. 4).
Besides the rooms that are considered part of the house many players
build 'homes' or rooms which they design, own, and where their body will
'sleep' when they're not logged on. Like with the characters'
descriptions, the descriptions of homes vary from the simple to the complex
(See Appendix B, Table 11 for descriptions of various rooms in WolfMOO).
There are two ways to get from one room to the next. Most rooms are
connected by passageways that can be traveled by entering the direction you
wish to go (i.e. east). The other method of travel is teleportation.
Teleportation is instantaneous movement from one room to another,
regardless of whether or not the rooms are next to each other.
Teleportation is usually achieved by an object such as a ring which will
allow the player to join any other player on the MOO, instantly moving the
first player to the location of the second.
2. STRUCTURE AND HIERARCHY
The characters on WolfMOO can be divided into a number of different
groups, some of which may overlap. An informant of mine divided the MOO
into three groups: Programmers, Socialites, and Tinysexers. I feel this
is a fairly accurate division, although there are a number of subdivisions
that can be made. The programmers are the people who create objects on the
MOO, design and program verbs on the objects, and those who really add to
the atmosphere and overall design of the MOO. The socialites make up the
main body of characters on WolfMOO. They are on WolfMOO to meet and
interact with new people, and to basically discuss and try out new things.
The Tinysexers are people who frequent the MOO for no other reason than to
experience a computer network phenomena known as netsex.
Netsex is a form of computer interaction whereby the people doing it
make sexually explicit statements and actions through which they imitate
sexual acts with each other through the computer. The phrase that came to
my mind when I first heard of this was 'glorified phone sex.' The
tinysexers are usually uninterested in another player's feelings, tend to
very abusive and harassing, tend to stay on WolfMOO for only a short period
of time before moving on to another MUD somewhere, and are generally
ignored and ostracized by the rest of the MOO community. This isn't to say
that netsex doesn't occur between other characters on the MOO. It's just
that they're motivations and goals for the MOO differ...they're primary
objective for being on WolfMOO is not sex.
Another group, known as Adventurers, could be drawn from all three
groups already mentioned. These are characters who perform in a classical
RPG style adventure, complete with quests, monsters, and treasure. A lot
of characters will try out the adventuring a few times, but very few that I
have heard of adventure on a regular basis. This is largely due to the
fact that there are other MUDs that are more devoted to adventuring and
have a much better setup for those truly interested in it.
Although the main body of characters on the MOO are socialites, the
programmers may be the most important group. If it weren't for the
programmers, WolfMOO would be purely a social gathering spot with no other
forms of entertainment and with a large dimension of the MOO gone. The
programmers can be subdivided into three groups, although some of the
division is very nebulous. They can be divided into serious programmers
and people who just dabble in programming. A third subdivision that is
drawn from the serious programmers, is that of the wizards, and they are an
extremely important group on the MOO.
The wizards are a group of (currently) six players who maintain,
police, and generally keep WolfMOO running. The wizards have special
powers and controls that other players do not have, which allow them to
successfully run and administer the MOO. They are the people who can deal
with any technical difficulties that may arise from the computer system.
They also tend to be among the most experienced and knowledgeable
programmers on the MOO, and can often help with difficult programming
problems.
For whatever reason, a certain mystique has built up around the
wizards, and when new players first approach them, they are normally
treated with an amount of respect not shown to other characters. Whenever
someone asks them a question the phrase, "I'm sorry for wasting your time"
is usually said before all is done. In truth, the wizards are all very
friendly, very helpful people, who are usually glad to help out anyone with
legitimate problems. Things have been known to get out of control, though.
The wizard Polgara became so completely bombarded by questions, most
of which could be easily answered by other, non-wizard players, that she
started setting up factors that would prevent people from asking her
questions. One of these was the Helpful Person Badge Dispenser. The
concept behind this was that there would be a list of topics that various
players could give help on, and someone who needed to ask questions about
something would try these players before consulting a wizard.
Unfortunately, there was an unforseen problem that resulted from this.
The topics list was not monitored, and players started adding a slew of
non-MOO related topics (e.g. Celtic Legends, Cheese Curing, Swedish,
etc...) that, while possibly interesting to some people, seemed to turn the
idea into a mockery and partially destroyed its usefulness. At this time,
there has been a push to remove most of the non-MOO related topics and to
restore the original idea behind the device (See Appendix B, Table 5, for a
list of current topics in the Helpful Player Badge Dispenser).
A. RULES AND REGULATIONS
In order to preserve order on the MOO, there are a number of rules
which the players are expected to follow if they wish to remain on the MOO.
For the most part, the rules are quite simple and easy to follow, although
not always obvious. Most of the basic rules are easily accessible through
a command known as 'help manners' which will present the player with a
document listing the general manners that should be observed on the MOO.
When a new character is created a suggestion to read this document is
presented to the player. The rules include things like being polite to
other players, to remember that the other players are real people with real
feelings who can be hurt, to avoid spoofing (see Glossary), and to avoid
wasting computer resources (See Appendix B, Table 4, for some excerpts from
the 'Help Manners' Document).
The wizards duties in maintaining the order of the MOO includes
disciplining anyone who breaks the rules. For the most part they're
tolerant of small infractions and normally give warnings for first
infractions and before exacting punishment. Punishment on the MOO is quite
simple. Your character and its belongings are toaded...wiped from
existence on the MOO. For players who continue to log back in with new
characters and continue to be an annoyance, there is a further measure the
wizards can take known as site-locking. This will effectively prevent the
offender from logging in again from that site. The side effect to this is
that nobody else from that site will be able to log in either. This is
perhaps the main reason site-locking is quite rare, because the wizards do
not want to limit MOO access to legitimate players.
I probably would not have even known site-locking existed if I had not
been logged on when a site-locking occurred. Two players from Ohio State
kept logging into WolfMOO, created characters with rude, pornographic-
style names (e.g. Rumple_Fourskin) and messages, and refused to listen to
the wizards when they were told to change it, so Ohio State was locked from
accessing the MOO. Whether or not the lock will be removed in the future
is up to the wizards.
One of the most important rules has been stated as "'Revenge is ours,'
sayeth the wizards." To prevent the MOO from falling into complete
anarchy, the wizards expect players with complaints or problems with other
players to bring the problems to them...not to deal with them by
themselves. Normally, the wizards will first attempt to discuss in a
logical manner the details of the offense, with both offender and offendee.
Only if there is a refusal to abide by the rules of the MOO, or a repeat
offender, will a wizard then resort to toading. In the time I have been
studying WolfMOO I have never seen a toading, but I have heard of a number
of them, usually for people who had been abusing the rights of other
players.
The most serious event that I heard about, revolving around the
wizards' roles as judges, turned into a very unusual and rare event for the
MOO: a trial. Although I was not present at the time of the trial, I
managed to obtain some very clear descriptions of the events which
occurred. To go into specific details would take too long and would negate
my promise not to reveal too much about what happened, but a summary of the
overall events and the outcome would help a lot in explaining the roles the
wizards play and the way the MOO legal system works.
Basically, Person A jokingly made some sexual comments and innuendo to
Person B. Person B did not realize that Person A was joking and got very
insulted and hurt. Person B proceeded to create a new character and then
go and harass Person A with the new character, at which point Person A
complained to the wizards. The wizards (with much difficulty) managed to
get them to each tell their own side of the story, plus heard the testimony
from a number of other players who acted as character witnesses and the
such. The final outcome was that it was recommended to Person A to be very
careful when joking around with people, and person B was reprimanded for
not taking the complaint to the wizards in the first place and trying to
exact revenge on its own. The people involved weren't necessarily happy
with the judgement, but both accepted it, quite possibly because of what
the wizards could do to them if they didn't.
3. SOCIALIZING
The two primary activities on the MOO are socializing and programming.
Although the players may disagree as to which is the primary activity, it
really depends on the person. Overall, there is more socializing than
programming, if for no other reason than just about all of the programmers
socialize at least a little, while many of the socialites do not program at
all.
A. CONVERSATION
There are a number of ways in which conversations start on the MOO.
The most common of which is two or more players basically run into each
other in the same room and start talking. Most new players are forced to
try to strike up a conversation with whomever they can find because their
first exposure to the MOO can be quite disorienting and it is not always
easy to figure out what the commands are, and how the MOO works.
Players who already know each other, obviously will seek each other
out to discuss something about themselves or the MOO. It is also quite
common for players to gravitate to large groups. A character sitting by
itself in a room is more likely to be involved with something and too busy
to talk to, than a gathering of five or six or more people. There are
exceptions to this...characters who are exploring and looking for things to
do often end up on their own, as do newbies who may not know what they are
doing. It never hurts to ask someone by themselves what they are up to.
Because of the nature of the MOO, players tend to be more outgoing
than they would in reality; part of the point of MOOing is to interact with
people in a way you could not in real life, and that includes with people
they would not be able to have contact with in their locale. Therefore,
it's not uncommon for players to approach complete strangers and to start
talking to them in a manner that they would never dare do in person.
The very first thing that happens in almost any MOO conversation is
the greeting. This usually consists of saying hello and some sort of wave.
It's not uncommon to see a whole series of 'Person waves' when a character
first enters a room in which there are already a number of other
characters.
The conversation itself can best be described as chaotic. Because
everything said or done in a conversation must be typed in, there is often
considerable delay between actions, although when there are a lot of people
in the same room there is rarely a noticeable pause. However, one player's
response to what another player said, may not appear on the screen until
after the thread of the conversation has turned, or (more likely) a number
of other threads have been commented on. In large gatherings, it is quite
normal for there to be four of five different conversations going on at
once, often with every player involved in all of them (See p. 11 and
Appendix B, Table 12, for examples of MOO conversations).
To add to the chaos, it is quite easy for private conversations,
through the use of the page and whisper command (See Appendix A for more
details on page and whisper), to be going on within the framework of
another more outward discussion. There have been a number of times on the
MOO where I was involved with three outward discussions with a group of
people, was having a whispered conversation with one player, and a paging
conversation with two others, all at the same time.
1. TOPICS
Conversations on WolfMOO revolve around anything and everything. For
obvious reasons, many conversations deal with computers and programming,
but by no means is this the only topic discussed. In fact, many characters
go out of their way to avoid technobabble whenever they can.
Because such a large portion of the players are currently in college,
discussions often deal with college issues and other issues of this age
group: classes, schools, careers, dating, and depression. I often came
across groups talking about everything from movies, TV, and literature to
current events and politics to religion and philosophy...quite often, all
at the same time.
Although a lot of players don't like to talk about their real lives,
others are quite willing to talk about who they really are and often only
want to talk about their real lives. It seems that fairly often, two
players who are physically located far apart will hit it off very well and
end up confiding in each other all of their problems and stresses. This is
one of the major features that seems to keep players on the MOO. It can be
very useful to have someone completely outside of your normal life, to whom
you can tell what's bothering you, because the people who are in your life
are often the cause of what's bothering you.
This is one of the reasons why WolfMOO is so addictive to some people.
It offers a relief from the stresses of their normal life. It can offer
you someone to talk to and complain to who is outside of your problems,
people who have no expectations from you, and the opportunity to do almost
anything that you can imagine and might not be able to do in real life. It
offers freedom.
B. GAMES AND DISTRACTIONS
In addition to conversation, there are a number other ways in which
characters can interact and socialize with each other on the MOO. These
consist mostly of various games that have been designed and implemented in
the MOO. Board games like chess, scrabble, go, master-mind, backgammon,
connect-4, MOOnopoly, pente, and reversi are all available for play against
other players. For example, up to four players can play against each other
in scrabble. The computer keeps track of which tiles haven't been picked
yet, the board and location of tiles placed on the board, and the scores of
the players. It is up to the players to decide whether words placed are
real words or not (there is no dictionary built into the game). The other
games work basically the same way (See Appendix B, Table 7 for example of
the layout of some of the board games).
Other distractions include a scavenger-hunt, a hedge-maze, a rubik's
cube, and detailed exploration of the MOOs geography (See Appendix B, Table
6 for a copy of the Scavenger Hunt list). One informant told me that
there were also airplane and train rides that you could go on and observe
the scenery. For the player trying to find something new to do, there are
a number of places they can look. One is the Tourist's Guide to WolfMOO
and the other is on the refrigerator. The Tourist's Guide to WolfMOO is an
easily accessible document that can be found in the Living Room and that
players can read to get an idea of what WolfMOO is like (See Appendix B,
Table 8 for a copy of this document). The refrigerator is an object in the
Kitchen (one of the many rooms in the MOO) on which people write notes
about things to do or try or check out. These range from the board games
to programming contests to puzzles (See Appendix B, Table 9 for a list of
notes currently on the refrigerator). If a player is willing to put forth
just a little effort, they will never be bored on WolfMOO.
===========================================================================
Imagination is the one weapon
in the war against reality.
--Jules de Gaultier
PART III: REAL LIFE -- THE WORLD
No matter how wonderful and fantastic the MOO may seem, it is
important to remember that there is reality behind all of it. Behind the
characters are real people, not free-floating phantasms who only exist on
the computer; people with feelings, emotions, desires, and fears.
1. THE SESSION
A standard session on WolfMOO varies form person to person. The first
thing most people do after logging on is to check to see who else is
currently logged in. Assuming that there's no specific person the newly
arrived player wished to interact with, they often end up going to either
the room with the most people or the room with the most people they already
know...assuming they're feeling social. Others might just start exploring
something they haven't checked out up to this point.
Lengths of sessions can vary immensely. The biggest denominator in
time spent on the MOO is free time available in real life. As one
informant put it, "I could stay on indefinitely if it weren't for my non-
vertical life [sleep], but the damn thing keeps intruding." (Erato,
2/16/1992) Times vary so much between individuals and sessions that it is
almost impossible to even guess the average length of time that a player
will stay logged on, but I'd say that it's between one and two hours.
Players have been known to be actively logged in for more than seven hours
straight, and people often log in for just a minute if they just want to
check their mail (See Glossary).
Because of my schedule as a student, I logged in most often at night
(local time). This seems to be fairly standard for many players. The
times I logged in during the day there were not nearly as many people
logged in as there tends to be at night. At night there averages maybe 35
players logged on at once... during the day about 15 or 20.
Computer access also limits the sessions for a lot of people. Many
players probably have to login from a computer lab, which means that they
can only logon when the lab is open. One thing to remember though, is that
it is not the same time locally for everyone involved. Just in the
continental U.S., there will be people logged in at the same time from four
different time zones. At 11:00 pm local time, you often see a large number
of people logoff who's labs are closing. This is also the same time that
many west coast people start to log on.
For the most part, the people with whom I had the most contact with on
the MOO were from the eastern half of the country because we all could
logon at the same time. I'm sure there are a lot of regulars from the west
coast and from other countries whom I never had any contact with, simply
because we were never logged in at the same time. It's almost impossible
to judge how many regulars there are on the MOO, because of the time
problems and problems with the defining what makes a regular, but
statistics have shown that as many as 250 different people will login in a
single week. (Curtis)
2. PROBLEMS
As wonderful as the MOO can be, like anything else in life, it has
problems. From a technical standpoint, there's always the possibility that
the network will be down and you'll be unable to connect, or even worse,
will be disconnected in the middle of something. If there are too many
people logged on at once and/or there are a lot of complicated programs
running, the computer can slow down and cause long lags. Lag is the delay
between when a command is entered and when it is executed. It can cause
massive frustration when a player is involved in an important discussion
and has to wait extra time for his response to be processed.
On a more personal note, there's always the problem of players getting
hurt by unthinking players. Because of the real life anonymity of the MOO,
there are many players who take advantage of this opportunity to do
socially unacceptable things and end up being abusive and harassing.
Despite attempts to eliminate it, sexual harassment exists on WolfMOO, just
as it does in real life. These players often have a difficult time
remembering that they are talking to real people with real feelings who can
get hurt or offended by what they say. The wizards try to control this,
but there is only so much they can do.
Part of the problem stems from the fact that there are limits on the
communicative abilities of the written word. According to one of the
wizards, "Research indicates that 55% of communication is body language,
38% is inflection, and 7% is words. It's real easy to get misunderstood
when you're dealing with MOO, which lies in the 7% range." (Aunt.Pol,
2/4/1992) Methods have been developed on the MOO which can overcome some
of this problem, but they are limited by the players experience and ability
to express himself. Body language is very difficult to enter into the MOO.
Players will often enter commands like "Player looks shocked!" or "Player
gasps" or "Player laughs" but these lack the meaning that true body
language would give. Inflection is a bit easier to instill, by
highlighting words in various ways, for example: ALL CAPS,
***asterisks***, and _underscore_.
Another problem is that some people begin to take WolfMOO too
seriously. While it can be a wonderful diversion, it should not be taken
to be real life. Players can become so involved in the MOO and it's
possibilities (often because of problems in their real life), that the MOO
becomes their reality. They begin to take it to be and treat it as real
life. This is a fairly rare occurrence but has been known to happen. Even
people who do not have this problem often think of WolfMOO as a real
place...sort of an out-of-the way corner where they can lose themselves.
===========================================================================
"The sleep is still in my eyes
The dream is still in my head
I heave a sigh and sadly smile
And lie a while in bed
I wish that it might come to pass
Not fade like all my dreams
Just think of what my life might be
In a world like I have seen"
"2112" -- Rush
CONCLUSION
Everything that can be imagined. Some things that can't be. WolfMOO
has certainly been an experience outside that which I had previously
encountered. Looking at the backgrounds of the people showed me a lot
about myself. Why did I, when first logging on, choose to name my
character as such? Describe it how? Why did I find myself drawn to the
programmers and not the adventurers, whom I would have thought I would find
more interesting? Answering these has let me realize a lot that I didn't
necessarily know before hand.
I've also now made a number of new friends, some of them with the
potential to be quite close. If things go well, perhaps one day I'll even
meet some of them in person. If nothing else, I know they'll always be
there to talk to...the computerized pen-pal.
I hope to find time to continue to explore WolfMOO...to learn even
more about it. One day I'd like to connect to some other MUDs and see how
they run and function, what's similar and what's different about them.
Looking at the people on the MOO and the way their interaction has
allowed me to see what happens when the imaginations of a large number of
people are let loose to associate and mix with each other. I've often had
the chance to observe what the imagination of a single person can produce,
mostly in books, but also in art, TV, and film. However, never before had
I seen a medium by which the full imaginations of a group of separate
people could be integrated into a single, living, entity which defies
description, yet invites interpretation.
===========================================================================
>emote waves goodnight to everyone
Ethnographer waves goodnight to everyone
Hogan says, "goodnight"
Hogan says, "it looks like i have to go for now."
CeNedra says, "night Silk, I will be at your dorm in ten minutes deal?"
Silk says, "sure"
>emote attempts to stand up but gets a cramp from all of the sitting he's
been doing and ends up looking like the hunchback of notredame
Ethnographer attempts to stand up but gets a cramp from all of the sitting
he's been doing and ends up looking like the hunchback of notredame
CeNedra love hunchbacks
>emote thanks everyone for their time
Ethnographer thanks everyone for their time
>emote thinks he's going to go to bed
Ethnographer thinks he's going to go to bed
CeNedra thinks she will to
>emote waves distractedly at his eyes go in and out of focus
Ethnographer waves distractedly at his eyes go in and out of focus
>emote waves goodbye one last time
Silk byes
Silk does the wave
Ethnographer waves goodbye one last time
Beetle waves.. and is fixing to leave himself
CeNedra goodbyes to Ethnog!
>home
You click your heels three times.
Anthopology Office
Cluttered doesn't begin to describe this room. Everything appears to have
been stacked, piled, and thrown haphazardly around the room, yet there
seems to be some implicit pattern that you can't quite put your finger on.
The furniture (consisting of a bed, a table, and a few chairs) is of crude
wood construction, yet is strangely comfortable (the multitude of down
pillows probably helps!). The wooden floor is covered with numerous throw
rugs (Persian?) which are them-selves covered with books, large beanbags,
papers, magazines, and computer printouts. One wall contains a large
hearth with a roaring fire, filling the room with warmth, the low,
crackling sound of the flames, and the light, pleasant smell of the burning
wood. A pile of logs, along with tinder, poker, and shovel sit next to the
hearth. A large kettle of something that smells particularly appetizing is
suspended over the fire. Another wall is blocked by overflowing
bookshelves. Books by Tolkein, Steven King, Eddings, Asimov, and many
others have been stacked, shoved, pushed, and squeezed onto the shelves.
An entertainment center, complete with stereo, TV, and VCR is in one corner
of the room, while a complex computer system is in the another. Hanging
from the walls and ceiling are many skeletons and skulls from creatures
long dead. Any remaining spots on the walls are covered with posters
depicting scenes from the fantasy genre. A low doorway to the west leads
to a sauna.
>emote types fieldnotes
Ethnographer types fieldnotes
>@quit
*** Disconnected ***
===========================================================================
Appendix A: Technical Details
This appendix will consist of a largely amateur description of some of the
technical details behind MUDing and WolfMOO. Please forgive any blatant
technical mistakes in the text that follows.
A large portion of the computerized world is connected through a
system known as the internet. Using lines similar to phone lines, any
computer in the internet can connect to any other, although it may have to
pass through a number of intermediaries in order to do so. In order to
differentiate between all of the computers, each computer system has it's
own unique address. Casbah, Northwestern's main computer system at this
time, has the following internet address:
casbah.acns.nwu.edu
You can connect to a system on the internet if you know it's address
through a variety of commands, one of which is telnet. For example, if I
wanted to connect to WolfMOO, I would enter the command
Note: This is
telnet wolf.pseudo.comp.com 1234 a fictional
address.
Once connected to the WolfMOO computer (see page 1 for opening screen) I
could connect my character and start MOOing.
The core program of WolfMOO is designed such that everything on the MOO can
be divided into one of two things: objects or verbs. Each object has its
own unique object number by which it can be identified and called from
anywhere in the MOO. Each verb is a computer program written onto an
object, that will in some way manipulate that object. Everything on the
MOO is a variation of this, from players to rooms to personal items.
Most verbs can run as if they were simple English sentences.
Examples:
Verb Jump
Verb Object Read book
Verb Direct Obj. Prep. Indir. Obj. Give flower to Erato
The object(s) can be either the name of the object or the object number,
which is often used to distinguish between ambiguities (for example if
there were two objects in the room named Red Flower and Yellow
Flower...typing 'smell flower' would be ambiguous). It is therefore also
possible for a player to manipulate an object that is not present in the
same room as him by entering the objects number instead of its name.
The remainder of Appendix A will consist of a section of Pavel Curtis's
essay, "Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual
Realities." His descriptions of MUDs and the basic command parser are too
clear and well written for me to attempt to summarize.
-----------------
A MUD is a software program that accepts `connections' from multiple users
across some kind of network (e.g., telephone lines or the Internet) and
provides to each user access to a shared database of `rooms', `exits', and
other objects. Each user browses and manipulates this database from
`inside' one of those rooms, seeing only those objects that are in the same
room and moving from room to room mostly via the exits that connect them. A
MUD, therefore, is a kind of virtual reality, an electronically-represented
`place' that users can visit.
MUDs are not, however, like the kinds of virtual realities that one usually
hears about, with fancy graphics and special hardware to sense the position
and orientation of the user's real-world body. A MUD user's interface to
the database is entirely text-based; all commands are typed in by the users
and all feedback is printed as unformatted text on their terminal. The
typical MUD user interface is most reminiscent of old computer games like
Adventure and Zork [2]; a typical interaction is shown in Figure 1.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
>look
Corridor
The corridor from the west continues to the east here, but the way is
blocked by a purple-velvet rope stretched across the hall. There are
doorways leading to the north and south. You see a sign hanging from the
middle of the rope here.
>read sign
This point marks the end of the currently-occupied portion of the
house. Guests proceed beyond this point at their own risk.
-- The residents
>go east
You step disdainfully over the velvet rope and enter the dusty darkness
of the unused portion of the house.
Figure 1: A typical MUD database interaction
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Three major factors distinguish a MUD from an Adventure-style computer
game, though:
o A MUD is not goal-oriented; it has no beginning or end, no `score',
and no notion of `winning' or `success'. In short, even though users of
MUDs are commonly called players, a MUD isn't really a game at all.
o A MUD is extensible from within; a user can add new objects to the
database such as rooms, exits, `things', and notes. Certain MUDs, including
the one I run, even support an embedded programming language in which a
user can describe whole new kinds of behavior for the objects they create.
o A MUD generally has more than one user connected at a time. All of the
connected users are browsing and manipulating the same database and can
encounter the new objects created by others. The multiple users on a MUD
can communicate with each other in real time.
This last factor has a profound effect on the ways in which users interact
with the system; it transforms the activity from a solitary one into a
social one.
Most inter-player communication on MUDs follows rules that fit within the
framework of the virtual reality. If a player `says' something (using the
say command), then every other player in the same room will `hear' them.
For example, suppose that a player named Munchkin typed the command
say Can anyone hear me?
Then Munchkin would see the feedback
You say, "Can anyone hear me?"
and every other player in the same room would see
Muchkin says, "Can anyone hear me?"
Similarly, the emote command allows players to express various forms of
`non-verbal' communication. If Munchkin types
emote smiles.
then every player in the same room sees
Munchkin smiles.
Most interplayer communication relies entirely on these two commands.
There are two circumstances in which the realistic limitations of say and
emote have proved sufficiently annoying that new mechanisms were developed.
It sometimes happens that one player wishes to speak to another player in
the same room, but without anyone else in the room being aware of the
communication. If
Munchkin uses the whisper command
whisper "I wish he'd just go away..." to Frebble
then only Frebble will see
Munchkin whispers, "I wish he'd just go away..." to you.
The other players in the room see nothing of this at all.
Finally, if one player wishes to say something to another who is connected
to the MUD but currently in a different and perhaps `remote' room, the page
command is appropriate. It is invoked with a syntax very like that of the
whisper command and the recipient sees output like this:
You sense that Munchkin is looking for you in The Hall.
He pages, "Come see this clock, it's tres cool!"
===========================================================================
Appendix B: Further Examples
Table 1: Sample of Names used on WolfMOO
Parker_Lewis JimmyTheHand JoeFeedback GoDuck
Dr.Who Yoyoma Seamus stardust
Morpheus Elrond Kilik sieri
Shadowen Zippy Xythian Nada
yduJ Nosredna Nonny yoshi
Over-Sphere Golem Beryn Jan
ZenDream sol Dren Obscinni
auzzie Leper Count BlondeBabe
Julio Arien Foobies trixie
natasha harlequin pan capella
DePhile Zone-Dancer Luckstar Olivia
Moiyenamarre Lance Feoh Sethus
Doc Lydiriel Cassnak Dutch
Puff Gandalf Rog Ford
Satan Sigmund Geatrenda MrEd
TamLin Moonlight Primetime fishticles
darkrider Frand Shadowspawn Scarab
Wintermute evangeline Sorbonne Mats
democ blackadder Anya Tohu'o
DangerMouse Quimby DejahThoris CyberPunk
Kishawn Gilmore Robbie Muse
Jonny Arutha WhiteRabbit Alice
Table 2: MOO Genders and Their Respective Pronouns
neuter: it,it,its,its,itself
male: he,him,his,his,himself
female: she,her,her,hers,herself
either: s/he,him/her,his/her,his/hers,(him/her)self
Spivak: e,em,eir,eirs,eirself
splat: *e,h*,h*,h*s,h*self
plural: they,them,their,theirs,themselves
egotistical: I,me,my,mine,myself
royal: we,us,our,ours,ourselves
2nd: you,you,your,yours,yourself
Table 3: Sample Character Descriptions
5'80Blonde 19
You see a woman with knee-length shiny brown hair, so thick that it is hard
to see anything else. ehS wears a pin reading "Support the Free Software
Foundation!" ehS seems to have a transparent shield surrounding her,
rendering her impervious to food fights.
Some guy. He is approximately 6 feet tall and has a slim build. His brown
hair is cut rather short and conservative, except for the blond and orange
streaks and the braid hanging from his left temple. His clothes consist of
a black, cotton T-shirt, black fatigues, black, leather high-topped
sneakers with oversized tounges, a black leather jacket and a pair of
black, fingerless, leather gloves. His face is handsome, although in need
of a shave and his icy-blue eyes contrast the disturbed smirk he wears.
A young woman with blonde shoulder length hair and blue eyes. She is
wearing a knee length blue dress over which is a white apron. She smiles
at you as you look at her.
Bouncy is a slender but petite women, with long light brown hair, and
emreld green eyes. She is wearing a short skirt with zippers on either
side, and the shirt she is wearing bearly covers her ripe breasts from
view. Her personality is rather easy going but she does not like to be
forced to do anything. Bouncy is always willing to have a good time if
asked nicely.
A smallish female with pale skin and short dark hair. A long fringe of
hair falls across her grey eyes, and her face is full of an amused, yet
kindly, tolerance of the world at large. She continually seems about to
smile. A battered sci-fi paperback sticks out of one hip pocket, and
something about her nose suggests that it's usually in a book.
She sees you looking at her, and gives you a quick, wry grin.
She is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, appropriately unisex for this bland,
generic description.
A tall blonde with hazel eyes wearing a beautiful lacy peach dress
A quite introverted young princess on a quest to regain her father's
long-lost kingdom. She sometimes has a look on her face as if she
sometimes just cannot understand reality really applies to her, while other
times she can be very nice and sociable. She has a long, blond hair, which
she takes as well care of as if it was alive by itself, and she has a nice
voice and likes to sing.
She is wearing a long gown with golden linings, which looks like it was
taken straight out of the 18th century.
Tall. Dark. Ticklish. Will bite if provoked.
Haj is a young, strong, Persian prince who is in constant search of
adventure. He is wearing a chain-mail vest, which he received from his
father on his 18th birthday. He also wears some metal leggings with other
conventional worrior accessories. On his a belt hang two weapons ... one
is a small dagger and the other is a doubld-edged sword, thought to be that
of Ta Taher.
Haj is a man of ancient times and finds much in this new world which he
does not understand. (He is a very strong-willed person who sometimes just
doesn't 'get' it.)
A foolish, bumbling idiot who is looking for guidance.
No longer a tiger, you see Tigger standing 5'11 with short shiny black
hair. He wears a white t-shirt, Umbros, and soccer flats. You see that
Tigger is well cut and groomed even in this dress. You want to submerge
him in chocolate syrup.
A clean cut looking student on the outside, a caring individual on the
inside. Please come talk to me.
Adarra is a handsome wench in her early twenties, with a round face whose
sparkling dark eyes reveal an energy for life only slightly concealed
behind her young, shy exterior.
She carries a classical guitar at her side; a book of folk ballads is
tucked under her arm. As you look at her guitar, you notice that her hand
tightly clasping the guitar case displays a thin gold engagement ring.
Adarra is clad in a white poet's shirt with long ruffled sleeves, over
which is laced a grey vest. An ankle-length black skirt flows to her
ankles; from underneath the hem of the skirt peek layers of white
petticoats and black ankle-laced boots. Her long, light-brown hair is tied
up in a large white bow.
A redheaded man, standing 6'4, with a trim beard. He seems to have a
shining wisdom behind the lenses of his wire-rims. He wears a long black
trenchcoat, and carries a stringed instrument.
Action_Jackson
,-------_
/ _,,_.__ \
'' - - ; ;
|O O ; ;
/ / : ;
| ____ < |
| \__/ ','
\_____/
_____| |_____
/ |=| ~ |=| \
He proudly displays a Helpful Person Badge.
The new-and-improved Silk is medium height and very slim. He is
wearing short, soft, black boots, into which are tucked his blousy, black
pantaloons. He is wearing a light purple shirt, with black trim, and a
dark purple tie with little purple and blue ameoba like creatures on it. A
long, dark, black overcoat completes the ensemble. He's got dark
sunglasses with gold rims, that make him look like someone you can't quite
put your finger on. His dark brown hair is currently cut on the short
side.
He turns toward you and removes his sunglasses, giving you a quick
grin as his bright blue eyes seem to swirl with newly found power, hope,
and inspiration.
You see a fairly tall college student with long, blond hair. He's wearing
a black jacket with papers and CD's stuffed in all its many large pockets.
He notices you looking at all the black clothing he wears, and loudly,
perhaps a bit defensively, claims that it's _not_ because he's depressed.
He proudly displays a Helpful Person Badge.
Salmrissa is about five foot four, with dark brown bangs. She stares at the
world through deep blue eyes. She's wearing faded denim jeans, and a white
t-shirt which is held away from her abdomen by her breasts. She proudly
displays a Helpful Person Badge. The Generic Chameleon class sleeps
quietly in her arms.
She is also uninterested in being hit on by hormonally frantic geeks, so if
that's what you're considering, look elsewhere now.
A fiery Redhead (not a carrot top but the beautiful shade closer to
auburn). Her long, curly tresses come to the middle of her back, the
golden ringlets calling you to reach out and touch them, experiencing their
silkiness. She is quiet and shy. This adds to her mysteriousness and
increases the aura of intelligence which surrounds her; for she knows that
it is better to remain silent and be thought wise than to open your mouth
and remove all doubts. She is 5'10" and weighs approx. 127 lbs. Although
attractive, she downplays her physical beauty (after all, it's what is on
the inside that counts!) and relies on her brains to win hearts. Presently
she is wearing a black mini with black suede flats and black hose. The
cream off-the-shoulder silk angora sweater she is wearing allows you
glimpses of milky white porcelin smooth shoulders (a few freckles can be
seen but they are not overpowering and add to the beauty) and what appears
to be the amazingly soft skin awaiting caresses. As you look into her
eyes, you can not ascertain what encaptures you and causes you to be lost
within the lucid orbs. Still you are drawn in and can not resist the
desire to unlock whatever secrets lie hidden in the twinkling emerald green
masses. She is very friendly and encourages you to make the first move of
approachment as her shyness causes her to contemplate a counter to your
intended actions. She hopes to make many friends and would like you to be
one of them, for she is fascinated by what she sees in you..........:)
Table 4: Selected Excerpts from the 'Help Manners' Document
The MOO, like other MUDs, is a social community; it is populated by real
people that you interact with via network connections. Like other
communities of human beings, the members of this one have evolved certain
guidelines for the behavior of the participants. This article lays out
what the wizards believe to be the general consensus concerning these
`rules of courteous behavior,' or `manners,' on the MOO.
Many of the rules that follow are by no means `obvious' or even related to
similar rules in the real world. The MOO is not the real world; it has its
own special properties that require new kinds of rules. These rules have
been worked out through our experiences with the MOO; they reflect what
we've learned about what make the MOO an enjoyable place.
>> Don't shout. <<
It is easy to write a MOO command that prints a message to every connected
player in the MOO. Please don't. It is generally annoying to receive such
messages; such shouting should be reserved for really important uses, like
wizards telling everyone that the server is about to be shut down.
Non-wizards never have a good enough reason to shout. Use `page' instead.
>> Only teleport your own things. <<
By default, most objects (including other players) allow themselves to be
moved freely from place to place within the MOO. This fact makes it easier
to build useful objects like exits and magic rings that move things as a
part of their normal role in the virtual reality. Unfortunately, it also
makes it easy to move other players from place to place without their
permission, or to move objects in and out of other players' possession.
Please don't do this; it's annoying (at the least) to the poor victim and
can only cause bad feelings.
>> Don't teleport silently. <<
It is easy to write MOO commands that move you instantly from place to
place. In writing such programs, please remember to print a message to all
players both in the place you're moving from and in the place you're moving
to. It is disconcerting and otherwise unpleasant for someone to suddenly
say something in a room without there ever having been a notice that that
person had arrived. Similarly, it is annoying to discover that you've been
talking for some time to a person who has left the room without a sound.
*****************************************************************
The wizards are always interested in hearing players' feedback on these
rules of behavior. The rules were developed by the consensus of players
and can be expected to evolve that way, too.
Table 5: Topics in the Helpful Player Badge Dispenser
generic following dogs creating objects (general)
communications movement
tasks and permissions basic programming
psychology and basic Moo issues Morphing
General Help badges
Transgenderism Getting Around
moo-addiction Fun Things to Do
Creativity fractal geometry
Speleology Celtic legends
general MOO non-programming stuff Beginner Questions
trouble-shooting grunge
Helpful Person Finder hacking around WolfMOOCore.DB
depression simple verbs
setting messages Telnet Hassles
BBS software C++
MOO rpg user interfaces
GOMS godnet
minimal.db building
Geek Avoidance Swedish
GNU Emacs evil computer uses
drugs Unix
clients debugging
design issues quota
Why NOT to fall in love with someone on the MOO
Sex, Sex, Sex, Cheese Curing, MOO revolution
Table 6: MOO Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt List requires you to find, in order:
* 1. The Family Room
2. any pillow
3. enormous vegetable marrow
4. salamander
5. Wind-Up Duck
6. Tutorial
7. Holy Grail
8. Aunt.Pol
9. Integrating Detail Room Mark III
10. any Lelladorin's Word Square
* -- item/place already found.
Table 7: MOO Board Games
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
_____________________________
1|= ' = ' =|
2| - " " - |
3| - ' ' - |
4|' - ' - '|
5| - - |
6| " " " " |
7| ' ' ' ' |
8|= ' * ' =| Blank Scrabble Board
9| ' ' ' ' |
10| " " " " |
11| - - |
12|' - ' - '|
13| - ' ' - |
14| - " " - |
15|= ' = ' =|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
_____________________________
1|= ' = ' D E W|
2| - " I M A G E - |
3| - ' ' A |
4|' - ' - F '|
5| S B S T A G E S |
6| P R O L E T " N O |
7| O ' A ' A D ' A M|
8|F O X ' Z D R O N E R E| Partially Filled Scrabble Board
9|E N ' E ' V C ' |
10|W " S K A T E " E " |
11| - A P I N E |
12|' - J I B C D|
13| - U ' O ' Y E T I|
14| - V A T O H - N|
15|= ' S L I G H T E|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MOOnopoly
+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+
|PARK |Ken|CHA|Ind|Ill|B&O|Atl|Ven|Wat|Mar|>JAIL|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+
|New | | Pac|
+-----+ +-----+
|Ten | --- --- | Nor|
+-----+ |o o| |o o| +-----+
|CCH | | | | o | | CCH|
+-----+ |o o| |o o| +-----+
|StJ | --- --- | Pen|
+-----+ tm +-----+
|Prr | M O O N O P O L Y | Sho|
+-----+ +-----+
|Vir | | CHA|
+-----+ +-----+
|Sta | | Par|
+-----+ +-----+
|Ele | | LUX|
+-----+ +-----+
|StC | | Brd|
+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+
| | | | | | | | | | | GO|
|JAIL |Con|Ver|CHA|Ori|Rea|TAX|Bal|CCH|Med| <-- |
+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+
Chess
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
8 | r | n | b | q | k | b | n | r | GO
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
7 | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | p | +-----------------+
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 1 | . . . . . . . . |
6 | | | | | | | | | 2 | . . . . . . . . |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 3 | . # . . . . . . |
5 | | | | | | | | | 4 | . . O . . . . . |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 5 | . . . O . . . . |
4 | | | | | | | | | 6 | . . . . O . . . |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 7 | . . . . . . . . |
3 | | | | | | | | | 8 | . . . . . . . . |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +-----------------+
2 | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | A B C D E F G H
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
1 | R | N | B | Q | K | B | N | R |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
a b c d e f g h
Table 8: Tourist's Guide to WolfMOO
You see a handy booklet full of information on that attraction of
attractions, WolfMOO.
Welcome to WolfMOO! We hope your stay is a pleasant and enjoyable one.
Excitement and adventure as well as curious oddities inhabit the Wolf
House. Sprawling outwards and upwards, the widely varying architectures
present an amazing, if somewhat shocking, image to first-time visitors. The
current landlords keep finding new rooms in dusty hallways and objects in
forgotten alcoves. No one quite knows the extent of the mansion. Some say
that entire subcultures inhabit sections of the house and its surrounding
land, forming pacts with each other in a tension filled non-existence. The
owners either have no knowledge of this or do not mind.
In the entrance hall, an ancient Strasbourg Clock riddled with dials and
knobs displays the time for dozens of different regions of the world. It
would be a simple task to adjust one of the unused clock faces to a
suitable time. Walking into the dining room, the preponderance of curios
often convinces people that the room was never anything other than a game
room. This is further compounded by the fact that people frequently leave
new puzzles in there, perhaps to trap the unwary. The kitchen, situated to
the south of the dining room, has the most modern of appliances. Random
notes decorate the refrigerator, and a whirring cuisinart grinds assorted
things into exciting foods. Please be cautious near the master bedroom to
the east of the entrance hall as the owners have installed some security
measures.
Outside, a luxurious pool filled with an inummerable number of pool toys
provides a relaxing area for fun or play. A hot tub nearby awaits swimmers
resting after a quick dip in the pool. Amidst this scene of tranquil bliss,
rumors of creatures living beneath the pool abound. How they survive in the
murky chlorinated water, no one knows. Some even say that catacombs snake
underneath the house and that terrifying kobolds and goblins cavort in
abandoned mine shafts. Most disregard these tales as superstitious fears of
the dark. There are, of course, no secret societies or Illuminati. No one
would believe that a medieval castle would exist anywhere near the Wolf
House. Any word of them is obviously just a fantasy of the mind.
For the children, there is a delightful tree house in the back which is
filled with untold suprises. Alongside the pool, a genuine(tm) Rube
Goldberg contraption designed to provide hours of enjoyment awaits the pull
of curious hands. They may also find the living room, the roost of a most
audible cockatoo, quite enjoyable. Of course, caution should be advised
with respect to the discussions that arise in there. They have been known
to drive visitors insane. If this unfortunate incident does afflict
someone, help may be sought at the Department of Psychology on the second
floor. A past owner created it, as well as an entire university, in a fit
of frenzied building. Aid is available at the MOOjunkies Anonymous
counseling center located above the family room for those suffering from
that dreaded addiction. Many people have also established rooms in that
area, most likely to remain in close proximity to this vital service.
Evidently, some businesses have also sprung up in obscure corners of the
house. No one really knows, but startled laughter can sometimes be heard
from broken mirrors. From the slightly swaying movements of those visiting
the dusty, uninhabited areas of the house, one could also imagine that a
pub resides nearby. This is all just wild speculation of course. Taverns
have no more of a chance existing in a house than a gypsy caravan or an
alien space ship would have behind it.
Table 9: WolfMOO Refrigerator
This is a fine, large fridge that looks like it could hold enough to
support a fairly large household. There are several little magnets on the
door; many of them are being used to hold up notes. Type 'read 1 on
fridge' for help on reading what's here.
1 - Wolf: How to use notes on the fridge
2 - Belkira: First Puzzle on MOO!
3 - Floyd: Adventuring
4 - Floyd: Ghostbusters!
5 - Sickle: Aliens!
6 - Doc: Shopping List -- Buy at Moo-Store
7 - Mutt: a dog-eared note
8 - Belkira: "Nothing We Can Do"
9 - Doc: MOO-ARCADE! NEW UNDERGROUND CENTER!
10 - Puzzler: Try your skills on the Hedge Maze!
11 - Doc: Moonopoly
12 - syrup: Scrabble!
13 - Zipper: Master safes
14 - syrup: Eliza's on MOO!
15 - Aunt.Pol: Try your assembly skills
16 - Amoeba: Multiplayer Communications
17 - Zipper: Good programmers needed!
18 - Zipper: (new!) Spiral-al
19 - Doc: Vast railroad empire...
20 - Beltira: Coming soon to a town near you...
21 - housekeeper: I'm kinda busy but I'll clean your stuff...
22 - Aunt.Pol: Hotel rooms available
23 - Bunny: Advertisement for MPIF
24 - Gelfind: Visit WolfMOO International Raceway!
25 - Amoeba: generic programmable note
26 - Sally: The End Cafe is now OPEN!
27 - syrup: improved (yet again) login watcher
Table 10: WolfMOO Mansion
WolfMOO takes place inside and on the grounds of a large, sprawling
mansion. The house has existed in one form or another for literally
hundreds of years, passing through the hands of a bewildering seqeuence of
owners. Most of the owners have taken the opportunity to add to the
mansion, extending it in dozens of different directions, each with a
completely different vision and architectural style. In short, this house
is a bit of a mongrel.
The house is also very large, so large in fact that the current occupants
themselves have only ever explored a tiny portion of it. What may be going
on in other parts of the house is anybody's guess. I wouldn't be the least
bit surprised to hear about space aliens, ancient secret societies, or even
high-tech cottage industries that are making use of parts of the house.
With nobody having the means or inclination to patrol the whole place,
almost anything could be squatting here.
South of the occupied part of the house lie the palatial gardens. Many
parts of the gardens are still being tended and cared for, some even by
gardeners hired by the current occupants. Of course, there are other parts
of the gardens that have become quite overgrown and wild, sheltering who
knows what.
The land underneath the house is also full of strange tunnels, odd caverns,
perhaps a forgotten mine, and other amusements. Of course, except for the
wine cellars, the current occupants are completely unaware of such
developments.
Table 11: Various Room Descriptions
The Dining Room
This room is dominated by a large pearwood table and six matching chairs.
There are a pair of large bookcases on the north wall and doors into the
kitchen to the south. To the east is an open archway leading into the
entrance hall.
You see Mastermind Board, Mastermind Instructions, Deck of Playing Cards,
GOPS, Automatic Poker Pot, Dwarf's backgammon board, Dwarf's chessboard,
big connect-4, 'nopoly bank, zoologist, Dwarf's reversi board, Clasp's
connect-4 board, Scrabble board, gagsi, Ghost game, Beldin's solver for
Dwarf's mind bender, Moonopoly Board, Paper Bag, Dwarf's mind bender,
PenteSet, go board, Rubik's Cube, Scavenger Hunt List, generic set of dice,
wind up lamb, and Number puzzle here.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is of a modern design, very large and well-lit, yet still homey
and comfortable. The walls are covered in beautiful natural-wood cabinets
and the stove is set into a large 'island' counter in the center of the
room. Over the sink, along the south wall, there are windows looking out
onto the pool and gardens. At the west end of the room, there is a little
breakfast nook with a table and four chairs; beyond it to the west is the
family room. There are doors in the north wall leading into the dining
room, a sliding glass door to the south, and a doorway in the northeast
corner leading out into the entrance hall.
You see a refrigerator, cookbook, dishwasher, cuisinart, kitchen counter,
microwave, and carrot here.
Nocturne
Moonlight pours through an open window, as rain beats a steady patter
on the balcony to the west. Many dark-coloured stones compose the floor of
this room, whilst the walls are the characteristic black stone of the Keep.
A large bed lies unmade, soft pearl duvets ruffled over black satin sheets.
Several
pillows are thrown about. A chill draft wafts through the window, and the
bed seems all the more seductive.
A heavy wooden door leads south into the observatory.
Library
The Bovine Illuminati Library is a chaotic jumble of shelves overflowing
with books, scrolls, maps and random scrawlings. Several desks and chairs
are scattered about the place so that initiates may sit and study in their
quest for enlightenment. A doorway to the east leads through to the
technical section.
Thumper's Thicket
The feeling here is peaceful and serene. A soft breeze blows through the
trees all around you. Sunlight filters through the leaves above and dances
across the forest floor.
Parnassus
A brooke flows between dense groves of olive trees, clear water cascading
over rocks rounded by its centuries-old flow. The sun plays in the stream,
casting shimmering reflections amidst the boughs of strong trees.
Snow-capped peaks rise from deep green fields of grass, undulating in the
wind. A warm breeze ripples over a nearby pond, where toads croak lazily
within bunches of reeds. The enchanting melody of a songbird and the
distant musing of a harp lulls you into a sensual euphoria. You sit in the
shadow of a laurel -- breathing deep the heady aroma of countless natural
perfumes. As sylvan creatures play within flowering arboria, you pause to
mourn reality's loss of this mythic paradise. With a sigh, you slip back
into the wondrous illusion.
Hermaphrodite Heaven
Welcome to the domain of Marie-Jean/Jean-Marie. As you look around, you
notice that your feet are no longer on the ground. In fact, you're
floating! You appear suspended at the center of a vast night sky. You are
surrounded by gauzy nebulae, brilliant stars, fiery comets, and awe-
inspiring, immense planets. After flailing about a bit, you encounter the
series of invisible rails that allow you to transport yourself about in
this tiny piece of eternity. A series of gravity-stabilized discs lead up
to (up? what's up? ain't got no gravity here, dude(tte)! Okay, they lead
_toward_) an enormous hammock the size of a double bed, which, although
apparently supported by nothing, somehow manages to remain in the same
place. It is draped with various grey-, rose-, and malachite-colored
hangings, and is covered with pillows of the same colors. The pillows are
velcro-attached, but may be easily _detached_ for a zero-g pillow fight. As
you direct your gaze towards what used to be downward, you spy a swirling
black hole (don't ask how you can see a black hole, or how it can swirl.
The creator pleads poetic license), gateway to points unknown. It seems to
be the only exit.
Hell
A really hot, firey place that looks like the cover of a heavy-metal album.
There are lots of people (and lawyers) here. At one end of the chamber is
a line of new-admits, being handled by an arch-devil. To the northeast is
a simple door with writing on it.
Hell's library
A huge, cavernous room filled with books. Most of the books are calculus
texts. To your surprise, there is a section of award-winning mystery
novels. Every mystery novel has the last page torn out so you'll never
find out whodunnit. There is a door to the southwest.
Alpha Club
This is a spacious room with several working benches. Some equipments like
CRO, multimeters, screwdrivers, hammers, soldering irons etc. are lying
around on the benches. There is a huge bookselve leaning against the west
wall with lots and lots of books of various kinds like Hitch Hikers' Guide
to the Galaxy, GEB an Eternal Golden Braid, MCS yearbooks, DGS yearbooks,
MSS yearbooks, Lasallites, Playmates of the Year etc selved in it. Several
double-deck beds are placed on the far side of the room, looking a little
bit untidy and, perhaps, smelly. What a typical room for young, innovative
scientists!
Table 12: Sample Conversation
Holly teleports in.
Katz says, "Touche! I've been car hunting... :-("
Cricket says, "Are you a anthropologist, Ethnographer?"
>emote ers, "Sort of"
Ethnographer ers, "Sort of"
Beetle says, "hey Katz"
Horsey says, "bag any cars?"
Katz waves to Holly
Holly says, "hi"
emote shows Cricket the note
Holly says, ""
Flub wonders what Bugs was trying to do to the hat?
Cricket says, "I have a bachelors in that field."
Velcro waves.
Holly wave
Ethnographer shows Cricket the note
Garion sees the glory of the royal scam.
>give note to Cricket
You hand Copy of My Note to Cricket.
Katz says, "Not yet - and I've still got a dead Golf to get rid of :-("
Bugs was trying to get the hat to wave at itself.
Egg whispers, "Ethnog, can you please help me adjust my entrance /exit
description i lost the exact command and i am desparate..."
Flub says, "It won't."
La-Z-Boy recliner arrives with a faint smell of Velveeta cheese melted over
fried Spam.
Flub says, "It would get stuck in a oo and spam me if it did."
>whisper "@arrive ring is \"message\" " to Egg
Velcro ist gewaven.
CeNedra checks her calendar in RL, she didn't realize that today was pick
on CeNedra day, she thought that was next week.!
Flub says, "loop even. damn emacs."
You whisper, "@arrive ring is "message" " to Egg.
Horsey tsks and says better than a Ford Pinto.
Beetle is far to tired to read this fast
>whisper "same thing but depart . . .. " to Egg
Garion laughs at Flub.
Bugs gives Gus a VELVEETA BURRITO!!
Katz says, "What, a golf?"
Flub made enough objects that respond to things said to get it working
right.
You whisper, "same thing but depart . . .. " to Egg.
Cricket says, "What class is it that you are doing this for. It seems like
a pretty big project for one semester."
Horsey sings Aye, aye, aye aye, oh I'm the Velveet Burrito!
Egg says, "thanks to etnagropher i will be even more evident!!!"
The hand on generic stupid waving hat stops waving.
Flub wonders why emacs can't keep up with his typing, since it isn't that
fast.
===========================================================================
Appendix C: Glossary
ADVENTURING: Participating in a RPG style game
BUILDING: Designing objects for the MOO. Programming.
CHARACTER: The manifestation of a player that the other players will see
and interact with. This is YOU in the virtual world.
COMMAND: See verb.
HACKER: Slang for a computer programmer.
HOME: The room where a character sleeps when the player is not logged in.
IDLE: When a character has been inactive for a while it is
considered to be idle.
INTERNET: The computer network that hooks a large portion of the world's
computers together. It is through the internet that you can connect
to WolfMOO
IRL (or just RL): Abbreviation for In Real Life
LAG: The time differential between when a command is entered into the
computer and when it is executed. During times when there are a lot
of people logged on at once or when there are other computer problems,
lag can be quite bad and can cause communication problems.
LOGGING IN/OUT: The process by which you connect into a computer system is
referred to as logging in. Leaving the system is logging-out.
MAIL: There is a mail-system on the MOO by which players can send messages
to other players who aren't necessarily logged on. Basically
equivalent to mail in the real world.
MESSAGES: Most actions (verbs) on the MOO cause things to happen that
other characters will see. What the other character's see is referred
to as a message.
MORPHING: The ability of a character to transform itself from one pre-set
description to another. Example: A werewolf has a human form and a
wolf form. (Although there is not necessarily a limit of two forms on
the MOO) A character who morphs can change almost everything about
itself, including its name, sex, and description; everything but it's
object number.
MUD: Multi-User Dungeon (or sometimes Multi-User Dimension)
NETSEX: A form of interaction in which the players involved perform and
say sexually-explicit actions so as to act out sex through the
computer.
NEWBIE: A player who is new to the MOO and may not be familiar with many
of its intricacies.
OBJECT: Everything in the MOO world is an object: characters, rooms,
devices. Every object has a unique object number by which it can be
referred and manipulated.
OBJECT NUMBER: See object
PLAYER: A person who logs into the MOO and manipulates characters is
referred to as a player.
PROGRAMMER: Players with the ability to verbs (computer programs) on
objects that will allow the object to do something or manipulate
something in the MOO world.
PUPPETS: Special objects in the MOO that act like separate characters but
which are actually controlled by another character. They can perform
actions and speak the way normal characters can and can also transmit
everything they see to the controlling character. Puppets cannot
create new objects or program.
QUOTA: The maximum number of objects a character can own at any time. The
purpose of a quota is to keep the database as small as possible.
RECYCLE: To remove all descriptions, properties, and verbs from an object.
Destruction or annihilation of an object.
REGISTRATION: A means to control who may login to the MOO and who can't be
requiring people to present a form of ID (normally an email address)
before they are granted permission to enter the MOO.
REGULAR: A player who frequents the MOO on a regular basis as opposed to
someone who may log on once or twice then never return.
ROOM: A location within the MUD where characters can interact with each
other. Rooms are normally connected to each other and can be
traversed through standard directions such as east, north, and up.
RPG: Role-Playing Game. Refers to the classic 'Dungeons & Dragons' style
game whereby characters start at a low level and gradually gain skills
through experience.
SITE: The local computer system from which a player logs into the MOO.
SITE-LOCKING: A wizardly function by which they may prevent anyone from a
given computer site from logging on. Normally only used in drastic
situations.
SLEEP: A character who's player is not logged on is said to be sleeping.
SMILEYS: A form of computer symbolism by which people can communicate
feelings and emotions. They are common computer characters that, when
put together and looked at sideways, appear to look like smiling faces
(or frowns).
Examples: :-) :) :') ;) :( 8) ;-() :0 =O
SPOOF: (Definition directly from 'Help Manners') Spoofing is loosely
defined as `causing misleading output to be printed to other players.'
For example, it would be spoofing for anyone but Munchkin to print out
a message like `Munchkin sticks out his tongue at Potrzebie.' This
makes it look like Munchkin is unhappy with Potrzebie even though that
may not be the case at all.
TECHNOBABBLE: Refers to complex computer programming talk which non
programmers (and even many programmers) cannot understand or follow.
TELEPORT: A method from moving from any one room to another on the MOO
instantly, instead of traveling by more standard means such as
walking.
TELNET: A command by which a person may connect one computer to another.
TINYSCENERY: An object in the MOO which does nothing. It may have a fancy
description, but otherwise serves no useful purpose.
TINYSEXER: A person on the MOO whose main interest for being on the MOO is
netsex.
TOADING: A wizardly function by which an object is destroyed by the
wizard, normally by some offense to the standards of conduct that have
been instituted on the MOO.
VERB: A computer program that has been assigned to a specific object in
the MOO and that will do something interesting (hopefully) when run.
VIRTUAL REALITY: Life in the MOO as opposed to real life outside the
computer. Anything that is perceived to happen or exist in the MOO is
considered to be part of the character's virtual reality.
WIZARD: Programmers with special abilities on the MOO. It is they who run
and maintain the MOO, keep civil order (as it were), and oversee the
general activities and functions of the MOO. They are gods, judges,
and police all rolled into one. They're also, for the most part,
quite friendly and easy going and willing to help people who ask.
===========================================================================
Bibliography
Curtis, Pavel. "Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual
Realities."
