[MUD-Dev] Wild west (was Guilds & Politics)

[Greg Munt]

On Wed, 31 Dec 1997, Ola Fosheim Grstad wrote:

> Marian Griffith <gryphon at iaehv.nl> wrote:
> >> Actually, they haven't been granted anything.  They have just given
> >> themselves the power.  I don't see how you can throw out the owner of
> >> the system?
> >
> >The same should be said about just about any government.
> >But yes, if somebody creates a game and makes it available to others
> >they have every right to do with it as they please. However it makes
> >no difference who grants the power. 
> 
> Wait.  "every right to do with it as they please" ?? !!  If it was a
> single-user system with no external effects, yes... Or rather maybe...
> We are talking about multi-user communication systems.  I can't see
> how they can "have every right to do with it as they please", because
> "it" affects other people...

I don't accept this. People connect to a particular system by choice. You 
might make an analogy to employees of a business:

  The company has an owner. The owner has the ultimate authority in all 
  matters relating to the company.

  Employees work for the company by choice. They may, at any time, cease 
  employment for the company. (Ignoring the economic concerns of the 
  employee.)

  The owner of the company has "every right to do with it as they please" 
  (within the boundaries of the law) - if the employee does not accept 
  this, they may leave the company.

The analogy falls short, where the legal responsibilities of the owner 
are concerned. The owner of the company may not terminate an employee's 
employment with the company, because of personal enmity, for example. 

However, the same does not apply to the owner of a mud. If I own the mud, 
I can ban any user I please - hell, I don't even have to ban them, I can 
harass them, abuse them and ridicule them, until they leave of their own 
volition.

You should not confuse legal rights with moral rights. All users of a mud 
have no legal rights, on the mud. The following statement can be used to 
explain their moral rights:

"The players of a mud have as many rights as the owner is prepared to give 
them." 

--
Greg Munt, greg at uni-corn.demon.co.uk
"I'm not bitter - just twisted."