[MUD-Dev] Re:)

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad <olag@ifi.uio.no>]

>[Ola:]
>[much snipped]
>> I think the whole discussion is rather sad.  Why don't we discuss how
>> to make MUDs sexually interesting to women instead?  That's far more
>
>Hmmm...MUDs are sexually interesting to men?  If I can think of any

Research suggests so, yes?  Women play male characters to avoid attention,
yes?

>two things in my life which have absolutely NOTHING to do with one
>another, it's mudding and sex.

Well, research shows that knowing the other player's gender is important
for most users. If that isn't remotly related to sex, then I don't know..

>Maybe I'm just a freak, though - I've never had 'mudsex'

I didn't write "fuck", did I? :)  You can be erotic in lots of ways,
even with wordgames.

>> MUDs should deal with sexually related topics or allow for erotic
>> fantasies etc, simply because flirt and erotic behaviour is an
>> important component in communication among adults.
>
>Okay, now here's an interesting topic.  Define 'deal with..'?
>Should the mud have commands like 'french kiss', 'fondle', 'feel up',
>'perform cunnilingus', 'bite nipple', etc etc?  If it does, should these
>commands do anything other than a fancy emote?  Or should these commands
>not exist, and everything be left to emotes?

You are making things very technical.  Deal with, could be:
- provide secure private spaces
- provide affectionate items (roses and other symbolic items)
- provide nice clothing
- make some areas more erotic and romantic than others, if some users are
  disturbed by erotic games, they can go other places. (hard to do in a
  text-only system of course)

etc.

>interaction besides speech.  Up until now we've had only commands like kiss
>and hug; apparently you (and no doubt others) think there should be more?

Not neccessarily.  I just say, deal with it.  Think about it when you design.
Ask the users.

>partners.  I personally don't find on-line sex to be even mildly interesting,
>therefore we've ignored the whole subject completely.  Is this a mistake?

No, not with your approach.  But then again, you haven't said that you want
to maximize the user's ability to express themselves and communicate.

Ola.