[MUD-Dev] Re: Affordances and social method

[J C Lawrence]

On Sun, 12 Jul 1998 23:33:45 +0100 (BST) 
Marian Griffith<gryphon at iaehv.nl> wrote:

> On Fri 10 Jul, Jon A. Lambert wrote:

>> However, what if one started a mud that was invitation only?  That
>> is establish the desired playerbase culture first through
>> targetting those with desirable behavior characteristics, and
>> integrate and absorb new users at a pace that is sustainable.
>> Trust players with the responsiblilty of inviting players who would
>> fit in with the mud's culture.

> Now that is a thought. I wonder if anybody ever tried to do this.

I believe some of the heavy RP MUDs have attempted something of the
sort.  The problem with the approach is that MUD players don't tend to 
know many other MUD players.  The word "cliqueish" comes to mind.

Consider: Despite a considerable investment of time on my part, as
well as other members, after two years MUD-Dev was only able to grow
to a total membership of roughly 60 via the inivitation process.  60
is not a bad number, quite impressive in fact, but for the total size
of a MUD's player file it makes a very barren game, especially given
any sort of attrition rate or mismatch in playing times (time zones
etc).

--
J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
(Contractor)                               Internet: coder at ibm.net
---------(*)                     Internet: claw at under.engr.sgi.com
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