[MUD-Dev] Administrative Responsibilities

[Greg Munt]

On Sun, 1 Feb 1998, Jon A. Lambert wrote:

> Basically, what the players and administration of this particular mud were 
> attempting to convey to you (quite possibly even rudely) was that you 
> were not welcome in their sandbox.  For whatever reason, it was apparent 
> that their customs and social conventions were incompatable with yours.  
> This happens in highly organized societies as well as anarchies.    
> 
> The most satisfying and moral solution to this problem is to not allow 
> "victims" on the mud.  

This is cutting close to certain emotional wounds, so I hope you will 
forgive me if I start to rant.

> A good administrator should take a proactive role in 
> banishing "victims" from the mud for their own protection.  

With the greatest respect, I find this to be a load of bollocks. I 
inadvertedly offended one person. About 5 of their friends sought to 
'protect' them from me. "...[we are] spanking an impudent child..." was the 
phrase used by them to describe their actions.

The administrator, not wanting to be bothered by dealing with social 
problems, stated that they would do nothing about it.

What you are suggesting, is that in addition to the so-called victim 
suffering from harassment and victimisation, they must be banned from a 
mud from which they have procured many months (typically) of 
entertainment? A ban would:

  1. Legitimise harassment.

  2. Legitimise victimisation.

  3. Remove a (potentially great) source of entertainment from the victim.

  4. Cut off the victim from many of their friends that are regular users 
     of the mud.

  5. Make the aggressors feel justified in their actions.

  6. Make the victim feel as if *they* were in the wrong.

  7. Add to the already large volumes of emotional trauma being suffered 
     by the victim.

  8. Turn a bad experience into hatred, a need for vengeance, even a 
     desire for murder in real life. The administrator should help deal 
     with the problem, rather than make it even worse. Thought: perhaps 
     my violent dislike for stock muds can be blamed on the fact that these 
     experiences were first gained on a stock mud that I administrated. 
     Maybe.

Sometimes the need for vengeance can lead to good things - it led me to 
write my first scratch mud, for example. But sometimes, it cannot.

> Remove the 
> victim from the environment and provide them with the URL of a good support 
> mud.  That way they can share their feelings and recover with others who 
> have suffered similar abusive treatment.  It's sad that many administrators 
> have so little understanding in this area.  Many allow the victim to login 
> and continue to play thus delaying and crippling their recovery. 

This is the easy way out. The easy way is frequently not the best.

I consider punishing the victim to be an immoral act. I cannot see how 
banning them is in any way 'the most satisfying and moral solution'. If 
anyone should be banned, it is the agressors.

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