[MUD-Dev] Re: Mud websites

[John Bertoglio]

From: J C Lawrence <claw at under.engr.sgi.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 1998 4:17 PM


>On Tue, 9 Jun 1998 12:42:03 -0500
>Koster, Raph<rkoster at origin.ea.com> wrote:
>
>> Legend has a website that has won a few awards. It has a web
>> discussion board, archives of the in-game lecture series, FAQs, a
>> reference section, character bios, links to guild web pages, and the
>> game newsletter. And it just about never gets visited by existing
>> players.  Does it serve to draw in NEW players? Yeah, probably. But
>> for some reason it is not a major contributor to the community. (The
>> character web pages are a hit however).
>
>I have attempted to use a wide variety of web based message boards,
>from those at various UOL sites, Utne reader, other magazines,
>SlashDot, and on.  Several of them I've really wanted to use
>extensively for the data they contained.  But, I've been rebuffed
>every time.  I don't find them usable, not even slightly usable.  I
>can actually use them, with a lot of work and teeth gritting, but the
>sheer machination invelved *just* to read a message (What?  I have to
>click on that little icon for every single message?) is painful
>enough, but to actually post with those horrors is torture.  I utterly
>fail to understand *HOW* they get any traffic.  They are almost
>mind-numbing to use, to read, to try and follow threads, to post
>messages to, etc.
>
>Yet, quite obviously, people do use them, and do post messages with
>them.  <boggle>
>
>Perhaps there's a trick?
>

There are a few good and many bad web implementations. The nature of the
web lends itself to more of a "I post to a subject, you post to a new
subject" in linear format. Or "here is my question, what is the answer?".
Threaded systems usually are impossible to read once they reach any level
of complexity. Some exceptioniosn:

www.west-wind.com has an excellent board he uses for tech support. His
web/database product includes the source code for it.

WebBoard by O'Riely (the book and web server people) is also worth looking
at.  < www.webboard.com >  It includes an IRC style chat server. The 2.0
version is quite robust and is included in a book-CD package.

Both of these products are fully customizable so if you build a crappy user
interface, it is your fault. Once again, "The power to create and control,
is the power to make ugly."


>--
>J C Lawrence                               Internet: claw at null.net
>(Contractor)                               Internet: coder at ibm.net
>---------(*)                     Internet: claw at under.engr.sgi.com
>...Honourary Member of Clan McFud -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...
>

John Bertoglio

>--
>MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future.
>