[MUD-Dev] Re: Marian's Tailor vs. Psychopaths

[Michael.Willey at abnamro.com]

Marian writes:
>First,  virtual sociopath on a mud is somebody
>who does not empathise with the other players but
>is only interested in his own fun. This is much
>the same as a schoolyard bully.

I think you've finally hit the nail on the head.
The virtual sociopath is one and the same as the
schoolyard bully.  We build our muds as a form of
playground, and these are the people who try to
dominate the other kids.  The bully isn't a sociopath,
and most of these children won't be deeply traumatized
by a single playground incident.  But it's not
acceptable behavior, it does cause harm to the
other users, and "It's just a game" isn't a good
enough excuse.

I think the exact terms that the "Tailor" problem
were expressed in brought undue focus on the aspect
of playerkilling and diluted the issue as a whole.
I assume from your other posts that you'd agree.
This issue isn't just about playerkilling.  PK is
only one method that a bully uses to harass and
dominate the other players.  Other means are just
as important.  I wonder if a better expression of
your dilemma would be: "How do we protect users
from bullies without forcing them to become bullies
in turn?"