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

[Adam Wiggins]

On Tue, 6 Oct 1998, Koster, Raph wrote:
> > From: Benjamin D. Wiechel [mailto:strycher at toast.net]
> > I really think that in an environment where the mortals are faced with
> > disparate number of sociopathic people, be it via role playing or
> teenage male
> > hormones, they will solve the problem on their own without any 
> > necessary regulation by code or by immortals.
> > In an environment as described above, there is a reasonable 
> > probability that some of the player base may opt to simply leave,
> and/or create new
> > characters. This does not solve the problem, and instead perpetuates
> it. 
> 
> I used to think as you do... but... Based on UO's experience, they won't
> solve it; just reduce it somewhat, burn out on trying to keep the
> sociopaths back, and eventually give up... They also only tend to try if
> there is something in the world that they see as worth fighting
> for--meanng, a building or business. So we get people volunteering to do
> this with the City of Oasis, and with the player-run taverns... but not
> for just general policing of a stretch of road.

The post Benjamin was responding to focused on the term "disproportionate".
If there were a 'realistic' number of sociopaths (say, Charles Manson-style
as one in a billion, murdering cutthroat as, say, one in a million, general
run-of-the-mill thug as say, one in five thousand, and mischievious
pickpocket or con-man as, say, one in a thousand) then things would be
pretty easy to control.

Even if the number of true sociopaths was like 5% and the rest of the
mischief makers encompassed another 20%, this would be within the
realm of "policable" by players.  But when you face 50% or more, players
are going to wonder what the point is?  The ones they imprison or kill
just come back with other characters, and in the meantime new ones show
up all the time.  Eventually the policing players are going to get
frustrated and give up, or possibly leave.

Adam W.