[MUD-Dev] MUVE vs. MUD [was Re: Current Projects]

[Alex Stewart]

[James Wilson:]
> okay. I'll bite. What's the deadlock-free locking model?

Heh..  I'll try to post some more details on this in the next few days (I'm
currently in the process of moving back to the US from Australia, tho, so it
might take more like a week).. if you don't hear anything more from me on the
subject for a while, remind me :)

> also, are the people who want to use 'muve' embarrassed by the term 'mud' or
> something?

Well, I can only speak for me personally, but it's not really embarrassment so
much as (a) the term "MUD", even now, has a strong gaming stigma associated
with it in many people's minds, and for those involved in non-gaming
(social/educational/professional) applications of MUD technologies this can
cause problems when trying to introduce their work to new people, and (b)
almost everywhere I've been besides this list, the term "MUD" is used to define
a much narrower set of systems and designs, which many "MUVE" servers are, if
anything, somewhat on the borderline of inclusion due to some of the
technologies they're now implementing.  For both of these reasons, a new term
often provides many benefits over trying to stretch the old "MUD" term to fit.
Some of the background of all of this is also described in the "What is a MUVE"
page <URL: http://www.crl.com/~riche/muve.html > which I linked to the Lithium
page.

Frankly, on the "Is Diablo a MUD" topic, I was tempted to stick my two cents in
but never really got around to doing it.  One of the things I would have said,
however, is that I really don't understand why everyone seems to find the term
"MUD" so desirable (everybody and their dog wants their pet system to be
included in the term).  It's just a name.  If taken as its original definition
("Multi User Dungeon") it's not even an acronym which fits the majority of
things which people are trying to cram in under the heading nowadays, and I
don't see why people aren't content to call their things whatever name/acronym
is appropriate to them, instead of trying to make them all "MUDs" (which also
ends up making the term "MUD" almost meaningless, as the recent discussions
here have somewhat demonstrated).  In the end, what's the point anyway?

My feeling is, terms like these should be used to highlight important
distinctions, not try to lump everything into one (questionably-defined) mass.

-R
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     Alex Stewart - riche at crl.com - Richelieu @ Diversity University MOO
                         http://www.crl.com/~riche
           "For the world is hollow, and I have touched the sky."