[MUD-Dev] Re: pet peeves

[Apocalypse]

 -----Original Message-----
 From: Caliban Tiresias Darklock [mailto:caliban at darklock.com]
 Sent: Friday, February 12, 1999 1:10 PM
 To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
 Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: pet peeves

> If someone from this list were to show up on my MUD, my reaction and
> response would be based a lot more on who they were and what they had said
> than it would be on the fact that they just happen to run a MUD.
> Long ago, I
> used to extend a level of courtesy to other SysOps on my BBS. Do you run a
> BBS? You do! Which one? What's the number? Here, you're a fellow
> SysOp, you
> may have unlimited download privileges and you are automatically
> approved to
> post in the moderated SysOps conference.
>
> Then I started to catch more and more people lying, so I started to verify
> the board by calling it before granting guest SysOp privileges. And I
> started to see that even the people who WEREN'T lying were running
> short-term boards that seemed to be up only for the purpose of
> getting guest
> SysOp bennies on other boards. So I had to make a decision. Was I going to
> evaluate every SysOp who showed up and give him a thumbs up or
> thumbs down?
> Nope. I discontinued guest SysOp privileges.
>
> And the overall average quality of MUD imms is certainly a good deal lower
> today than the quality of BBS SysOps was in 1990.
>

Its funny you should say that Cal..I experienced that
same dilema when modems were first made..I had one of the first
modems ever sold, called a Mighty MO, it did 50-110-300 baud
(yep, and there were boards running at 110 baud). I ran a
VERY old board, before WWIV, or RIP, or any of the others. People
would get a copy of a board, put it up, and leech the heck out
of everyone else. Id also agree about the quality of "IMMS" or
admins, back then (pre '87), running a board was not a hobby, it
was more like a badge of courage, and we did what it took to have
a good one. Sys's responded to problems quickly, they were more
courteous, and id say a good deal more knowledgeable than
todays MUD IMM. But, id like to point out that there are also about
10,000X as many modem/net/mud users than there were back then. The
group is diluted as a whole, back then, most people either running
or using a BBS, were older than todays crowd, more responsible,
more knowledgeable, and generally more friendly. You had to be, the
technology was so new then, now, anyone can grab a 'puter, and sign
on. Personally, i think its very easy to tell a genuine admin/coder
just by talking to them. People who think they know what theyre doing
sound like it, people who DO know what theyre doing are comfortable,
relaxed, and dont try to impress. However, if we try the spartan method
(i apologize to my ancestors) of not passing on the
knowledge/training, and not have at least some level of
understanding for those who really arent what they say, we as a whole
will suffer. New ideas come in a lot of packages, and a good number of
them come from people with no clue at all, they have no notion of
"that was tried already". I dont spend time on every wannabe mind you,
but you can tell when the effort is warranted.


Shakti - To see ones path, one must close his eyes.