[MUD-Dev] Re: pet peeves

[Adam Wiggins]

On Fri, 12 Feb 1999 diablo at best.com wrote:
> On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Adam Wiggins wrote:
> > So it's not so much "clueless" and "clueful" - it's more "old timers" and
> > "fresh faces".  As with most things in life, a mix of both is your best bet.
> 
> Argh, sorry, and I mean no offence, but that last statement just reeks of
> "common sense" which is almost always wrong.

Hmmm, that's an interesting generalization.  I would consider it common
sense to not step out in front of a moving vehicle, or to sheathe a knife
before putting it my pocket, or to pack a jacket when visiting someplace cold.
Do you consider these "wrong" as well?

Anyhow, whatever it may reek of, I believe it remains true in this case.
JC emphasizes it often himself: he'd like this list to be a nice balance
between the old timers and the fresh voices.  If it's all "experts" it turns
into an ivory tower, static and unchanging; we sit around and nod our heads
sagely at statements like "Skill-trees are better than levels" or "Armor
and weapons should be damaged as they are used in combat" or "Commands
must be consisten mud-wide", and everything gets stale and boring, and list
traffic drops off.  Of course, if it's *all* newbies, then you get the
rec.games.mud.admin effect, which is equally undesirable.

> I think it was Einstein
> (sorry to mention him twice in the same thread. I'm not obsessed.) who
> said, "Common sense is a collection of prejudices acquired by the age of
> 18". (I think I saw that in a linux fortune).

Wasn't Einstein himself one of those newbie with crazy ideas that rocked the
mathematics field?  It seems that he's a perfect example of the truth of
my statement.

Adam W.