[MUD-Dev] Declaration of the Rights of Avatars

[Matthew Mihaly]

> The Raphster wrote:

On Sun, 16 Apr 2000, Eli Stevens wrote:

> > special rights and privileges shall never
> > pertain to the avatar who contributes more except insofar as the special
> > powers and privileges require greater resources from the hardware,
> software,
> > data store, or administrator manpower, and would not be possible save for
> > the resources obtainable with the contribution;
> 
> Would this put Achaea in violation then?  As I understand their system
> working, players have to pay RL money if they wish to improve skills.
> However, they have no access charges.  Hmm, it might be possible to say that
> more powerful characters require harder game areas, and so you have more
> creation/administration costs...

They don't HAVE to, as there ARE other ways to get skills, but the only
practical way to get serious skills is to buy them, or mentor other people
who buy them.  Really though, Achaea doesn't give a damn if we're in
violation of anything (although I don't think you were suggesting that we
do give a damn, or that we should give a damn). If someone isn't willing
or can't do anything to us, what do we care. 

 
> I think, for the purposes of this document, that if there are fees beyond
> the common charge, they (and the benefit they provide) should be optional,
> but the costs for such luxuries should be spelled out before the person
> makes any comitment to the community.  I think it is too restrictive as it
> is currently worded.  Luxuries in the real word cost extra, why should they
> not in a virtual one (if the designer is so inclined)(this is a real
> question, are there good arguments why virtual luxuries should not cost?)?

It's because people keep trying to look at MMORPGs as somehow seperate
from the real world, and this is _not_ how players look at them, nor is it
how things really are. It costs real-life money to play these games. You
speak a real-life language in them. You bring TONS of knowledge into them.
You trade e-mail addresses, icq addresses, and you meet each other face to
face at meets. The idea that they are seperate, discrete worlds is a total
bunch of hooey. You're quite right in saying that luxuries in the real
world cost extra, and considering that luxuries in a game (which is part
of the real world) are more valuable either by virtue of rarity or by
virtue of the extra admin effort required, I certainly don't see why they
shouldn't cost extra if the admin chooses to charge extra for them.

--matt




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