[MUD-Dev] "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG"

[Travis Casey]

On Friday, December 01, 2000, Marian Griffith wrote:

[adding paragraph breaks to make Marian's text easier to read]

> Having spawned this thread (after Raph was kind enough to post the original
> usenet article here)  I definitely agree  this discussion took a left turn,
> and subsequently got lost. Not that this is unexpected. The discussion here
> closely follows the assumptions made in the original article, and this also
> is similar to how the whole issue of 'd00dz' is seen by the gaming communi-
> ty as a whole.

> The original author (Arios Truthseeker)  posited that d00dz are youths with
> severely lacking social skills.  This causes them to be ostracised by their
> age-group.  In muds (again this is what the author posits)  they see an en-
> vironment  where they can collect whatever they want.  In short, in reality
> they are not part of the in-crowd  (and lack the social skills  to even see
> how they fail).

> Because of their aggressive, materialistic playing style these players can,
> and do,  make a nuisance  out of themselves.  The author suggested that the
> only solution is to essentially ostracise them from the game  (while at the
> same time  using them as a way to expose flaws in the game).  Basically, he
> claims  there is an 'in-crowd'  of those who 'get' the game,  and there are
> 'd00dz' who do not 'get' the game; and the later group should be ignored as
> much as possible (since you can not really get rid of them).

> Personally I found that attitude reprehensible, as well as wrong.  I am not
> convinced  that 'd00dz' do not 'get' the game.  Their playing style  may be
> extreme,  but it might well be the most pure form of playing a mud. They do
> kill monster, collect equipment and gold (or whatever the game has to offer
> to the player)  and do so by minimising effort while maximising rewards. It
> may not be the game the creators had in mind, but it is (to a large extend)
> the game that they did make.

I have no problem with any of this; what I do have a problem with is
if they go about doing these things in a way that violates the rules
or "community standards" of the mud they're playing on.

You can try to minimize effort while maximizing rewards *without*
stepping on other people.

> My moral objection to  the orginal article  came from the fact that 'd00dz'
> are finding in muds an escape from a reality where they are ostracised, and
> just because they do not play the same game as some others do this does not
> give the right to take that escape away from them.  Even if they are obnox-
> ious,  do not know how to behave themselves and have no sense of fasion, it
> does not mean you can treat them the same. Treating a 'd00d' d00dish is not
> right.

Why not?  Is it not appropriate to treat people differently based on
the way they behave?

I understand that these players are often ostracized by their own age
group in real life -- I was ostracized when I was in junior high and
high school, for just the same reasons.  However, I do not accept that
this gives them a right to behave however they wish in other
situations.

A mud is a community, and, like any community, can have certain
standards for public behavior.  If someone does not follow those
standards, they can be persuaded, asked, or even forced to leave.

If someone comes into a public park and starts playing a stereo
extremely loudly, they can be asked to stop it or leave, and if they
refuse to do either, they can be escorted out by the police.  If a
group of people comes into a public park and starts playing a game of
football in such a way as to prevent others from enjoying the park,
they can again be asked to leave.

These are the sorts of things that I see as being analogous to the
situation with these players on muds -- they are disliked not because
of who they are or how they choose to act in private, but because of
how their actions affect others trying to enjoy the mud.

High school ostracism is a different thing.  People are ostracized
because they don't wear the right clothes, or don't like the right
kind of music, or don't go to the right church -- not because of how
they're affecting others, but for who they are.  I agree with you that
this is wrong; however, I do not agree that it frees those who are
subjected to it from the requirement to not step on the enjoyment of
others when using a public space, nor that it frees them from having
to follow the membership rules of a private space.

> I have no solution, do not even know if there can be one, but I found some-
> thing wrong with the unspoken assumptions of the original article,  and did
> want to stir a little discussion,  and hopefully some thought for the human
> beings behind the characters. It is too easy to think in stereotypes and to
> only look at playing styles;  and to attribute intentions and propose solu-
> tions without regard for the human beings.  These are people, not something
> to stomp on, nor some virus to exterminate.

It's true that they are people and not a virus, and I agree with you
that the original article was too strong in its attitude towards them.
D00ds can and do change, and it's even possible to help them change.
I was once a munchkin (the paper RPG equivalent of a d00d), but I grew
out of it.

If you're trying to say that "d00ds should be treated like anyone
else", I agree with you.  What you're saying, however, comes across to
me as "d00ds should not be required to play nicely with others on
muds, because they've been mistreated in other places."  I don't agree
with that; everyone is deserving of respect and good treatment, but
*nothing* gives anyone a right to mistreat anyone else.

Time for some random thinking again.  Here's my thoughts on d00ds:

D00ds are what paper RPGers would call munchkins -- immature players.
They're generally lacking in social skills.

Now, for most people who are new to RPGs, there's an adjustment
period.  RPGs aren't like other games -- there's a much stronger
social element, and RPGs are often as much or more focused on
cooperation as on competition.  Because d00ds have poor social skills,
however, they suffer on both parts of this -- they can't get into the
social element as quickly, and it takes them longer to realize that,
unlike other games, beating the other players is not the primary goal of
RPGs.

Most people who are immature and lack social skills will eventually
grow out of it, and this includes d00ds.  However, some don't -- some,
instead, either stay in this state indefinitely or turn down another
road, becoming sociopathic to varying degrees.  An RPGer who starts to
turn sociopathic will generally start having their characters act in
that way.  On a mud, these become what are sometimes called grief
players.

This, IMHO, is one reason why many mudders want to exclude d00ds from
their games -- grief players tend to either have many of the external
characteristics of d00ds or to have been d00ds before.  Thus, mudders
associate them together.

(In the paper RPG world, a munchkin who starts to turn into a grief
player won't usually last long -- most groups won't put up with it,
and will stop inviting that player back.  Such a player will either
bounce from group to group until he/she grows back out of it, quit
playing paper RPGs, or find a group of such players who have a GM who
will indulge them by allowing them to commit atrocities on NPCs
without any consequences.  Or, these days, they may become attracted
to muds instead.)

Personally, then, I'm of two minds on d00ds:

 - In a strong role-playing environment, I wouldn't want d00d behavior
   at all.  I don't care how players act on other muds, but if I'm
   running a strong role-playing mud and they refuse to role-play,
   pick silly names, etc., I'm going to warn them, and, if they refuse
   to listen, kick them out.

   (In the paper RPG world, many groups will sometimes "take a break"
   from a more serious game to play something silly.  Everyone can
   indulge their munchkin sides with silly names, trying to one-up the
   other players, etc., with the understanding that, for *this* game,
   that's expected.  In the same way, a mudder who likes to have a
   name like "Captain Cornholio" can have it on another mud where it's
   accepted.)

 - In a more "normal" mud environment, I don't mind such things as
   silly names, camping, etc.  If a d00d is creating a
   problem for other players (e.g., by kill-stealing or by starting
   into grief-player-like activity) and I don't think it's intentional
   (generally judged on the basis of how often they've been a problem
   in the past and of the behavior itself), I'll let them know that
   what they're doing is causing a problem and ask them to stop.  If I
   think that such activity is intentional, I'll take further action
   against them, based on the mud's legal system.

Unfortunately, d00ds are likely to be a problem for mud admins.  The
kind of behavior they indulge in tends to get other players mad at
them, and those players are likely to ask the admins to do something.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem.  However, as Marian points out,
d00ds are usually unfairly ostracized in real life.  As a result of
this, many or most of them have come to believe that any negative
comments directed towards them are unfair.  Thus, rather than believe
that their behavior really is causing a problem, d00ds are likely to
decide that either the other players or the admins are out to get
them.

This can easily trigger a spiral towards becoming a grief player.  The
player most likely has a good deal of built-up anger due to
mistreatment in RL.  Given a chance to lash out at someone they think
is also mistreating them with what they see as a very low chance of
any consequences, they're very likely to take it.  This blowing off
steam is likely to feel good, which makes the chance that they'll
indulge in similar behavior again greater.

The problem, then, is how can one get it across to a d00d that his/her
behavior is causing problems for others, without triggering a backlash
from them and possibly driving them towards becoming a grief player?

A few suggestions that I can think of, based on my own experience:

 - Get a more mature player/admin that the d00d is friends with to
   talk to him/her about the behavior.  Like anyone, a d00d is less
   likely to dismiss advice from a friend than from a stranger.

 - Have the rules of the mud be stated plainly, made easily available,
   and their existence pointed out to all players.  When talking to
   someone about behavior that's against the rules, subtly remind them
   of the existence of the rules.  If something is an established rule
   that can be pointed to, people are less likely to feel that you're
   simply picking on them.

 - Make it as clear as you can that your problem is with the specific
   behavior, not with the player.  If you can, mention things the
   player does that you like.  (When my daughter does something that
   makes me angry, like when she jammed a CD into my 5.25" drive, I
   make a point of telling her that, while I may not like some of the
   things she does, I always love her.)

 - If you have to deliver the message yourself, make it seem like
   you're on their side.  Again, tell them how much you value them,
   and that you'd hate to see them get in trouble over "a little thing
   like this."  (This technique worked worked wonderfully for me as an
   admin when dealing with problem players and problem builders.)
   
 - Listen to them.  Everyone loves a sympathetic ear.  Listen to their
   side of the story; don't just dismiss it.  Be as fair and
   reasonable as you can.  Try to get them to see the complainer's
   side of things as well, but do this very, very gently!  You don't
   have to be their confidant or psychiatrist, but you do need to
   remember what Marian said above -- that these are people.  Don't
   just blow them off.

 - If you can, deliver the message in person, rather than by email,
   mud-mail, or whatever.  This makes it much easier to do the prior
   two things.
   
 - Build a friendly relationship.  If you're following the advice
   above, you're already on the way to it.  Find points of common
   interest, and talk to them about these things.  Remember; the basic
   problem with d00ds is poor social skills.  They're never going to
   improve these if they don't have an opportunity to exercise them.

In truth, none of these should be unique to d00ds -- you should treat
*all* players this way.  However, while most of us tend to do these
things naturally with players who are less annoying, we may need
reminding when dealing with annoying players.
   
And one last suggestion:  if you really, really want a d00d-free mud,
it's much, much easier to keep them out at the start (through
something like requiring applications to get a character) than to try
to get them to leave or kick them out.  The latter two are likely to
get them angry at you, which will encourage them to stay or to try to
hurt the mud.

--
       |\      _,,,---,,_    Travis S. Casey  <efindel at earthlink.net>
 ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_   No one agrees with me.  Not even me.
      |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'
     '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)      


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