[MUD-Dev] code base inquiry

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Thu, 17 Feb 2000, Kristen L. Koster wrote:

> on 2/17/2000 5:26 AM, Matthew Mihaly wrote:
> 
> > I find it rather funny that you think that someone who downloads a stock
> > codebase and puts his or her sparetime into it is going to produce
> > something superior to, say, UO. Perhaps we have different standards of
> > quality, but I, for one, really like things like customer service, which
> > free muds are laughably poor at in general.
> 
> On the other hand, I think it is possible and probable that people who
> download a stock codebase and put their spare time into CAN'T go on to
> 'produce something superior, say, UO' or M59. No, no biases here.
> 
> I'm sorry but the idea that any customer service is inherently better or
> worse because some corporation is throwing money at it makes me chuckle.
> Just because a CS rep is getting paid to do the job, doesn't mean they will
> be any more or less likely to be corrupt or just plain apathetic. I've seen
> it on BOTH sides... unfortunately these traits lie with the individuals put
> into those positions.

You have got to be kidding me, Kristen. Let's go to all the free muds, and
to all the commercial ones, and let's see where you get better customer
service, on average. (Clearly I'm not proposing ACTUALLY going to all
umpteen thousand free muds). I've repeatedly agreed that there are quality
free muds. But, go to mudconnector, and select 20 random muds. See what
you get, on average.

 
> I also don't think you can equate "FREE" with "don't care about customers".
> Matt, you use WAY too many broad generalizations for me to be able to follow
> this thread any longer.

I don't recall equating free with not caring about customers. I said that
on one end of the spectrum are commercial muds who are primarily concerned
with numbers of players, and on the other end are free muds who don't care
about customers. Perhaps it's unclear what I meant, but I didn't mean that
free muds don't care about customers generally. I meant that on the
opposite end of the spectrum are those free muds who do not care about
customers, and those exist. You'd be hard pressed to find a commercial mud
that doesn't act like it cares about customers to one extent or another,
however. Simple fact, that I really don't think anyone who goes out and
does some research is going to dispute, is that, ON AVERAGE, free muds are
very poor at customer service.

--matt




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