[MUD-Dev] Reach out and bitch at someone

[Dave Rickey]

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Green <brian at psychochild.org>
To: mud-dev at kanga.nu <mud-dev at kanga.nu>
Date: Thursday, June 29, 2000 3:38 AM
Subject: [MUD-Dev] Reach out and bitch at someone


>Why is this?  Is it because of the relatively easy access to company
>spokespeople/developers?  Is it because of the time and money investment
>that players feel they need to make?  Is it because online anonymity
>provides a buffer to be more rude to others?
>
>Admittedly, the vocal rude people are in the minority in MUDs, but they
>seem to be a bit more common than in other areas of entertainment.
>Wondering what other people think.
>
    Hmmm....  You get a skewed view of the playerbase when you work as a GM,
because almost by definition, if someone makes a petition and it reaches the
GM level it's going to be something they're unhappy about, and probably
something that you're not allowed to fix for them.  You reach the point
where those rare problems that you can actually *fix* represent the high
point of your day.

    I think it's all of those things, in real life there's some embarassment
in going up to the counter and complaining about your food, in a game it's
all anonymous and insulated.  Thing is, most people will petition a GM 2 or
3 times in a year, most of the work is generated by people who petition
several times a *week*.  Burnout is always a problem for CS personnel, and
it hits GM's *hard*, because frequently they had more in mind than being a
punching bag.  The rude people are still a small minority, but they are just
about the only people the GM ever deals with.

--Dave Rickey




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