[MUD-Dev] Trouble Makers or Regular Citizens

[Matthew Mihaly]

On Mon, 27 Mar 2000, Justin Rogers wrote:

> [Compliments of Matthew Mihally]
> > You were banned for repeatedly and willfully ignoring the warnings you
> > were given. Paraphrasing what Gordon Walton said at a GDC lecture, "Ban
> > them by the hundreds." (referring to troublemakers, particularly 'hardcore
> > gamer troublemakers).
> 
>      Ok,  What could a single person do that would warrant a ban.  I've =
>  read the many things this particular person has done via his TFC memoirs =
>  or whatever you might call them.  It seems this person spends a bit too =
>  much time online and may take your worlds far to seriously.  Since this =
>  person lives in your world they try to impose changes as they would in =
>  the real world.  They want to make the world you offer them more =
>  realistic and fair.

No, they want to call attention to themselves. It's got nothing with more
'realistic' (not that realism is the goal in most muds) or fair
play. These people aren't crusaders for good. Further, the sort
of troublemaker I was discussing is the kind that makes a pain of himself
within hours of logging in. He or she is not taking the world seriously at
all. He or she does not bother to learn the local culture before spouting
off, and demonstrates complete disrespect for the rules of the community.


>       So if this person is doing nothing more than speaking his mind then =
>  maybe your MUD, your programming, or your mind is not ready to accept =
>  the idea that many people regard your MUD as their world now and not as =
>  an escape or past time.  Just as AD&D became lifestyle for many people, =
>  I've seen chatters engross some college students completely.  The =
>  banning or kicking of their account sends them into utter depression.

Sorry to sound cold, but I don't care. Our tolerance for newbie
troublemakers is just about 0. If we view you as detracting from the
business more than you contribute, whether directly or indirectly, we will
ban you. It's quite easy not to get banned, as demonstrated by the fact
that we've only got 15 banned ip addresses, and most of them are high
schools (which I ban at the first hint of pain-in-the-assness).

--matt




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