[MUD-Dev] To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG?

[Matt Mihaly]

On Fri, 27 Jul 2001, Freeman, Jeff wrote:
>> From: Sean K [mailto:sean at hoth.ffwd.cx]
 
>> As you say, I think the size of the playerbase is the issue.  I
>> can't remember the term, but one of the nifty observations to
>> come out of sociology is that an individual is likely to answer a
>> cry for help in inverse proportion to how many other people are
>> around.  Policing is the same problem -- the more players ther
>> are the more likely it is that a player will think "someone else
>> will handle it."

> That sounds like a plausible explanation, but I remain
> unconvinced.  I've seen way too many MUDs with small user-bases
> and no restrictions on killing, in which people behave *exactly*
> as they did in UO: They kill everyone.  Why in the heck do so many
> MUDs have PK switches if this isn't the case?

Many, probably most, MUDs have feature <x> because they downloaded a
stock codebase. It's rarely the result of some sort of deep thinking
on the part of the admins. I disagree with the poster's reasoning
too, incidentally, I just don't think that using examples of what is
in a bunch of nearly identical stock MUDs (which compose the VAST
majority of MUDs) makes for a good argument.

 
> The system discouraged people from trying to rescue anyone because
> it was impossible to win.  The players weren't so much thinking
> "someone else will handle it" as they were thinking "No one *can*
> handle it." (and they were right)

Well, no one but the admins, who should get off their lazy asses and
do their jobs.

--matt

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