[MUD-Dev] On socialization and convenience

[Ian Collyer]

Raph Koster wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Ian Collyer
>> Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 8:32 PM
>> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
>> Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] On socialization and convenience

>> Raph Koster wrote:

>>> The logic against it goes like this:

>>>   * Yeesh! HOW much storage per player again? That's (takes out
>>>   * calculator) WAAAY too much money!

>> Well, not much storage really for me.  Simply have a pointer for
>> a character's message file indicating the last message downloaded
>> via POP3 and a similar pointer for each message board that the
>> character has active.  When the player's email client connects to
>> the pseudo-POP3 server the email messages are generated
>> on-the-fly.  A few bytes at most per character.

> Er, the content of every email * say 200,000 people adds up damn
> quick.

I should have added that I speak from a text MUD perspective with
substantially fewer players and an existing in-game persistent
messaging system.

Obviously if you are implementing a persistent messaging system
rather than adding an external view to an existing one then you will
suffer the full storage hit.

>>>   * Won't they use email anyway? We can't possibly make a nice *
>>>   enough email system to match Outlook!

>> Why try to match Outlook, let your players _use_ Outlook, or any
>> other POP3 compliant email client they like.

> THe average person can't configure a POP3 client.

True, I'd guess we're just about getting to the point where the
average person can use email.

However I'm making the assumption that MUD players are not average
people when it comes to using computers, even less so for text MUDs
than the big MMORPGs.

>>>   * Yikes, think of the complications--email to account or to
>>>   user?

>> Email to character, it's still in-character messaging, just using
>> an out-of-game delivery mechanism.

> The average user doesn't understand multiple aliases either. :)

Very true, but I always envisaged out-of-game messaging as an
additional feature that would probably only be taken up by the more
tech-savvy.


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