[MUD-Dev] On socialization and convenience

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

On Sat, 23 Jun 2001 11:30:57 -0700, "Koster, Raph" <rkoster at verant.com>
wrote:

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

In the Real World, mailboxes and voice mailboxes fill up and stop
accepting messages. Why not do the same?

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

The average person already has. Why make him do it again? Accept
email for characters in the game. Look up email addresses in
character records. Strip human-readable identifying information from
the messages.  Forward the messages. If a player does not have an
email address stored with his character, stick it in his
limited-space game mailbox. Keep a little counter that tells each
user "X mail messages refused: mailbox full". Provide a help entry
for the message that tells the user he can avoid this by entering an
email address for his character, and assures him that his privacy
will be protected.

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

If you give him a reason, he'll learn. ;)

> Note, these aren't my objections, I am more playing devil's
> advocate. I believe these can all be overcome, except the storage
> cost (which I think is worth it).

All of these problems HAVE been overcome. If you just look at how
SMTP and POP3 work in the real world, everything's already taken
care of for you. You just need to make a few minor alterations to
create a specific solution for your needs. Perhaps a GPOP (Game Post
Office Protocol) could be submitted as an RFC.

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