[MUD-Dev] Social Networks

[Paul Schwanz]

Bruce Mitchener wrote:
> Paul Schwanz wrote:

>> Maybe the guards could be put to better use?  I'm trying to think
>> of a real-world security system that doesn't take access control
>> into account, but coming up with zilch.

> That was actually partially the subject of my earlier post in this
> thread. :)

>    http://www.kanga.nu/archives/MUD-Dev-L/2002Q3/msg00596.php
>

You know, when I saw Tess' reply, I thought that the quote to which
she replied sounded interesting, but couldn't remember having read
it.  :p Actually, I did read it, but some of the points just didn't
jump out at me the first time through.  I might have skimmed a
bit. :p I should have know better than to merely skim one of your
posts.

  "Big cities [Jane Jacobs] says, are full of strangers."

Yes, MMORPGs often feel this way to me.  That's why I think it would
be good to create smaller sub-communities where risks can be better
managed through access control.  Players will enjoy more security
where complete strangers are not allowed free access to the
community.  In a small town, strangers are looked upon with
suspicion.  You have to earn a certain level of trust in order to be
accepted.  The insular, "Ya'll ain't from around here, are ya?" 
attitude might be unpleasant in some ways, but it can certainly
bring a level of security to a small community that a big city just
cannot provide.

Perhaps the key is that trust is seen as a privilege you earn, not
something you have automatically.

How might this work in an MMORPG player-run city?  Implement a
"citizen's badge" and a "visitor's badge."  Let the city government
decide for itself how these badges are to be issued and utilized.
Some cities might instruct the NPC guards to issue a visitor's badge
to anyone who wishes to enter the city, while others might require
some sort of application process to receive a badge.  Some cities
might give citizens a certain amount of leeway that visitors would
not enjoy.  Each city will have to balance its desire to be big
vs. its desire to be secure.

  "Citizens and strangers alike must enjoy security on city
  streets. This security, [Jane Jacobs] insists, will never come
  just from a vigilant police force."

But she's talking here specifically about big cities with lots of
strangers.  Will the same hold true for smaller communities with
access controls?

  "No amount of police can enforce civilization where the normal,
  casual enforcement of it has broken down. --Jane Jacobs"

Is this more a statement about the competency of police forces or
about the apathy of communities?  If the community is apathetic to
crime, then I'd agree that no implementation of access control will
be successful.  But it seems to me that MMORPG players are crying
out for risk management, more security, and less victimization.


  "There are numerous problems with applying these ideas to a game:

      - Encouraging that level of socialization amongst players who
      may just be focused on their own tasks and happy to ignore
      everything around them. --Bruce Mitchener"

Yep.  But this is exacerbated by designs that basically create
massively single-player online games.  Sometimes the concept that
players can focus on their own tasks while happily ignoring
everything around them is offered up as a selling point. (!!)


  - As an example of how this might work in a persistent world,
  imagine that a number of citizens portion off a section of unused
  'land' in the game, create a park and are then able to trip a flag
  that makes the confines of park and some portion of the
  surrounding area incapable of player-versus-player (PvP)
  combat. One or more players might donate buffed-out NPC guards to
  patrol the park and keep the player-killers from hanging at the
  edges of the PvP zone to attack those entering or
  leaving. --Jessica Mulligan"

Why restrict the freedoms of the trusted along with the stranger?
While I certainly wouldn't want to deny communities the ability to
set up a non PvP area, my personal opinion is that PvP without
victimization is perfectly acceptable.  I would like to make a
distinction between those characters the community has trusted not
to victimize and those who have not yet earned that trust.  Then I
can set up restrictions that will pertain only to strangers in
addition to those that might pertain to everyone.

--Phinehas


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