[MUD-Dev] ADMIN: Issues of character

[J C Lawrence]

Its about time for our annual Christmas/end of year missive from the
list owner.  As there's been no tradition of congratulation in such
messages I won't start one now.  Rather, this year I'll arm wave in
vague reference to recent traffic and what I'm trying to do with the
list, as there seems to have been some uncertainty there.

Writing as list owner:

  MUD-Dev has a designer and implementor focus.

  MUD-Dev does not have a player focus outside of the fact that MUDs
  are played by players, and the problems in design and
  implementation that creates.  The attention is on what is done at
  a design and implementation level, how it is done, how it could be
  done, what might be better, and similar questions.  More
  specifically list focus is not on being a player or the viewpoints
  and reactions of players (even yourselves) outside of the extent
  to which those player behaviours influence design and
  implementation.

  MUD-Dev is also not a list for players.  MUD-Dev is a list for the
  constructive purposive discussion of design and implementation.

  None of this should be a surprise.

  From my perspective as moderator the main litmus test in this
  regard for posts is foggy but simple:

    Does the author of the post attempt to own and constructively
    work with the content of the post, or is he a vicarious
    reporter?

  I like the former, I tend to junk the latter.

  This does not mean that all posters must be commercial game
  designers, programmers, or implementors.  Far from it.  It merely
  means that posts should be written from a professional viewpoint.
  While the list participants with commercial backgrounds have
  obvious value to add, the fact that they have a commercial
  background is largely irrelevant to the list.

    Remember: you are on MUD-Dev as yourself, as an individual
    interested in the field, not as a representative of something or
    someone else.

  In case there some confusion on the definition of "professional"
  I'm using:

    "Professional" indicates a level of care and discipline, with
    resulting effects on attention to detail, accuracy, and rigour.

  Note that things like "commercial", or "big", or "scalable", or "I
  can or do make money from this", or "it wouldn't get many
  players", or "I have a university/school degree/certificate", or
  "I'm employed by QRS company", or "I'm a member of XYZ
  association/group", are not mentioned in this definition of
  "professional".  "Professional" defines a qualitative evaluation
  of behaviour, nothing more.  The definition of "professional" is
  not an absolute definition.  It is scalar; a qualitative judgment,
  and like all judgments, its details vary on the circumstances.

  Again, none of this should be a surprise.

  Implicit in my application of the concept of professionalism to
  the list and moderation is not only that I must provide a growth
  path for new people, but that there is no one true behaviour (or
  set of beliefs) of a professional.  A good dialectic is far more
  useful to me than nodding agreement, especially if it also happens
  to breed new active and productive members in the field.

Enjoy, next year should be a doozie.

--
J C Lawrence
---------(*)                Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas.
claw at kanga.nu               He lived as a devil, eh?
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/  Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.


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