[MUD-Dev] NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies -No, Really! (By R. Bartle)

[Ola Fosheim Grøstad]

Eric Random <e_random at yahoo.com> writes:

> I would not have guessed the discussion of the effect of newbies
> would migrate into a debate on definitive minutiae and use of the
> term "virtual world."

Ah, well. That's probably my fault. I didn't intend to discuss
Bartle's text. I just forgot to change the subject field. A common
sin.

> rigid definition that is being applied inappropriately? Such a
> term is always vulnerable to criticism, and given examples, I hope
> others would move beyond leisurely challenging it. I would love to
> discuss

It isn't primarily for leisure. If one are to write something formal
about MUD-like systems I think one should say something about what
characteristics one are talking about and what fields one are making
a contribution to. It is also important to provide clear non-bloated
definitions so people in a related field can read your report
without being left in a haze of unclear terminology.

In that context there are huge differences between terms such as
"multi-user game", "online community" and "virtual world". At least,
I think so.

For MUD-Dev it probably doesn't matter at all. We can tell what a
MUD is by examples and shared participant experiences.

--
Ola - http://folk.uio.no/olag/
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