[MUD-Dev] SOC/DGN: Enforcing Socially Acceptable Behavior

[Sean Howard]

"Jaycen Rigger" <jaycen.rigger at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Man, Sean, I vascilate between hating your guts re: your blog, and
> cheering out loud on your last several posts here.  I would give
> you a firm handshake, if we were face-to-face.

Strangely, I get that a lot...

> Regardless of how frightening or unpleasant it might be to
> actually moderate your player-base, doing so in a consistent and
> structured way will reward you with happy, loyal players.

I agree. The problem is, with 100 servers with 2,000 people on each,
the sheer manpower that would be needed to moderate such a crowd
would be expensive, and I think the turnover due to burn out would
be obscene.  Also, unlike a forum, you aren't just moderating what
people say, but what they do - which they not only resent, but will
actively fight against at all times. It's no coicidence that small
one or two server MMORPGs like Horizons or Saga of Ryzom tend to
have more mature and friendly players. I should also point out that
BOTH of the companies that run these two MMORPGs filed for
bankrupcy.

> As Sean pointed out, the vast, silent majority of "regular
> players" will greatly appreciate the clean, quiet environment that
> results.  This plays itself over and over on the free servers as
> well as the pay-for-play.  Same problems, same results, same
> resolutions.

Not the same resolutions - the size of the community doesn't just
make a difference, it defines the problems in the first
place. Moderating a community of a few dozen people is relatively
simple by yourself. A few hundred to a few thousand requires
multiple people. A few hundred thousand requires an army -
literally.

Luckily, developers hold the cards and they can cheat. There is a
lot we can learn about controlling people from fascism. I know, not
a pretty concept, and absolutely the worst thing that could happen
for a government (*cough* no comment). However, a MMORPG isn't a
society that needs to prosper, propagate, or function like a real
world society. People don't get sick or become homeless (either
because homes don't do anything, or through acts of sheer socialism,
basic homes are given for free).

I think we can very easily moderate the people through a few
specific design decisions, as well as a form of totalitarian
government that uses socialist welfare and fascist propaganda to
keep the population fed and happy. It sounds sick, but just look
around to other MMORPGs. We've already got totalitarian
governments. Blizzard bans people from forums for disagreeing loudly
with their policies. But there are better ways to control people
than to take them out into the streets and shoot them (see the gun
story in Lessons of LucasFilm's Habitat).

I once designed a text-based MUD based on the concept of communism
(no personal advancement, or even personal ownership) and I'm
convinced that it would not only work in practice, it would avoid
certain chronic social issues inherant to MMORPGs. Implementing it
would be fairly trivial and I'm sure it would probably yield some
very interesting social observations.

> I'll probably get the "YOU try making money when you send the
> whiney kids packing" speech again, but whether you're making money
> or not it plays itself out that way every time.  People who are
> not virtual sociopaths (Raph's term, which I like better than
> cyberbullies) will stay, even when the actual game systems aren't
> that great, as long as they aren't motivated to leave by asinine
> players.  That's simply human nature.

This may not be completely true, but I'd argue quite loudly that the
communities are better without these people. In the real world, we'd
put them in jail to take them out of the community and stop them
from causing further harm. So far, in the virtual community, we
encourage their actions through a lack of dicipline or guidence, to
the point where only griefers can find enjoyment on popular MMORPGs
anymore. Seriously, there is a reason roleplayers get their own
servers - their value and process of playing the game is AT ODDS
with the people who normally dominate each server.

> There's a point that often escapes the minds of people writing on
> this subject.  Kids bop from game to game because they have the
> time, (parent's) money, and a range of friends with similarly
> changing interests and they like bright, shiney things.  Older
> players tend to find what they like and stick with it.  Don't
> they?

I don't think that it is fair to kids to characterize them this way.
Absolutely they can find value in a proper community. When I closed
down my website, I got all sorts of emails telling me that if it
wasn't for my forum, these kids would've killed themselves by now -
and one from a no longer teenager who is moving to a new state to be
with the woman he loves that he met through the forums.

What you are describing are the actions of kids without a community
- without a purpose or value to live up to. I do think it is much
harder to moderate a community of teenagers (for many reasons), but
I think it is perhaps more important to give them a community that
can help them through the years when they most need guidance to find
their independence. Adults create communities because they don't
know how to exist without one. For teens, a community serves a much
different function, and when it doesn't do what it is supposed to
do, kids buy guns and start shooting each other.  An
oversimplification... but only a little.

- Sean
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