Good points, but too harsh

[Lurk]

I tried finding Katie Pulver's email adress to congratulate her on a good article. As I didn't seem to find it, I registered and wrote this reply instead:
As a staff member of a mud I can nod in approval of most of the points you are making. However I think most of them can be boiled down to the simple "act reasonably". If only people act reasonably most can be forgiven. Oh and for God's sake remember the correct spelling.
The article seems a bit like someone who has just met too many no-good'ers through a relatively short life of mudding. I remember writing something similar once the mud had a bad period with tons of morons.
So all in all a good article, but I find it too much of a bitter pill to swallow all at once.

[kepulver]

As a staff member of a mud I can nod in approval of most of the points you are making. However I think most of them can be boiled down to the simple "act reasonably". If only people act reasonably most can be forgiven. Oh and for God's sake remember the correct spelling.

I agree, most of what I said does boil down to “act reasonably’ but there’s a couple problems with leaving the column at that:

Firstly, my minimum column length is supposed to be 1,000 words. Shannon would hurt me. 8)

Secondly, and most importantly, it leaves the reader with no idea of what behavior is considered reasonable.

Real world example: my roommate attends a local tech school. The school is aimed at giving folks a real-world, useful education that will help them land a job in various business fields. One of the classes she will be taking is devoted not only to teaching the student how to prepare a portfolio and write a resume but to teaching them how to dress and behave in a business setting. One teacher literally has folks dress up nicely once a month so they know what business attire is appropriate.

Seems silly right? Easy A time. I mean, who can’t figure out how to dress for an office? You wear suits or skirts, you don’t dye your hair pink and try to hide the visible tattoos. Easy. And it is – at least for the folks who have been going to school with the idea of working in an office in mind. Or with folks who’ve spent time in an office. But for that eighteen-year-old kid whose previous work experiences have all involved varying uniforms of ugly polyester with matching hat and nametag ensemble? Or the lady who has spent most of her life working at the industrial laundry where you wear what is coolest? For them, it’s not necessarily going to be a no-brainer. And even if they know “Okay, I don’t wear jeans every day” they’re still going to have the whole office etiquette hump to get over.

And while in either case, MU* or office, you’re going to find folks who are willing to help you out and understand that you’re new and still learning, you’re also going to run itno folks who don’t give a damn about the fact you’re new. In either case, you’re going to find folks who expect you to behave a certain way NOW and if you can’t keep up, that’s not their problem and they will have no compunctions about telling you, to your face, that you suck.

The article seems a bit like someone who has just met too many no-good'ers through a relatively short life of mudding. I remember writing something similar once the mud had a bad period with tons of morons.

Actually, over the last three years, I have met my share of no-gooders. Unfortunately, most of them have been veteran players rather than newbies. Then again, newbies by and large I tend to excuse because they are new and I expect them to make mistakes. Veterans, on the other hand, have been around long enough to know better. I’ve run into a lot of veteran players who could stand to have certain points of my article tattooed to the inside of their eyelids in the hopes that it would sink in.

(side note: luckily, in either case, the number of jackasses I’ve met is pretty slim. By and large, most folks out there are pretty cool.)

So why aim the column at newbies? Well, firstly because that’s the overlying theme behind FTB and secondly, because (most) newbies are more likely to actually listen to the advice because they know they’re new at this. Some veterans tend to think that their experiences make them somehow immune to criticism.

Kathy

[ShannonA]

I think the article was also useful because definitions of reasonability are almost always community standards.

Just considering Kathy's example about clothing, I've worked in offices from Sun Microsystems to NASA, and yet I've never owned a suit, and have only worn such garb at weddings. Because the Silicon Valley's standards of reasonability are different than New York's.

So Kathy described the community standards for MU*s.

Shannon

[kepulver]

Just considering Kathy's example about clothing, I've worked in offices from Sun Microsystems to NASA, and yet I've never owned a suit, and have only worn such garb at weddings. Because the Silicon Valley's standards of reasonability are different than New York's.

So Kathy described the community standards for MU*s.

At least in a very broad and general sense. If I were to add an 11th point, I think it would be something like:

11. A MU* is not a MU* is not a MU*:

Chances are, if you’re like most MU*ers, you’re going to spend time on more than one game. You may even jump from one genre of game to another. Myself, I’ve played on Transformers games, World of Darkness games, adult social games and a few others. While these games had a lot more in common than most of their players would like to think (twinks, command codes, game structures, etc.). There are also some differences that give each genre their own flavor. These differences, minor though they sometimes are, can be big stumbling blocks if you’re not aware they exist.

To avoid these stumbling blocks, read the news files and game rules. Talk to staff and your fellow players. Get a feel for your surroundings before you start playing. It’s the same difference between playing Dungeons and Dragons and Shadowrun. While both games are RPGs, have magic and elves and character classes, that’s about where the resemblance ends. It’s the same with MU*s, even games set in the same genre aren’t necessarily going to be exactly the same game. And just because you did it one way at StringMUSH doesn’t mean they do it the same way at ToastMUD.

Kathy

PS: For those who thought I was being unfair to newbies, I’ve got a similar column in mind for dinos. Expect to see it in the next couple months.