On Mon, 28 Jun 1999, Roop Dirump wrote:
>
> Most bard's, by the way, should be "explorers" the extreme rare group for
> MUDS. Yet, by our abilities I think explorers are attracted to this class
> in EQ. I think that is why this is the most intelligent onelist. Explorers
> are rare and really really smart. But I've known a few explorers in my day
> who do NOT roleplay.
On the flip side, explorers also tend to be pretty good at
powergaming, and most bug finders (who are often also
exploiters) are explorers.
If you'll bear with me, I'll wax a little philosophically
here. We're at the genesis of an entirely new form of social
playground. All that stuff you've been reading and hearing
about virtual reality? Well it's starting to take form, here,
now, first with MUDs, now with games like UO and EQ.
The real world doesn't quite know what to make of all this.
Heck, they didn't even know what to make of software when it
first became commercialized. That lead to widespread piracy
with little enforcement of copyright laws. That's slowly
changing as the software industry has legitimized itself in
the eyes of the everyday Joe. Then came the Internet and we
had the same thing all over again, with email harassment/spam,
copying web pages, hacking networks, etc. Slowly people are
beginning to take these crimes seriously as if they'd
happened in the physical realm instead of in electronic 1s
and 0s.
Now we're creatinging virtual worlds. They'll start off
unrespected, with no consequences if you "cheat." Eventually
they'll gain respect and people will accept them as an
extension of the real world. Will virtual cheating be taken
as seriously as real world cheating? I don't know, only
history will answer that. But the concept of banning,
expulsion, and fines for cheating or harassment in a public
entertainment venue is not alien. Look at professional
sports, theme parks, public playgrounds, etc. Cheat, cut in
line, abuse the other players or spectators, or generally make
an ass of yourself, and you'll get tossed out in a jiffy or
even jailed.
Take notes. Your grandkids will want to know what the world
was like before all this. Just like you asked your
grandparents what the world was like before airplanes and TVs
and automobiles.
--
John H. Kim
kim@...