December 1997
- Vague: Containers Ling
- Forests, swamps, terrain & web ecology (long) Ling
- Forests, swamps, terrain & web ecology (long) coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Adam Wiggins
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Brandon J. Rickman
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Jon A. Lambert
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Chris Gray
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Stephen Zepp
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Chris Gray
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Vadim Tkachenko
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Matt Chatterley
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Vadim Tkachenko
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Jon A. Lambert
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Marian Griffith
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries coder@ibm.net
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Stephen Zepp
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Marian Griffith
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries Matt Chatterley
- BUILDERS: Ferries coder@ibm.net
- BUILDERS: Ferries Sauron
- BUILDERS: Ferries s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- BUILDERS: Ferries coder@ibm.net
- BUILDERS: Ferries Marian Griffith
- BUILDERS: Ferries Mike Sellers
- BUILDERS: Ferries Adam Wiggins
- BUILDERS: Ferries Ling
- BUILDERS: Ferries Jon A. Lambert
- BUILDERS: Ferries Chris Gray
- BUILDERS: Ferries coder@ibm.net
- BUILDERS: Ferries Jon A. Lambert
- BUILDERS: Ferries Derrick Jones
- BUILDERS: Ferries Marian Griffith
- BUILDERS: Ferries s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- BUILDERS: Ferries Vadim Tkachenko
- BUILDERS: Ferries Marian Griffith
- Alignment Vadim Tkachenko
- Status visualization Was: UI Issues: Anti-scripting techniques Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: forests and such Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- OT: forests and such Chris Gray
- Seminal Designs, WAS: Alignment Koster, Raph
- META: FAQ and Thread Summaries (HTML) Ling
- OT: News from the front coder@ibm.net
- OT: News from the front Richard Woolcock
- OT: News from the front Matt Chatterley
- OT: News from the front Mike Sellers
- OT: News from the front Chris Gray
- OT: News from the front coder@ibm.net
- OT: News from the front Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: News from the front Marian Griffith
- OT: News from the front Sauron
- OT: News from the front Nathan Yospe
- OT: News from the front coder@ibm.net
- OT: News from the front Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Alex Oren
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Alex Oren
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Alex Oren
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Alex Oren
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Stephen Zepp
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Derrick Jones
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Stephen Zepp
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Richard Woolcock
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) coder@ibm.net
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Adam Wiggins
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Adam Wiggins
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Felix A. Croes
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Felix A. Croes
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Vadim Tkachenko
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Richard Woolcock
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Derrick Jones
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Marian Griffith
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Marian Griffith
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Travis S. Casey
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Marian Griffith
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Greg Munt
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Chris Gray
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Stephen Zepp
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Michael Hohensee
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Stephen Zepp
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Stephen Zepp
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Jon A. Lambert
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Vadim Tkachenko
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) coder@ibm.net
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Mike Sellers
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) JC Lawrence
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Maddy
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Derrick Jones
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Matt Chatterley
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) coder@ibm.net
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Adam Wiggins
- Wild west (was Guilds & Politics) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Guilds & Politics Stephen Zepp
- Guilds & Politics Matt Chatterley
- Guilds & Politics Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics Adam Wiggins
- Guilds & Politics Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Guilds & Politics Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics Stephen Zepp
- Guilds & Politics Matt Chatterley
- Guilds & Politics Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics Maddy
- Guilds & Politics Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics Derrick Jones
- Guilds & Politics Maddy
- Guilds & Politics Matt Chatterley
- Guilds & Politics Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Guilds & Politics Sauron
- Guilds & Politics Marian Griffith
- Guilds & Politics Jon A. Lambert
- Guilds & Politics Stephen Zepp
- Guilds & Politics coder@ibm.net
- World Design Jon A. Lambert
- Jerks (was ) Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World] Mike Sellers
- Guilds & Politics [was Affecting Koster, Raph
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Stephen Zepp
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Koster, Raph
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Stephen Zepp
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] coder@ibm.net
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Vadim Tkachenko
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Koster, Raph
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Mike Sellers
- Problem Players [was: Guilds & Politics ] Matt Chatterley
- Guilds & Politics [was Affecting Stephen Zepp
- Rats, pests and FAQ. Ling
- Rats, pests and FAQ. coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Mike Sellers
- Introductions and Richard Woolcock
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Vadim Tkachenko
- Introductions and Matt Chatterley
- Introductions and s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Mike Sellers
- Introductions and Richard Woolcock
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Stephen Zepp
- Introductions and Adam Wiggins
- Introductions and Stephen Zepp
- Introductions and Richard Woolcock
- Introductions and Stephen Zepp
- Introductions and Adam Wiggins
- Introductions and Marian Griffith
- Introductions and Matt Chatterley
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Chris Gray
- Introductions and Adam Wiggins
- Introductions and Matt Chatterley
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and coder@ibm.net
- Introductions and Richard Woolcock
- Introductions and Stephen Zepp
- Introductions and Matt Chatterley
- Introductions and Stephen Zepp
- now, prestige, Karma, and alignment Guilds & Politics Mike Sellers
- Players as Monsters/NPCs Jon A. Lambert
- Players as Monsters/NPCs Richard Woolcock
- Players as Monsters/NPCs Stephen Zepp
- Players as Monsters/NPCs Jon A. Lambert
- Server design (was: meta-something) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Guilds & Politics [was Affecting Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Guilds & Politics [was Affecting Koster, Raph
- Guilds & Politics [was Affecting Sauron
- Guilds & Stephen Zepp
- META: FAQ: location Vadim Tkachenko
- META: FAQ: location Sauron
- META: FAQ: location Vadim Tkachenko
- META: FAQ: location Miroslav Silovic
- META: FAQ: location Matt Chatterley
- META: FAQ: location Mike Sellers
- META: FAQ: location Adam Wiggins
- META: FAQ: location Stephen Zepp
- META: FAQ: location Adam Wiggins
- META: FAQ: location Jon Leonard
- META: FAQ: location Nathan Yospe
- META: FAQ: location Nathan Yospe
- META: FAQ: location Derrick Jones
- META: FAQ: location Stephen Zepp
- META: FAQ: location Richard Woolcock
- OT: Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World] Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: Era of the Nerd (forwarded) Adam Wiggins
- OT: Books Adam Wiggins
- OT: Books Koster, Raph
- OT: Books Mike Sellers
- OT: Books Nathan Yospe
- OT: Books s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- OT: Books Chris Gray
- OT: Books coder@ibm.net
- OT: Books coder@ibm.net
- OT: Books Mike Sellers
- Is mud research real? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Is mud research real? Koster, Raph
- Alignment...an old view Derrick Jones
- Jerks (me) Ling
- LIST: Forced unsubscriptions due to persistant bounces coder@ibm.net
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Vadim Tkachenko
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Brandon Cline
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Jon A. Lambert
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Chris Gray
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Stephen Zepp
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Adam Wiggins
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Vadim Tkachenko
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Marian Griffith
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Jon A. Lambert
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Vadim Tkachenko
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Matt Chatterley
- Gods, worshipers and the balance coder@ibm.net
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Richard Woolcock
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Vadim Tkachenko
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Richard Woolcock
- Gods, worshipers and the balance Maddy
- META: FAQ: Location, etc s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Matt Chatterley
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Sauron
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Matt Chatterley
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Richard Woolcock
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Matt Chatterley
- META: FAQ: Location, etc s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Nathan Yospe
- META: FAQ: Location, etc Jon A. Lambert
- META: FAQ: location Chris Gray
- Crowds and Recognition (Was: Introductions and ) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: what's with these vcard.vcf attachments? Alex Oren
- META: what's with these vcard.vcf attachments? Vadim Tkachenko
- Describe module Stephen Zepp
- Describe module Vadim Tkachenko
- Seems rather quiet Stephen Zepp
- Seems rather quiet coder@ibm.net
- I live over there! coder@ibm.net
- LIST: Now back on the air coder@ibm.net
- Circumstances & Situations Ling
- Circumstances & Situations Richard Woolcock
- Circumstances & Situations Ling
- Circumstances & Situations Travis Casey
- Circumstances & Situations Nathan Yospe
- Circumstances & Situations Travis Casey
- Circumstances & Situations Marian Griffith
- Circumstances & Situations Travis Casey
- Circumstances & Situations Richard Woolcock
- Circumstances & Situations coder@ibm.net
- Circumstances & Situations JC Lawrence
- Circumstances & Situations Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Circumstances & Situations JC Lawrence
- Circumstances & Situations Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- META: nospam in email addresses coder@ibm.net
- OT: My Web Page Jon A. Lambert
- Mail from mud Stephen Zepp
- Mail from mud Richard Woolcock
- Mail from mud Miroslav Silovic
- Mail from mud Brandon Gillespie
- Mail from mud Vadim Tkachenko
- Mail from mud Chris Gray
- FAQ: Personality Clash Ling
- FAQ: Personality Clash Sauron
- FAQ: Personality Clash Marian Griffith
- FAQ: Personality Clash Greg Munt
- FAQ: Personality Clash s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- FAQ: Personality Clash JC Lawrence
- FAQ: Personality Clash Koster, Raph
- FYI: Playing God, Creating Virtual Worlds Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: loss of information control Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- OT: loss of information control Jon A. Lambert
- OT: loss of information control JC Lawrence
- OT: loss of information control Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Mail from mud Update :) Stephen Zepp
- Mail from mud Update :) Vadim Tkachenko
- Mail from mud Update :) Richard Woolcock
- Mail from mud Update :) JC Lawrence
- Mail from mud Update :) Shawn Halpenny
- FAQ: Personality Clash - extra Server Design info included Reed Copsey, Jr.
- OT: Merry Christmas Kris Kringle
- OT: Merry Christmas Matt Chatterley
- The impact of the web on muds Greg Munt
- The impact of the web on muds ##Make Nylander
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds ##Make Nylander
- The impact of the web on muds Matt Chatterley
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Marian Griffith
- The impact of the web on muds Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The impact of the web on muds Marian Griffith
- The impact of the web on muds Travis Casey
- The impact of the web on muds Richard Woolcock
- The impact of the web on muds Nathan Yospe
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon J. Rickman
- The impact of the web on muds Ling
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Michael Hohensee
- The impact of the web on muds Marian Griffith
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon Cline
- The impact of the web on muds Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon J. Rickman
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds coder@ibm.net
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon J. Rickman
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Marian Griffith
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Shawn Halpenny
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon J. Rickman
- The impact of the web on muds coder@ibm.net
- The impact of the web on muds coder@ibm.net
- The impact of the web on muds Jon A. Lambert
- The impact of the web on muds Adam Wiggins
- The impact of the web on muds Greg Munt
- The impact of the web on muds Travis Casey
- The impact of the web on muds Jon A. Lambert
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Koster, Raph
- The impact of the web on muds Vadim Tkachenko
- The impact of the web on muds Travis Casey
Greg Munt <greg@uni-corn.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>[Please ignore historical inaccuracies]
Ignoring historical ones, but there are some non-historical ones I'd like
to point out...
>In 1990, the Internet was a significantly different beast from what it is
>today. It was largely unknown outside of academic circles, and was
>entirely a textually-based medium. You had your hacked-up telnet programs,
>your ftp and mail programs, and you had lynx and gopher. The World Wide Web
>wasn't even a dream. All of this was running from a unix operating system
of
>some kind.
>
>It is little wonder that The Big Three (DIKU, LP and Tiny) were all
>text-based games which all supported the TELNET protocol. These three
>still dominate the mudding field, although the Internet itself has
>changed drastically: gopher is little more than a memory now, lynx
>surviving through sheer strength of will, of the unix die-hards. The
>Internet has become a graphical medium. The text-based tools, such as
>mail, ftp and telnet, these are still around - albeit with a GUI bolted
>on top of them.
FTP is text-based? It's always been able to transfer binaries... if one
can say that FTP is text-based, then it's equally true that the Web is a
text-based interface "with a GUI bolted on top." After all, the first
web browsers were text-only, and the HTTP protocol is entirely text-based,
just as the FTP protocol is.
>What happened to MS-DOS has happened to the Internet.
It's become a bloated monstrosity? (Sorry, couldn't resist that one. :-)
>So what does all of this mean for muds?
>
>If you look at the mainstream, not too much; the old text-based games are
>still popular - and the majority of people use what they know, rather
>than what might be better, or of a higher quality, or easier to use. What
>I am saying, is that the medium is stuck in the eighties.
>
>Many of us are writing scratch muds. This, then, is an ideal opportunity
>to explore the new interface. This is an opportunity to lead muds into
>the arena of the GUI, where the rest of the Internet has been for years.
Of course, it's also possible to build GUI clients on top of existing
muds, just as has been done for FTP, the Web, and other Internet services.
The real obstacle is not the fact that muds are text-based; it's the fact
that there is not, and never has been, a real standard for how muds
describe objects, rooms, etc.
>It would be hard to disagree with the assertion that The Mud Connector
>(www.mudconnect.com) would not have become as popular as it is, within a
>text-based medium.
Huh? I just took a look at the URL you reference, and everything on those
pages that is of substance seems to be text. There's no reason that I
couldn't access it via lynx or another text-mode web browser and make
full use of it. The ability to point-and-click is not unique to graphical
interfaces; there are and have been many text interfaces which support it.
>Count the number of Internet users on a global scale,
>and compare that figure to the number of mud users. I would be surprised
>if there was not a massive difference. The simple fact is that the
>majority of Internet users do not know what a mud is - and if they know
>of a talker, it will probably be something web-based, like PowWow. A
>large proportion of people sign up with an ISP considering the Internet
>and the Web to be synonymous. This attitude will not be changed - so it
>must be taken advantage of, by us.
I'll agree that most people signing up with an ISP today consider the
Web and the Internet to be synonymous. I don't necessarily agree that
we *must* take advantage of this -- each of us has our own ideas about
who we want on our muds. It's quite possible that some of us don't want
people who would want a graphical interface. (Please note; I am *not*
saying that this is my attitude -- I'm simply pointing out that saying
that a group of people *must* do something is almost always an
overgeneralization.)
[much cut]
>So let us now turn our attentions to the GUI. Ignoring the initial
>problem of creating an attractive and intuitive interface, we have the
>problem of increased ease of use resulting in decreased functionality.
>Having an icon for each of 60 verbs would definitely result in
>unwieldiness. We need to consider the extent of the conversion from text
>to graphics. At one end of the scale we have text I/O planted onto a web
>page - at the other, we have removed text altogether, and are left with -
>perhaps - something which looks a little like Doom, with extensions.
>
>Can we really remove the interface for text input? Or would doing so
>decrease the possible functionality too much? Perhaps those involved on a
>professional level could shed some light on this issue.
IMHO, the need is not necessarily for a "web interface" -- at least, not in
the sense of having the mud show up in a web browser window. What's needed
is a simple way for people to get started with muds. Interface enhancements
are a separate issue, which I've just discussed in another post, so I won't
discuss them here.
>Is TELNET dead? Is the text interface to muds dead? Will muds catch up
>with the rest of the now-graphical Internet? Should they? Will new
>JavaScript clients evolve, to ease the transition? Which of us here have
>been involved with mud GUIs? Perhaps you can give your opinion on this.
Telnet (it's not an acronym) is far from dead; the protocol doesn't
specify much about the client end, so it can be used for much more than
just emulating a dumb terminal. Telnet isn't limited to sending just text
characters either... but even if it were, that wouldn't mean much. After
all, a PostScript file is nothing but text, but it contains the
*instructions*
for creating graphics.
IMHO, something like the telnet protocol is more useful for muds than a
true web-based interface, with JavaScript and CGI, would be. One of the
biggest problems with developing web interfaces is the lack of a persistent
connection. HTTP/1.1 does some work on this; it might even do enough, but
I'm not sure, not having looked at the changes closely. Most mud commands
are short; opening a new connection for each command is very wasteful.
Further, the client would need to send an identifier or status information
to the server with each command, so the mud would know *who* the command
was coming from (you can't even guarantee a stable IP for a web connection;
it might be coming through a firewall which assigns IPs dynamically or
through a proxy with multiple connections and IPs.
I agree that a move toward a GUI is a good thing; I'm not sure that a
first-person animated 3-D view is the ideal GUI for muds, though, and I
feel that the interface will need a persistent connection.
The ideal thing to do would be to establish some sort of standard for how
muds can interface to (possibly graphical) clients; a protocol which would
support text, graphics, and possibly even sound. There have been efforts
like this made in the past -- however, none of them have been widely
adopted by muds.
--
|\ _,,,---,,_ Travis S. Casey <efindel@io.com>
ZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ No one agrees with me. Not even me.
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-' rec.games.design FAQ:
'---''(_/--' `-'\_) http://www.io.com/~efindel/design.html - The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds JC Lawrence
- The impact of the web on muds coder@ibm.net
- The impact of the web on muds Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The impact of the web on muds JC Lawrence
- The impact of the web on muds Brandon Cline
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Michael Hohensee
- The impact of the web on muds Chris Gray
- The impact of the web on muds Michael Hohensee
- The impact of the web on muds Miroslav Silovic
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- Attributions vs brainstorming ( or, JC vs Z :) ) ( was Wild west ) Stephen Zepp
- Attributions vs brainstorming ( or, JC vs Z :) ) ( Jon A. Lambert
- Attributions vs brainstorming ( or, Z, DOWN FOR THE COUNT! :) ) Stephen Zepp
- Attributions vs brainstorming ( or, Z, DOWN FOR THE COUNT! :) ) Michael Hohensee
- Attributions vs brainstorming coder@ibm.net
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Greg Munt
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Greg Munt
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Jon A. Lambert
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Jon A. Lambert
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Jon A. Lambert
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Jon A. Lambert
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] JC Lawrence
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- The morality of logfiles [was 'Wild west'] JC Lawrence
- Attributions vs brainstorming ( or, Z, DOWN FOR TH Jon A. Lambert
- Task Parsing Stephen Zepp
- Task Parsing Greg Munt
- Task Parsing Stephen Zepp
- Task Parsing Nathan Yospe
- Task Parsing JC Lawrence
- Task Parsing Stephen Zepp
- Mud Settings Greg Munt
- Mud Settings Jon A. Lambert
- Mud Settings Greg Munt
- Mud Settings Ling
- Mud Settings Stephen Zepp
- Mud Settings Vadim Tkachenko
- Mud Settings Marian Griffith
- Mud Settings JC Lawrence
- Mud Settings Travis Casey
- Mud Settings JC Lawrence
- Mud Settings Travis Casey
- Mud Settings Mike Sellers
- Mud Settings Matt Chatterley
- Mud Settings JC Lawrence
- UO's External Chat Programs [was 'Wild west'] Greg Munt
- UO's External Chat Programs [was 'Wild west'] Koster, Raph
- Time travel and Logging Jon A. Lambert
- Time travel and Logging JC Lawrence
- Time travel and Logging Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Time travel and Logging Jon A. Lambert
- Time travel and Logging JC Lawrence
- Time travel and Logging Ling
- Time travel and Logging Koster, Raph
- Time travel and Logging Jon A. Lambert
- Time travel and Logging JC Lawrence
- Task Parsing (repost for format) Stephen Zepp
- AI Nodes (was: Attributions vs brainstorming ...) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- AI Nodes (was: Attributions vs brainstorming ...) Jon A. Lambert
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Jon A. Lambert
- Commercial value of RP Travis Casey
- Commercial value of RP Brandon Cline
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- Commercial value of RP Travis Casey
- Commercial value of RP Travis Casey
- Commercial value of RP Koster, Raph
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- Commercial value of RP Miroslav Silovic
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- Commercial value of RP Jon A. Lambert
- Commercial value of RP Ling
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Koster, Raph
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Commercial value of RP Koster, Raph
- Commercial value of RP Vadim Tkachenko
- Commercial value of RP Chris Gray
- Commercial value of RP Koster, Raph
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- Commercial value of RP Raph & Kristen Koster
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- Commercial value of RP Miroslav Silovic
- Commercial value of RP Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Commercial value of RP The Eternal City
- Commercial value of RP Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Commercial value of RP The Eternal City
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP The Eternal City
- Commercial value of RP JC Lawrence
- Commercial value of RP Mike Sellers
- OT: Mud Settings Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: Mud Settings Travis Casey
- FAQ: Personalities Ling
- FAQ: Personalities coder@ibm.net