January 1998
- Mail from mud Zoran's final Imp Stephen Zepp
- Mail from mud Zoran's final Imp coder@ibm.net
- Mail from mud Zoran's final Imp Shawn Halpenny
- Mail from mud Zoran's final Imp JC Lawrence
- Mail from mud Zoran's final Imp Shawn Halpenny
- Happy new year Marian Griffith
- Totally OT... Marian Griffith
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Mud-Dev FAQ Ling
- Mud-Dev FAQ Jon A. Lambert
- Mud-Dev FAQ JC Lawrence
- Mud-Dev FAQ Adam Wiggins
- Who's bugging who? : was- Wild West Jon A. Lambert
- my bio (was Mud-Dev FAQ) Mike Sellers
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) Vadim Tkachenko
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) Jon A. Lambert
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) coder@ibm.net
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) JC Lawrence
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) JC Lawrence
- request for comments (was: Mud-Dev FAQ) Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: Suomi Finland Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- OT: Suomi Finland ##Make Nylander
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Marian Griffith
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Adam Wiggins
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Jon A. Lambert
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) JC Lawrence
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Jon A. Lambert
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) Mike Sellers
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) JC Lawrence
- Totally OT... (Or is it?) (yes it is ;) JC Lawrence
- Journal of MUD Research, Vol. 3, No. 1 [TEXT] coder@ibm.net
- World Seeding (was Task Parsing) Ling
- World Seeding (was Task Parsing) JC Lawrence
- World Seeding (was Task Parsing) Stephen Zepp
- threaded servers (was request for comments Mike Sellers
- MUD Economy Shawn Halpenny
- MUD Economy Adam Wiggins
- MUD Economy Shawn Halpenny
- MUD Economy Ling
- MUD Economy Brandon J. Rickman
- MUD Economy Marian Griffith
- MUD Economy Shawn Halpenny
- MUD Economy Shawn Halpenny
- MUD Economy JC Lawrence
- MUD Economy Koster, Raph
- MUD Economy Matt Chatterley
- MUD Economy JC Lawrence
- MUD Economy Jon A. Lambert
- OT: Jobs available Koster, Raph
- OT: DCOM and RMI Jon A. Lambert
- OT: DCOM and RMI Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: DCOM and RMI Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: DCOM and RMI Miroslav Silovic
- OT: DCOM and RMI Alex Oren
- OT: DCOM and RMI Chris Gray
- request for comments Miroslav Silovic
- request for comments JC Lawrence
- Event handling (was: request for comments) Vadim Tkachenko
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) Vadim Tkachenko
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) Vadim Tkachenko
- Event handling (was: request for comments) JC Lawrence
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) JC Lawrence
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) JC Lawrence
- Event handling (was: request for comments) Matt Chatterley
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Event handling (was: request for comments) JC Lawrence
- Event handling (was: request for comments) Vadim Tkachenko
- request for comments JC Lawrence
- Text vs Video; Movies, Books & muds. Nathan Yospe
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Vadim Tkachenko
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) JC Lawrence
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Brandon J. Rickman
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Adam Wiggins
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Brandon J. Rickman
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Marian Griffith
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Chris Gray
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) Adam Wiggins
- Unique items (was: Graphic MUDS/Ultima Online) coder@ibm.net
- Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed PMDF e-Mail Interconnect
- Unique items Richard Woolcock
- Unique items Jon A. Lambert
- Unique items Vadim Tkachenko
- Unique items Jon A. Lambert
- Unique items JC Lawrence
- Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed PMDF e-Mail Interconnect
- Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed PMDF e-Mail Interconnect
- Delivery Notification: Delivery has failed PMDF e-Mail Interconnect
- Two Tiers Ling
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- FAQ Ling
- Clients Matt Chatterley
- Clients JC Lawrence
- Clients Shawn Halpenny
- Clients Matt Chatterley
- Clients Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients Shawn Halpenny
- Clients coder@ibm.net
- Clients Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients Jon A. Lambert
- Clients Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients Mike Sellers
- Clients coder@ibm.net
- Clients Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients Jon A. Lambert
On 16 Feb 98 at 14:48, coder@ibm.net wrote:
> On 12/02/98 at 10:45 AM, Mike Sellers <mike@online-alchemy.com> said: >At
> 10:08 PM 2/11/98 PST8PDT, Caliban Tiresias Darklock wrote:
>
> >Is this humor? This is a pretty easily refuted assertion (if anything
> >the IQ of the average US adult has risen slightly in the past 20-30
> >years).
>
> This is a tough one to define given the poor state of the definition of
> IQ, how to measure it, and what relevance its attempted measurement has to
> its definition. There is also significant question on the validity of
> there being one universally applicable definition of intelligence as vs
> several definitions each of which applies partially and to different
> extents to each individual.
>
> Note for starters how dependant IQ tests are on education and (often)
> cultural assumptions.
I don't think IQ as traditionally used and measured has any relevance
whatsoever in grammar school education. However it does have some use in
early identification of children who are far off the mean in either
direction.
> >I think Jon's last statement above is to the point: it's not that the
> >average IQ has gone down, it's more the case that the average
> >geek-quotient of people on the Net has gone down dramatically in the past
> >few years, and will continue to do so. With this, their tolerance for
> >obscure interfaces goes down, and the demand for clearer, more usable
> >interfaces goes up.
>
> There's an implicit assumption in there that an interface which is more
> readily understandable and usable without aforethought or education is
> necessarily better. I question this with the case of language itself
> being my best example.
>
It depends on one viewpoint as to what constitutes better. A case in
point would be the cash register at a McDonald's fast food chain.
Typically there is rubber overlay with happy pictures of every item
on the menu. Change is of course automatically calculated.
I don't think it's arguable that, from a business perspective, the user
interface is less error prone, more efficient and "better". Even someone
who is mildy retarded can successfully operate such a machine and in fact
do.
From another viewpoint such interfaces, or even computer automation in
general, can be looked at as the "dumbing down of a civilization".
When the mental exercises of reading and maths fall into atrophy or are
obsoleted, it makes higher-level mental gymnastics a bit tougher to
execute. I think this is irrespective of tested IQ measurements which, if
they are accurate at all, only indicate a general potential. There are in
fact an awful lot of 'morons' running around with IQs well over 100.
> The command line is an obscure and austere interface, useless without
> education (training), and forethough (needed to assemble the command prior
> to entry). It is also powerful and capable of fluently stating processes
> which are difficult if not impossible to state in a general purpose
> graphical environ. Are GUI's necessarily better? Or do they merely
> present a lower inital learning curve? How valuable in an absolute sense
> (I'm not talking marketing here) is that initial lower learning curve?
> How important is the lack of a matching learning curve (due to missing
> functionality) at the upper end?
>
> The CLI is not a holy mandate. GUI's ala WIMP's are certainly not an
> ultimate answer or anthing even remotely close. What is? Why?
>
Muds are games. Games are fun. Some games require a higher thought than
others and might require more elaborate interfaces. A game GUI need not
reflect the generalized nature of its GUI OS parent (if it has one). It
may adopt standards of use or comfort from the parent OS (cut, paste,
familiar menu tags, etc.) Yet operations that are required in a more
specific application context (the game) need not resemble those adopted
in the parent system (the OS).
One should begin to ask the following questions. I believe someone
brought this up earlier no. What metaphors are appropriate for the mud
player? More specifically on "your" mud? Does it make sense to present
the game player with "the desktop" metaphor? Does it make sense to present
the game player with a blinking prompt? Come to think of it, is a
command-line interface a metaphor for anything other than than a
typewriter. The interface has nothing to do with game (unless you're
simulating a mud version of Neuromancer or Newsroom).
I believe BOB was brought up. For those that don't know, BOB was a
much-maligned windows interface designed for kids or heavily
computer-phobic users. It presented the OS interface using a "room/office"
metaphor. It IS possible that such an interface would be very appropriate
to a mud or room-type game.
> I strongly recommend anyone intersted in this area investigate IBM's
> Visual Age products. Their visual builder concept (which has no parallel
> or equivalent in the MS/Borland/Symantec world) does a lot to narrow the
> functional gap between CLI and WIMP GUI.
I will be using Visual Age for Java on OS/2 in about 3 weeks. Client
request. <kof> I have a strong dislike for Design Studio, yet I like
the Borland offerings very much. It will be interesting to see where the
VA fits in.
--
--/*\ Jon A. Lambert - TychoMUD Internet:jlsysinc@ix.netcom.com /*\--
--/*\ Mud Server Developer's Page <http://www.netcom.com/~jlsysinc> /*\--
--/*\ "Everything that deceives may be said to enchant" - Plato /*\-- - Clients Adam Wiggins
- Clients Jon A. Lambert
- Clients coder@ibm.net
- Clients Koster, Raph
- Clients Shawn Halpenny
- Clients Matt Chatterley
- Event handling - some definitions Jon A. Lambert
- Event Handling Jon A. Lambert
- Simulations - was: 'A flamewar startingpoint.' Jon A. Lambert
- Formatting apology Stephen Zepp
- OT: Insane Wordwrapping Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- OT: Insane Wordwrapping Alex Oren
- Summary Marian Griffith
- Clients Andrew Wilson
- Vast areas in muds Ling
- Vast areas in muds John G.
- Vast areas in muds Nathan Yospe
- Vast areas in muds Mike Sellers
- Vast areas in muds John G.
- Vast areas in muds Nathan Yospe
- META: Web futures for the list JC Lawrence
- OT: Socket programming - platform specific Jon A. Lambert
- OT: Socket programming - platform specific Chris Gray
- OT: Socket programming - platform specific Jon A. Lambert
- OT: Socket programming - platform specific Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- OT: Socket programming - platform specific Chris Gray
- Graphical mud perspectives Richard Woolcock
- Graphical mud perspectives Nathan Yospe
- Graphical mud perspectives Richard Woolcock
- Graphical mud perspectives Koster, Raph
- Graphical mud perspectives Mike Sellers
- Graphical mud perspectives Koster, Raph
- CORBA, RMI, threads Marc Eyrignoux
- CORBA, RMI, threads Nathan Yospe
- CORBA, RMI, threads Marc Eyrignoux
- CORBA, RMI, threads s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- CORBA, RMI, threads Brandon Gillespie
- CORBA, RMI, threads Chris Gray
- CORBA, RMI, threads Marc Eyrignoux
- CORBA, RMI, threads Brandon Gillespie
- CORBA, RMI, threads s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- CORBA, RMI, threads coder@ibm.net
- CORBA, RMI, threads s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- CORBA, RMI, threads Vadim Tkachenko
- CORBA, RMI, threads Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- CORBA, RMI, threads coder@ibm.net
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Greg Munt
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Chris Gray
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Vadim Tkachenko
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Chris Gray
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Vadim Tkachenko
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Chris Gray
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Vadim Tkachenko
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Chris Gray
- Clients based on Netscape 5? Marian Griffith
- Clients based on Netscape 5? coder@ibm.net
- OT? The impact of the web on muds Mike Sellers
- The Anti-Mac Interface JC Lawrence
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) Jon Leonard
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) coder@ibm.net
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) Mike Sellers
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) Chris Gray
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) coder@ibm.net
- 3D graphics (Was: The impact of the web on muds) coder@ibm.net
- VRML Becomes ISO/IEC International Standard (fwd) Nathan Yospe
- Arctic's Project? Brandon Cline
- Arctic's Project? Adam Wiggins
- Arctic's Project? Brandon Cline
- Arctic's Project? Chris Gray
- FAQ Marc Eyrignoux
- Java and Javascript Greg Munt
- Java and Javascript Chris Gray
- Java and Javascript Matt Chatterley
- Java and Javascript coder@ibm.net
- Java and Javascript Matt Chatterley
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Matt Chatterley
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Chris Gray
- Java and Javascript Jon Leonard
- Java and Javascript Matt Chatterley
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Ben Greear
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Ben Greear
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Ben Greear
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Mike Sellers
- Java and Javascript J C Lawrence
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Travis Casey
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Sauron
- Java and Javascript Jon A. Lambert
- Java and Javascript Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Java and Javascript Alex Oren
- Java and Javascript Chris Gray
- Java and Javascript coder@ibm.net
- Java and Javascript Matt Chatterley
- Java and Javascript coder@ibm.net
- MetaVoice, MetaFont Ling
- MetaVoice, MetaFont Richard Woolcock
- MetaVoice, MetaFont Vadim Tkachenko
- MetaVoice, MetaFont JC Lawrence
- MetaVoice, MetaFont Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Vadim Tkachenko
- The MLI Project Marc Eyrignoux
- The MLI Project Vadim Tkachenko
- The MLI Project coder@ibm.net
- The MLI Project Ling
- The MLI Project coder@ibm.net
- The MLI Project Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The MLI Project Travis Casey
- The MLI Project Travis Casey
- The MLI Project coder@ibm.net
- The MLI Project s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- The MLI Project Vadim Tkachenko
- The MLI Project Travis Casey
- The MLI Project Stephen Zepp
- The MLI Project coder@ibm.net
- The MLI Project Travis Casey
- The MLI Project Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Ling
- The MLI Project Andrew C.M. McClintock
- The MLI Project Ling
- The MLI Project Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The MLI Project Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The MLI Project Niklas Elmqvist
- The MLI Project Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The MLI Project Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Ling
- The MLI Project Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- The MLI Project J C Lawrence
- The MLI Project Chris Gray
- The MLI Project Koster, Raph
- The MLI Project J C Lawrence
- The MLI Project Vadim Tkachenko
- Races and stuff (was: FAQ) Vadim Tkachenko
- Races and stuff (was: FAQ) Marc Eyrignoux
- Races and stuff (was: FAQ) Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: I'm moving again! JC Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- Administrative Responsibilities Greg Munt
- Administrative Responsibilities Jon A. Lambert
- Administrative Responsibilities Greg Munt
- Administrative Responsibilities Jon A. Lambert
- Administrative Responsibilities Mike Sellers
- Administrative Responsibilities Chris Gray
- Administrative Responsibilities Greg Munt
- Administrative Responsibilities coder@ibm.net
- Administrative Responsibilities Jon A. Lambert
- Administrative Responsibilities Greg Munt
- Administrative Responsibilities Jon A. Lambert
- Administrative Responsibilities coder@ibm.net
- Administrative Responsibilities Chris Gray
- Administrative Responsibilities Mike Sellers
- Administrative Responsibilities Mike Sellers
- Administrative Responsibilities Adam Wiggins
- Administrative Responsibilities Greg Munt