November 2000
- Walking Philip Loguinov, Draymoor
- MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #231 - 4 msgs Dr. Cat
- MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #231 - 4 msgs J C Lawrence
- MUD-Dev digest, Vol 1 #231 - 4 msgs Koster, Raph
- Atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- Atomic functions Ben
- Atomic functions Christopher Allen
- Atomic functions Ben
- Atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- Atomic functions KevinL
- Atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- Atomic functions KevinL
- Atomic functions KevinL
- Mud Dev FAQ part II Marian Griffith
- Walking Robert Zubek
- Opinions (even harsh) on Castle Marrach by Skotos? Christopher Allen
- Articles & Columns at Skotos Christopher Allen
- skotos David Zimet
- skotos Christopher Allen
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Koster, Raph
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Marian Griffith
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" birgit.schulte@philips.com
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Norman Short
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Jeff Freeman
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" gmiller@classic-games.com
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Lars Duening
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Lars Duening
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Lars Duening
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Vincent Archer
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Vincent Archer
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Peter
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Vincent Archer
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" KevinL
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" KevinL
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Xuri
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" KevinL
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Rhys
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Justin Rogers
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Ted Milker
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Zak Jarvis
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Patrick Dughi
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Madrona Tree
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Madrona Tree
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Michael Tresca
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Jeff Freeman
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Jon Lambert
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" |Eric|
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Miroslav Silovic
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Corey Crawford
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" ghovs@ghovs.moo.ca
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Corey Crawford
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Marian Griffith
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Richard Tew
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Chris Gray
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Richard Tew
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" msew
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" the_logos@www.achaea.com
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" geoffrey@yorku.ca
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" John Buehler
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" the_logos@www.achaea.com
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Geoffrey@yorku.ca
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Vincent Archer
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Jason Belhumeur
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Val Trullinger
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Lee Sheldon
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Robert Zubek
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Eric Rhea
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Wells, Thomas
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Travis Casey
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Richard Tew
- "An essay on d00dism and the MMORPG" Koster, Raph
- "Virtual" What? Dave Rickey
- Object Models Ben
- Object Models J C Lawrence
- Object Models Dmitri Zagidulin
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models Tony Wooster
- Object Models david.l.smith@home.com
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models Gavin Doughtie
- Object Models John Robert Arras
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models Bruce
- Object Models Ben Chambers
- Object Models Bruce
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models Gavin Doughtie
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models Travis Casey
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Travis Casey
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Chris Gray
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Chris Gray
- Object Models olag@ifi.uio.no
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models Joe Andrieu
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models KevinL
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models Bruce
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Bruce
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Phillip Lenhardt
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models olag@ifi.uio.no
- Object Models Travis Casey
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models msew
- Object Models Russ Lewis
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Phillip Lenhardt
- Object Models Travis Nixon
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models msew
- Object Models Andy
- Object Models Christopher Allen
- Object Models Chris Gray
- Object Models Travis Casey
- Object Models Marc Bowden
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Miroslav Silovic
- Object Models John Buehler
- Object Models Bruce
- Object Models John Buehler
- ADMIN: Lost posts J C Lawrence
- Multiple Inheritance (was: Object Models) Bruce
- Fanfic (Or: Why we can't all get along) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
<<EdNote: This was broadcast previously, but my logs show it only
going to a fraction of the subscriber base>>
(Resend of possible missing post)
I've missed MUD-Dev. I've also been slack on my rants. Time to get the
fires burning again. Allow me to provide some napalm.
I've been mulling over the uproar over Mystere's fan fiction. The whole
mess of banning, statements, backpedaling and damage control provided a
lot of fodder for thought. Although there's been quite a bit said about
this topic on various rant sites, I think a professional treatment might
be in order.
To clarify before the flaming begins, I realize that the Verant/Sony
situation has a lot of "hidden" complexity. Things are a bit more
complex for them than what this rant/essay will make it seem. My
musings will cover what could happen in an ideal situation.
To start, I can sympathize with the desire to protect intellectual
("IP"). I may wax philosophical when talking about the online medium,
but the creative side of me realizes the value in IP. We spend
considerable time and effort making an internally consistent story with
all sorts of interesting twists and turns. When someone takes that hard
work and twists it in unacceptable ways (especially if it's just to make
a quick buck), it can really be upsetting.
But let's look at why we make these games in the first place. Why do
the professionals on this list prefer making multiplayer online games
over traditional single player games? Why do hobbyists create MUDs
instead of Interactive Fiction? Why is the market for online games
growing so rapidly? It's the community.
Yet, IRC has community; why not just host an IRC channel? Because, as
Raph so correctly states, we want to "touch people." In cold business
terms, we want to provide substance behind that community so that people
will pay us instead of logging onto an IRC server. We want to entertain
our players, to tell them a moving story, to put them in a world so
vivid they have no choice but to explore and have fun. In short, we
want to immerse the players in our worlds.
So, we bring players to our games and show them our wonderful stories.
We encourage them to learn the names of our NPCs, to take note of the
gods in our fantasy lands, to put life into a character and add life to
our games. The players use our IP to play the game and have fun. Yet,
when players enjoy our world so much that they wish to write about their
character outside of the confines our world, we rebuke them?
Something is not right here.
This argument seems familiar. Ah, the old specter about ownership of
the game appears again. Once players populate the game, who really owns
the game? Unfortunately, all this wrinkle does is complicate matters.
Really, Mystere's fanfic proved that Verant had done its job. They made
the player care about the world so much, to want his characters to be a
living part of a living world that he went through the effort to create
a coherent, interesting, and entertaining backstory for his characters.
Unfortunately, that backstory seemed to have been unacceptable to
Verant/Sony for one reason or another.
(NB: I am not a lawyer.) I can accept the reasoning of wanting to
protect ones IP, but I think it's important to remember that copyright
holders do not lose their copyright if they fail to enforce copyright.
Many copyright holders will ignore (or even encourage!) "violations" of
their copyright by fans. Enthusiasm for your work is always
encouraging.
"But, Mystere's story was sexually explicit and/or violent and therefore
inappropriate for children!" the crowd cries. I enter this argument
with a bit of hesitation. This is undoubtedly the thorniest aspect of
the issue.
To best contemplate this we have to remember what a community is: it's a
group of people that are together for a common cause. Perhaps it's to
discuss some obscure topic. Perhaps it's to get together and play a
game. Perhaps it's just to hang out and be social. But, there is
almost always some common link between all the members of the community.
So what happens when your community is built on appealing to as wide an
audience as possible? You eventually get groups that cannot get along
with each other. It's the classic PK vs. RP debate. Now, we see that
we also have the politically volatile mixture of adults with mature
tastes and children that legally need to be protected.
When you restrain expression, you potentially damage the feelings of
ownership that players have for the game. Without this feeling of
ownership, you reduce the investment people have in the community, which
in turn weakens the community. As you allow more expression, you deepen
the players' investment into the game at the expense of people who
disagree or are potentially harmed by such expression. When you
eliminate the unique elements, it is harder to differentiate your
community from others. "Enforced mediocrity" is the phrase often used.
Unfortunately, there has been little deep discussion of the impact on
the players at large. Let's visit my earlier defense of IP. If you
create an interesting character, give it the spark of life and have
chronicle its adventures, should you not be rewarded for your effort
into making that character? Shouldn't I be allowed to create derivative
works with that character and be able to describe him or her within the
world he or she inhabits? While many companies think this applies to
their works, they do not extend the same courtesy to the characters
lovingly crafted and given life by their players. Where would online
games be without the IP provided by the players?
Seems a bit contradictory, does it not?
Comments welcomed. Encouraged, even.
--
"And I now wait / to shake the hand of fate...." -"Defender", Manowar
Brian Green, brian@psychochild.org aka Psychochild
|\ _,,,---,,_ *=* Morpheus, my kitten, says "Hi!" *=*
ZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ "They're not bugs, they're 'place-
|,4- ) )-,_..;\ ( `'-' holders for code that works.'"
'---''(_/--' `-'\_) - Andrew Kirmse, Meridian 59 creator - Fanfic (Or: Why we can't all get along) John Buehler
- Participatory Content (was Opinions (even harsh) on Castle Marrach by Skotos?) Christopher Allen
- Object Models (OO 101) Gavin Doughtie
- Consistent Characters (Was Remote client connection) John W Pierce
- Consistent Characters (Was Remote client connection) Marian Griffith
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) Mordengaard
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) Marian Griffith
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) KevinL
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) Joe Andrieu
- (no subject) Bruce
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) KevinL
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) KevinL
- (no subject) Dan Merillat
- (no subject) John Buehler
- (no subject) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- facist marketers / content controllers msew
- facist marketers / content controllers Dave Rickey
- And the lines blur between rl and games!!! msew
- "gossip" Josh Rollyson {dracus}
- Official announce of nevrax.org www site Vincent Archer
- Intersection of Fanfic & Participatory Content Christopher Allen
- A list of Content Creation Eric Rhea
- Refactoring (was Object Models) Gavin Doughtie
- PDA-esque devices used in gaming |Eric|
- Weather and Multiple Planets Greg Mitchell
- Weather and Multiple Planets rayzam
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Lee Sheldon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Koster, Raph
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) rayzam
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Matthew Mihaly
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) McQuaid, Brad
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) rayzam
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Matthew Mihaly
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Davian
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Matthew Mihaly
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Lee Sheldon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Lee Sheldon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) McQuaid, Brad
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Lee Sheldon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Madrona Tree
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Lee Sheldon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Phillip Lenhardt
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Justin Hooper
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J C Lawrence
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Ananda Dawnsinger
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Ananda Dawnsinger
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Marian Griffith
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Tamzen Cannoy
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Timothy Dang
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Nathan F.Yospe
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Phillip Lenhardt
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Justin Hooper
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Casey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Justin Hooper
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Casey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Madrona Tree
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) rayzam
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Koster, Raph
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Klyde Beattie
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Hulbert, Leland
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Madrona Tree
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Madrona Tree
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Justin Hooper
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Willowreed@aol.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Willowreed@aol.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J C Lawrence
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J C Lawrence
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J C Lawrence
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Zak Jarvis
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Hulbert, Leland
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jeff Freeman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J. Coleman
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Chris Lloyd
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Chris Lloyd
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Marian Griffith
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jon Lambert
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Koster, Raph
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Chris Lloyd
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dan Shiovitz
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) shren
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) shren
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Casey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) the_logos@www.achaea.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Casey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) twm139@its.to
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Nixon
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Timothy Dang
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Michael Tresca
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Justin Hooper
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Holly Sommer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Marian Griffith
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) msew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Travis Casey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Joe Andrieu
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) S. Patrick Gallaty
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Zak Jarvis
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Vanderbeck
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Matthew Mihaly
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) McQuaid, Brad
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Vincent Archer
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Richard Tew
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Dave Rickey
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) J C Lawrence
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) John Buehler
- Interesting EQ rant (very long quote) Jon Lambert
- Dynamic Timelines Lord Ashon
- Dynamic Timelines |Eric|
- Dynamic Timelines Bruce
- Dynamic Timelines James Thomas
- Dynamic Timelines Travis Casey
- Neopets Matthew Mihaly
- Threads Ben Chambers
- Consistent Characters Jeremy Hovance
- Consistent Characters Travis Casey