[MUD-Dev] The Player Wimping Guidebook

[Raph Koster]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu
> [mailto:mud-dev-admin at kanga.nu]On Behalf Of
> Michael Tresca
> Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 7:42 PM
> To: mud-dev at kanga.nu
> Subject: RE: [MUD-Dev] The Player Wimping Guidebook
>
>
> Raph Koster wrote on Wednesday, August 02, 2000 12:31 AM:

> > Changes going into the game are a perception battle. Admins will be
better
> > off if they acknowledge that Tenarius' view is in fact the *default*
view,
> > the *accepted* view, and it's us admins/designers/coders/builders who
are in
> > the minority on it.
>
> This perception is just as flawed as the assumption that all
administrators
> are smug and think Tenarius is silly.  The players who congratulate us on
> the "tough changes" that we implement are often coders on other MUDs who
> have been in our shoes.

This would tend to support my statement, would it not?

>  They're the ones who report the bugs, they're the
> ones who don't freak out when code bugs, and they're usually the ones who
> are able to keep cooler heads.  To assume that these players hold
Tenarius'
> view is to BE smug and degrading.

Rather, I'd assume that they are not typical players. :)

> I'd say it's safer to assume that players
> are reasonable and rational first, and that although the act of gaming may
> be a selfish act, some people can rise above narrow-minded perceptions and
> work with the coding staff.  This is hardly the majority, but it's equally
> important not to miss them.

It is in fact a small minority even in the hobbyist world, in my experience.
Nor have I noted any massively more enlightened attitude among admins *as
players* when on the player side of the fence (some, yes, but not a huge
difference). I definitely don't think it's safer to assume that players are
reasonable and rational from an admin's perspective. (They are of course,
completely reasonable and rational from a player's perspective).
Particularly not if your reason for doing so is that some percentage of them
are or have been admins themselves elsewhere.


-Raph




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