[MUD-Dev] Criminalize Community Volunteers?

[Jeff Freeman]

From: "Josh Olson" <jolson at micron.net> wrote:

> >Jeff Freeman wrote:
> > Companies might not like it so much, but from the
> > players' perspective it's just part of the game and that's how you play
it
> > - get to 50th level or whatever, then become a quasi-deity and start
> > leveling-up through the ranks.
>
> That may be the players' perspective, but whether that's accurate is
> entirely up to the people running the volunteer program in question.  In
the
> case of EverQuest, we were excruciatingly careful not only to identify and
> screen for the types of people who would make good Guides, but to
adequately
> train, mentor, and monitor them.

That doesn't make it less of a "game" to level-up through the ranks.

> Advancement was based on merit, not tenure or popularity.

I'm thinking that it doesn't matter what the method of advancement is, if
you have a method of advancement, then I can make a game of advancing
through the ranks.

> It's certainly true that a lot of the people who applied to
> the Guide program were those looking for the next conquest, but few of
those
> tended to get past the first step.  Those that did quickly discovered that
> you had to genuinely like helping people, or it just wasn't worth it.

'Applies mostly to any other aspect of the game.  If you don't enjoy
something, you probably won't do very well at it.  Or want to.

> Absolutely.  Asheron's Call does this now to a limited extent with their
> Advocates (and of course MUDs have been doing it forever - scale is highly
> significant here).

Yah.  In many respects, guildmasters in various online games, big and small,
fill the role of couselor/guide/content-provider for their guildmates.

> There are, of course, some pretty severe pitfalls to avoid.

Aren't they all the same pitfalls that you have to avoid with all
volunteers, regardless?





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