[MUD-Dev] Interesting EQ rant (very long quote)

[John Buehler]

> Travis Nixon writes:

> If that's your goal, pray for a miracle, because the fact is that
> grief players ARE a necessary outcome of an online community.

As online communities exist today, which is my point.  The formula for
online interactions can change, and will change over time.  Can they
be changed such that players will be less inclined to commit grief
acts?  Or can the online worlds themselves be crafted in a way that
players will be less inclines to commit grief acts?

> To claim you can create anything online without attracting at least
> a few who are there for no other purpose than to cause trouble for
> others is, er, well...all I can say is pull the blinders off.

I can deal with a few.  I cannot deal with lots of them.  Just as the
software bug discussion needed to focus on minimizing bugs, so I want
to minimize the number of grief players.  Those who don't believe they
can be limited (and I don't just mean by coersion or banning), will
never limit them.  Those who believe they might be able to be limited
have some hope of succeeding.

> Life has grief players.  I cannot personally comprehend their
> motivations, but they exist.  To assume you won't attract any, and
> therefore to not plan for their existence, is pure folly.

Let me include a segment of what you quoted from my post:

> Next, I have to come up with an argument that will convince people
> that grief players are not a necessary outcome of running an online
> community.  At least, RAMPANT presence of grief players.

Emphasis is added.

And, considering that I'm on the MUD-Dev list, I'll try to qualify
what RAMPANT means.  It means lots of grief players such that the
resources of administration of the game are noticeably diverted to
managing them.

JB


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