[MUD-Dev] In defense of "soloability" [was Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility]

[Damion Schubert]

>From Koster, Raph

> People don't seem to like being interrupted when they're making
> decisions.  They tend to complain about people ruining their
> concentration. So it makes for a bad time to try to have an
> in-depth personal discussion with them. If we want more
> socializing, we have to provide breathing spaces in which it can
> occur.

I think one way to increase appreciation for group 'down time' is to
make 'up time' more interesting.  If you have just had an intense,
near-death experience where your ingenuity and teamwork paid off,
then you crave that downtime afterwards, for gathering yourself and
gloating.  In fact, that's when you see the opposite happen - people
resent their DOWNTIME being interrupted.

On the other hand, if it's right after you've killed your 2000th
baby rat, and it's just like every other baby rat, your downtime is
going to be only frustrating.  And since you've given them a
convenient excuse to gather and chat about something, what they will
gather and chat about is how much the downtime sucks.

--d
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