Project
The Zen Clown
I am starting a project on MUDspeak. Yah you heard it I get to mud on 3 or 4
different places and hang around and write down the way ppl talk and what
abbrevs they use and stuff and get credit for it ... This will REALLY help my
chances for graduation in May....
(BTW, that last line was sarcasm, just in case someone's detector failed)
Anyhow, The reason why Im osting is because I'd like to ask the lurking newbies
to mail me some of the terms and usages they had to gget used to when they
first started mudding, IN FACT anyone who wants to can mail me with terms
spellings and other odd usages of words or abbrevs that they hear on muds or
use on muds.
And, I would also like to know if there is any mud out there who would object
to me usgin them as a test site?? I would credit the place in the paper, and
anyone who sends me stuff that i use or says anything that i use .. I gotta
find a way to document this all... But if anyone has any objections to an extra
player who is writing down somethings some ppl say and do (speech emotes and
socials) then let me know.
My address is mc...@Virginia.EDU
Thanks
Matt
Daniel Tokuji Bray
Mobius of Nilgiri
dtb...@engin.umich.edu
Dr. Cat
more on MUSHes and MOOs, so her terms are biased in that direction. The
"MUDspeak" on Dikus is different, though there is some overlap. Everyone
playing on a Diku will know what a "mob" is, for instance, whereas MOO
players would be unlikely to have run across the term. Anyway, here it
is, hope it's of some help.
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Dr. Cat / Dragon's Eye Productions ** Come play DragonSpires!
******************************************** ftp.eden.com pub/dspire
Dragonspires is a graphic mud for PCs. ** has everything you need!
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** http://www.realtime.net/~gauntlet/dspire.html for more info **
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"A Glossary of MUD Terms by Razorhawk
"~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
"
"Alt
" Alt is short for `alternate character'. Some MUDs permit only one alt
" per player. RP places may permit an unlimited number of alt characters.
"
"Building
" The creation of new rooms (traditionally referred to as "digging" and the
" command is usually `@dig'). Builders name and describe their exits and
" new virtual locations. On some MUDs, builders must be flagged with a
" "builder bit" by a wizard.
"
"Coding
" The creation and maintenance of a MUD is a specialized skill because each
" environment has coding written beyond the "core", that is, commands that
" were present when the server was compiled. Although the MUD may have
" been written in C++ and compiled to run on a Vax, most coders still only
" code in the MUD's own language (MUF, LPC, etc.).
"
"Consent Rule
" Consent rules on RP MUDs usually exist for player comfort. They state
" that the player has an unrealistic amount of control over their
" character's life, and no character may do anything to another character
" if that character's player does not give permission. Used to prevent
" everything from banana cream pies to rape.
"
"Emote (see also Social Verbs and Spoofs)
" Interaction in a MUD environment involves a sort of text-pantomime
" interspersed with player dialog. Most MUDs permit the command
" emote {text} or : {text} so that if Falryx types
" : waves hello!
" others in that location will see
" Falryx waves hello!
" The term "pose" is another synonym for "emote".
"
"Features
" Feature characters are the `on-cast regulars' of a MUD. They are
" different from regular characters in that they are more powerful, and
" their players are responsible for keeping the MUD interesting.
"
" The custom of Features derives from muds based on existing fiction;
" Corwin is a Feature Character on AmberMUSH, for instance. Features are
" so important that they don't belong to their player. If the player gets
" tired of the character, they will retire it, and another player submits
" an application to take the character over.
"
"IC or OOC
" IC stands for In Character, while OOC stands for Out Of Character.
" Some folks choose to be IC at all times. Some like to be OOC, their
" RL (real life) self, all the time. And some people are a hybrid of
" the two, enjoying fantastic virtual appearance and abilities, yet
" essentially playing themselves. RP MUDs may have special commands for
" being flagged OOC and speaking OOC.
"
"Mav
" (a noun, or verb- to mav, mavs, mavved, mavving)
" To accidentally say to a room what was meant to be a private page.
" Internet legend has it that a character named Maverick was forever
" embarassing himself and others with mavs. (Or was it a woman named
" Maeve with the alias Mav?) The word mav has also come to mean sending
" a page to the wrong person. Thanks to multi-worlding clients like
" Tinyfugue, one can also mav by sending the page -as- the wrong person.
"
"Pose
" see Emote.
"
"Programmers (Proggers)
" Some systems only permit players to write MUD code if a wizard has set
" their programmer's bit, or `progbit'. Programmers have access to
" commands denied to ordinary players, but duplication of items, reading
" code written by other players, and other such powers may be restricted
" to the wizards.
"
"Retcon
" Retcon is short for 'RETroactive CONtinuity.' Sometimes a player poses
" something that violates a situation previously established. The polite
" thing to do is for that player to make a quick OOC announcement that the
" previous pose has been "retconned", and for other players to ignore it
" and go on, only acknowledging the retcon with private pages only if
" necessary. It is considered highly impolite for players to use a
" potential retcon as leverage in resolving a situation.
"
"Server (Site)
" This is the physical machine upon which the MUD is running. The player
" connects to the MUD server via Internet Protocol, which labels each
" server with an IP address and a four-digit Port address. The IP address
" can be digits or it can be words separated by periods.
" (`Server' is also, unfortunately, slang for the program and programming
" language in which the MUD is written.)
"
"Spoof
" Some MUDs have commands that simply display text to a room. These have
" come to be called Spoofs. Spoofing can be abused, by an unscrupulous
" player "counterfeiting" the actions of another player. To prevent this,
" some MUDs have built-in "spoof protection" that prevent one player from
" beginning the Spoof with the name of another player.
"
"Tinyplot (TP)
" (Named for TinyMUSH, a common RP MUD) This is a roleplayed story that
" takes place over days of play. The action evolves organically, with
" resolution to conflict being decided by players.
"
"Tinysex (TS)
" (Named for TinyMUSH, a common RP MUD) Players or characters will act
" out erotic scenes, usually in private settings. May be delicately
" phrased or very explicit. Players are usually protected from unwanted
" sexual attention by a MUD's Appropriate Use Statement (AUS), and may
" complain to a wizard if they feel they are being harassed. Subsequent
" measures may include @gag (in which the player does not see any actions
" or speech from the offender), @newt (in which the offender is not
" permitted to connect for a month), or @toad (see @toad).
"
"@Toad (Redlist, Siteban)
" Servers register the site from which a player has connected. Wizards
" have the power to block connection from these sites. The command is
" often @toad, and this is also called sitebanning or redlisting.
"
"Twink
" Immature obnoxious person. Twink behaviour is especially annoying to
" wizards because they have a way of recurring and the `twink' probably
" thinks they are being creative.
"
"Wizard (Wizzes, Gods)
" Wizards and gods are the administrators of the MUD. There are many
" organizational structures, often with the autocratic Archwizard (`Arch')
" at the top.