It is very, very hard to find somewhere half--decent to build.

I am a good, hard-working builder. I am creative and never, never take the easy way out. But I, like other builders, am entitled to have:

- no awkward, stupid building tools that require a degree in computer science and the patience of a saint.

- respect for my creative freedom

- a mud with players in it and ones who are supportive; I have built for a mud whose players abused me for being a builder.

- composite dirs like ne since they make life much easier and I can hide hidden doors more easily.

- an imm staff who support my building and don't use political power ganes to treat me like dirt.

********

In years of building I havenever found a MUD that meets all thses absic needs. And the dilemma is that I can't be sure that the needs will be met until i've started building; a time-consuming, pot-luck approach that may see me go to the grave as a frustrated builder who has never completed a single arae.

I've built about ten finished areas (six actually used, one of which is a hometown) and I started my imming career by just offering my services building at a place I like where people know me. I never felt inclined to look elsewhere to build, I was able to build as much as I want. As far as I remember, I've always had everything on that list you mentioned, but I like the place, so maybe I remember things better than they really were.

Do you have a mud you hold more dear than any other, where you spend the most time? If not, perhaps this is what you should be searching for. If so - perhaps you should be working towards building there, through whatever recruitment method they described.

I meant power "games": I am an excellent speller but a terrible typist with 1 finger.

Perhaps I should go into more detail:

About 3 years ago I began mudding. I tried dozens of MUDs at a perfunctory level until I came to Medievia. I was blown away by their expanse and applied to be a builder there. To my surprise I was accepted. I got 95 percent of the way into building the zone until the staff started stuffing me around. I was required to use a graphical tool and was given no training in it. I am not a graphics man. I am a wordsmith. So when I stuffed the graphics up I got a vague note from a staff member saying that my zone status was changed and my work was "garish". I asked what was going on and got a rude, accusative note accusing me of deliberately quoting another god out of context. I do not deliberately quote anyone out of context. We argued about it and they fired me. Their playerbase, who had never been very happy with me being a builder, said that they were glad to see the back of me.

Then I built for a few other MUDs that didn't work out. In one the owner walked out to be with his girlfriend. In another the owner shut down the MUD for no reason. Then I built a bit for Tempus but found that the "robot factory" zone wasn't my scene.

Right now, I am building for Forsaken Dreams - a MUD that is not yet open to players. I am about 3/4 of the way through building a zone and the admins like my work. But when I finish the zone I will probably seek out another MUD; I would prefer to make a zone that players are actually going through. These days I don't play MUDs a lot. I mainly build. So it is often a problem if I am required to get to level x to become a builder.

The only MUD that I have played this year is Legends of Karinth so I might apply to build for them.

What a ride through the building caper. Three years of it and I still haven't finished any zone. And not through any lack of efforts; just these Muds that keep mucking me about.

Well, your first mistake was letting anything that happened at such an "upstanding" place as Medievia allow you to measure either your abilities or the nature of MUDding in general. Comparing anything that occured at Medievia is like judging everyone based on the actions of a serial killer.

When it comes to building, my own experience is mixed. I did some work (though never got it implemented as the game shut down first) for an H&S project many years ago. Then I admin'd on an RPI, where I really got to learn how to build. Now, I'm working on my own MUD. What did I learn? That I want quality, that I want to produce quality, that I want to seek quality out, and that I want to inspire others to produce quality. I also learned that not everyone holds to those four things. That alas is part of life.

My only advice to you is to seek out quality that measures to your own standards. Until you find it, unless you decide to start it from scratch yourself, you probably won't be able to comfortably fit in anywhere because if there isn't a shared appreciation for the same level of quality, it's not easy. I realize that given the vast number of total pieces of crap out there, finding quality isn't an easy proposition. Most of what MUDs advertise if bull**** to say the least. And weeding through their bull to find the facts of their quality is annoying and frustrating. But in the end, when you do find quality you can relate to, you'll find the experience all the more fulfilling because the struggle will be worth it.

Yeah, probably nothing you didn't already know. But at least remember that some of us have have been through the same trials. Whether we eventually found our niche or decided to create it ourselves, we have been where you're at.

Take care,

Jason