I have played muds for years and years now, thoroughly enjoying the challenges, surprises, community, and creativity I've found. Most would consider me a mud-snob; I expect a lot from the worlds I explore, and put diversity at the top of the list.

Most muds seem to have either too many players to form a tight community, lame storylines, a poor color system, don't let you feel like part of the story, or just don't feel natural to play. And there are muds that just suck.

While I have several excellent recommendations, I'm going to go out on a limb with one suggestion, it is a mud I've seen evolve over several years, one that has plenty of room to grow player-wise, and is actually innovative.

Its called Tempus, or TempusMUD.

There are many 'little things' which make this mud stand out, as well as a few big ones. What is immediately interesting about this mud is that it takes place--but is not limited to--two time frames. The worlds are all unique, with a fascinating mixture of fantasy and magic (in the past), and sci-fi and technology (in the future).

It is highly developed in every way, with a clever staff and a strong community (some of the members even travel across the country to meet each year, and are warmly welcoming to new players in a way thats quite surprising. Good people).

The combination of an evolving storyline, friend players, mad skill choices, cybernetic implants, different religions, dual-class remort system, clans, countless worlds, and seemingly endless choices make this mud an engrossing experience of fun and exploration. Its actually really cool.

I guess what really makes this mud work so well is the players and immortals, who devote an insane amount of time ensuring 'quality' and 'mystery', and the collision of the two time periods. This creates an environment with playing decisions that just don't happen in other muds.

Like I said, there are many good muds out there, but I'll focus this comment to Tempus, cause I think it has the most potential right now.

Give it go. You won't be disappointed with this one.

telnet tempusmud.com 2020 /

-Coil

If it isn't roleplaying then forget it.

Indeed some people who play muds prefer muds that are full role-playing, and do not even consider playing a mud that offers other options. There are many different reasons for this. My post about the Tempus mud highlighted the diversity of it, which is indeed one of its many strengths. Role playing is encouraged on Tempus but is not forced, which seems to work rather well for different types of players. There are even clans who solely role-play, which is great to see.