[prof1515]

That's not why the term RPI came into use. It wasn't an attempt to brand any MUD "better or elitist". It was about creating a term to describe a specific set of characteristics, characteristics which were shared by a small number of MUDs otherwise lost in a sea of others with which they differed significantly. The charges of elitism came about from MUDs which did not fit those characteristics after those MUDs began using the term, apparently because they viewed it as a means of denoting superiority. The purpose of the term becomes hindered when it is used as a substitute for existing terms.

No doubt there are some who use the term RPI to denote some form of superiority however that would be as historically inaccurate a use of the term as suggesting it was created out of some sense of elitism. It would be like someone calling a motorcycle a mini-van and then taking offense and accusing mini-van manufacturers of elitism for objecting to the inaccurate use of the term. But if half the motorcycle dealerships started calling their bikes mini-vans, can you imagine how frustrating it would be for people honestly trying to buy a mini-van? Can you see how frustrating it would be for mini-van dealers if people started showing up and asking them why their mini-vans had four tires instead of two? Just as a mini-van and a motorcycle are sufficiently different to warrant different terms to describe their characteristics, so too do RPI MUDs differ from other kinds of MUDs and assorted text-based games.

Jason