[Milawe]

I think that's why it's so very hard to categorize anything here. When we say Professional vs. Hobbyist, are we talking about how the game is run? Are we talking about attitudes? Are we talking about systems? Are we talking about commercial vs. free? Are we talking about staff being paid/volunteer? Are we talking about running a mud being a full-time job, part-time job, or flat out hobby?

Honestly, I'm not sure I agree that the Hobbyist mud has the "social outcast basement-living dude", and honestly, isn't there an appeal to some dude living in his basement being a creative genius and us getting play in his head? Seriously, a lot of the hobbyist muds are huge, have been running for years, and have a large player-base. I'd play them before some of the professional muds simply because I like their style better, or I like their gameplay better.

Still, I was really sad when my hobbyist mud shut down and had a pwipe only to open up 6 months later with my favorite guild closed. I guess that could have happened on a professional mud as well, though I haven't encountered it yet. It all depends on who's in charge and on how they operate their business, doesn't it? Unfortunately, unlike the money vs. no-money issue, this one is really, really, really hard to gauge or determine.

[P.S. San, your link seems to be broken. I'd really like to read more on that topic, so could you check it? Thanks!]