Top Mud Sites Forum - View Single Post

Molly · 08-31-2007, 08:33 AM

The problem here is that we are talking about all these things, since those terms are very ambiguous, and are intentionally used by some people to muddy the waters. The reason I can say this with some confidence, is the following quote, from an earlier thread on the subject 'Free' versus 'Commercial':

()

Which, as you can see, is a bit more transparent about the motives for bringing it up than this one, from the current 'What does "Free" Mean?' thread :

Now to the actual question:

However the dictionaries define words like 'professional', 'amateur' and 'hobbyist', there will always be the underlying implication that the 'Amateur/hobbyist developer' is less competent at what they are doing than the 'Professional developer'.

My own interpretation of the word 'professional' is 'competent at their job' rather than 'being paid for their job', but that doesn't mean that I am unaware of the underlying derogatory character of the secondary meaning.

When I describe a Builder as 'professional', I mean that they can be depended on to deliver within a reasonable time, and also to deliver high quality work - as opposed to the numerous twinks, who just call themselves Builders because they are hoping for instant power, and who never deliver more than a couple of poor room descs and overpowered objects, before they fade out. Whether they get paid for building or not is entirely irrelevant. (As it happens builders hardly ever get paid, even by commercial Muds, but that's another story).

I consider myself a 'professional Builder', based on the fact that I have produced over 50 zones, some of them very large and most of them very complex. There are some Builders in 4D that I regard as better than myself, based partly on their language skills. (Some of those are professional writers. I am not an English major myself, but I am certainly not an 'amateur Builder' either).

Many 'Cutting edge' Text Muds are developed by 'professional' programmers who have Text Muds as a hobby. (KaVir's GodWars II is only one example of this).

Most Staff members on long established, serious 'free' Muds - including my own - are fully competent 'professional' computer programmers, network administrators, website designers, personnel administrators, writers etc. - often with full time, well paid jobs in their particular specialty. Whether they get a salary for working on a Mud or donate their time freely has got nothing to do with the quality of the work they produce. Calling the ones that donate their time 'amateurs' or 'hobbyists' is not an adequate description of their competence.

Many senior Staff members on well established, serious 'free' Muds - including my own - spend far more than 20 hours a week on line, working on the Mud. They donate their time for free, out of love for the Mud. Does that make them any less 'professional' in their actions than the paid Staff on commercial Muds?

I have seen some very 'unprofessional' conduct by imms - and even imps - in commercial Muds as well as in free ones. It seems to be a question of personality rather than salary.

08-31-2007, 08:33 AM	#19
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	Re: Professional vs Hobbyist The problem here is that we are talking about all these things, since those terms are very ambiguous, and are intentionally used by some people to muddy the waters. The reason I can say this with some confidence, is the following quote, from an earlier thread on the subject 'Free' versus 'Commercial': () Which, as you can see, is a bit more transparent about the motives for bringing it up than this one, from the current 'What does "Free" Mean?' thread : Now to the actual question: However the dictionaries define words like 'professional', 'amateur' and 'hobbyist', there will always be the underlying implication that the 'Amateur/hobbyist developer' is less competent at what they are doing than the 'Professional developer'. My own interpretation of the word 'professional' is 'competent at their job' rather than 'being paid for their job', but that doesn't mean that I am unaware of the underlying derogatory character of the secondary meaning. When I describe a Builder as 'professional', I mean that they can be depended on to deliver within a reasonable time, and also to deliver high quality work - as opposed to the numerous twinks, who just call themselves Builders because they are hoping for instant power, and who never deliver more than a couple of poor room descs and overpowered objects, before they fade out. Whether they get paid for building or not is entirely irrelevant. (As it happens builders hardly ever get paid, even by commercial Muds, but that's another story). I consider myself a 'professional Builder', based on the fact that I have produced over 50 zones, some of them very large and most of them very complex. There are some Builders in 4D that I regard as better than myself, based partly on their language skills. (Some of those are professional writers. I am not an English major myself, but I am certainly not an 'amateur Builder' either). Many 'Cutting edge' Text Muds are developed by 'professional' programmers who have Text Muds as a hobby. (KaVir's GodWars II is only one example of this). Most Staff members on long established, serious 'free' Muds - including my own - are fully competent 'professional' computer programmers, network administrators, website designers, personnel administrators, writers etc. - often with full time, well paid jobs in their particular specialty. Whether they get a salary for working on a Mud or donate their time freely has got nothing to do with the quality of the work they produce. Calling the ones that donate their time 'amateurs' or 'hobbyists' is not an adequate description of their competence. Many senior Staff members on well established, serious 'free' Muds - including my own - spend far more than 20 hours a week on line, working on the Mud. They donate their time for free, out of love for the Mud. Does that make them any less 'professional' in their actions than the paid Staff on commercial Muds? I have seen some very 'unprofessional' conduct by imms - and even imps - in commercial Muds as well as in free ones. It seems to be a question of personality rather than salary.