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Orrin · 10-02-2009, 10:52 PM

The question isn't whether people are free to use the term however they want, as clearly they are. Nobody here is in a position to prohibit the use of the term RPI by anyone however they wish to use it.

The question is should MUDs that are not RPIs by the current definition exercise this freedom to broaden the use of the term. Whether you agree with prof and his list of 19 features or not, the term RPI has come to have a specific meaning much narrower than the words role-play intensive might otherwise suggest.

I don't run an RPI and have never actually played one, but if I see a game advertised as an RPI I can form a picture of what features and what style of game it might be. The term is useful precisely because it has a specific meaning.

What exactly is to be gained by encouraging a broader use of the term? Who exactly does it help? Certainly not the players of RPIs who are going to have difficulty finding new games to try because of all the MUDs now calling themselves RPIs. Certainly not the MUDs that are going to get new players looking for an RPI logging in and complaining that the MUD doesn't have the features of an RPI.

By trying to broaden the definition of the term RPI and insist that those MUDs now calling themselves RPIs adopt some new acronym I think you're attempting to solve a problem that simply doesn't exist.

10-02-2009, 10:52 PM	#111
Orrin Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Name: Matt Posts: 141	Re: RPI, RPE, and Roleplay The question isn't whether people are free to use the term however they want, as clearly they are. Nobody here is in a position to prohibit the use of the term RPI by anyone however they wish to use it. The question is should MUDs that are not RPIs by the current definition exercise this freedom to broaden the use of the term. Whether you agree with prof and his list of 19 features or not, the term RPI has come to have a specific meaning much narrower than the words role-play intensive might otherwise suggest. I don't run an RPI and have never actually played one, but if I see a game advertised as an RPI I can form a picture of what features and what style of game it might be. The term is useful precisely because it has a specific meaning. What exactly is to be gained by encouraging a broader use of the term? Who exactly does it help? Certainly not the players of RPIs who are going to have difficulty finding new games to try because of all the MUDs now calling themselves RPIs. Certainly not the MUDs that are going to get new players looking for an RPI logging in and complaining that the MUD doesn't have the features of an RPI. By trying to broaden the definition of the term RPI and insist that those MUDs now calling themselves RPIs adopt some new acronym I think you're attempting to solve a problem that simply doesn't exist.