Requiring custom client: bad. Providing option of custom client: good. I'd say follow the lead of Simutronics here. They have hands-down the best custom client for text muds that I've seen. (The prettiest too.) They don't, however, require it to play the game. Text mudders are lazy. A download is an unacceptable burden to many of them.
That was a bad idea for graphical muds and is an equally bad idea for text muds. First, it doesn't stop hacking, at all. Players got around those full-screen modes quickly. Second, how many times have you wanted to bring up a web page while mudding? Happens frequently to me, I know. People also enjoy being able to use IM, play music, etc while mudding, not to mention getting actual work done.
--matt
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