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Molly · 10-18-2002, 09:22 AM

I don't quite understand what you are trying to say, Keljorian, perhaps it's because of the lack of grammar skills that you yourself commented on.

I am sorry, but I also totally disagree with your statement that spelling and grammar are not important to a Builder. Sure, they are not all that is needed to be a good Builder, but any mud with any self-respect would refuse to put a zone filled with typos and grammar errors into their Gameport. Grammar and spelling are essential to good building. If a Builder cannot write correctly himself, someone else has to go through their zone and connect all the errors, and that one is usually the Head Builder, who has a lot more important things to do. Personally I'd much rather write a zone myself, than correcting the typos of someone else, or trying to put some sense into a badly written zone. The mud would benefit a lot more from that too, because even after the worst errors are corrected, a bad zone will probably still be a bad zone.

We have to face it - a lot of people who apply as Builders are not cut out to build. They want the power that building gives, but they lack the language skills, imagination, patience and endurance to carry out the hard job of finishing a zone.

The main reason why some Builders don't stay is that they are not really Builders. Mercifully most of them realise this themselves after a short while, so they quit - and good riddance! Sure, there are a lot of other reasons why Builders, even good Builders, leave. But the actual reasons are mostly not important, as long as you aren't too quick to delete the chars and the zones when they fade out. They actually might come back after a long absence, this has happened several times in my own mud.

A lot of Builders, especially the bad ones, demand 'respect'. My response to this is that before you can get any respect, you have to earn it. And about the only way you can earn any respect with me, is to actually complete a zone. I have seen too many '5-room-wonders' to get impressed by a single room desc or mob. Until I have the completed result, whatever you do is of little value to the mud, it just takes up memory space.

AFTER a Builder proved himself by finishing a zone, he becomes a REAL part of the team. Until then I'll answer any questions about building and help with whatever problems that arises, I will discuss ideas and give input, but the Builder must show the initiative to raise the subject with me himself. I don't look over people's shoulders while they are working and comment on their typos, I don't check on the progress every day and bitch if it's not fast enough. Why? Because all Builders are different, and each are entitled to their own methods of working, as long as the result is good enough to use in the mud. So after I've provided the building tools and given some initial tutoring to get them started, I just leave them alone to do their work at their own pace.

This might sound harsh, but over the years I have seen so many Builders come and go, that I think it's mostly a waste of time to engage a lot of myself in a zone before it's near completion. I don't like having my time wasted. When someone submits a zone for approval, I expect it to be spellchecked, free of grammar errors, balanced within our rules, and have all descs, sectors, flags and exits set properly. If not, I just refer it back to the Builders to fix the errors themselves.

The really good Builders don't need very much incentive to work, as long as they are enough interested in the theme and standard of your mud, as long as you treat them decently and as long as you give the proper credits for their work. The really good Builders seem to work out of sheer creativity, the joy of creating a zone and watching it come to life as the players enter it is their main reward.

As for the rest - well, very few of them are worth the time and effort. If a builder needs to be pampered, cuddled, bribed or cajoodled into working, then I'd rather they spend their time somewhere else than on my mud. We've had hundreds of bad Builders in our Buildport, and about twenty really good ones. Most of the good ones are still with us, one way or another. Many of the bad ones are too, although they still don't do much work worth notice. And nobody misses those of them that went away.

10-18-2002, 09:22 AM	#8
Molly Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sweden Home MUD: 4 Dimensions Posts: 574	I don't quite understand what you are trying to say, Keljorian, perhaps it's because of the lack of grammar skills that you yourself commented on. I am sorry, but I also totally disagree with your statement that spelling and grammar are not important to a Builder. Sure, they are not all that is needed to be a good Builder, but any mud with any self-respect would refuse to put a zone filled with typos and grammar errors into their Gameport. Grammar and spelling are essential to good building. If a Builder cannot write correctly himself, someone else has to go through their zone and connect all the errors, and that one is usually the Head Builder, who has a lot more important things to do. Personally I'd much rather write a zone myself, than correcting the typos of someone else, or trying to put some sense into a badly written zone. The mud would benefit a lot more from that too, because even after the worst errors are corrected, a bad zone will probably still be a bad zone. We have to face it - a lot of people who apply as Builders are not cut out to build. They want the power that building gives, but they lack the language skills, imagination, patience and endurance to carry out the hard job of finishing a zone. The main reason why some Builders don't stay is that they are not really Builders. Mercifully most of them realise this themselves after a short while, so they quit - and good riddance! Sure, there are a lot of other reasons why Builders, even good Builders, leave. But the actual reasons are mostly not important, as long as you aren't too quick to delete the chars and the zones when they fade out. They actually might come back after a long absence, this has happened several times in my own mud. A lot of Builders, especially the bad ones, demand 'respect'. My response to this is that before you can get any respect, you have to earn it. And about the only way you can earn any respect with me, is to actually complete a zone. I have seen too many '5-room-wonders' to get impressed by a single room desc or mob. Until I have the completed result, whatever you do is of little value to the mud, it just takes up memory space. AFTER a Builder proved himself by finishing a zone, he becomes a REAL part of the team. Until then I'll answer any questions about building and help with whatever problems that arises, I will discuss ideas and give input, but the Builder must show the initiative to raise the subject with me himself. I don't look over people's shoulders while they are working and comment on their typos, I don't check on the progress every day and bitch if it's not fast enough. Why? Because all Builders are different, and each are entitled to their own methods of working, as long as the result is good enough to use in the mud. So after I've provided the building tools and given some initial tutoring to get them started, I just leave them alone to do their work at their own pace. This might sound harsh, but over the years I have seen so many Builders come and go, that I think it's mostly a waste of time to engage a lot of myself in a zone before it's near completion. I don't like having my time wasted. When someone submits a zone for approval, I expect it to be spellchecked, free of grammar errors, balanced within our rules, and have all descs, sectors, flags and exits set properly. If not, I just refer it back to the Builders to fix the errors themselves. The really good Builders don't need very much incentive to work, as long as they are enough interested in the theme and standard of your mud, as long as you treat them decently and as long as you give the proper credits for their work. The really good Builders seem to work out of sheer creativity, the joy of creating a zone and watching it come to life as the players enter it is their main reward. As for the rest - well, very few of them are worth the time and effort. If a builder needs to be pampered, cuddled, bribed or cajoodled into working, then I'd rather they spend their time somewhere else than on my mud. We've had hundreds of bad Builders in our Buildport, and about twenty really good ones. Most of the good ones are still with us, one way or another. Many of the bad ones are too, although they still don't do much work worth notice. And nobody misses those of them that went away.