[MightyK]

Hello everyone! As this is my first topic, I would like to discuss one near and dear to my mudding heart: staff cronyism as it relates to showing favoritism to certain players, abusing Imm/mortal character separation, abusing OOC info, allowing select players into secret groups based on secret criteria (that often requires befriending a staff's character), loads of regulations that can be abused piecemeal, etc.

This isn't a post to single out muds by name and say "they are corrupt" as even staff with cliques and cronyism problems can be very hard workers and create wonderful works that can outshine the problem. This is a post to point out or discuss games that show little to no cronyism, if they exist, and discuss the ways to spot cronyism and the deep flaws that can be created with staff corruption.

I have played and staffed on several games over my 12 years as a mudder, and even loved a few and spent years on them, but I have unfortunately found on every single instance there is some level of cronyism and corruption involved in each game, which in some shape or form majorly detracts from the experience for me.

A big red flag for me are the games where the creator or owner has a player character that is at the peak level, has special abilities, or is in charge of a secret "elite" clan/guild/group. I can still play, but it always leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I see the creator's/staff's player walk around in top/unique gear, and ignore or dictate RP simply because he/she knows no one will oppose it for OOC reasons.

Another red flag I keep an eye out for is if the staff's player characters chose to congregate with one another almost exclusively, regardless of the faction or clan/guild/group they belong to, or what RP they should consider.

Ideally, there would be a mud where the operators of the game do not play (except test characters, of course), as I feel this would leave less opportunity for corruption.

Does anyone know a game such as that?

When I find out there are staff-player cliques in the game, it is always a major let down. A lot of the time it can be a barrier to goals or the plain old fun of a game.

I can play a game that is ran by a clique, but every time I am reminded of it I am bothered, and it always makes me think of what a great game it could be if that element were run out. It has even stopped me from contributing financially on a couple of MUDs because an unfair system is not worth an investment, in my view.