[prof1515]

I first started playing an RPI in 1999 (prior to that I had only played H&S). In 1999 the term RPI was firmly established to refer to a small group of MUDs sharing a set of features despite different codebase origins (with the exception of FEM which was derived from HL). The RPIMUD Network (rpimud.com) was created in 2005 by the creator of FEM, long after the term had been first used and bastardized as well.

The RPIMUD Network was somewhat hastily thrown together and seemingly without knowledge of the abuse of the term that had developed. Wade's definition of "RPI" was so vague that it literally didn't require anything more than the presence of role-play to qualify. By that definition, TMS could qualify as RPI under such vague terms so long as a couple of us role-played via a thread. Almost immediately, a variety of games appeared on the list that ranged from traditional RPIs to "role-play accepted" H&S MUDs. Within no time, the majority of games on the site was comprised of non-RPI MUDs. That process has lately reversed itself with a slew of new RPIs under development and the ratio of RPIs to non-RPIs is around 3:2 (as some are still under development it's not easy to ascertain their features).

In late 2005 and early 2006, in response to this problem, I began using a new term to describe those games which made a genuine effort of code overhaul that separated them from being simply "role-play enforced" H&S-code MUDs. The term I used was Role-Play Oriented, or RPO. Wade liked the term and adopted it for his own use (though not in the original context of meaning I had given it) when redesigning the site. He left before completing the site overhaul but the page bearing his use of RPO can be found .

The RPIMUD Network is now run by a committee of three (interviewing for a fourth) of which I am a member. We've thus far agreed that it would be unfair to just boot affiliates who have been with the site for years and thus we're looking to expand the qualifications to be listed on the site to include all role-play enforced text-based games (not just MUDs but MUSHes as well). We're trying to establish some working definitions, hence the purpose of this thread, in order to differentiate the MUDs on the site for the purpose of equal representation in the committee. By coming up with working definitions of RPI, RPO, etc. we can then expand the committee without the fear of one group, be it RPIs or any other, being unequally represented on the Operating Committee (as the management of the site is called).

Now, can we please get back to the question at hand seeing as it's only the first of several the committee would like to have input on? In other words, can anyone add any other distinctive features common to the original RPIs, be it code or policy? What other distinct philosophies or code features were found on Armageddon, Harshlands, and the other original RPIs? Were these features base features found in the original unmodified codebase? If so, how were they modified to make them distinct from other games using that codebase?

Thank you, and take care.

Jason