[Nymeria]

Why is that people never can seem to figure out the difference between excuses and explanations?

I also don't agree that it is purposefully rude in 95% of cases when someone fails to be helpful enough. A lot of people who have MUSHed for a good while are vary of new players, because you do get a lot of people showing up who ignore efforts to include them. It goes both ways, its not easy starting out and its not easy working with new players. We get a fair number of newbies who people make an effort to work with and who make no effort in turn.

Or maybe it is that a lot of people who join up on a game don't make any effort to find out what's going, to talk to people OOCly, and get a sense of the game and the players? If you show up at a party with a group of people you've never met, do you really expect them to do the whole work of bringing you into the group?

That said, there are absolutely elitist cliques on MUSHes. But I also think there are other circumstances that may look similar but in fact just have its roots in insecurities on both sides.

And scenes being pre-arranged for specific times? Yes, sure, that's pretty common. If you have a small or smallish playerbase, it kind of makes sense. However, they should be posted up as common knowledge.

The advertising comments seem to suggest that somehow the admin are supposed to control or at least dictate how the players interact with new players. Beyond having rules about conduct towards any player, new or old, I would never dream of insisting that someone has to roleplay with another player. That is a very good way of killing someone's interest. That said, I am all for encouraging people to do so when they feel up to it. I am also all for encouraging new players to speak to the admin if they need any help, and in 9 out of 10 cases that never happens.