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prof1515 · 06-20-2005, 01:18 PM

Again, some of the best MUDs out there don't get nearly the appreciation they should. At last look the best H&S I've ever seen by a huge margin is on the third page. It's innovative, features incredible code, and more enjoyable (as far as H&S goes) than all other H&S MUDs I've ever tried combined. But right now, they just don't seem to be voting (they've easily been in the top 20 many, many times before). Put them automatically in a list according to popularity (which rises and sinks due to player voting) and you end up having to slog through a list of some of the more popular crap that ranks higher but mobilizes its players better.

Additionally, when the vote resets, I've often seen some normally very-low-ranking MUDs register much higher because they timed their voting better. A search run at that instant isn't going to reflect overall patterns, just the once-in-a-blue-moon anomoly.

Now,yes, a filter (much like filters for genre, codebase, etc) would be acceptable and I wouldn't have a problem with that. But a default that corresponds with the rankings pretty much makes the search much less useful.

If say (hypothetically, I'm not going to go and count them right now) 12 of the top 20 are the same type of MUD (let's just pick on commercial MUDs since you're familiar with them), then a commercial MUD that comes in 12th of the top 12 commercial MUDs needs to work a bit harder. But say a category of say Pure PK MUDs features none on the top 20, the highest ranking PK MUD in a less-popular (hypothetically again, since I suspect it's a more popular genre than this example suggests) wouldn't even be represented on the front page. If one genre tends to attract more players, then a MUD of that genre which can't match others of the same offering really isn't popular, it's the genre which is. The incentive of "let's get on the front page" which motivates so many smaller MUDs could inspire these MUDs with larger pbases to work all the harder to compete with MUDs of the same type who more successfully do get votes.

Take care,

Jason

06-20-2005, 01:18 PM	#9
prof1515 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 791	Again, some of the best MUDs out there don't get nearly the appreciation they should. At last look the best H&S I've ever seen by a huge margin is on the third page. It's innovative, features incredible code, and more enjoyable (as far as H&S goes) than all other H&S MUDs I've ever tried combined. But right now, they just don't seem to be voting (they've easily been in the top 20 many, many times before). Put them automatically in a list according to popularity (which rises and sinks due to player voting) and you end up having to slog through a list of some of the more popular crap that ranks higher but mobilizes its players better. Additionally, when the vote resets, I've often seen some normally very-low-ranking MUDs register much higher because they timed their voting better. A search run at that instant isn't going to reflect overall patterns, just the once-in-a-blue-moon anomoly. Now,yes, a filter (much like filters for genre, codebase, etc) would be acceptable and I wouldn't have a problem with that. But a default that corresponds with the rankings pretty much makes the search much less useful. If say (hypothetically, I'm not going to go and count them right now) 12 of the top 20 are the same type of MUD (let's just pick on commercial MUDs since you're familiar with them), then a commercial MUD that comes in 12th of the top 12 commercial MUDs needs to work a bit harder. But say a category of say Pure PK MUDs features none on the top 20, the highest ranking PK MUD in a less-popular (hypothetically again, since I suspect it's a more popular genre than this example suggests) wouldn't even be represented on the front page. If one genre tends to attract more players, then a MUD of that genre which can't match others of the same offering really isn't popular, it's the genre which is. The incentive of "let's get on the front page" which motivates so many smaller MUDs could inspire these MUDs with larger pbases to work all the harder to compete with MUDs of the same type who more successfully do get votes. Take care, Jason