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shadowfyr · 09-07-2010, 10:53 PM

If you want to get technical, the facts can't and don't lie, unless someone is doing something stupid, like collecting them wrong. Most polls are a bit like this, intentionally creating ambiguity with the answer they *don't* want, then presenting it, when ever possible, to people in areas where they feel that its likely to a) get responders with the *right* answer, and b) little or no responders who are willing to give the ambiguous one. This is often seen either in a skewing of the poll in favor of the *right* answer, or a large number of people in the "I don't know" category, due to it being the least offensive response, for anyone not already biased towards giving a thumbs up to the poller's intentional distortion on the issue. Its also why online polls are completely idiotic, since you can't, usually, prevent people you *don't* want to have answer it showing up in huge numbers to screw up your pre-intended result. lol

That said.. What you are dealing with is a bit like Books vs. TV vs. videos, with obvious differences. Used to be, a lot of people owned a few favorite books, you went to very specific places to find them, and wanting something obscure was a good thing. More to the point, you didn't rely on some "top 20" book shelf in Walmart to pick a good book. TV came on the scene and "everyone" bought TVs, though many people also still read books. However, at the same time, you started getting "top 20" lists/shelves in pretty much any store big enough to also have a magazine rack, and true enthusiasts **don't buy from those**. Everyone else... picks up the latest bit of drivel from the "big names". Muds have such "lists", but they don't have their product scattered every damn place people look, trying to "sell" those. So, unlike books, you don't see a whole lot of people running around looking to pick up some "light mudding". lol WOW is the TV of the game world. Its accessible to every one, you don't really need to spend anything, other than time, on it, and a lot of people that would never spend the basic time needed to do newbie quests in a mud *will* play WOW. Some of the newer ones get more like the video store. You buy what you want, when you want, how you want, and you are not semi-passively leveling to the max over 48 hours, like you have in WOW. Heck, ones like Eve Online, you can't do much more than get shot flying through a bad neighborhood in 48 hours.

Then you have things like SL, when it worked well, or when you are on a grid that manages better than Linden does. You get to write the story, design the theme, dress up any way you want, etc. Its books + TV + video store + amateur pron, all rolled into one, and the fact that it does the first "a lot" more poorly, due to lack of resources going to helping do that, than any mud can, its **still** going to be more accessible than looking for the 1942 edition of "Some book I want", written by Somedude, of which only one copy is known to exist, in Stix, Middleofnowhere, Zimbabway. Unfortunately, for most people, muds *are* that book, and its not going to change when the next generation of virtual worlds comes out, and that turns out to *include* something like MUD/MUSH code, as a means to do the thing SL, and the like, do only barely, right now. Why spend time looking for a good book, if you can buy a bad one easier, or join up with like minded people and write one? Better yet, why read, if you can watch the video, as almost ever high school student has almost always thought, every time they got an assignment. lol

I am not sure how you solve the problem, without getting people in the industry to admit it hasn't become some fringe at this point, or giving up on pure text, and making WOW II, instead.

09-07-2010, 10:53 PM	#100
shadowfyr Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 310	Re: The "Health," of Muds If you want to get technical, the facts can't and don't lie, unless someone is doing something stupid, like collecting them wrong. Most polls are a bit like this, intentionally creating ambiguity with the answer they don't want, then presenting it, when ever possible, to people in areas where they feel that its likely to a) get responders with the right answer, and b) little or no responders who are willing to give the ambiguous one. This is often seen either in a skewing of the poll in favor of the right answer, or a large number of people in the "I don't know" category, due to it being the least offensive response, for anyone not already biased towards giving a thumbs up to the poller's intentional distortion on the issue. Its also why online polls are completely idiotic, since you can't, usually, prevent people you don't want to have answer it showing up in huge numbers to screw up your pre-intended result. lol That said.. What you are dealing with is a bit like Books vs. TV vs. videos, with obvious differences. Used to be, a lot of people owned a few favorite books, you went to very specific places to find them, and wanting something obscure was a good thing. More to the point, you didn't rely on some "top 20" book shelf in Walmart to pick a good book. TV came on the scene and "everyone" bought TVs, though many people also still read books. However, at the same time, you started getting "top 20" lists/shelves in pretty much any store big enough to also have a magazine rack, and true enthusiasts don't buy from those. Everyone else... picks up the latest bit of drivel from the "big names". Muds have such "lists", but they don't have their product scattered every damn place people look, trying to "sell" those. So, unlike books, you don't see a whole lot of people running around looking to pick up some "light mudding". lol WOW is the TV of the game world. Its accessible to every one, you don't really need to spend anything, other than time, on it, and a lot of people that would never spend the basic time needed to do newbie quests in a mud will play WOW. Some of the newer ones get more like the video store. You buy what you want, when you want, how you want, and you are not semi-passively leveling to the max over 48 hours, like you have in WOW. Heck, ones like Eve Online, you can't do much more than get shot flying through a bad neighborhood in 48 hours. Then you have things like SL, when it worked well, or when you are on a grid that manages better than Linden does. You get to write the story, design the theme, dress up any way you want, etc. Its books + TV + video store + amateur pron, all rolled into one, and the fact that it does the first "a lot" more poorly, due to lack of resources going to helping do that, than any mud can, its still going to be more accessible than looking for the 1942 edition of "Some book I want", written by Somedude, of which only one copy is known to exist, in Stix, Middleofnowhere, Zimbabway. Unfortunately, for most people, muds are that book, and its not going to change when the next generation of virtual worlds comes out, and that turns out to include something like MUD/MUSH code, as a means to do the thing SL, and the like, do only barely, right now. Why spend time looking for a good book, if you can buy a bad one easier, or join up with like minded people and write one? Better yet, why read, if you can watch the video, as almost ever high school student has almost always thought, every time they got an assignment. lol I am not sure how you solve the problem, without getting people in the industry to admit it hasn't become some fringe at this point, or giving up on pure text, and making WOW II, instead.