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I do not feel responsible for any part of the choices someone makes on how to spend their time.
As a MUD admin you create a playground for people to (hopefully) enjoy. You provide the server, content, back story and code.
Each player has to make their own decisions on how much time to spend online playing games. If they endure hardship do to their decisions then that is entirely their own responsibility.
I, as an admin, cannot (and should not) check their credit rating, call their place of employment or contact their significant others to find out if their choices are causing problems. Problems (if any) noted by family and friends should be brought to the persons attention by the family and friends and any addiction addressed.
I have seen people that dedicated themselves to a game, or persona they created within a game, to the point that I found it bordering on mental illness. I am not a psychologist, but I would guess that their real life was self-perceived as so mundane (and they felt so powerless within it) that this was their chosen form of escapism.
I would rather see a person addicted to a social form of communication (like MUDs) that involved thinking, goal creation and interaction then to spend their time doing harmful substances or forms of "entertainment" that are criminal and much more destructive to society.
MUD addiction to the point of "harm" to a person's personal life is likely self-correcting. If they do not show up for work they will be fired. Spend to much time away from the loved one you end up alone. Become the top player and you are chained to an OLC ball where you are forced to build for eternity or glued to a coding chair with coffee stains on your teeth...
It all works out.
-Dan
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