[Parhelion]

I am jumping in on this thread a bit late, so please forgive me if I've missed something (which I probably have). It's also filled with a lot of my opinions and observations, so don't twist my words as me stating fact. They are merely observed trends.


I agree, to some level, that what your suggesting is a better alternative to simply rebating new players about roleplay; however, there are some problems with it that make it a little unfeasible to expect out of every (or even most) MUDs.

First off, more MUDs would need to cooperate, and that's just not going to happen. In my own personal experience, we've fought for so long against each other that we just don't give a damn about anyone but ourselves and our own interests. We are not willing to cooperate with other games of any genre, generally speaking. Administrators or PR staff would have to become more familiar with games outside of their own private little circle, to provide the best alternatives to new players, and we'd also have to actually start caring about what those players actually want.

The ignorant alternative to providing direct, personal insight is to direct a new player towards a directory website; however, there really aren't any out there that provide quality information and are easy to search. ((I am aware that there are plans out there for an objective, quality site, but the content will still be restricted to certain genres and its not yet up and running.)) TMS and the Mud Connector are not sufficient or appropriate, because these sites are mostly overrun by bigot fanaticals and hobbiests who just want to fight with someone or bend the truths about their own favorite games in the hopes of catching one more player. The search engines at these sites are both fairly weak, and the entries are out-of-date, easily falsified, or are misleading. In the long run, any newbie to MUDs who comes looking for a game is going to get tired very quickly of trying to find a game to play because of these weak interfaces. Some may even be put off by the community's overall 'aggressive' feel.

(( I am not trying to say that none of us puts forth the effort to be friendly -- I've seen a lot of helpful people here, but the bottom line is that it often gets lost in the immature trash that bubbles up on these forums. ))

Lastly, there is an issue with presentation; it's sometimes friendlier to suggest to a player that they should learn to RP -- if done correctly, its easier not to send the wrong message this way. By out-right suggesting other games, it tells a new player that we don't want them on our game (of course, we probably don't, especially if they are adamant about spoiling the environment), that we are elitist, and that other MUDs have smiliar environments. I'm not saying that everyone is going to treat their new misfit players this way, but because most games are staffed by volunteers and (let's face it) amateurs, very few games have any PR individuals who possess good tact or know how to handle a funky situation.