[prof1515]

The poll may not be scientific but I believe you'll find the general opinion across the RPI community to be the same.

How do you define "authority"? Being an admin on an open RPI? Why does it have to be open? Why do they have to be an admin? Besides, what difference will it make if someone else comes in and speaks and says the same thing that's already been said? The facts don't change just because they're coming from someone else.

Chances are I've spent more time researching RPIs over the last five years alone (to say nothing of the years before that) than most of the MU* community combined. I'm played every RPI that's opened, been administrator on one, turned down requests to join the staff of a couple others and started my own. I've also played nearly a thousand MU*s since being intruduced to them in 1997, several hundred of them for at least 25 hours and a couple dozen for hundreds of hours. These spanned the spectrum of types including RPIs, RPOs, RPEs, H&S, PvP, PK, MUDs, MUSHes, or what-have-you. I've played graphical RPGs as well. Can you claim the same? If not, what makes you think you can identify "someone of authority"?

You are right about one thing. There's little reason to continue this thread. The "discussion" has been decidedly one-sided with a plethora of information and evidence presented to demonstrate why RPI is and has been a specific term for specific type of role-playing game. There's been no evidence presented to support any other definition or use except for arguments which fail to provide any logical or practical reason why the term should be used in any other manner.

I'm about to go watch some football. Figuritively speaking, this game's pretty much over and it's been a blow-out. Now, if my alma mater wins, I'll be celebrating a second victory of the day.

Later,

Jason