[DonathinFrye]

To approach the question on OOC chat channels and their affect on roleplay:

I agree that it is naive to believe that just because there are no OOC chat channels on a MUD means that nobody is sharing in-game information out-of-character. For me, I prefer an RPI to minimize OOC communication in the game to improve immersion for the players who are interested in staying entirely in-character. And just because OOC communication happens outside of a game client does not mean that it is impossible to investigate when problems arise. We make our position on what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior OOCly clear on Atonement, and a lot of it is common sense. The sort of gossip mongering and meta-gaming that can hurt roleplay is impossibly obvious to experienced staff members. We even offer an Atonement chat client on the website (which is, of course, logged). However, for top-notch immersion, I really do think that keeping OOC off of the game client makes a big difference in creating the sort of atmosphere that RPIs attempt.

As to any burnt-out ex-veteran RPI players who disagree with the way other games have gone over time, I challenge you to give Atonement a real shot. It is an entirely different experience than the other mainstream RPIs.