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Kavir, I was referring to players that go beyond treating it as a game. I'm talking about players that are so obsessed with getting or (even more so) staying ahead of everyone else that they resort to behavior that is not considered acceptable behavior in society such as stealing, cheating, lying, etc. Now, in an RP MUD, where one assumes a role and portrays it, such things are "acceptable" because they're being done in-character, not because the player wishes to have the best equipment or the most money. That player could then go on to later play another character who's a charitable priest or something. It's about portraying the role. But what I was refering to was not in-character behavior, it is player behavior. Playing the game is one thing; wanting to outdo others to the point of cheating or spoiling their enjoyment even though they're not interfering with you is another.
Now, as for your accusation that "people like you who wish to ban those who do treat the mud like a game", I do not believe in punishing players that stay within the bounds of a MUD's rules. Players that want to punish someone for simply playing a game by the rules is not something that I condone. That applies to RPers trying to force RP on a non-RP-enforced MUD and H&Sers trying to justify random killing on RP-enforced MUDs.
Now as for there being a MUD for everyone, I agree completely. But my point is that if you want to RP, why do so on a MUD that isn't really designed for RP? After all, there are plenty of MUDs out there. I mean, if you saw a restaurant and a hardware store next to each other and you happened to be hungry (and you've got plenty of cash), why go to the hardware store to eat just because they've got a vending machine inside? Same goes for RP. Nothing says you can't play more than one MUD, one for RP and one to indulge your appetite for H&S.
In regard to talking to mobs, Molly, no it's not all that there is to RP, but it is a good element of RP. Why? Well, because the mobs are there to add to the RP environment. If an RPer's not going to interact with the MUD environment, why not just RP over AIM?
I started MUDding five years ago on H&S MUDs. After a while, I branched out away from H&S and began playing RPI MUDs as well. Over the years, I've migrated to RPI MUDs, solely playing them for well over a year. I quite H&S MUDs because I didn't like playing a game that had veteran players cheating and acting vindictively just because they wanted to get ahead. And for me, I'm just not a competitive person. I play MUDs to relax. The leveling and killing mobs just didn't appeal to me. In fact, I recently realized that on one RPI MUD I've been playing for 11 monthes now that I haven't killed anything at all in all my time on the game! I haven't had characters that had any reason to kill anything, be it hunting or self-defense. But on an RP MUD, you don't have to do that. That's pretty much the point and you're surrounded by players that understand that because they're the same way, they're trying to portray their character, not race to kill as much as possible.
Personally, I feel that levels and experience points have no role in RP. With the software running things, all the calculations and data can be stored and processed without the PC ever seeing it, allowing them to focus on their role, not their statistics. But that's a different discussion entirely.
Yui, strategy has its place in everything. But I'm talking about the difference between assuming the role of a character and portraying it (RP) and not. Both can involve strategy. But there's a big polar difference between doing something because your character would do it and doing something because you would do it. For example, on one of the MUDs I play, my character has more than enough money to purchase a house. I would like to get a house for the character because it would make playing the role so much easier (easier to travel, easier to logout, etc.) but I have not purchased a house because my character wouldn't do it. Their occupational requirements are contrary to settling down in one place long enough to do so and even if that wasn't the case (and I know that there are several good justifications that I could come up with for doing so), my character still has personal reasons for why they wouldn't want to buy a house and settle down in the area. Hence, while buying a house would be easier for me, the player, I won't do it because it doesn't fit into the personality of my character.
Pris, you've either got some issues or I touched a nerve. Whichever it may be, I hope you eventually figure it out, because it's really unbecoming.
Take care,
Jason
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