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Personally, I don't see the point in ASCII (or ANSI or whatever) art. For the drawing of maps and such, it's invaluable. But actually seeing pictures of things...
It's like seeing the film of a book, after reading the book. When reading, your mind conjures images of the things you read about (for example, you might see Gandalf wearing different robes or with a shorter beard). Then you see the film, and suddenly all your mental images are forced out of your brain, replaced with someone else's interpretation of the book. It defeats the magic of it. I much prefer to look back at a story and remember how I saw the characters, than to see a director's interpretation of them.
It's the same with a MUD. When it says "The red dragon towers over you, little licks of flame escaping its nostrils as it growls angrily", your mind kicks in and you see this dragon as you would wish it to look. It is your image, and it is how you identify it. Whereas if you see a picture of a dragon looking down on you... somehow, it just isn't the same.
The other thing is that in ASCII art, pictures don't look that exciting anyway. The only way to really see a picture is to squint, and even then it's like "Oh... A blurry, simple, liney drawing of a dragon. How lovely".
In short, ASCII art is good in very, very, VERY small amounts, but if overused ruins the personal touch that words can give.
Santa
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