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Old 04-12-2006, 01:14 PM   #56
Valg
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Home MUD: Carrion Fields
Posts: 643
Valg will become famous soon enough
Our philosophy has always been that everything inside the game should be the result of actions taken within the game, and that everyone should have equal opportunity to reach their own goals.  We don't offer equal results to every player--it's a competitive environment, and reaching your goal (victory in combat, leadership of a political or religious group, etc.) may deny another player their goal.  As game administrators (and players.. we encourage our staff to remain active as players), we don't feel any need to set goals for the players.  They come in with them!  

The philosophy isn't unique-- the rules of most sports are designed with this philosophy.  The NFL has (especially recently) developed a good model for this (restrictive salary cap, tight policies on equipment and drug use, parity-oriented drafting, etc.) and its continued popularity in the US comes from the fact that at the beginning of each season, many teams have a realistic chance to win.  Fans often feel that every year could be their year, barring stupid management decisions or bad luck with injuries.

On the other hand, Major League Baseball has sadly drifted towards "pay-for-perks" lately... while the Florida Marlins could technically win a championship with this year's payroll ($14,998,500), I wouldn't wager that they're going to win more games than the Yankees ($194,663,079).  Much like a low-budget player in a "pay-for-perks" world, the Marlins are allowed to play, just not win.

Going back to the original point of the thread, Anitra is trying to make a list of MUDs where fairness-oriented philosophies are in place, for precisely the reasons Prof1515 and others have elaborated.  There are a sizable number of players who don't want an environment where RL money tramples over skill and achievement.  TMS's search system doesn't highlight those games (thanks to all the Newspeak pay MUDs calling themselves "Free!"), so Anitra is creating a separate resource (this thread) which fills that gap.

It's about what is honest, not what is technically legal to advertise.
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