From: dburgdor@cwis.unomaha.edu (Darryl Burgdorf)
Subject: Re: Player killing ....
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:38:02 GMT


I wrote:

|> To begin, let me point out that I am NOT opposed to allowing pkilling on
|> MUDs; in fact, I think it's necessary to encourage REAL roleplaying and
|> character interaction.  Those who steal from or annoy other players should
|> have to do so with the knowledge that their victims may well retaliate with
|> fatal force; likewise, those who take a strong stance in the gameworld for
|> either good or ill should realize that those who have taken the opposite
|> stance can and will be gunning for them!

Shea Ohmsford responded:

> Thats a fine idea, but it has one disadvantage:
> What does a lowlevel player when there are a lot of players online, who
> wants to kill other players and few (perhaps NO) players which will not?
> I think the lowlevel player will leave the mud soon :(

Such was exactly the point of my post.  I said I approved of having the 
option of pkilling; I also pointed out that the fact that a MUD allows 
pkilling in no way suggests that the MUD EXPECTS or DEMANDS pkilling, and
that while pkilling allows for more realistic character interaction, the
pkilling itself should be handled 'realistically', ie, responsibly.

I am in favor of having the option to kill other players; I am NOT in favor
of the wanton, unprovoked use of that option.
 
And yes, even after having had newbie characters killed for no reason, I
stand by my philosophy.  I do not approve of or understand the logic behind the
way in which they were killed, and could wish that there were a system of some
sort to allow the matter to be dealt with, but I do not believe that simply
turning off the option of pkilling solves the problem.

Later in my first post, I reiterated:

|> As I said, I DON'T oppose the idea of pkilling, and in fact believe it
|> to be necessary for truly realistic interaction.  However, with the ability
|> to kill other players should come the responsibility to do so only with
|> cause. If the player is not mature enough to do so, then some sort of
|> "justice system" within the MUD should be available.

Shea responded:

> Realy hard to control for a computer...
> But if you have a solution please mail/post it...

Well, first off, I do NOT believe that the frequently suggested "get together
a lynch mob and kill the bastard" idea is really workable.  First, there is
no guarantee that you could find enough characters willing to join you in
tracking him down.  Second, there is no guarantee that even if you did, they
would be able to kill him.  (Against a twentieth-level character, does it
really matter if you have ONE or TWELVE first-levelers?)  Third, what if you
don't know who killed you?  In the instance I described with the invisible
mage, I had no idea that anyone was in the room, much less who it was.  I
only found out second-hand, from the wizards who were online at the time.

As to "coded in" solutions, I would suggest actually giving a character's
alignment a real purpose.  If you kill another player, your alignment becomes
substantially more evil; evil characters would be subject to arrest or
execution within the cities.  Good characters killing evil characters would
not suffer such penalties, and in fact might be rewarded.  In other words:
allow for a simple "criminal justice" system.  Allow characters to kill 
other characters if they find it desirable or necessary, but make sure that
they do so with the full knowledge that such actions are no more "socially
acceptable" than in the real world.

And when "coded" solutions fail, or don't take into consideration all the
aspects of a particular situation, involve the wizards.  After all, they are
the "gods" of the gameworld.  It's their job to see that the world runs
according to the rules that they've set.  (Of course, in deference to the
fact that most wizards are [or at least claim to be] busy with 'important'
matters, there could be severe penalties for bringing a case before the gods
which doesn't really belong there.)

Anyway, that's enough for now.

	Darryl

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