From: cossett@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: rec.games.mud.admin
Subject: Re: Transcript..etc..etc...etc...
Date: 11 Jan 93 20:25:00 -0400
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

     I didn;t attend your meeting, and the only information I have about
it is from the posts on the net. However I have noticed something that I
find kind of peculiar.
     There was a lot of talk on the net, and I gather at the meeting, on
the subject of 'power mad' wiz's and gods, how it does not seem right to
have someone arbitrarily say what is right and wrong. (For all of you
dieing for a flame war I am NOT saying that this is the only thing discussed
rather it seems to have played a prominent role). In fact one person made
the comment that an Admin is not a nazi just because he enforces the rules.
This is true. Granted there are people, be they players, wizards, arches
or gods who will abuse their power, this is not the norm. There HAS to be
someone who is the final arbiter of any argument.
     This is what i found peculiar. :) For all the discussion of the rights
of players your conference missed tyhe rights of its participants. not
everyone agreed on the format (that being having one person in charge and
a 3 minute time limit, with a queue). in fact there were those who wanted to
discuss these rules. For the sake of the 'conference' they were overruled and
these rules adopted.
     Was that heavy handed? I suppose it could be seen as such.
     Was it wrong? Well it did lead to somewhat of a discussion.
     What happened when members of the conference tried to circumvent these
guidelines or change? If I remember right there was a lot of shut ups, and they
were told to wait their turn.
      These rules were ENFORCED by the moderator and members had there speech
ability taken away (at least that is what it sounded like in the BIG post) so
only those whose turn it was could speak. This was FORCED on the people that
had wanted to disuss even these rules.....
     Why was it done? Easy, neccessity! Anarchy would have reigned and less
than nothing would have been accomplished. The conference just proves that you
need to have at least one person who is in charge and that the so called
rights of a player can be circumvented for the good of the game. This person,
or persons, NEEDS power to back up the rules and to investigate ANY allegations
of wrongdoing. It's that simple, as your conference proved. Without the final
arbiter nothing can really happen.
     So who should this arbiter be? Well that is a tough question. But I look
at it this way....the Admin, or Admin's, or a MU* have set up a world at a
site that THEY have found and received permission from. If anything really
nasty happens...such as from someone with a virus, a hacker, etc...it is
these people who will be ultimately responsible to the site...not the players.
As one person pointed out, their MU* was run from a commercial site, and 
therefore HAD to abide by certain rules and regulations on conduct. THEY have
to be responsible to the site...in this case it meant knowing the RL identity
players, and ENFORCING the sites rules in the MU*. If the admin has this burden
then why should they not be able to determine how the world is run? Some admins
may be, or seem to be, heavy handed, others more laid back, find the MU* you
like and play there. it is actually that simple. If you feel the admin is not
to your liking, and you are unable to talk to them about your problems, the
answer is simple.....find another MU*. I did. Beside, who else is going to
do the job? The players? They can be just as bad as the 'rogue' wizards, and
in many cases there are players that are worse. Most people would not
voluntarily do the job an admin does, or put up with the shit they do.
     I had problems with the admins of a mud, the first one I played. No, i
will not get into it...mainly it was personality. So i found another mud, and
luckily enough it was Ancient Anguish. (Unabashed Plug for AA) I am very
comfortable on AA and have never had a problem with the admin's. In fact I
was even demoted for 'breaking a rule', and stayed because I liked the mud and
the people there, and of course I was at fault. :(  ;)
     Sorry that I have been so long winded but it couldn't be helped,a dn i am
naturally long winded :) Ask those who know me. I felt that this point had to
be made, and the conference actually served as a good example.

 Mud on!
                               Tim Cossett
                               Flint@Ancient Anguish
                               Madly in love with Jasmina


           **********SIG? I don't need no stinking SIG!!!!********** 

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