In most MUDs, characters are anonymous. People who become friends can exchange real names and email addresses, but many choose not to. In most MUDs, people begin to talk more about real life when they get to know someone better. However, in some communities such as those based on the Dragonriders of Pern series of books by Anne McCaffrey, talking about real life is taboo. MediaMOO currently has over 500 participants from fourteen countries and is growing rapidly.
MUDs also have an intriguing potential as an educational environment.
I am currently in the process of designing a MUD language and interface to make the technology more usable by children as part of my dissertation research. I hope to use this technology to encourage ten to twelve year-old girls to be more interested in computers. For example, men are often surprised at how they are treated when they log on as a female character. I found it extraordinarily interesting. It was both amusing and disturbing.