This paper introduces MUDs, and then presents a community discussion about gender issues that MUDs inspired. Gender swapping is one example of ways in which network technology can impact not just work practice but also culture and values. On the television show Saturday Night Live, a series of skits concerned a character named Pat, who has no apparent gender. The audience is tempted with the promise of clues. In one episode, Pat gets his or her hair cut.
Gender is so fundamental to human interactions, that the idea of a person without gender is absurd.
The audience thinks that surely some clue must reveal Pat's gender, but none ever does. The character has become a kind of cultural icon. Pat's popularity is revealing. On many MUDs, it is possible to create gender neutral characters. It is possible not only to meet Pat, but also to be Pat.