You can hear water running. A dryad looks at you shyly. We have some magic users, and could use a warrior like yourself. To this, you might respond by looking at Aethelrad to see what kind of character he is, how much MUD experience he has, and what kind of gear he is wearing. Maybe you will go with Aethelrad and his party, or maybe you will just stop and talk to Aethelrad for a while.
People go to meet other people and talk.
Of course, I didn't ever know their real names, nor did I know them. MOOs and MUDs are famous for being places where you can become whomever you desire. People will cross-gender, or become another species, or simply assign attributes to themselves which they wish they had in real life. I have known many computer geeks, shy and awkward in person, who become brazen warriors on their favorite MUD, raping and pillaging like pros. While there is some validity to the claim that we are not the same in writing as we would be in person, writing on the Net is not equivalent to writing an essay, poem, or novel.