The majority of gestures that are part of these social communities are ones that invoke feelings of importance and community. In the analysis of the 'Nemesis' MUD over 250 days, each player used a 'feeling' command every thirty seconds, with the most predominantly used one being 'smiling'. The average player in this MUD 'smiled' at his colleagues eighteen times a day. According to this analysis the 'friendly' factor of social MUDs seems to be pretty high, which generally invoke feelings of higher self esteem and intimacy. Because of the medium and the amount of time that each of the residents spend interacting, increased intimacy in their relationships is extremely common.
Virtual friendships are often go beyond platonic and develop into lovers, or even virtual marriages.
Success in this type of a marriage often helps to replace failures that have happened in many of the participants real-life relationships. However, on the negative side, anonymity and safety in this virtual world can encourage aggressive and abusive behaviors. Sometimes harrassment of individual players occurs, which may include repeated messages, deragatory descriptions. Even though insults relayed over MUDs may be brushed off just as they may be in actual life, MUDs also provide unique opportunities for personal attacks. I love the feeling of control when I work in a safe environment of my own creation.