Characters converse in a described setting. Users and computer conspire to create a living literary fiction - the text equivalent of a masquerade. The following is an example taken from a session on hte MUD HoloMUCK recorded by Michael Buldo, a former student at the School of Architecture at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Naima and Dex are avatar names of other MUD citizens. Other occupants of the MUD see the name of his avatar, Kilian.
Spelling errors reflect speed of interaction since the dialog happens in real time.
While all the information below appears on screen, I have differentiated the type to clarify who is saying what. Bold type indicates what the user enters. Italic shows messages sent by other users. Roman type is generated by the computer's MUD program. This once-desolate section of Main Street is looking busier these days.