Best posts made by faraday

@Rinel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):

Can someone explain hyperfocus to me

My brain at 5pm: "I should really cook dinner."
Also my brain: "OK, just one more minute. I'm almost done with Thing."
75 bajillion minutes later, having never stopped to cook dinner because Thing was so engrossing.
"OMG why am I so hungry!? How is it night already?!"

The best way I've heard it described is that ADHD is a very badly-named condition. It's not a deficit of attention, it's trouble regulating your attention. Commonly the attention dial is either at 0 (OMG...Thing is so boring it literally hurts) or 1000 (I could do Thing all day without even realizing I've missed lunch or dinner...aka hyperfocus) with little middle ground.

Of course there are different subtypes of ADHD and even people with the same subtype can have different symptoms, so NOT experiencing hyperfocus it is not necessarily an indication of anything.

For more educated explanations than mine, I suggest:

How to explain ADHD (from HowToADHD)
What is Hyperfocus (from ADDitude magazine)

Yeah I think that we're talking apples and oranges a bit here.

"Open sheets" to many people means open stats.

Stats are generally not secret... unless of course your mild-mannered reporter is moonlighting as a superhero and trying to keep that OOCly under wraps.

Even then, though, I think openness is the best policy. It keeps players honest more often than it's abused.

@Apos said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:

if I threw down ads and had like, 100 people log in as guests to ask questions on how to MU, there's no way I could support that.

I'm not keen on being overrun with hundreds of millenials either, but there are a couple of things to unpack here, mostly around why would it require so much support.

• MUs are highly social, but the unwritten rules are obscure and wildly variable from game to game. Also we're not the most newbie-friendly bunch, as a general rule.
• Traditional MUs are not very user-friendly, from custom clients to obscure command-line syntaxes, to very basic things being done differently from game to game. Ares' web portal, new clients, etc. can help with this, but only to a point.
• MUSHers still come to games with the GM/TTRPG mindset, expecting to be entertained instead of expecting to tell their own stories. That creates a heck of a lot of workload for the game admins, which is not scalable to hundreds of players.

Can we combat these issues without veering too far away from what MUs are at their core? If so - how? I dunno. It's an interesting question.

@Rinel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):

I've always assumed this was just, you know, the way everyone was with videogames. cos they're rigged to get you hooked, right?

Sure, but that's the thing with ADHD -- taken individually, each of the symptoms are things that everyone experiences sometimes.

Anybody can lose themselves in an engrossing activity (particularly one that's designed to be addictive), get distracted, procrastinate, interrupt, lose track of time, forget their keys, etc. etc. What makes ADHD a "disorder" (I dislike that word) is that folks who have it experience a lot of these things constantly and/or severely, causing significant negative impacts on their life.

It's like being sad versus having depression. One is more severe and chronic than the other.

@Ghost said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:

I've often heard "The Walking Dead" referred to as misery porn, and I think it's accurate for the zombie/apocalypse genre. Shit. Is. Miserable. Bands of terminally ill WarBoys kidnap people for fresh organs while their boss collects pretty women as his concubines.

Well, I was talking about the broader post-apoc genre and not zombies specifically. I'm not interested in zombie settings.

What appeals to me about post-apoc settings are the ones that aren't "misery porn". Battlestar. Falling Skies. 100 (kinda). Revolution. Last Ship. Jericho. Sure there are times when everyone's miserable and life is harder than it is today, but most of these have over-arching themes of hope and people banding together, struggling with difficult moral choices, etc. Notably, there's not a lot of "PC death" in these series. Some, sure, but it's not the meat grinder that it sounds like Walking Dead is.

@Derp said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:

Remember Pueblo support?

Not every code advancement is a 'win'.

But MUs haven't fundamentally changed in the last 20 years. Sure there have been some technological steps forward - SQL linking, better permissions systems, stuff like that, but most of it has been aimed at coders, not at players. In part because many players really don't want their interfaces to be changed. ("You can have my SimpleMU when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers." and stuff like that something I've heard, more than once)

Ares is a little different because it preserves the existing interface for the veterans, while offering new interfaces that address everyday struggles. Playing from work/commute/different timezones, filling out stupid wiki templates, remembering whether it's @desc or +desc, wondering why it's +finger and not something sensible like profile, updating wiki profiles when something changes in-game. Like @Tat said, these are things that us old-time-MUSHers have been doing long enough that we don't think about, but they are significant barriers to entry for someone new. Especially someone from the younger digital native/touchscreen/mobile generations.

Code is not the only solution by any stretch, but it does remove some barriers.

@kestrel said in The ADD/ADHD Thread (cont'd from Peeves):

The psychiatrist I saw indicated that I needed to fit the criteria for all 3 in order to be diagnosed.

With the "I am not a doctor" disclaimer, from what I understand from my kids' diagnoses, that is flat out incorrect. I would seek a second opinion. Ideally someone who specializes in ADHD. There are unfortunately entirely too many psychiatrists who either don't have up to date understanding of the condition (particularly the inattentive subtype), or are flat out ignorant/denying. I hope you're able to find someone who can help you properly!

@Paradox said in What Types of Games Would People Like To See?:

I know we WANT to believe that the incentives of good story and the like are what drive it; but if we're genuinely honest with ourselves is that really enough?

Yes. If you're looking for more incentive than having fun telling a good story with other people, my games are not for you. And that's fine. Not every game is meant for every player. I don't like code-heavy games because they tend to stifle story too much for my tastes. That doesn't mean they're bad, they're just not for me. Just as WoW wasn't for me because I couldn't care less about doing this endless grind to get my character better gear just so I could... grind some more for even better gear? That is SO not my thing. Yet it has millions of players who do just that.

Just as movies don't generally find success picking "all humans" as their target audience, games shouldn't try either.

@Ghost said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:

I know the social problems will likely be harder to fix (and for some of these people you're talking DECADES of ingrained responses to behaviors), but it's like they say about work: People don't quit a job, they quit the boss/team. I think the same applies to mushing, and approaching this as a matter of "advertising, monetizing the hobby, or purely technology" is a waste of your time.

I actually agree with most of your facts, just not with your conclusion.

Part of the reason people put up with crappy games/staff/etc. is because there are so few games out there. While that's not solely a tech issue by any stretch, it is an issue that tech can absolutely help with. There are good people with creative ideas out there if we can enable them to put those ideas into practice.

And while it's certainly true - in part - that many people who do dip their toes into MUs leave because of personal drama and not the tech, the tech is what keeps some people from even trying it in the first place.

Is tech a cure-all? Absolutely not. But with more games and more approachable user experience, I believe we can get some new players and new ideas and make things better.

@derp Anywhere from 1/3rd to 3/4ths of Americans now get their news from social media. These algorithms are intentionally designed to feed outrage and get engagement, not to promote good information. (Yes some have done some things like the little "fact check" alerts lately, but when your news feed is full of conspiracy theory junk, I don't think that really does much.)

About 40% trust Fox News as an accurate source of information, with 60% of Republicans saying it's their most trusted source. This network was a primary source of the original ivermectin and h-chloroquine hype.

Only 40% read past the headlines.

I can't find a source right this second, but I also remember reading that many folks get their news primarily from a single outlet.

You can blame people for not seeking out alternate sources of information, and I'm not trying to absolve them of their personal responsibility in the matter. But I think the core of the problem lies in the way that information is being allowed to be distributed and amplified. I support freedom of speech, but I feel that deliberately spreading life-threatening misinformation is akin to yelling "fire" in a crowded theater.

@shaggy said in Games:

I mean no disrespect.

Just for the record - none taken. Ares is not meant to be everything to everybody (no system could be). Polite "I prefer chocolate to your vanilla" or even constructive criticism doesn't bug me.

I do get a bit put off when folks (not you specifically) blame the system for what individual games and players choose to do with it. But fighting that war is getting tiresome, and this thread is already probably veering too far off topic.

I have no games to suggest.

@Auspice said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:

But these solutions are still geared towards 'people already here.' (aka someone brand new who has never heard of MUing is highly unlikely to grab Evennia and build a game)
Like I said: a lot of times tech comes up, it's for 'what bells and whistles can we add to appeal to the Kids Of Today?' ...
IMO, culture and game options are the big deal. Yes, tech HELPS but it is not the answer (which, as @Ghost pointed out, it's often touted to be).

We can argue all day long about the chicken and egg problem.

If there are 100 cool games, but the young kids are all: "Eeewww" by the technology, then we get no new players.

If there is wiz-bang new technology, but only 5 games all run by psychos / populated by creepers and jerks / etc., then we get no new players.

Solving BOTH problems is important.

I wholeheartedly agree with @Thenomain that you have to be careful when trying to solve social problems with code. Often you can't, but sometimes you can. "I don't know if this log has been doctored" is a common reason for staff to be suspicious in they-said situations. Ares provides anti-harassment tools that makes it easy for players to submit verified logs of abuse. But all the abuse-reporting tools in the world won't help if the staff is the one doing the abusing or turning a blind eye to it.

@kk said in Pandemic Era Issues:

/Let them die/ and similar statements said by people who are educated and so forth to communities who are less educated is not going to do much to encourage others to take the vaccine, if anything that kind of lang encourages doubling down on the issues and enhances the fear.

This.

@arkandel said in Pandemic Era Issues:

Do you accept that woman's child to the same school yours goes to, knowing they may transfer Covid-19 and get your elderly relative killed?

There's a middle ground between accepting their behavior and throwing up your hands and saying "screw 'em, let 'em die".

The latter not only isn't a particularly moral stance (IMHO), it doesn't help stop them from endangering others, which is the main concern.

We need to reach these people, not sacrifice them.

There is no single "MU Culture". There are individual games with individual cultures based on the person running them and the people playing there.

No game is perfect, and you're bound to encounter jerks at some point any time you play with strangers on the internet. But there's no way I'd still be doing this after twenty years if I had to routinely encounter some of the straught-up bonkers insanity that some folks on these boards describe happening on other games.

Doomsaying about how awful "MU Culture" is doesn't help anybody. Setting aside games run by abusive psychos (because really why would you even want to play there), how can we improve? @ghost gave some ideas, there must be others.

@hobos said in MUers in the news?:

I kind of like the approach of "Well, the history of this country is white, and you have to think about how a black character would have gotten here if you want to play one here." more than I like the approach of "Yeah play whatever characters you want! Black or white! A black person applying into a family of all white people? All great! Skin color doesn't matter in genetics at all!"

I think you're missing the part where the history of this country is white is kinda a crappy core assumption for a fantasy setting.

In the real world, sure, we're limited by the established demographics of a particular region/history setting, but there's no need to extend that into a fantasy world. You can establish that a place has a diversity of skin tones without saying "skin color doesn't matter in genetics".

Making a MU comes down to several key areas:

1. Direction - the overall theme and hooks of the game. What it's about and what the players are going to do.
2. Grid
3. Code
4. Information (theme, setting, groups/factions, etc.)
5. Work

It sounds like you have 2 & 4 pretty well covered.

5 is just a matter of ensuring that you have enough help to make your vision fly. It's certainly possible to run games by yourself if your Direction is set up to support it. Multi-faction/antagonistic/heavily-plot-driven games will require more staff. So think about what you need and then recruit as necessary.

1 & 3 go hand in hand, because your direction is going to drive what code you need. A Star Wars game centered around smugglers and Hutt crime bosses can probably get by without a coded combat system. A Battlestar or Gundam game with huge battles every other week would struggle without one. What kind of game are you going for, and what type of code will it need? Then you have to ask what kind of code you're able to develop in the timeframe you want. As @mietze says, Ares comes with a lot out of the box, but it won't fit every game. If it's not the right fit for you, then you have to figure out what platform is and then secure the coder resources necessary to build the game you envision.

Good luck!

@Ghost said in How to Approach (nor not) a Suspected Creep:

This is something MU needs to figure out to evolve, IMO.

Fear of retaliation is a legitimate concern when we're talking about RL harassment. I understand why people won't always want to risk speaking out against powerful people, bosses who can ruin their careers, people they have to see every day, folks they're living with, someone who might cause them physical harm, etc.

But these are games we're talking about here. The scope of any potential "retaliation" is so minimal that it's almost hard for me to call it that with a straight face. Speak up. If staff won't act to your satisfaction, type QUIT and good riddance. If people stop tolerating toxic games, then staff everywhere will be motivated to address the toxicity or else they won't have any players. It really is just that simple IMHO.

@surreality said in How to Approach (nor not) a Suspected Creep:

That said, I get why it's hard to be that person when it's a stranger. It is REALLY EASY to come across as 'wrongfunning someone' if they are perfectly OK with what's happening by asking if they're uncomfortable when they're not, which could in turn make both parties uncomfortable.

This, exactly. If somebody wants to reach out? That's their business. But this is why I personally would not be comfortable doing so, especially on games where I also staff. It just sets up this weird dynamic where you're kind of implying the other person might be doing something wrong. Like I can just imagine the person on the other end being all... "Um.... no, I'm good. Why? Should I not be? Do you know something about this person I don't know?" and so forth.

But mostly I just get uncomfortable at the idea that somebody behaving in an IC way that we personally find distasteful should automatically be cause for OOC protective action. That just seems like a slippery slope.

@gryphter said in Model Policies?:

Policies cover everybody's asses.

I do believe that you need more than JUST a “be excellent” policy, but I don’t think you need a ton of detail either. If your policy files are huge a lot of people won’t read them anyway.

I view it like going to a club or restaurant or even someone’s house. They don’t need to spell out all conceivable ways someone might misbehave badly enough to be shown the door. It’s mostly common sense.

Enforcement doesn’t have to be draconian either. If I see a channel convo going off the rails, or somebody making an inappropriate joke, all it takes to clarify expectations is a polite “let’s not do that guys”. If the behavior is pervasive maybe I’ll make a bbpost and or add it to the policy but it’s overkill to do that for every possible misstep.

@Browncoat said in Firefly - Still Flyin':

So if we see Player X with another character in a private room, we may go and take a look to see if these complaints are justified and have to call him/her to order.

I'll echo what others have said about kudos for being transparent about your intentions, and also for just the organization/clarity of your wiki as a whole. Nice job.

But I think there's a flaw in your reasoning on the spying thing. Say you've gotten some complaints about Bob, maybe even warned him that he's been complained about and his scenes might be subject to monitoring.

Now you see him and me doing a scene in private, so you pop in to see what's going on. Firstly, you're now invading my privacy based on a complaint that has nothing to do with me. If I'm getting creeped upon, I can just complain to you myself and submit a log to you. Secondly, creepers aren't generally creepy all the time , so you run the risk of negative confirmation bias. "Oh, well, we popped in on four of his scenes randomly and it was fine, so the accusers must be making it up." It's just not a very effective strategy IMHO.

It's not a question of "rights" here - you certainly have the right to do it. You just have to weigh whether the "last resort" kind of situation you're describing is worth establishing a policy that's going to chase good people away.