<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes --> <!--X-From-R13: <nqnzNgerlnepu.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 17:55:29 -0800 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.LNX.4.10.10002281738320.3111-100000#aeowyn,treyarch.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 20000228220031.79905.qmail#phantasm,thekeep.org --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:adam#treyarch,com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00499.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00501.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00496.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00501.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00500">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00500">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00500">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: <<A HREF="mailto:adam#treyarch,com">adam#treyarch,com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 17:56:23 -0800 (PST)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Mon, 28 Feb 2000, Dan Root wrote: > At what point do you cease to have a real community and revert to a couple > of people who are friends or acquaintences governed by multiplepersonal > interactions, rather than an group entity governed by social dynamics? As has already been mentioned, social dynamics come into play for any number of people greater than one. As a player and as an admin, however, I generally think of there being about four sizes for a mud's playerbase. The first is new muds which have so few players that everyone knows everyone else. There is rarely any bickering or PvP action, as there is plenty of resources to go around for everyone. In fact, at this level, you'll rarely get players selling or trading items, or doing other things that you would normally expect. Global channels, if they exist, tend to be quite chatty, more like a grouptell where the entire mud is a single group (even if they aren't currently cooperating). The second is a middling stage where there are enough players such that, even though they basically all know each other, the chattyness on global channels is lower, and the mud seems less like a group of friends, and perhaps is more like a small office setting where everyone is aquainted, but not necessarily friendly. PvP and item selling/trading is still rare. The third level is one that most muds fall into, which is having enough players such that not everyone knows everyone else; it's possible to 'blend into the crowd'. Resources are scarcer, and so you have PvP and buying and selling. The final stage is one that free muds rarely reach, and perhaps don't want to. At this level, there are more people than anyone could ever hope to know, and blending into the crowd is all too easy. PvP and related stuff are extremely common, perhaps too much so for the admin's taste. Actually attaching numbers to these levels is difficult. I would say that they go around 5-20, 21-60, 61-250, and then 250+ (as in, total size of active playerbase). However, I should note that it varies wildly depending on when the players play, and for how long. For example, I know many muds in the second category have one group of people that all know each other from the daytime, and another that play at night. There is little to no overlap between the groups; they may not even know of each others' existance. As an admin of a fledgling mud who has struggled in both the first and second categories, I also know that sometimes a decently-sized playerbase may not assure a category two effect. At one point I had about 20 regular players. I noticed looking through the access logs that, through some strange stroke of luck, they all managed to play at different times. One fellow would log on at 8am and be off by 9; another would log on at 9:30, but always be gone by 11. Around noon three different people came on, however all but one of them would be off by two, at which point two other players logged on...and so forth. It was like this with clockwork regularity for several weeks. I think at least one of the people quit playing because "No one else plays this mud!" :) Adam _______________________________________________ MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu <A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A> </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00501" HREF="msg00501.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Matthew Mihaly <diablo#best,com></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00496" HREF="msg00496.html">[MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Dan Root <dar#thekeep,org></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00499.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00501.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00496.html">[MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00501.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00500"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00500"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud Network Setup</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00539" HREF="msg00539.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud Network Setup</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#kanga,nu">claw#kanga,nu</a>, Sat 04 Mar 2000, 07:16 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00547" HREF="msg00547.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Mud Network Setup</A></strong>, Emil Eifrem <a href="mailto:emil#eifrem,com">emil#eifrem,com</a>, Sat 04 Mar 2000, 20:14 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00504" HREF="msg00504.html">[MUD-Dev] Portal</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Thu 02 Mar 2000, 00:55 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00496" HREF="msg00496.html">[MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, Dan Root <a href="mailto:dar#thekeep,org">dar#thekeep,org</a>, Mon 28 Feb 2000, 22:58 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00500" HREF="msg00500.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, adam <a href="mailto:adam#treyarch,com">adam#treyarch,com</a>, Tue 29 Feb 2000, 01:55 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00501" HREF="msg00501.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Tue 29 Feb 2000, 02:51 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00502" HREF="msg00502.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, David Bennett <a href="mailto:ddt#discworld,imaginary.com">ddt#discworld,imaginary.com</a>, Tue 29 Feb 2000, 03:30 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00503" HREF="msg00503.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Tue 29 Feb 2000, 04:12 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="00497" HREF="msg00497.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Minimum community sizes</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Mon 28 Feb 2000, 23:40 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>