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31315: Re: [MUD-Dev] NEWS: Why Virtual Worlds are Designed By Newbies -No, Really! (By R. Bartle)
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From: J C Lawrence <claw@kanga.nu>
Newsgroups: nu.kanga.list.mud-dev
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2004 00:45:56 -0800
References: [1]
Organization: Kanga.Nu
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:59:05 -0600
Michael Sellers <mike@onlinealchemy.com> wrote:
> JC wrote:
>> You may note that I never mention games[1]. For a host of reasons,
>> many historical, some quite personal and others joking or quite
>> serious, I find "MUD" as both a stand-alone word and an expansible
>> acrynym to be an accurate and punnish term to reference such
>> services.
> It's an acronym well-rooted in history. But one that's also not
> suited to the commercial marketplace.
I'm not sure, not in the long term. Oh, sure, current marketing
realities, branding definitions, etc have well established the need for
other terms, but I see that as a function of the market being immature
rather than of fundamental commercial realities.
> Personally, I tend toward "virtual world" when pressed. I'd like to
> find something better -- "virtual" equates to "hopeful" or even
> "nebulous" and "world" has grandiose connotations. Not good things
> when talking to skeptical investors, publishers, or potential
> partner/customers who don't know a mob from a noob.
FWLIW I've never liked the term "mob" and "mobile" wasn't much better.
That I can see the distinguishing characteristic is that they are causal
agents which are driven by the system instead of being driven by another
participant. I like names which recognise that.
--
J C Lawrence
---------(*) Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas.
claw@kanga.nu He lived as a devil, eh?
http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/ Evil is a name of a foeman, as I live.
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