Stupid Newbie Tricks (And How To Avoid Them)
Ah, newbies. We all love the newbies, truly we do. A MUSH always needs new blood, and as a veteran on any particular game, when you discover that that guy who first logged on four weeks ago is a better roleplayer than you are... well, it's a thrill.
But the trouble with newbies is that they're new. And when they're new, they're apt to do really... stupid things. And then the oldbies get mad, and then the newbies get defensive, and nobody learns anything.
So. Here are four of the most common stupid newbie tricks, the reasons people do them, the reasons they annoy everyone, and what a newbie can do instead.
STUPID NEWBIE TRICK #1. Scurrying back and forth through a room where other people are.
RATIONALE: You need to explore the grid to learn more about the game.
PROBLEM: Spams the hell out of everyone else.
Winsomina comes up the path from the south.
Winsomina has arrived.
Winsomina wanders off toward the tavern.
Winsomina has left.
That's four lines of text right there. Multiply that by two or three, and you're working up to a major spamfest. What's more, if Winnie's not even acknowledging the presence of other people in the room, she's being doubly rude -- if her sole interest is mapping the grid as fast as possible, she shouldn't be playing a multiplayer game. The least she could do is pause in her frantic pace to pose something like "Winsomina glances curiously at the crowd as she passes", or something to indicate that she's aware of her surroundings.
BOTTOM LINE: If there are people in the area, either take the time to interact with them, or check out that area later when no one's around.
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STUPID NEWBIE TRICK #2. Paging strangers at random.
RATIONALE: It's a good way to get someone to RP with you.
PROBLEM: It's a good way to make someone think you're a pervert.
Yes, if you wander around and find no one to roleplay with, paging a likely candidate is a good strategy to drum up some action -- but it works far and away better if the other party is a nodding acquaintance. Most MUSHers who've been around for a while have had at least one encounter with a moron who thinks this gaming thing is just a newer, better chat room, and chat rooms are, of course, his personal one-stop source for virtual sex. What's more, some of them are sequestered in their bedrooms for a reason: they don't want to RP, or they're waiting to RP with someone else who isn't on yet.
Advertising for RP on the Public, Newbie, or other general chat channel is a better bet. Channels are public; therefore a) no one will feel targeted (read: stalked) by your request, and b) the odds are higher that you'll get someone interested on your first try.
BOTTOM LINE: Paging a complete stranger for RP is akin to hailing a random person on the street and saying, "hey, wanna go for coffee?" It's overly familiar and vaguely creepy. Use +pub unless you know the person.
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STUPID NEWBIE TRICK #3. Addressing strangers by name.
RATIONALE: You can see the name, so why not use it?
PROBLEM: Flagrant abuse of OOC knowledge.
Let me wax nerdy for a moment. The workings of a MUSH are based on "objects": rooms, exits, players and things. Each of these types of objects has particular properties, but all share a few basic characteristics; specifically, every object on the game is defined by a number and a name. The name is for the convenience of the game itself -- not you.
So when you meet Glorindo the Hedge-Wizard by chance for the first time, the fact that his name is Glorindo is known only to you, the player; not your character. It's not likely that he goes around with a Hello My Name Is sticker affixed to his robes.
BOTTOM LINE: Realism is good for you. Wait to be introduced in-character.
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STUPID NEWBIE TRICK #4a. Collecting every object in sight.
RATIONALE: If you collect the stuff, you can sell it and earn gold, just like on the MUDs.
PROBLEM: Typically the stuff is someone else's, who wants it back.
Most MUDs are games; you have quests and monsters and specific goals, everything is coded for you, and you go out and win them. Most MUSHes (and MUXen) are environments: you roleplay in them.
Objects in MUDs are generally prizes or assets. Objects in MUSHes are generally props or tools.
All those knives and chairs, dogs and lockets, glasses of wine and books of poetry, that you see lying about on a MUSH have been created for a purpose, either by another player, or by way of a bot such as a bartender. They have not been generated automatically so that you can trot off to the pawnbroker with them. They are not yours for the taking.
STUPID NEWBIE TRICK #4b. Collecting every object in sight.
RATIONALE #2: You're playing a thief, so it's only logical behavior.
PROBLEM: Consent.
Even on a MUSH that isn't wholly "consent-based" (the World of Darkness sort come to mind, although I've never actually tried to RP on those myself), there's such a thing as courtesy. Again, all that stuff belongs to somebody, and they're going to be mad if you pilfer it. You may just be "playing your role", but if you don't give someone a chance to react while you're picking his pocket, or don't bother to find out if there's a burglar alarm in his bedroom-- you are robbing him of more than just a digital representation of a diamond ring; namely, the opportunity to play his character.
BOTTOM LINE: Leave the stuff where it is unless you've paid for it, or have IC or OOC permission to make off with it.
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So there you have it: four things not to do, or more positively, four strategies for not making a doofus of yourself. More invaluable guidelines for the beginning MUSHer can be found in the illustrious Astra Poyser's article, "Four Aspects of MUSH Behavior". Read and be enlightened.
Happy gaming.