[MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun

["Koster, Raph" <rkoster#origin,ea.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael.Willey#abnamro,com [mailto:Michael.Willey#abnamro,com]
> Sent: Friday, July 24, 1998 4:08 PM
> To: mud-dev#kanga,nu
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: WIRED: Kilers have more fun

>   Why show that information to the players at all?
> Unlike NPCs, they have the ability to
> listen to the rumor mill and make up their own opinions.

Because experience thus far in all sorts of online communities (from
muds to chat areas to web boards to auction sites and beyond) has shown
that players want and need that information. By the time they catch up
with the rumor mill, the jerks/evil people may well have killed/stolen
from/gypped/harassed/whatever them, and they are gone from your mud.
Some way to quickly identify the bad guys is what a reputation system
provides, so that the new player can avoid them as best they can.

-Raph