Papers: Communications: Synchronous: MUDs

Cultural Formations in Text-Based Virtual Realities

Author: Elizabeth Reid
Date: 1994
Source: Masters Thesis, University of Melbourne, Department of History
Abstract: Beginning with an understanding of virtual reality as an imaginative experience and thus a cultural construct rather than a technical construction, this thesis discusses cultural and social issues raised by interaction on 'MUDs', which are text-based virtual reality systems run on the international computer network known as the Internet. MUD usage forces users to deconstruct many of the cultural tools and understandings that form the basis of more conventional systems of interaction. Unable to rely on physical cues as a channel of meaning, users of MUDs have developed ways of substituting for or by-passing them, resulting in novel methods of textualising the non- verbal. The nature of the body and sexuality are problematised in these virtual environments, since the physical is never fixed and gender is a self-selected attribute. In coming to terms with these aspects of virtual interaction, new systems of significance have been developed by users, along with methods of enforcing that cultural hegemony through power structures dependent upon manipulation of the virtual environment.

  • Word for Windows 6.0a file.
  • Word for Macintosh 5.1 file created from the WinWord version.
  • Postscript
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    Aesthetic Approaches to the Design and Study of MUDs (Multi-User Domains) in English and Performance Studies: Interface, Realism and the Dialectic of Interacting

    Author: Susan Warshauer
    Date: Jan. 1995
    Source: CWRL E-journal (Vol.1, No.1) Jan. 1995, at the University of Texas at Austin
    Abstract: This article examines the aesthetic approaches of Claire Benedikt and Allan Alford, two MUD designers at the University of Texas at Austin in the Computer Writing and Research Labs and the Alternative Communications Technologies Labs. The author presents models of imaginative space, roleplaying, and interface to frame discussion of dramatic interaction.

    HTML at http://www.en.utexas.edu/~cwrl/v1n1/article3/mudmain.html


    Textuality in Cyberspace: muds and written experience

    Author: Jeffrey R. Young

    Date: May 1994

    Source: Princeton University

    Abstract: Philosophers and postmodernist critics discuss the way humans communicate, engineers and computer systems designers create ever- integrable networking capabilities and work to improve human- computer interfaces, but at the crossroads, people are playing games.

    Their activities, if considered out of the context of the computer network, are certainly not unusual. In a sense, the kinds of socialization taking place on MUDs represent the simplest and most mundane of human interactions.

    MUDS offer new and HIGHLY COMPELLING LANGUAGE EXPERIENCES. In both LANGUAGE STRUCTURE and SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS, MUD allows people to express themselves and explore identity in a simple (text only), user-controlled environment.

    The medium's primary mode of dialog -- two-way typing in real time -- takes advantage of the newest means of communication: computer networks. WRITING 'CONVERSATIONS' is thus a new concept, one which hovers between resembling speech and resembling writing, but which in its mixing of forms gains entirely new resonances and characteristics.

    ASCII (72k)


    What's An Agent, Anyway? A Sociological Case Study

    Author: Leonard N. Foner

    Date: May 1993

    Source: MIT Media Laboratory

    Abstract: The term "agent" has been picked up, widely appropriated, and in many cases misappropriated, by technical publications, lay publications, and many researchers in computer science. I examine some of the appropriations and misappropriations, talk about their reasons and implications, and delve into a case study of an agent that is used to illustratively define what I consider an agent to be, and why many of the current uses of the term are misleading. The agent I consider is Julia, a TinyMUD robot of the Maas-Neotek family, all of whom have been in almost constant use at several sites on the Internet for the last two or three years. I also speak at length about the sociology of such agents, what we might expect to find in the future, and why sociology is such an important aspect to consider when investigating agent-oriented programming.

    Postscript (649k), or MSS format (104k)


    Virtual Reality: Reflections of Life, Dreams, and Technology, An Ethnography of a Computer Society

    Author: Michael S. Rosenberg

    Date: 16 March 1992

    Abstract: In modern society, the role computers play in our lives cannot be underemphasized. With computer technology growing by leaps and bounds, with access to computers being opened up to an even larger segment of the population, and with more and more people becoming familiar and more comfortable with computers, it is no wonder that entire social systems based on and through computers have developed and spread throughout the world. This phenomena can take many forms, one of which is the Multi-User Dungeon (MUD). Within this paper, I try to show the reader the culture that has developed within the "virtual world" of a MUD, the people behind the culture, and its relationship to real life.

    ASCII (97k)


    Basic Information about MUDs and MUDding

    Abstract: FAQs about MUDs

    A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/ character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items. You can also get lost or confused if you jump right in, so be sure to read this document before starting.

    ASCII (63k)


    A Forum on the use of virtual spaces for work-related interaction in the humanites

    Author: Transcript prepared by Wade Roush

    Date: 23 April 1993

    Abstract: An electronic transcript of a group discussion that occurred in the Autumn and Summer Conference Rooms of the Virtual Science and Technology Studies Centre on MediaMOO

    ASCII (57k)


    Interactive Multi-User Computer Games

    Author: Dr Richard Bartle

    Date: December 1990

    Abstract: This is a short research report covering the field of interactive, multi-user computer games. Its main component is a comprehensive overview of what presently constitute the most important products in this category. The report ends in a discussion of ways by which existing services may be improved to the benefit of both the user and the vendor.

    ASCII (36k), or Postscript (42k).


    MUDs as a Psychological Model

    Author: Thyagi NagaSiva

    Date: 16 December 1992

    Source: sci.psychology

    Abstract: The MUD as a Basis for Western Mysticism:

    Drawing on the concepts of the 'worldview' and 'paradigm', the MUD both exemplifies (in its cyber forms) and symbolizes (within the mystical model herein portrayed) ordinary experience and its relation to the real.

    ASCII (14k)


    Programming for Fun: MUDs as a Context for Collaborative Learning

    Author: Amy Bruckman

    Date: 1994

    Source: MIT Media Lab

    Abstract: In text-based virtual reality environments on the Internet called "MUDs," participants meet people from all over the world. They can not only explore the virtual world, but extend it, creating new objects and places. MUDs are Constructionist environments in which people build personally meaningful artifacts. But unlike many Constructionist environments, MUDs place special emphasis on collaboration, encouraging construction within a social setting.

    This paper presents a case study of the experiences of a 43-year-old building contractor named Tom. It is one of an ongoing series of interviews I have conducted with people who learned to program for the first time in a MUD called MediaMOO. Salient features of their learning experiences include ease of collaboration, availability of technical assistance from peers, playfulness, availability of an audience for completed work, and community spirit. The success of MUDs as a learning environment for adults points to its potential as a learning environment for children.

    ASCII (21k)


    MUDs Grow Up: Social Virtual Reality in the Real World

    Authors: Pavel Curtis, David A. Nichols

    Date: 5 May 1993

    Source: Xerox PARC

    Abstract: MUDs are multi-user, text-based, networked computing environments that are currently used mostly for gaming. Despite the obvious shortcomings of a text-only system, they are quite popular. The Social Virtual Reality project at Xerox PARC is extending MUD technology for use in non-recreational settings. Our goal is to keep the strength of MUDs-shared computing with a powerful real-world metaphor-while correcting their shortcomings by adding audio, video, and interactive windows. We are building two specific prototypes: Astro-VR, for use by the professional astronomy community, and Jupiter, for use by researchers within Xerox.

    ASCII (38k), or Postscript (59k).


    Issues in MUSE Security

    Author: David B. Albert

    Date: 6 April 1994

    Abstract: This paper will address several issues in MUSE security. First, it will cover the problem of unauthorized access to the system, a problem compounded by the existence on many MUSEs of anonymous Guest characters to which anyone is free to connect, and of the availability of public-access Internet sites from which to do so. Second, it will describe and document bugs and loopholes in the server which can be exploited to gain access to System Administrator powers. Also covered are the problems of spoofing, in which one character can pretend to be another, and of harassment of users by one another. This paper will also present suggestions for security improvements on existing systems, and will discuss the benefits and pitfalls of suggested changes.

    ASCII (58k), or WordPerfect (78k), or Word bin (71k), or Word hqx (97k).


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