MUDs
MUD stands for multi user dungeon/domain/dimension. The interaction with multiple players draws many people to MUDs. People can be creative and are free to express themselves. Players create a character, complete with fictitious name. The real identity of the player is hidden from other players. People have been known to make the MUD life their only social life and allow it to absorb all their time. Also MUD relationships have become real-life relationships. In an adventure MUD the game's creator is the one in control of the content. In an Object Oriented MUD, commonly called a MOO, "each user has access to a shared database of rooms, exits, and objects" (Barnes p196). In social MUD's people construct the virtual world together. When comparing a MUD to the theater, the stage is there but the players must create the scenery and write their own lines.
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