DU is not a fantasy game. Though MOOs have grown out of fantasy games like Dungeons and
Dragons played out in a multi-user computer environment, MOOs vary in theme and purpose.
Some, like LambdaMoo, could be characterized as an experimental social environment in
cyberspace. DU, on the other hand, is dedicated to the mission of bringing interactive education to
the world of the internet. Though no one at DU would deny that it is a social environment just as
any university is, it is also as much a working, professional environment as any university is. Its
purpose is educational and the interactions among people should reflect personal and professional
respect. Identify yourself and your interests. In fantasy MOOs, players may take on fantastic
names, identify their gender as neutral, and otherwise indulge themselves in the magical
possibilities of a virtual environment or virtual life (VL). DU, however, is an extension of 'physical
life' (PL), and as such is a virtual space created and populated by physical people, with much more
overlap between their PL and VL. Because you are who you say you are, you are less likely to act
inappropriately; you are not anonymous.
Because DU is a text environment and requires exact typing, including punctuation marks, the following conventions will be used in describing MOO commands:
<xxxxx> a variable; insert specific name or number
example: <object name> <table> you would type just table, no < >
'xxxxxxxx' the single quotes are used to enclose exactly what you would type, minus any < >
example: '@describe me as "way too handsome"' you would type exactly what is between the
two single quote marks.
Describe yourself. As soon as you log on as a guest or the first time as a character, briefly describe
yourself by typing '@describe me as <brief description>'. These descriptions can then be seen by
anyone in the same room with you who types 'look <your moo-name>'. Here's an example:
<a guest's description> "I'm Sally Dimblebiddle from West Virginia. I have just entered WVU to
complete an undergraduate degree in Theoretical Physics."
<a character's description> "Tall, dark, handsome; dressed in casual clothes with a backpack full of
books slung over my shoulder."
Identify your gender. After describing yourself, identify your gender by typing '@gender <male or
female>'.
Describe your interests. When you have been given a character name and a password, you should
create an information file by typing '@info me is <description>'. You should include at least the
following information in the @info: your PL name, your school affiliation, your field of study,
your major interests, and your email address.
example: '@info me is "My name is Sally Dimblebiddle from West Virginia University where I am
studying nursing. Besides my interest in the health care professions, I am an avid gardener and
have established a large iris garden. I can be reached at dimblebiddle@wvu.wvnet.edu."'
We have spent all our lives developing our social skills by picking up cues about others from their
reactions to us. In a virtual space, you are held to much the same standards of consideration as in
PL, but with fewer of the familiar cues. You can't depend on closed doors, raised eyebrows, or
voice inflection as to help you out. Only words in cold, digitized type stand out against the screen,
but there are physical people behind those words. Here are some guidelines to help ease the way:
Start with @who or @crowds: Before trying to page or join anyone, find out first where they are, what they are doing, and who they're with. The person you would like to see may be in a class or having a private conversation. Use either @who or @crowds to get this information. If they are in a public space (the orientation room, the Student Union, etc.), you can join without paging first.
Page first. Once you've determined that a person is logged in and not apparently busy, page her or him as a greeting or an invitation to join you. Another way to contact someone (if you want to @join them) is to '@knock'. If you '@knock <name>', a message that you are knocking will be sent to <name>. The person will then page you back or invite you to join her or him.
Respect private space. One of the greatest frustrations to people in the MOO is having someone barge right into a private space without paging to ask if he or she could join the person or group there. You can usually tell when people are in a private space, once you have logged on and checked @who a few times and noticed where they tend to be. Also, don't leave objects in or take objects from the private space.
Be mature, professional, and friendly. One of the banes of cyberspace is the freedom some
people feel to harass, insult, or otherwise offend people over the net in ways they wouldn't
consider in PL. Fortunately, it doesn't happen much on DU, since the environment is less likely to
attract people eager to wreak havoc. In urging you to be thoughtful and respectful, we are only
asking you to behave with that level of consideration your parents drummed into you years ago.
You can joke around, enjoy people's company, be playful as well as serious--but always be
sensitive both to the other people with whom you are interacting and to the sense of purpose in
DU.
Newbies on DU can find themselves bewildered by all the commands, sometimes opaque help texts, and particularly the more demanding tasks of building and creating objects. There are ways to get help.
Read the 'help' texts: Nearly every command has a help text associated with it. But, you say,
what if you don't know the command you want? Fortunately a layered series of helps is available.
1. Type 'help newbie' to get the basics.
2. Type 'help 911' for emergency procedures.
3. Type 'help gen-index' to get a complete list of commands and help topics.
4. Type 'help <communicating|movement|building|misc>' to get to the group where the right
command is likely to be. [note: the | is used to mean "or"]
Asking others. If you can't find what you need in the help texts or you can't understand what you
find (not all that uncommon), feel free to ask other people, starting with Danford of course.
Follow the @who and page steps to reach them--but always ask first if they are busy. Most other
people will be helpful, but many of them get many requests a day. Try to call for help only after
making a good effort to learn the answer through helps first.
Asking wizards. The people with authority in the MOO are the wizards (Jeanne, Richelieu, Dave,
Ulf, BillC, Ringer, Professor.S, EricM, Leonore, Cil). If you need help not readily available
elsewhere, you can ask them. Often it's a good idea to send them a moo-mail message if they are
busy. Usually you will get a rapid response.
original draft: 5/94 VictoriaD (Victoria Dowling)
revised: 1/95 Danford (Thomas R. Danford)
revised: 1/96 Danford (Thomas R. Danford)
revised: 1/97 Danford (Thomas R. Danford)
revised: 8/99 Danford (Thomas R. Danford)
last modified: 30 July 2003