mud addiction, social inadequacies, and writing

mud addiction, social inadequacies, and writing:
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Posted by wheeljack on April 13, 2000 at 07:28:03:

In Reply to: Two questions for Mr. Deliverer of Harsh Reality. posted by Proud Blade on April 12, 2000 at 19:28:32:

great lil post. I've been doing a little research on muds, and most people who examine them carefully (Lynn Cherny, Brenda Laurel, Pavel Curtis, uhhh, more but I forget) note that mud addicts are addicted to social interaction rather than a game.

Lets break this down:

Many of us, I'll bet, find it much easier to interact anonymously with only text than face to face with someone we don't know

In cf, many of us, I'll bet, find it satisfying to be able to kill people we don't like, since most cultural norms frown on that sort of thing

In cf, many of us, I'll bet, find it satisfying to create a memorable character, i.e., a memorable story

Now, three principal side effects came from my excessive mudding beginning as far back as 1993:
1. My british lit grade dropped from an A to a C (bad idea to mud nonstop the night before your final)
2. I became more comfortable initiating conversation with real people (which led to me getting a girlfriend, then married)
3. I was introduced to computers, primarily unix workstations, and learned to program and got a job as a webmaster despite having a BA in English (and my gpa was still a decent 3.0 despite mudding)

Basically, now I mud for the creative release, not the social interaction, because I get social interaction elsewhere, and now, I find it easier to mud or not mud when I want, it's more like a playstation game or a book in that respect.

I love to write too; so, I'd say the social part of mudding is what's both dangerous and helpful, the creative part is just helpful

I'm sure different types of people get different things out of cf. In my experience, the "non-socially handicapped" types mudded primarily for pk'ing, and cheated and stockpiled eq lots, and generally don't keep mudding

> Introduction: In my free time, I write. I write fiction, articles for a local publication, and a lot of stuff that could be filed under "miscellaneous". Most of the time, I am writing as a hobby, not for monetary compensation. I write several times per week. When I write, I don't expend much physical energy, I don't interact with other people (family or otherwise), and I do very little to enhance my performance at my job. (I'm a scientist, and based on the quality of the average journal article, writing skills are only marginally important in my chosen field.)
>
> 1) Am I a "writing addict" because of this?
> 2) Based on the criteria you give below, is writing an unhealthy hobby?
>
> >You cannot possibly tell me that you wouldn't be doing better in your 'chosen trade', you wouldn't have a more active social life, you wouldn't be
> >healthier/fitter, you wouldn't have achieved more had you not spent hour upon hour on CF. This goes for everyone. No matter how much you want to
> >deny it, CF is like a drug. It is addictive, people spent way too much time playing letting the rest of their lives sit in the background. Whether this
> >happens to you to a very minor degree or a major degree, it doesn't matter, it happens. Denying it might make you and all the other players feel as
> >though you are living to your potential, but you're not. I didn't choose this handle randomly, it's a fact of life. I'm not intentionally trying to put people
> >down, I'm just explaining to them what they are missing out on; life (addicts to a greater degree). People say that they have a home, a wife, they
> >should be allowed to waste X amount of hours on a text-based game. Sure. I merely am asking them that wouldn't it be healthier for all concerned to
> >not do this, spending those hours with your wife, child, gardening, out in the sun, playing a sport (yes, actually expending some energy)?

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Comments:	> > great lil post. I've been doing a little research on muds, and most people who examine them carefully (Lynn Cherny, Brenda Laurel, Pavel Curtis, uhhh, more but I forget) note that mud addicts are addicted to <b>social interaction</b> rather than a game. > > Lets break this down: > <li>Many of us, I'll bet, find it much easier to interact anonymously with only text than face to face with someone we don't know > <li>In cf, many of us, I'll bet, find it satisfying to be able to kill people we don't like, since most cultural norms frown on that sort of thing > <li>In cf, many of us, I'll bet, find it satisfying to create a memorable character, i.e., a memorable story > > Now, three principal side effects came from my excessive mudding beginning as far back as 1993: > 1. My british lit grade dropped from an A to a C (bad idea to mud nonstop the night before your final) > 2. I became more comfortable initiating conversation with real people (which led to me getting a girlfriend, then married) > 3. I was introduced to computers, primarily unix workstations, and learned to program and got a job as a webmaster despite having a BA in English (and my gpa was still a decent 3.0 despite mudding) > > Basically, now I mud for the creative release, not the social interaction, because I get social interaction elsewhere, and now, I find it easier to mud or not mud when I want, it's more like a playstation game or a book in that respect. > > I love to write too; so, I'd say the social part of mudding is what's both dangerous and helpful, the creative part is just helpful > > I'm sure different types of people get different things out of cf. In my experience, the "non-socially handicapped" types mudded primarily for pk'ing, and cheated and stockpiled eq lots, and generally don't keep mudding > > > > Introduction: In my free time, I write. I write fiction, articles for a local publication, and a lot of stuff that could be filed under "miscellaneous". Most of the time, I am writing as a hobby, not for monetary compensation. I write several times per week. When I write, I don't expend much physical energy, I don't interact with other people (family or otherwise), and I do very little to enhance my performance at my job. (I'm a scientist, and based on the quality of the average journal article, writing skills are only marginally important in my chosen field.) > > > > 1) Am I a "writing addict" because of this? > > 2) Based on the criteria you give below, is writing an unhealthy hobby? > > > > >You cannot possibly tell me that you wouldn't be doing better in your 'chosen trade', you wouldn't have a more active social life, you wouldn't be > > >healthier/fitter, you wouldn't have achieved more had you not spent hour upon hour on CF. This goes for everyone. No matter how much you want to > > >deny it, CF is like a drug. It is addictive, people spent way too much time playing letting the rest of their lives sit in the background. Whether this > > >happens to you to a very minor degree or a major degree, it doesn't matter, it happens. Denying it might make you and all the other players feel as > > >though you are living to your potential, but you're not. I didn't choose this handle randomly, it's a fact of life. I'm not intentionally trying to put people > > >down, I'm just explaining to them what they are missing out on; life (addicts to a greater degree). People say that they have a home, a wife, they > > >should be allowed to waste X amount of hours on a text-based game. Sure. I merely am asking them that wouldn't it be healthier for all concerned to > > >not do this, spending those hours with your wife, child, gardening, out in the sun, playing a sport (yes, actually expending some energy)?

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