The Mud Resource Collection

FAQs and General Information

This document is part of the MUD Resource Collection.

Last update:

Want to know more about the world of MUDs? Here are some things you might want to check out.
o Documents on the Net
o USENET Newsgroups

Documents on the Net

Here's a list of MUD-related documents available via the WWW, FTP, and gopher.
o The MUD Frequently Asked Questions List
o The FAQs
o Part 1: MUDs and MUDding
o Part 2: MUD Clients and Servers
o Part 3: RWHO and mudwho

oSetting up TinyFugue
A simple guide to installing TinyFugue, the most popular MUSH client. Also at this site are documents on the basics of MUSH and online roleplaying.

o The History of MUDs
A document collection, done by Lauren Burka ("ashne") detailing the evolution of MUDs and MUD culture. Includes logs, analysis, and many interesting details.

oCardiff's VR Page
An excellent, extensive collection of MUD information, with an emphasis on MOOs.

o Jamie Norrish's collection
An archive of theoretical documents on MUDs.

o Encyclopedia of MUDs
A dictionary of MUD terminology.

o The Center for Imaginary Environments
A superb site covering LP-MUD and its derivatives. Home of the LP-MUD FAQ and lots of other information.

o Juliann's MUSH Matrix
A collection of generalized information about MUSHes and MUXes. Includes an extensive listing of MUSHes and MUXes.

o MUSEnet Home Page
The homepage for a group of educational MUSEs (particularly MicroMUSE), together with related information of interest.

o Julia's Page
Information about the famous TinyMUD robot, Julia.

o The Virtual Community
This is the full text of Howard Rheingold's book. Several of the chapters deal with MUDs. Though his treatment of MUDs isn't particularly good, the book itself is a worthwhile read.

o Yahoo MUD Links
Yahoo's page of links to MUD resources of all types. Lots of stuff here, much of it unsorted and a little random, and certainly far from complete, but it makes for entertaining browsing.

o ACTLAB Gopher
A large repository of MUD information of all types. There is a WWW Page which indexes some of the more interesting articles.

o UMN Gopher
An extensive list of multi-player interactive entertainment of all types, including BBS listings, commercial services, and links to MUDs. Although the listings of MUDs are quite extensive, the information is not terribly up-to-date.

o Russ Smith's MUD Page
A collection of links to various repositories of MUD information and in-game WWW servers.

o Amberyl's MUSH Manual
Your handy guide to programming either PennMUSH 1.50 or TinyMUSH 2.0 and 2.2. Everything from the basics of how to get something to go "bibble" at you, to designing recursive algorithms for complex text formatting. Version 2.008 is available on the WWW, as a gzipped tar archive or in parts.
o Part 1 (Index)
o Part 2 (Introduction)
o Part 3 (Building)
o Part 4 (Programming)
o Part 5 (Wizarding)
o Part 6 (Psychocoding)

o Javelin's Guide for PennMUSH Gods
A document which administrators of PennMUSH 1.50-based MUSHes might find helpful; it covers basic issues in administration, and contains a guide to making hardcode modifications.

o Wizard Ethics
An essay, on wizard behavior and responsibilities, uses and abuses for power, and an ethical code for "good wizards".

o TinyMUX Resources
Adam Dray's list of TinyMUX resources, including links to code archives.

o BlackMagic's MUSH Page
Some information on World of Darkness (White Wolf Storyteller) MUSHes.


USENET Newsgroups

In the beginning, there was alt.mud, and then, later, rec.games.mud.misc. In the summer of 1992, rec.games.mud split to form the present hierarchy, listed below.
o rec.games.mud.announce
Important announcements, the MUD lists, and other useful information. I currently moderate this group; submissions should be sent to rgm-announce@theurgy.digex.net.

o rec.games.mud.admin
Theoretically for the discussion of issues relevant to MUD administration.

o rec.games.mud.diku
Discussion of DikuMUDs (a type of combat MUD).

o rec.games.mud.lp
Discussion of LP-MUDs and related drivers, such as MudOS. MUDs of this type are generally oriented towards combat and quests.

o rec.games.mud.misc
General discussion (and frequent flamewars) about MUDs.

o rec.games.mud.tiny
Discussion of Tiny-style MUDs, such as MUSHes, MUCKs, and MOOs. MUDs of this type are usual for social chatting, or for roleplaying.