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MUDs; the ultimate groupware?
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1994-09-02
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Topic 298 MUDs: the ultimate groupware?
peg:agarton cyberculture zone 1:20 AM Feb 1, 1994
/* Written 7:17 pm Nov 3, 1993 by tomw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au in peg:aus.acs */
/* ---------- "MUDs: the ultimate groupware?" ---------- */
Moving our committees, companies, government agencies and other
organisations into "virtual reality"
I attended a talk by Dr Lawrie Brown at ADFA Computer Science Department
on "MUDs - Serious Research Tool or Just Another Game" (abstract
attached). MUDs are "Multi-User Dungeons". This was very thought
provoking. It struck a cord with some questions I have been asked in the
last few days, on the wider community use of networked computer
applications.
NETWORKING USE DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN
As an enthusiastic network user it is very frustrating to try to explain
the use and value of the technology for non-users. Try explaining what a
telephone is for to someone has never seen one: "well you speak into this
little plastic box...". MUDs might provide a suitable "metaphor" for
explaining the how and what of networking. The network would then be
"virtual" place where organisations "exist".
ORGANISATIONS ARE ALREADY VERY VIRTUAL
One common social organisation is the "committee". These can be community,
company or government committees, formal or informal. Committees usually
have part time members and a secretariat. The committee normally doesn't
"own" anything, all resources being provided by the organisations
represented. Between meetings the secretariat looks after the committee,
sending and receiving correspondence and keeping the files. The
secretariat may be shared between several committees and provided by part
time staff.
In effect a committee has no physical existence between "meetings", unless
the secretariat is working on that committee's business. The committee
exists in a "virtual reality", of paperwork and agendas.
Some companies use leased equipment and part-time contracted staff.
Companies have to have a registered address, but this is often just a sign
on the wall of an accounting firm's office. The company's money is digital
data in a bank's computer. The company can trade completely
electronically. If the company is publicly listed, its shares exist as
data in the stock exchange computer. Companies, like committees, are
already very "virtual".
NETWORKS FOR MORE VIRTUAL ORGANISATIONS
Setting up and running an organisation can be an onerous task. This
applies to local community group or a major company. This could be made
easier and cheaper by the availability of public data network services.
A local neighbourhood watch committee could do most of its business
through a network system. The system would provide the secretariat
functions and meeting place. Much of the routine administrative work could
be done automatically by the system, or by the committee members on-line.
Face-to-face meetings could be kept for more important purposes. This
might make it easier to get volunteers for such committees.
Much has been made in the computer press about employees "tele-commuting"
to work. However it is assumed that this is an exception to normal work
and the company has an office somewhere. Perhaps it need not.
MUDS AS ORGANISATIONS
In trying to explain the value of network services I have claimed it
allows better communication between people and between organisations.
However individuals appear to find networking very useful, whereas
organisations do not.
In many organisations individuals have taken up using e-mail and computer
conferences enthusiastically. However, their organisation has difficulty
in integrating these work patterns into official procedures. I thought
this might be because more training or better equipment was needed.
Perhaps there is a more fundamental reason.
Possibly when a group of people use network communications to communicate
they FORM a new informal organisation. It is therefore not possible for
their official organisation to integrate this without changing its
structure. Sometimes the official organisation may cease to have a useful
function, due to the new way of working. It could be very difficult for
the organisation to recognise its own obsolescence.
Tom Worthington <tomw@adfa.oz.au>, Director of the Community Affairs Board
Australian Computer Society Inc. Fax: +61 6 2496419 4 November 1993
ABOUT THE ACS: The Australian Computer Society is the professional
association in Australia for those in the computing and information
technology fields. Established in 1966, the ACS has over 14,000 members
and on a per capita basis is one of the largest computer societies in the
world. ACS activities are announced in the Usenet newsgroup "aus.acs". ACS
information is available via the Internet Gopher hosted at
ietf.cnri.reston.va.us courtesy of IFIP and the Internet society.
---------------------------------------------------------------
ADFA Computer Science Department Seminar
========================================
DATE: Thursday, 4 November 1993
TIME: 11:05am
VENUE: Computer Science Room 152
SPEAKER: Dr Lawrie Brown
SUBJECT: MUDs - Serious Research Tool or Just Another Game
ABSTRACT
MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) have been getting quite a bit of press
recently, much of it heated, and much of it negative. In part, this has
generally run along the lines that they are simply a waste of bandwidth,
and that people have better things to do with their time. Whilst there is
certainly a large element of truth in this, does it mean we should write
them off altogether? Well, I believe we should not, and that in fact MUDs
are a very powerful tool for doing some interesting research. A MUD
provides a controlled, user extensible environment in which a number of
people can interact. The design of the programs running MUDs, the design
of usage of the environments created in a MUD, and the way people
interact, all involve some fascinating realms of inquiry In this talk I
intend to introduce the concepts and history of the MUDs, and then provide
an overview of some uses for MUDs. These range from an on-line conference
room in my own MUD, to testing garbage collection algorithms,
experimenting with economic models, simulating a Mars colony, and
investigating the psychology of user interactions on MUDs. I'll try to
conclude with an idea of where they are going, and some hints for
responsible MUD management.
.