RL
Editorial

Most players of MUD2 know the meaning of these dreaded letters: RL stands for Real Life.

Real, you say? What can be more real than a bloodthirsty dragon, ready to fry you to a crisp? What can be more real than a gang of vicious dwarfs, about to hack you to death with hideous instruments of murder?

But no, RL refers not to this but to that alternate reality of accountants and taxmen, lawyers and politicians, sports and sitcoms, wars and accidents, alarm clocks at 6AM and traffic jams in the afternoon, pollution and overcrowded highways, ecological disasters and stress-related illnesses, repetitive strain syndrome and exposure to low-frequency radiation, deadlines, pink slips, drunken boyfriends, unfaithful girlfriends, misbehaving children, lost cats, dead dogs, encyclopaedia salesmen... in other words, all the stuff that we are running away from when we enter the magical, timeless kingdom of MUD2.

MUD2 is indeed a refuge from the gruelling reality of everyday (RL) life. Which is why it is important that we do not allow RL to intrude into our Land. No, this is not a thinly veiled attempt at launching a censorship campaign that would allow wizzes to police private conversations about RL subjects between players. On the contrary, I would like to encourage any attempt to forge lasting friendships that extend beyond the limits of our Land. (Just keep in mind that while in the Land, your conversations with your friends can be overheard by other players.)

No, what I would like to discourage is the kind of behaviour that rudely shatters the magic of the Land. Such as coming into the game and shouting about the glorious victory of your favourite sports team. Or something about a sitcom you're watching on TV. Or a shouted commentary on the sex life of the politician of your choice. Topics like these simply do not belong to our magical Land; if you must discuss them in public, there are plenty of places on the Internet that are better suited for this purpose.

Not that this has been a problem of any significance here at MUD2.COM. However, there is a related problem that is potentially far more serious: bringing personal issues from RL into the game.

The Land's wizzes know very well that their powers must never be used to settle a RL issue. Whether Bobby the mage seduced your wife or Patty the warlock rendered your e-mail account useless through mail bombing, I do not care: your powers are not to be used to even the score. This stands for wizzes as well as mortals: a mage harassing a novice is almost as bad as an abusive wiz.

So help us keep our fantasy world pristine and pollution-free. Instead of bringing your RL problems here, please try to leave them at home and come here instead for a breath of fresh air. Use MUD2 as intended: as a place where you can escape from gruelling everyday problems.

Viktor the arch-wizard