A Quiet Month
sysop@mud2.com

Even before the day of April 1 was over, I knew we were looking forward to a quiet month here at MUD2.COM. You see, there's this little built-in April fools' joke by Richard; usually, I get several e-mail messages on this date about a hideous security problem in MUD2 from well-intentioned players. This year, I received a grand total of one.

The rest of the month was no different: usage was lower than average, and we also had fewer new accounts than usual. (Although I am glad to report that in the last few days of the month, several new players signed up!)

This lack of activity, and the fact that I finally finished my latest manuscript, gave me time to catch up on a few things. For instance, I was able to add features to our home-grown accounting system (a Microsoft Access database of very fine quality -- what else can it be? I wrote it after all) and as a result, I was able to offer a first-month subscription discount in addition to subscription trials to some new players. This also means that we are one step closer to allowing players who prefer to do so to pay by the hour. This is mostly of interest to those players who play very little, and find the monthly subscription fee excessive.

Just the other day, I also received a brand new version from Richard. Version 4E(35) contains in excess of 200 changes and improvements, many in response to specific concerns raised by players here at MUD2.COM. As usual, we shall test the new version rigorously, but unless major bugs are found, I expect this version to be released in a few weeks. Needless to say, a banner will be posted when this happens.

Canadians among you know that April 30 is a special time of the year in our country: it is the deadline to send in our income tax returns. It was this special occasion that prompted me to make a purchase that I have been putting off for years: a decent printer.

A printer, you say? Well, yes. Surrounded I may be with high-tech equipment, until Wednesday my only printing device was an 8-year old HP DeskJet. However excellent a printer it is, it was getting old. I also had all sorts of problems with the ink drying up in a printer I used no more often than once or twice a month. Yet this low usage was precisely the reason why I haven't bought a new one; since I do everything electronically these days, I was unable to justify the expense. This time, however, I reached the end of the line: I was not looking forward to printing our income tax returns on the old machine. Of course, a retail price barely in excess of 500 dollars Canadian for a fine HP LaserJet also helped to persuade me to make this decision!

Needless to say, once my new printer was set up and operational, I wasted no time: I spent the last two days of the month completing, printing, reviewing, and printing again our returns, and I must say I really had enough of it! This may also help explain why I am keeping my personal column a little shorter than usual! So, until next time,

Viktor the arch-wizard