MU*

MU* is an abbreviation which refers collectively to a family of text-based^[1] multi-user virtual world servers comprising:

TinyMUD
MUSH
MOO
TinyMUCK
and related, less-notable types; see the TinyMUD family tree for more

Another term for these servers is the Tiny family.

The asterisk is often used in computer programming languages to represent a wildcard (any number of arbitrary characters), which suggests a usage that encompasses MUDs in general. However, confusingly, MU* is often used in a manner exclusive of services specifically described as MUDs, with the MU* term meant to distance the TinyMUD family of "social MUDs" from "combat-oriented" MUDs.^[2] With the dominant usage of MUD being as a generic term^[1] rather than specifically denoting combat-oriented games — indeed, both TinyMUD and MOO are MUDs in name (MOO stands for MUD, Object-Oriented), while MUSH and MUCK are backronymed puns on "MUD" — this positions MU* as actually being a subset of MUD.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 3. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. Confusingly, although the term MUD applies to virtual worlds in general, the term MU* does not—it is used strictly for text-based worlds.
^ Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. TinyMUD was deliberately intended to be distanced from the prevailing hack-and-slay AberMUD style, and the "D" in its name was said to stand for "Dimension" (or, occasionally, "Domain") rather than "Dungeon;" this is the ultimate cause of the MUD/MU* distinction that was to arise some years later.
^ Hahn, Harley (1996). The Internet Complete Reference (2nd ed.). Osborne McGraw-Hill. pp. 553. ISBN 0-07-882138-X. [...] for example, MUCK, MUSH, MUSE, MAGE, MUG, MOO, and so on. All of these things are muds [...] For instance, you may read that MUSH stands for "Multi-User Shared Hallucination". My advice is to forget the acronyms. Consider all of these strange things to be types of muds and leave it at that.

External links

[bartlegen-1] Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 3. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. Confusingly, although the term MUD applies to virtual worlds in general, the term MU* does not—it is used strictly for text-based worlds.

[bartlealts-2] Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. TinyMUD was deliberately intended to be distanced from the prevailing hack-and-slay AberMUD style, and the "D" in its name was said to stand for "Dimension" (or, occasionally, "Domain") rather than "Dungeon;" this is the ultimate cause of the MUD/MU* distinction that was to arise some years later.

[hahn-3] Hahn, Harley (1996). The Internet Complete Reference (2nd ed.). Osborne McGraw-Hill. pp. 553. ISBN 0-07-882138-X. [...] for example, MUCK, MUSH, MUSE, MAGE, MUG, MOO, and so on. All of these things are muds [...] For instance, you may read that MUSH stands for "Multi-User Shared Hallucination". My advice is to forget the acronyms. Consider all of these strange things to be types of muds and leave it at that.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Multi-user dungeons (MUDs)
Major branches	AberMUD DikuMUD LPMud MU*
Minor branches, codebases, libraries	DGD GodWars MOO MUSH Talker TinyMUCK
Concepts, terminology	Alternate character Avatar Bartle taxonomy of player types Cybersex God Griefer Grinding Hack and slash Healer Immortal Kill stealing Loot Mob, Monster Non-player character Online wedding Persistent world Player character Player versus environment Player versus player, Playerkilling Quest Spawning Tank Twinking Virtual goods Video game bot Wizard Zone, Area
Publications	Designing Virtual Worlds "A Rape in Cyberspace" Terra Nova
Companies, organizations	Areae Iron Realms Entertainment Jagex Lysator Kesmai The Mud Connector Mythic Entertainment Plaintext Players Simutronics
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