Volume Four Issue Three
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............./ / THE LEGENDARY TIMES
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..../ /_/..\______/./_____/./__/.../__/./_______/ MUD
.../________________/ running on mud.aus.sig.net 9999
199.1.78.16 9999
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VOLUME FOUR, ISSUE THREE January 28, 1997
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DEPARTMENT UPDATES
PLAYER FORUM
A Response to Demon GreenSpawn
SOCIAL EVENTS
The Legendary Times Personals
LEGENDITES
A Dusty Trail
PAID ADVERTISING
LOVE LEGEND STYLE
A True Story of Puppy (Newbie) Love
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Please send your responses to articles to the Legendary Times address at
[email protected]. Letters to the editor and submissions are welcomed.
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FROM THE (ACTING) EDITOR
Generally, I'm considered to be the "quiet" Imm. People call me "reticent,"
which I suppose means that I generally don't say a whole lot. Certainly, I
avoid public speaking at all cost.
But I can't avoid this.
I'm editing this and subsequent issues of the Legendary Times because
Sabella, a full PR imm, has asked to be put on inactive status. Meaning that
she isn't going to be editing the Legendary Times, running the lecture
series, stringing items, setting registrations, running tinyplots, running
games, or any other of the countless things that she's done for the PR
department these last six months. Why is she gone?
Simple.
Some players felt that she should always be running tag, or flag quests,
despite the rest of her duties. Others resented her efforts to keep swear
words off chat, or to provide channels for things like PK arguments. Or
disagreed with the LT's coverage of recent Administrative decisions. So they
gave her a bad time on chat, wrote nasty things about the lecture series on
public boards, and were a general pain to deal with. She felt unappreciated
and harassed. And finally, she just couldn't deal with it anymore.
But this isn't the only fit of nastiness that we've seen lately. I'm sure
everyone's read the various war board posts concerning the Vial case, as
well as heard about the efforts of certain players to coerce the imms into
reinstating Vial's characters. None of this is conducive to immortal OR
player health. In the past, we've been very hesitant to limit free speech.
But the current climate forces us to. Thus, you'll see a new policy
regarding public boards and channels in this issue. We're not preventing you
from appealing immortal decisions or from getting questions answered. But we
cannot tolerate the kind of public hollering and misinformation that's
helped to create the current climate of distrust between imms and players.
Meanwhile, there's the Player Relations Department.
In the next few weeks, we'll be accepting proposals from players wishing to
imm as members of PR. At the same time, we'll release revised Proposal
Guidelines, as well as information concerning what areas we need new
immortals in. But in the mean time, we'll be understaffed; that means that
the LT may not be as timely as I'd like. It may mean that there won't always
be someone around to do strings or registrations. As Head of the Public
Relations Department, I regret that. I hope that the rest of you do as well.
- Rusalka
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FROM THE IMPLEMENTORS
Parrilyn was among the immortals placed on inactive status at the start of
the New Year. She had been unable to show us progress on her area in many
months, and had missed a Thanksgiving deadline to show any work she might
have had done. Her work for the player relations department had also
slipped; the last trivia game she ran was at the end of November, and she
scheduled two and never showed up for the second one (causing many player
complaints). In addition to her inactivity, her conflicts with, and
suspicion of, other immortals on the staff led to much awkwardness and led
to other immorts being unwilling to work with her. Several immortals,
including those who count themselves among her friends, attempted to discuss
the issues with her and were unable to make much headway. The department
heads had expressed great difficulty in working with her, and she was not
participating in immort discussions or votes. She was active playing her
mortal during this time. The standard letter was mailed to her regarding
inactivity, and she did not respond. Her immortal character had been absent
long enough to be automatically deleted in the monthly player purges at this
point.
The night that some players decided to terrorize the mud by holding players
hostage against immort decisions, Parrilyn (using her mortal) tacitly
supported said actions, chatting and sending tells on their behalf. Given a
past history of using her mortal to challenge immort decisions, it was felt
that this was the last straw; a letter was emailed in which she was
informed that she was being archived. This letter was also not replied to.
We deeply regret having to take this action, but the reality is that
Parrilyn has not been a participating member of the immortal staff for many
months now, and this action is more in the nature of an acknowledgment of
reality. We wish her the best of luck in whatever she chooses to do next,
and wish that it all could have worked out better.
-Ptah
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ADMINISTRATION UPDATE
The following statement of policy is motivated by past events which have
caused great stress and dismay to many members of the LegendMUD community,
both among the players and the immorts.
The immortals at LegendMUD understand that their decisions will not always
meet with full approval of the playerbase, and that there will often be
questions regarding the actions taken. Anyone is welcome to appeal
decisions made. Appeals over a decision made by an assistant or full
immortal may be made to the appropriate department head; appeals about a
dept head may be made to the head of admin; appeals over the head of
admin's decisions may be made to the implementers directly by emailing
[email protected] or via mudmail. An appeal denied by the imps is
considered final, though appeals with substantial new information--meaning
facts that were not brought to light in previous appeals--or new argument
--meaning a new perspective on the issue--will be treated as a separate
case. To appeal, simply send a detailed mudmail to the relevant immortal
covering the points in your case. The immortal will then make an effort to
discuss the issue with you in person or via mudmail, and then will make
a decision or refer the matter upwards in the immort hierarchy.
However, the various other responsibilities of the immortal staff cannot be
performed in an atmosphere of distrust, open animosity, and politicking.
The immortals will simply not be willing to devote hours to keeping the
game running and growing and fun if they feel under constant personal
attack. In addition, the atmosphere created by said attacks and protests is
unappealing to the players as a whole, and harms player retention.
Therefore, disruptive public protests will be regarded as extreme forms of
harassment. If a player or group of players is asked to refrain from
protest by anyone--player or immortal--they must move the protest to the
proper forum immediately (see below), ceasing and desisting all harassment
of the players. Those who do not comply are faced with restricted access to
Legend via temporary or permanent siteban, or possibly deletion of all of
their characters, in the event that siteban would bar other players from
the mud. Public protests of this type are defined to be use of public
channels, boards, or web discussion boards as a forum for disruptive,
politically motivated, insulting or derogatory, or irrelevant
messages--such as counteraccusations, justifications for the action, etc.
etc.
As an alternative, the immortals will be happy to answer questions in a
civilized discussion forum. If any three players request a formal
discussion of an issue, said event will be scheduled within one week
(unusual circumstances permitting). The gathering will be held under strict
rules of order and will be moderated by an individual agreed upon by the
concerned players and by the immortals. This discussion is not an
opportunity to vote and overrule the decision made, but rather a process of
discovery and debate which may serve to create grounds for further appeal.
We understand that many may regard this as an infringement of their right
to state opinions; however, we feel that the appeals process and public
meetings serve as civil alternatives that are not disruptive, and not
unduly discouraging to players and immortals alike. In the end, it really
comes down to the fact that it is preferable to have to live with the above
restrictions, than it is to not have a mud to play on, because all the
immortals and players quit in disgust.
PLAYER RELATIONS UPDATE
Lirra recently ran a tinyplots in Arabia that involved (or so I heard), the
kidnap of the Sultan's prize storyteller, Scherezade. We still haven't heard
whether she was returned, however...Satsu's also been doing some tinyplot
work as of late (as in late nights), including a very melodramatic one at
the Dun that involved Mauve accusing Branwyn of stealing from Gawain in
addition to a scandalous love affair with one of the apprentices from the
Druid compound. He's also run some scavenger hunts...in the future, Satsu
plans to do some trivia games too..which is also the aim of Clutch, who held
a music trivia last week. Spencer and Joule are continuing their Question
and Answer sessions in the OOC on Tuesday nights, so be sure to check that
out :) Also, just a reminder, please send all description requests to Sandra
(she's in charge of checking to make sure that it doesn't duplicate someone
else's description).
BUILDING
Deanna reports that her DreamTime Australia area is in the Alpha stages of
testing. The department is also continuing its efforts at ensuring that all
items and areas are balanced.
CODING
Gail reports that the new coding assistants "are coming up to speed. They'd
just completed the mineralogy skills section of the upcoming Skill Trees,
and are now embarking on lore, carpentry, furrier, tradesman, and smelting.
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PLAYER FORUM
(A Response to Demon Greenspawn)
I am seriously concerned about the repeated suggestions of force clanning
every one..Just because some people just can't see beyond pkill and it's all
that really interests them, is that a reason to punish the rest of us and
force us to clan, who have no inclination to pkill and in fact want no part
of it??? It doesn't sound fair to me..
Personally I hate pkill and always have but I don't demand removing it..If
people wish to murder each other then let them, none of my business..But I
have as much right to have fun on Legend as they do, and I certainly do not
want to see Legend change into a pkill Mud..
I have played Legend for almost 2 years now, and I am practically in love
with it..but if this crazy idea of forcing everyone to clan goes through, I
will be forced to withdraw..with all my characters..In fact I know at least
10 more people who will as well..I think it would leave Legend with the
pkillers only - or almost - efficiently turning Legend into a pkill Mud..
If people want to be on a pkill Mud, then there is a lot of such Muds out
there..why destroy the fun for us - and there really is quite a number of
us - who detest pkill and want no part of it??? If the pkillers can't
handle their own activities, then it's their problem! Just why should the
rest of us suffer???
Regards
Tigereye
[Editor's Note: Editorials/opinion pieces submitted by players (such as one
pkill by Demon Greenspawn that was featured in the last issue) do not
represent the immortal staff of LegendMUD. Rather than being policy
statements, they are intended to provoke discussion and debate. We very much
welcome both opinion pieces and responses to them, such as Tigereye's.]
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o O | Wonder what folks are |
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THE LEGENDARY TIMES PERSONALS
Leila, LT Staff
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Please help us welcome Violet to our family!
--Somar and Fatale Ilnos
**********
Hi everyone. Since a lot of people asked me this question,"What is the
Circle of Angels?", well I've decided to take a couple of minutes
and tell you about it...
CLeo is an old spirit, an angel, that used to travel into time in
search of peace and love. The Circle of Angels was his first family.
A powerful group of angels who sought peace, love and justice for all.
In his long quest, he encountered pain, happiness, despair, love, hope
and many more feelings. He never actually found what he was looking
for... but he kept searching.
One day he found himself in a new time, a new world, where he felt
somewhat more at peace than before... so he decided to stop his
traveling trough time and enjoy his human life...
--CLeo of the Circle of Angels
********
McDougan, with one final sip of ale, completed his change in appearance.
No more will he be known as a mischievous Scotsman, and he probably won't
be sober enough to suppress a chuckle. But this disheveled, hiccuping
Scot may be seen doing his impression of a pile of tartan rags in a gutter
near you.
On a similar note, Sickboy has lost a few years in age. Instead of being a
"An emaciated Scotsman," he is now "An emaciated Scottish lad."
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
There have been some changes regarding the McDougan Clan, anyone who wants
to be intiated into the clan should contact me. The clan will consider all
requests and vote on whether or not to let the applicant in. The clan is RP
and encourages the idea of RP in LegendMUD.
-- Hastur, Knight of the clan McDougan.
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LEGENDITES
The other day, while eating her lunch at her OOC office, the editor was
startled by the sudden, unprecedented appearance of a bottle on her desk.
Lifting it up (and splattering bilgy water on herself in the process), she
found that contained a bit of paper that was brittle covered with little
bits of salt. The writing on it looked somewhat familiar....
This #$%^& voyage is too long, can't get a decent meal... treasure
in Gibraltar seems mythi. If the storm ever..."
The next entry is almost totally obscured by watery stains.
The next one: "...weathered it fine, but ... getting worse. More clouds...
never insult a Knight again if I live...."
The bottom of the page is torn, but there is another page...
A snatch of verse: "The seas wobble more in my stomach/Than they do when I'm
on the deck/No more eating heavy breakfasts/Cause this weather makes me...":
Sail sighted on the horizon... might the Mercenaries be after the treasure
too? Must reach the rock before the sail reaches me..."
This'll make a heck of a song... too bad I won't live to see it. This
bilgehold is stinky, my hair is a mess... they slaughtered the crew... who ARE
they?
Tenth day prisoner in the Rock. As long as my rescuer isn't McDougan, I'll
MARRY him when he shows up. :P"
.weak... no food... where's a white knight? I'm sorry, Sanquela... forgive
me, Greyscot... I hate you, Birdy... DOWN WITH GUPPIES!
I've been dreaming of Sylia lately... even she has forsaken me..."
The last note is more coherent. "If I ever get out of this filthy place, you
can be sure they'll be in TROUble. I'd sic Agrippa on them and have him try
to marry THEM! I'd invite them to join the Antipaladins!"
It's signed, "Dusty, the fox-tailed flautist"..
**********
A few days later, I heard the following song being sung by some pirates (in
various keys) at one of the local taverns. Funny, but it also sounded kind
of familiar:
THE POETESS' DRINKING SONG
Parked pundits shall ponder
The placement of puzzles
To pinpoint the precious and few
'Pon pacing the places
Where pirates policing
Your poetess keep her from you
CHORUS
Pour the palaver
And prise the prizes
From pendant and posy and pew!
For pirates shall plunder
Panached and Pervanded
With un peu d'eau de pee-you!
Planned perfidiousness
And pluperfect pranking
Can't prevent treasure's purview
Seek plenty, you peasants!
And punish the pirates
So your poetess shares it all with you...
CHORUS
Paltry in their powers
Pathetically pomaded
Those pnoble pheroes pknow just pwhat to pdo!
Psave PDusty Pfrom Pthe Pirates!
The pauvre poetess patient for prescue!
CHORUS
Poor petty princess
Proven sans power
Plinks at her plaint in the dark...
Praise all perfect princes
Who pause to be pensive
and RESCUE ME YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!!
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PAID ADVERTISMENT
Anyone made you mad lately?
Don't you wish you could get back at them without laying any guilt on
yourself, and at no risk? Avoid the blame, avoid the hassle of pkill...
Hire a mercenary today for your pkill needs, we should have one in just
about any range (no guarantees), and affordable rates make us the
choice for pkill, delivering rude messages, or anything of the like.
--Contact Morphine or any other mercenary if you'd like a contract on
somebody.
This advertisement paid for by Morphine, taking away from her drug money =(
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LOVE LEGEND STYLE
A TRUE STORY OF PUPPY (NEWBIE) LOVE.
Or, 101 Ways to Fall for the Wrong Guy.
Or, A Struggle for Independence.
By Venka
It was a hot summer's night. All nights begin hot in the Arabian desert,
but usually they soon turn cold. I roamed the streets of my hometown, bored
and hungry. I spent my day, like most days, begging for coins to buy a
simple meal. Now it was time to rush to the shop before it closed and get
myself some food -- or so my growling stomach told me.
I had wandered too long and the shopkeeper threw me out and told me to come
back in the morning. Hungry and miserable I set out to the inn when a woman
appeared. As she saw me she turned to me and smiled warmly. She was
beautiful, with long silky black hair and a languid manner. "Good evening
young one," she spoke in a calm and friendly voice.
At first I was offended. Why did this woman mock my age? she herself could
not be more than 17 years of age, surely. But then I noticed her eyes and
realized she must be much older than she appeared. My stomach growled as it
had for hours now and the woman noticed. "You are hungry," she spoke,
compassion in her voice, "will you not join me? I was about to retire for
the night, but not before a quick meal." I was about to decline when
something in her eyes (or perhaps it was my insistent and not very pleasant
hunger) persuaded me to accept her invitation.
We sat in the inn and ate our meal. We feasted on many exotic foods I had
never eaten before. She told me she was a lover of fine food and had
traveled the world looking for new tastes and smells. For dessert we had
brownies and brandy, a dangerous combination -- and one I would like to try
again.
"I can see in your eyes the hope and wonder I once felt in my own
heart," the woman suddenly sighed. "Let me give you some advice young one:
fight for your independence." Her tone was grave and her expression sad. I
inquired as to what prompted such a warning.
"I will tell you about a girl, very much like you. Set to explore the
world, and accomplish great things," she said to me. "It was in Ireland
that she was born, already quite some years back," she sighed. "A town
called Tara. A small town, a town not big enough for her. But the woods
outside of Tara hold many dangers, and people are careful not to wander too
far. And I learned that they were right." At this point a slight smile
appeared on her tired face, as she apparently relived some pleasant memory.
"One day while hanging around the inn the girl met a man. He was much older
and very stern looking. Most girls her age would not have cast him more than
a wondering glance, as he was not a physically attractive man, but as soon
as she saw him she looked past the harsh exterior and saw the adventurous
soul that hid inside him. They engaged in conversation and the girl ended up
joining him on one of his many journeys. But disaster struck immediately,
outside the inn a thief waited for them. The girl knew the thief, he had
taught her some of his art . But before she could warn her new friend, he
caught the thief trying to steal from him and a battle ensued. It was fast
and confusing, and when it was over she found the man dead. The thief had
lured them into a Sidhe trap, and while his spirit returned to reclaim his
body, there was no time for joy as the Sidhe chose to attack them both. Next
she woke up in the inn badly wounded, clinging to life by a mere thread. At
her side was the man." The woman smiled warmly, and sipped her brandy. Then
her expression became sad and thoughtful again.
"The pain and shock were too much and the young girl pitifully complained
about her lost dagger," the woman continued. "The man, himself badly wounded
and having lost much more than just a dagger, became angered. Leaving her a
bag filled with gold he quickly departed. The girl was filled with remorse.
It had been the shock, she had not meant to take it out on him. But he was
gone. She wandered around town looking for him, inquired with everyone she
knew, and a host of people she didn't . Finally she got word to him that she
would do anything for him if he'd just forgive her, after all he had fought
valiantly to protect her. He returned with a new dagger and the two became
lovers. For a while life was perfect. But then one day he set out on a
journey to the other end of the world, never to
return."
The woman paused to refill her cup with brandy, and I wondered if
perhaps this was the end to her story. But she continued.
"The girl waited for the longest time. Finally she gave up. He was either
dead or had left her. She resigned never again to fall for another man and
to remain celibate. She had just made this decision when a massive bald man
appeared. He asked her why she looked so sad, and told her not to give up on
men completely. He even let her know he was looking for a bride and she
seemed to meet all his criteria. Repulsed by his lack of romance the woman
politely declined his offer and went on her way. When next she met him he
was engaged to be married. She met the news with mixed feelings and wished
him well. Several months later he reappeared in her life, begging her to
forgive him for being so foolish as to place another woman above her. She
was more than slightly amused and told him that they had never been involved
in any kind of relationship and he was free to choose anyone above her whom
he pleased. But the man persisted and the woman found herself charmed by his
boorish ways.
When she learned he was going around telling people she had agreed to marry
him she was worried, but he apologized and agreed to tell everyone he was
indeed way ahead of the facts. But before long he had his way and they were
engaged. There followed a tumultuous engagement and they traveled around the
world to the Americas and met Indians and did many other things."
The woman sighed. She looked at me and smiled wanly.
"It couldn't last. His lifestyle was wild and dangerous, and she was
forced to let him go alone. She herself had made many friends over the
years and asked them to look after him and keep him safe. They did as best
they could, but he was not doing well. News of his brushes with death were
often carried across the seas to her ears, and left alone back in Europe she
missed her fiance. They never got around to tying the knot, and she grew
increasingly lonely. Worry and loneliness exhausted her, she found she had
no direction in her life. No clear view of what it was SHE wanted, as her
life had centered around him for years. When finally she decided she would
once again try her hand at independence, he was on one of his trips. She
waited a year and when he did not return images of her first love sprung to
mind. She packed her things and set out to explore the world..."
The woman smiled at me, a mischievous smile that made her look decades
younger than she apparently was. She winked at me. "... and collect fine
foods," she concluded, and rose from her seat. She wobbled unsteadily and
grinned. "I guess I over did it on the brandy," she giggled. I smiled and
had to admit my own head felt more than a little funny.
"Do not waste decades of your life on fruitless relationships like me young
one. It is much easier to learn and change at YOUR age. You can still be all
you want to be," she said as she grabbed my hand. I nodded gravely. She
smiled warmly and brushed some of her long silky hair from her face. Then
she turned around and left the room.
I hope I will see her again some day.
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Legendary Times is published by the gods of LegendMUD. Please send all
replies/additions to our address at [email protected] for inclusion in the
next edition. We, however, reserve the right to moderate this discussion, and
may object to some submissions.
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