>Brian:
>
>>You perceive MUDs as "illusory?" I have to ask: are you speaking from
>>first-hand experience? Or are you speaking from a position of Fear,
>>Uncertainty, and Doubt as promulgated by the mainstream media?
>>Participating in a MUD, and participating in the tangled web of marketing
>>materials spun by the popular media are two very different things. Most
>>MUDders I've encountered are very adamant about the "reality" of their
>>experiences, to the point that they expect other people to act as though
>>they were face to face in the real world (which I personally find an
>>annoying request!)... Text-based MUDs are at least psychologically
>>compelling in their own right...
>
>I take it that your a real Dungeons and Dragon's fan! I see no reason to
>defend text-based MUD's, they are what they are, they serve a purpose like
>phone sex.
>Phone sex is compelling for some too. So what?
>
>Fear doesn't enter into this picture in the least, though I'm sure that
>most people would rather have their kids sitting in front of a computer
>screen (where they can at least be found), that roaming around the city
>streets getting into real trouble.
>
>Also, you mis-read my notion of "getting lost", as some reference to
>getting lost on the Internet, when I was refering to the GPS and GIS
>systems with blanket our planet. And which now ironically have appeared in
>our over-priced luxury sedans as a convience for navigation, so we don't
>miss that turn going on the way to Uncle Pete's (laughs):).
>
>And finally, I don't think are present day condition is in any way
>comparable to the 60's (huh)? In essence, you missed the point of my entire
>posting. A careful look at the addresses of this group will reveal no aol
>users here (as if that was some kind of insult), and so what if they were?
>Do I detect an Internet snob in my uh un/presense?
>
>Cheers...
>
>John Beckmann
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----
>John Beckmann
>A x i s M u n d i
>124 Watts Street
>New York, NY 10013
>jbeckmann@axismundi.com
>tel: 212.966.5310 fax: 212.966.3574
>
>
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>
brian lonsway
......................................................................
j erik jonsson distinguished visiting assistant professor.
rensselaer architecture.
lonsway@rpi.edu.