RFMuC #100

RFMuC #100                          Request for Mu* Comments
Proposal



                   *** RFMuC 100 ***

    Establishing the Request for Mu* Comments Series:
               A First-draft Explanation


                   April 20, 1993


                 by Jeffrey Chrisope
           (Zazz @ TMI-2|WizMud|Wintermute)

1.0 INTRODUCTION: What is this??

1.1 Initial Ideas:

First, let me confess to being, almost completely, a user of LPMuds, and lately, MudOS. This does NOT mean that all of you who are not LPMudders should tune out, because I want to make it very clear that this series is FOR ALL MU*s and TO ALL MU*s. Please forgive any mistakes that show myself, yet again, to be a neophyte to other MU*s, and please correct me.

This series originally sprang from the realization that, with the growing number of muds that offer some form of "socket" access (the ability to access the same Internet sockets that allow FTP, TELNET, and other Internet services), suddenly it has become possible for all MU*s, of all types, to interconnect to varying degrees, from simple remote communication to a more tightly-knit quasi-distributed environment.

But to do such a thing would require some common agreement about what protocol would be in use, between servers and clients frequently written in totally different languages, at totally different levels of the MU*s internal architecture. This was the initial impulse behind this document: much like the Internet Activities Board's RFC series (which this is obviously partially modelled after), it would put into a loosely organized format a running discussion of protocol standards.

1.2 But Read On: More Ideas!:

But there are many other possible uses to which the RFMuCs could be put. ANY topics that apply to a large portion of the MU*ing community would be sure and ready candidates for putting into a RFMuC. Here are some examples:

history of MU*ing, of the various types, and how they diverged, and how they could, again, converge (??)
discussions of design that are very pointedly NOT about any existing mud (the YAMOMIB problem: yet another mud, only mine is better). These frequently don't have a place in the various public forums, such as the various rgm.* newsgroups. This could include all levels of the MU*, from "driver" to whatever language, if any, is implemented on top of that.
along those lines, what would/could a "distributed" mud look like?
what would a standard message-passing format for client-server communication look like? This would enable people who want to make special, complex clients, to do so with the possibility of having it work on more than just Your Favorite Mu*.
what are player's rights? what is the status of "code copyright"? (NOTE: Wouldn't it be nice to have this in a RFMuC, so if you hate talking about it, you just don't read that RFMuC? ;)
suggestions of integrating Internet services such as FINGER, MAIL/ SMTP, ECHO, etc. into MU* activities.
discussions about making the ultimate graphical mud, and the protocols it could use.
cute stories, stupid stories, scarey stories.
establishing anything that would work on and build the idea that the MU*s form some kind of strange community. Perhaps a yearly gathering of some kind (yeah, right, in which we get the host MU* shut down for net-spamming ;)

And so on...it would be completely open. And documents about *specific* types of MU*s would also be allowed, though that should be a second priority, IMHO. What ideas do you have?

2.0 MECHANICS

2.1 Editor/Maintainer:

Well, this isn't too hard. Somebody would probably have to be given the job of "maintainer" or "editor." This job would entail, basically, making sure of things like keeping the documents in sequence, making sure messages like "Oh yeah? Well, thanks alot for that stupid reply!" don't become RFMuC #147, and so on. The editor would NOT really edit, except possibly to format it a bit (NO, I see no reason why all RFMuC's would have to have 1.0, 1.1, etc. numbering to them...I just chose that ;) and correct or question the author about big, ugly, horrible errors.

I would certainly volunteer to do such a job, but I would also need help, especially from the other quarters of MU* land, like MUSH, Tiny, MUCK, MOO, etc.

2.2 "Process" (smirk):

Basically, if you wanted to put something into the RFMuC series (think of it as a Usenet posting that will stick around forever ;) about a particular topic, you would send it to the editor, that person would mark it up a bit, possibly post it to one of the rgm.* newgroups (now which one, that is a question...probably rgm.admin?).

I am, in addition, asking around for ftp sites of any kind for making these documents available "permanently." Then you will be able to get them at any time if you need them. I will hopefully also be able to set up a simple (Bourne script!) RFMuC server that will allow my account to accept mail requests for RFMuCs. Nifty. If you know of an ftp site that would have the space for a small collection of documents, please let me know.

3.0 FINAL NOTES

3.1 Caveats:

This is a proposal, so please feel free to comment on it (thats what the "Request" and "Comment" are all about). But please do not flame: there's been enough of that on network newsgroups already, flattening potentially good ideas and leaving their creators to develop them in silence.

If you would like to help, in any capacity, please email me (address at the end of the document).

If you think this is a great idea, please email me (address at the end of the document).

If you hate me as a person now, and think that my section numbering reveals that I am a fascist, please email me at nope@dont.think.so.

3.2 Email Address:

My Un*x account is chrisopj@acf2.nyu.edu (I don't give out my VMS account, I'm embarassed ;). Or, if you are part of the current MudOS "Intermud" network (maybe soon to be superceded by bigger and better things!) you can mail me @wizmud, @tmi-2, @wintermute, or @cwlib.