Practicum #3 - Katie Yohn

Today I connected to LambdaMOO, the first social MOO and most heavily populated MOO there is. LambdaMOO is the model for most MOOs today. LambdaMOO takes place in a mansion called The Lambda House. It is situated in a nice neighborhood (you can actually walk the streets and go into stores - I explored the grocery store).

The moment I connected, I noticed that it is much less user-friendly/beginner-friendly than BayMOO. It does not give you options for what to do next, you simply have to know. LambdaMOO is more "directional" in the sense that instead of saying "go The Birthday Machine", you would have to say go North, East, South or West depending on where The Birthday Machine was in the house (when you enter a room you will be presented with a description of what is in the room and what direction everything is in relation to you). This gets very confusing and I actually could not figure out how to get back into the house after exiting and exploring the neighborhood. There is a great help center that has basic commands though, and I spent a good amount of time there.

Another big way that LambdaMOO is different from BayMOO is there are a lot of live people walking around. There was over 60 people walking around the mansion when I logged on. The moment I landed in the "quiet" closest (the place you enter as a guest) people were waving and saying hi to me. I had a couple of conversations with people, and some of the regulars were very nice in helping me find my way.

Since I enjoyed LambdaMOO much more than BayMOO, I decided to apply to become a regular member. All I had to do was say what name I would like and my e-mail address and the MOO said that I would become a member in one or two days. When I become a regular member I can make a description for myself and won't lose objects every time I end a session.

My goals for my next session will be to start acquiring objects and to figure out how to retain a permanent residence in the MOO.