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Join
trAce online every third Sunday for an hour of live talk
Some
meetings take place in the trAce Chat Room at WebBoard
and some at LinguaMOO
MEETING
TIME
2100 UK (your time)
Beginner's
Guide to MOOing
This
is a practical guide to taking your first steps in the text-based
virtual reality known as a MOO. It's
all you need to know to get to a live trAce MOO meeting. If
you need help, email Lingua and the MOO administrators
will do their best to help you.
There's
a great deal of theory around about what MOOs are and what they
mean, but there's no substitute for just jumping in and doing
it. It's just like Real Life.
So we
suggest that you simply dive in and try it!
Connecting
to Lingua MOO
There
are several ways to connect to a MOO
- If
you have a browser of Version 4 or above, try Lingua's graphical
interface enCore Xpress or the standalone version
of MOOtcan. (Recommended)
- You
can use telnet. If you use Windows95 you probably have a telnet
client ready installed. If not, you may need
help installing one. Telnet
is wholly text based and can seem overwhelming for a while.
(some information on telnet at http://193.62.1.220/~addicted/telnet-now/)
To go to the Lingua MOO homepage http://lingua.utdallas.edu
To telnet directly to Lingua MOO telnet://lingua.utdallas.edu:8888
- You can
use a dedicated software program such as Pueblo, available as
shareware at http://www.chaco.com/pueblo/,
for the PC, or Savitar, available at http://www.heynow.com/Savitar/,
for the Mac. /more
Very
First Steps (EnCore
Xpress)
The following commands
will get you as far as the trAce meeting room and enable you to
say your first word. Each command is shown in bold. The
part in italics is personal to you.
click
on Log In, (leave User ID as Guest and the password blank)
Enter
your preferred name, select a gender and type a description if
you wish.
Click
Save
When
the Xpress windows appear, click in the bottom left window
Type @go #3031
Type "hi!
At
the trAce meeting room type Up and you will find yourself in a
beginners' tutorial .
(telnet)
If
you are already able to use a telnet application:
Type connect guest
yourname
Type @go #3031
Type "hi!
Vital
Tips
- Program commands
MUST be exactly correct. Errors in spacing, punctuation
and spelling will all result in the response "I don't
understand that".
- You MUST
press the <return> or <enter> key at the end of
each line, or your text will not be entered.
- Remember to take
care in your interactions. Misunderstandings arise easily here.
- Use short sentences
as much as possible and don't worry too much about spelling
etc.
- Use the help files.
They contain a wealth of information.
- When writing descriptions
etc remember to be as creative and imaginative as
you can. Use words to evoke smells, sounds and all the
other sensations you can think of. Use tactile materials
and powerful visions to build your virtual persona. Pay
attention to the way you expect your reader to respond. Be poetic.
Be persuasive. Be powerful.
Basic
Commands
Each command
is shown in bold. The part in italics is personal
to you.
| Task |
Command |
Example |
| NB:
For more help on any of these commands type help followed
by the name of the command e.g. help look |
| Complete
the trAce tutorial in Room #3032 |
@go
#3032 |
|
| Look
around you |
look |
|
| Check
who else is online right now |
@who |
|
| Speak |
"
or say |
"hi!
Or say hi! |
| Communicate
privately with someone else |
"
or page |
"sue
hi or page sue hi |
| Carry
out common actions, e.g. laugh |
laugh |
|
| To
show that someone else has made you laugh |
laugh
|
laugh
name |
| Emote |
:
or emote |
:
falls on the floor or emote falls on
the floor |
| Set
your gender (in Xpress you may have done this when you first
logged on, but your gender can be changed with this command) |
@gender
|
@gender
female |
| Describe
yourself (in Xpress you may have done this when you first
logged on, but your description can be changed with this command) |
@describe
me as |
@describe
me as Tall dark and handsome |
| Send
a moomail to someone in the class |
@send |
@send
name |
| Get
information about another player |
Finger
|
Finger
name |
| Visit
another player (don't forget to ask them first!) |
@join
|
@join
name |
| Find
out what could happen if you indulge in rude or offensive
behaviour at LinguaMOO |
Help
manners |
|
| Return
to where you started |
home |
|
| Go
to another room |
@go
|
@go
room number eg #1111 |
Building
Commands
(you need
to have requested and received a character before you can build)
| Task |
Command |
Example |
| Build
a room |
@dig |
@dig
Kitchen |
| Find
out the number of that room and go to it |
@go |
@go
#???? |
| Make
that room your home |
@sethome |
|
| Describe
your room |
@describe
here as |
@describe
here as A cosy room with a roaring log fire. |
| Build
an "out" exit |
@dig
out to |
@dig
out to #???? |
| Return
to your own room |
home |
|
| Make
an object for your room |
@create
$thing named |
@create
$thing named small frog |
Useful
links
Setting
up a telnet client
- Using your internet
browser, go to:
http://lingua.utdallas.edu/connections.html
- Once there, you
will see three choices. Choose the first one: "Connect
with Telnet." This should bring you to the log-on screen
for Lingua MOO. However, if you do not have Telnet installed
on your computer, you must download it. (If you use Windows
'95 you will already have Telnet on your computer)
For Mac download
Savitar here:
http://www.heynow.com/Savitar/
For Windows download
QVT here:
ftp://ftp.enterprise.net/pub/mirror/winsock-l/telnet/term16.zip
For Win95 download
Pueblo here:
http://www.chaco.com
Once you have
downloaded the application and installed it, you will have
to configure your internet browser to use the new application.
Don't worry! It's not as hard as it sounds!
To configure
your browser to use Telnet:
a) Netscape 3
- Select "Options,"
then select "General Preferences."
- Click the
tab for "Applications."
- Click the
"Browse" button next to "Telnet."
- Locate Telnet
on your hard drive, click "OK," and you're done!
b) Netscape 4:
- Select "Edit,"
then select "Preferences."
- Click the
tab for "Navigator," then select "Applications."
- Scroll down
the list and click on "Navigator/Telnet."
- Click "Edit,"
a new dialogue box will appear.
- Select "Application,"
then click "Choose."
- Locate Telnet
on your hard drive, click "OK," and you're done!
c) Internet Explorer
3
- Select "Edit,"
then select "preferences."
- Click the
tab for "Helpers," then click "Add."
- For description,
type "Telnet."
- For Mime
Type, type "Telnet."
- At the bottom,
click "Choose."
- Locate Telnet
on your hard drive. Click "Select."
- Click "New,"
and you're done
- If you choose
to connect with Telnet, without going through your browser,
simply open a new connection with this address:
lingua.utdallas.edu 8888
- After you connect
with Telnet, you will be presented with the login screen. Because
this is your first time, you will have to login as a guest.
Do this by typing:
Connect guest
your-first-name
So if John Doe
were connecting he would type:
Connect guest
John
You may use any
name to connect as a guest, but it must be one word. You may
have to do this more than once to connect, if the MOO does not
allow you to connect, try using a different name (first initial
last name is a good strategy).
If you already
have a character at LinguaMOO then type:
Connect username
password
5. You
made it! You're there! Now you must go to the trAce meeting room.
To do this, type:
@go #3031
At the
trAce meeting room type Up and you will find yourself in a beginners'
tutorial.
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