CLOK BBS

So, on the advise of a couple of folks I know who seemed to be enjoying themselves in game, I decided to give CLOK a try, just to see what it was about. I'm still learning the ropes of various commands, places, and the environment. Some people have been quite helpful, taking the time to answer questions, show me the ropes, and generally explain things to a new fella.

This is not for him. This is for you folks who choose to answer questions with "Ask IC" so it does not ruin the immersion that players take "Very seriously"

As a newbie, when My little noob gets lost in some place, repeatedly attacked by infected whatever they are, and cannot figure out how to leave, It's not what I want to hear. If I'm using this little question thing for help, I'd like help, not to have discussions about how I should ask things IC (I'm lost, in the middle of nowhere, with an out of juice ESP thing. No I cant use it to contact you, and from the sounds of it, you would simply tell me I should be asking IC anyway, and wish me good luck). I'm not asking for you to save me. I'm asking for you to help me save myself. Teach a man to fish.

Hell even a hint or a tip of what I should have been looking for would have been more helpful. I'm not usually motivated enough to care about situations like this, But, from all the MUD hopping I've experienced, this ranks as one of the worst experiences I've ever had coming into a game as a newbie and asking for help, from an official channel where one is supposed to ask for help! And That's all I have to say about that.

Regarding finding your way out, if you couldn't figure out how to leave, then that is an OOC question that is perfectly reasonable to answer on question. If you weren't sure *where* to leave, however, that is an IC question that should be asked on ESP or in person. This is a RP ENFORCED MUD, not RP encouraged. This means that if a question can be answered IC, it has no right being answered on the QUESTION channel. That is the nature of MUD. I know this can take some getting used to, and even those of us who have been around for a while will occassionally ask a question and get told "Ask IC." If you are out on your temp pendant, go forage to get money for a permanent one, or find someone IC to donate one to you. Best way to find people is to hang out at the entrance to a major city. And, if you are stuck in a place, dying, death is not permanent, and in fact could actually help you run into pther characters as long as you look at the bell and wait, and do not use depart. Stick with it, CLOK can be frustrating to any newbie, especially those not used to RP enforced MU*s. I hope this helps you a little, or at least eases your frustrations.

I can appreciate the frustration regarding the hasty "Ask IC" responses. Whether it's the intention or not, it often comes across as dismissive or condescending. I know that's not usually how it's meant. On top of that though, I think there are things people can do to be a little more helpful and welcoming.

If we've got a newbie, or even an oldbie, who's exploring a new area they've wandered into and can't find their way back out of, I think we can safely assume that the character knew where they entered and where the exit is, but mechanically and syntactically it can be confusing. The wilderness/explorable-area split can be confusing to new players, and sometimes exits are weird. For instance, you GO CARAVAN and it puts you in a new area. But how do you get back out? It's not especially obvious that you have to go to the entry room and type WANDER or GO WILDERNESS to get back out. And other times you might GO CABIN from the wilderness and have to GO OUT instead of WANDER to get back out. So it's not consistent, either.

Q: "I'm stuck in the Lost Caravan, I don't know how to get out of here! Can someone help?"
A1: "Ask IC."
A2: "You have to go to the room you first entered from the wilderness (at the south end of the caravan in this case) and type WANDER or GO WILDERNESS. If you have the compass enabled, it'll say (wander) at the bottom which can help you identify which rooms can be used to move out to the wilderness."

Q: "Where can I find a weapon for my character?"
A1: "Ask IC."
A2: "There are various shops in town that sell weapons, so you can wander around and look at the different places for something you'd like. Different towns have different types of weapons and materials available, so if you want to know where to find something specific or made of a certain material, ask on ESP and I'd be glad to give you a more specific answer."

Q: "What is Verungnr?"
A1: "Ask IC."
A2: "You can find 'common knowledge' info about Verungnr on the wiki (wiki.contrarium.net) or by typing HELP VERUNGNR in-game. If you want more specific details or my character's personal thoughts on the subject, feel free to ask him IC."

Q: "How do I join Claw of Shar?"
A1: "Ask IC."
A2: "Claw of Shar is one of the shadier, more secretive groups, so I can't give you any specific info OOC, but some general advice is to ask around IC, and seek out members of the Claw to get in touch with. Members of the Corvus Outpost are also usually more willing than others to share on that subject, so you can ask to talk to someone from there also. Just be aware that some people will be suspicious to hear you asking about it, so be careful." (All of that info could be believably gleaned by a character from common rumors and hearsay.)

Q: "My ESP pendant turned transparent and won't work anymore! What do I do?"
A1: "Ask IC." (How?)
A2: "The newbie ESP pendants run out after an amount of time, so you'll need to buy a new one. They're generally sold in post offices."

Also: Welcome, Porkins! Hope you enjoy checking out CLOK and find it worth sticking around a while.