New Players FAQ

Now that I'm on game, where can I find help?

You have lots of options! Start by reading 'help newbies' or this FAQ – or both! Every command, policy, and theme item on the game has a helpfile – you can just type 'help' to see the indexes.

You can also ask on channels. You've been added to the channels 'Newbies', 'Public', and 'RolePlay'. 'Newbies' ('new <message>' to talk) is a channel with experienced players who are there to answer your every question - no matter how silly it might feel. Speak up! Get to know us! Only a few bite - and it's usually just because they're curious about how you taste. Public ('pub <message>' to talk) is a channel for everyone on game, and our players are usually friendly and chatty. Bug them if you get lost!

If you're looking for a staff member, type 'staff'. You can page (see 'help page') anyone on that list for private help.

How do I get out of the birthplace?

Before you can leave the birthplace and RP, you need to set your information. Use the player editor to set your full name, age, birthday, height, build, shortdesc, gender, species, and email. Set your description by typing '@describe me as <desc>'.

How do I set my +finger information?

All of your +finger information is set using the player editor, or 'pe'. Typing 'pe' will take you into the menu on game, and you have the option to choose IC menu, OOC menu, or color preferences, which adjusts your ANSI settings.

For more information, type 'help pe' and 'help pe fields' on the game.

How do I pose?

For poses that start with your name, use : before your pose. For example, ':stares gloomily at the ghost.' will pose 'Hamlet stares gloomily at the ghost.'

For poses that start with something other than your name, use 'spoof' or '@emit' to start your pose. For example, 'spoof "Eye of newt and toe of frog," the witches cackle.' will pose '"Eye of newt and toe of frog," the witches cackle.'

See 'help pose' on game for more help.

How do I talk to people and use channels?

To talk on a channel, just put the alias before your message.

For example, typing 'pub Be not afraid of greatness. ' will show everyone on the channel '[Public] Malvolio: Be not afraid of greatness. ' and typing 'pub :waves.' will show everyone on channel '[Public] Malvolio waves.'

See 'help channels' for more help on channels, how to add them, and how to use them.

You can also page someone. A page is a private communication that is just between you and the person you list. Do this by typing 'p <name>=<message>'.

For example, typing 'p romeo=Wherefort art thou Romeo?' will show Romeo 'Juliet pages, "Wherefort art thou Romeo?"' and will show you 'You paged Romeo with, "Wherefort art thou Romeo?"'

See 'help page' for more help.

If you're in a room with someone and would like to chatter OOCly, type 'ooc <text>'.

For example, typing 'ooc Out, damned spot!' shows the room '(OOC) Lady MacBeth says, "Out, damned spot!"'

How do I move around?

To get to places far away, you can use the transporter room in the OOC complex (type oocc to get there) or '@go'. You can also join a person who is already in a location using 'tel <name>' or by responded to an msummon request with mjoin.

To move from room to room, use the exit aliases, which are marked by letters in brackets. In the OOC Complex, for example, you see: [Exits : [T]he [S]tage, [T]he [L]obby, [Hut], and [T]he [T]iring [H]ouse (Staff Only)]

To go to the Lobby, you can type 'tl'.

To get home again, you can type 'home'. You'll be automatically moved home once you've been logged off for more than a few minutes.

See 'help movement', 'help @go', 'help tel', 'help msummon', and 'help home' for more information.

How do I use mail?

MOO uses what we call 'mailers' instead of bulletin boards, although both do roughly the same thing.

To send a message, type '@send <recipient>', enter your subject at the prompt, and add text by putting " before every line you want to add. Type 'send' to send. We also have a command called @send/quick that lets you compose and send a message in one command without leaving the room you're in.

To read new messages, you can type '@nn' repeatedly until it tells you 'No News (is good news)'. You can also type '@mail on <recipient>' to see mail numbers and subjects and then '@read <number> on <recipient>' to read the message.

See 'help mail', 'help @send', 'help @send/quick', 'help @nn', and 'help @read' for more information.

How do I change my password?

You should change your password from the one staff gave you for security reasons. Do this by typing '@password <old> <new>'.

See 'help passwords' for more information.

How do I find a place to live?

We have a variety of options, including a building called the 'Apartments in the Sky' that lets you have a room that is ICly located anywhere in New York.

Read 'help residence' for more information, and then @send *bui with a request for your room when you know what you want.

How do I get involved with the game?

RP! More usefully, try asking for a scene on the RolePlay channel or responding to a request. You might also want to consider checking out our forums or creating a livejournal to take part in that aspect of the game.

Staff is also there to help you out in specific instances – if you're wondering how to hook into a plot or find something to do, ask them! They'll help you brainstorm and usually have some great suggestions. Type 'staff' to see who they are.

How do I join a faction or organization?

The first step is to talk to the faction contact, who can let you know what's going on in the faction, how to get ICly involved, and if there might be any problems. You can find out who they are by talking to a staff member.

You'll also want to have read the faction webage and be up on what's going on in their forums. Most factions have a thread where you can express interest in getting involved and ask about IC admittance policies.

And finally, the most important thing is to work your way toward it in RP. OOCly, our policy is always that characters should RP their way into factions, and sometimes RP takes things in unexpected directions. Those in the faction can be great at coming up with ideas to make things, work, though, so take advantage of them!