MOO Help

You all now have characters on DaMOO, CSUN'S MOO. If you have your own email, you will have received a message like the following:

DaMOO is located at telnet DaMOO.csun.edu 7777

If you have trouble finding the host, try the IP numbers, 130.166.69.1 7777

Try the online help by typing

help

Try the different help from there.

You can also ask some of the players online, or ask for help on the MOO 
mailing list *help. (Hint: help mail     help @subscribe)

See also our help links from the web gateway, http://DaMOO.csun.edu:8888.

Please note, if you do not connect within a month, your character will be 
reaped.

A character has been created, with name          and password

For some more info on *what* the heck a MOO is, point your web browser at:

http://www.csun.edu/~hceng028/MOO.html This page has some explanations and resources for MOOs and Muds.

There are various ways to connect to DaMOO. It is a webbed MOO, which means that you connect inside the MOO where people talk to each other by typing text or you can browse DaMOO's web page. I would strongly suggest that you browse the web interface. The homepage has various links to help files which you can print out and keep for reference as you are learning to MOO.

To connect to MOO and talk to people, you will need to know your character name and password. Please read the email from DaMOO.

To connect:

telnet DaMOO.csun.edu 7777

Or

you can use netscape for the telnet session:
In the location window type:
 
telnet://DaMOO.csun.edu:7777


Once you have connected, you will need to type in 

connect [your character name] [your password]

Some examples of the kinds of help you can get onMOO

This is an example of a help file available on DaMOO, either inMOO or on the web. This note is left in room #11 which is the central hub, or main public room of the MOO. To read the note in the MOO you would type:


                             read #706
and you would see:

There appears to be some writing on the note ... 

Become familiar with the layout of the MOO: 

As on all MOOs, room #11 is the central room, or the "hub." From there you
can move N, S, E, or W. We have an East and West wing, leading to various
public rooms: the welcome room, pub, and games room to the west, the
conference room and some offices to the east.  To the North lies a gateway
which can transport you to the different planets. To the south lies the
Library, where we house many help files, URLs, maps, and other various
objects. All the rooms off #11 comprise the central "hub" of the MOO. We
encourage you to practice moving around in these rooms, in MOO and on the
web, in order to orient yourself before moving on to other planets. 

MOO help files: 

help movement 
help go 
help look 
help @exits 
help @display 
help @examine

There are three main methods of moving around in the MOO

Typing an exit name: north (many exits have short aliases, such as n for north)
Typing @go #xxx where the #xxx is the number of the room. @go #11 will take you to #11, Galileo's Hang Out
please @knock first if the person is in a private room. @join Mars_Guest

Some useful commands:

@rooms This will return a list of rooms you can @go to by typing @go 
 @go #500 or @go scrabble will take you to the scrabble lounge 

You can add any room to your own list, rather like adding a bookmark. 

@addroom here 

will add the room you are currently in. @addroom <#xxx> will add any room 
open to you. 

To look at a room: l here This will return the room description, the 
contents of the room, objects, players, and the exits. 

@display here 

This will return the name of the room, the room#, the owner, and the parent of the
room, IE, what type of generic room it is. 

@exam here 

This will return the name of the room with aliases and room#, the description
of the room, the contents, including characters, and the obvious verbs on the
room. 

@exits
(if you own the room) helpful if you are @digging exits This will 
return the exits, their names and #s and aliases. 

@ways to (if you do not own the room) This will return the exit names and 
aliases. 

@sweep 


This will tell you if any object is "listening"in the room. Be aware
that some rooms are "logging rooms." Also some "puppets" or "bots" may look
like characters, but can be used by people to monitor conversation, and even
log it, while the owner is elsewhere, either in another room, elseMOO, or
offline. Additionally, any object can be programmed to "listen." Please read
`help privacy` for more information. 

help here 

This returns any help available on the room itself.

Part of your assignment for the web project will be to make a room on the MOO.

Digging a room for yourself is quite easy. There is inMOO help on the "@dig" command, and that help can also be accessed via the web page and printed out. I'm just going to give you the quick and dirty run down. Please note that info in is the info that YOU elect, such as a room name. Do NOT type the brackets. Read the help on help available in the help cabinet in the library basement.


To make your own room.

@dig 

THEN

write down or note the room number.

THEN

@move me to #XXXX (the object number for that room)

THEN 

@describe here as (whatever you type here will be your room description 
which you can edit at will).

THEN 

@sethome

This command will set your character's home in your room.

The reason for all this silliness will become apparent as you break into your project groups and start researching the rhetoric of the internet. We will use MOO space to build collaborative annotated bibliographies of your research. Your group will build an area which explains your project in an imaginative way. People ought to be able to visit your rooms and imagine the author, theme, or philosophical issue your group will be presenting from the following list. You will need to choose your group members and focus by next Monday.

Huxley
Skinner
Marx & Engles
Jefferson
Doestoevsky
Sartre

This will clearly take some time. The library does have an internet lab which has everything you need to get your work done. If you have a home computer with modem but do not have an ISP, I can provide you with disks which will allow you 15 free hours (AOL is not my first choice, but the ability to connect from home and meet your project members on the MOO and work collaboratively will save much travel time and anxiety.

If you have any questions ot concerns you may, of course, email me, phone me, or meet me on the MOO. I will announce my online office hours in class.