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Live Online

Join trAce online every 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
more info on MOOs

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

Vital Tips

Building Commands

Very First Steps

Basic Commands

Useful links

Connecting to Lingua MOO
There are several ways to connect to a MOO

  1. If you have a browser of Version 4 or above, try Lingua's graphical interface enCore Xpress or the standalone version of MOOtcan. (Recommended)
  2. 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
  3. 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

  1. Program commands MUST be exactly correct. Errors in spacing, punctuation and spelling will all result in the response ‘I don’t understand that’.
  2. You MUST press the <return> or <enter> key at the end of each line, or your text will not be entered.
  3. Remember to take care in your interactions. Misunderstandings arise easily here.
  4. Use short sentences as much as possible and don't worry too much about spelling etc.
  5. Use the help files. They contain a wealth of information.
  6. 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

  1. Using your internet browser, go to:
    http://lingua.utdallas.edu/connections.html

  2. 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:

    3. a) Netscape 3

      1. Select "Options," then select "General Preferences."
      2. Click the tab for "Applications."
      3. Click the "Browse" button next to "Telnet."
      4. Locate Telnet on your hard drive, click "OK," and you're done!

       

    b) Netscape 4:

    1. Select "Edit," then select "Preferences."
    2. Click the tab for "Navigator," then select "Applications."
    3. Scroll down the list and click on "Navigator/Telnet."
    4. Click "Edit," a new dialogue box will appear.
    5. Select "Application," then click "Choose."
    6. Locate Telnet on your hard drive, click "OK," and you're done!

     

    c) Internet Explorer 3

    1. Select "Edit," then select "preferences."
    2. Click the tab for "Helpers," then click "Add."
    3. For description, type "Telnet."
    4. For Mime Type, type "Telnet."
    5. At the bottom, click "Choose."
    6. Locate Telnet on your hard drive. Click "Select."
    7. Click "New," and you're done

     

  3. If you choose to connect with Telnet, without going through your browser, simply open a new connection with this address:

    lingua.utdallas.edu 8888


  4. 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.