Using WWW to extend the Capabilities of MUDs

Use the web as a way of providing access to "static" multi-media resources. One of the things that people would do is link graphics or sounds to locations in the MUD. Using a smart client, the use of information protocol to tell the client that it should find a picture of the appropriate piece of art in a certain location. Using HTTP and html gives us several advantages:

• technically easy to use, all that is required is a way of controlling a WWW client from the MUD client. Using Mosaic this is easy, and in the case of tkWWW it would be simple to add a MUD client into the package so that two appear as one application
• easy to provide information this way, as there are well supported WWW clients available for most platforms
• can provide more than one interface to information. For example, the same picture could be used for a gallery in a MUD and for a normal WWW page

There are several reasons for doing this, the first is that it would allow us to provide multi-media information in a simple and intuitive way. A lecture could point to slides on the Web when giving a lecture

There are dangers associated with pursuing advanced technology: one of the aims is to allow access to everyone, and some people feel that in order to do this we must use only lowest common denominator technology.

The fear is that if we use more than just telnet and e-mail we will be excluding people who have only these resources available to them, especially in less developed-countries. Also, by using graphical/audio information we are excluding the deaf/blind, who can only use text based information.