MUSH Manual Version 2.008:
Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, Lydia Leong (lwl@netcom.com / Amberyl)
Last revised 5/22/95.
Section IV: Wizard's supplement
8. Owning and seeing everything
8.1 Special privileges, ROYALTY, and Powers
8.2 Attribute ownership - @atrchown and @atrlock
8.3 Object ownership - @chown and @chownall
8.4 The queue - @ps and @allhalt
8.5 The database - @entrances, @find, @search, and @stats
8.6 A note about security and privacy
8.7 The Master Room and command processing
9. Wiz-specific commands
9.1 Talking to other wizards: @wizwall and @wizemit
9.2 Messages: @wall, @listmotd, @motd, and @wizmotd
9.3 Locking out players: @login and @rejectmotd
9.4 Dealing with players: @newpassword, @pcreate, @boot, @toad, and @destroy
9.5 Dumping the database: @dump and @shutdown
10. Database control
10.1 Quota system: limited object creation - @allquota, @quota, and @squota
10.2 Money control: give and @poor
10.3 Consistency checking: @dbck and @purge, @dump/paranoid, @cut, @fixdb
11. Zones
11.1 Object zones
11.2 Parent room zones
11.3 ZoneMaster players
11.4 Some notes on local wizard control
12. The Fundamental Laws of Wizarding
12.1 Wizard Etiquette
12.2 The Five-Step Method of player management
warning - nasty warning - gag - boot - newpassword
12.3 Wizard commands and when they ought to be used
This section was written with the 1.50 wizard in mind. If something is
mentioned that doesn't exist in 2.0, and you're only interested in 2.0,
ignore it. If you're going to play with the 2.0 wizard commands that
aren't covered in this section, you probably know what you're doing and
therefore don't really need those commands covered in this manual anyway.
All wizards, however, will probably find something useful in section 12,
which provides general rules for wizarding. Mortals may find it interesting
reading.
8. Owning and seeing everything
8.1 Special Privileges, ROYALTY, and Powers
A wizard, by definition, owns and controls everything except for God.
A wizard may manipulate any object by using its dbref number, or by using
*player. Remote get, look, and examine work, and a wizard may bypass the HAVEN
flag by using "w *<player>=<message>" to whisper a message.
A wizard may look at anything by looking at the dbref number, or by
looking at *player. Warning: in 2.0 this triggers the odesc and adesc messages.
The format of "look" for wizards is somewhat different: the object's name
and dbref number is displayed on the line above the description. When looking
at exits, the full exit name - including aliases - is displayed.
Wizards can teleport to anywhere. In 1.50, the NO_TEL flag and
teleport locks do not have any effect at all on wizards; in 2.0, however,
wizards ARE affected by teleport locks. In 2.2, this is configurable.
The UNFINDABLE flag does not prevent wizards from locating a player.
A wizard can also obtain a player's location by using loc(*player), and get
any attribute. There is _nothing_ in the database that a wizard cannot see,
except for things like the password attribute and other "internal"
dark-to-all attributes.
The LWHO() function allows wizards to obtain a list of dbrefs
of connected players. Also, in 1.50, wizards may watch connects and
disconnects by setting the MONITOR flag on themselves, or grant the
ability to do the same to another player. (NOTE: the 1.50 MONITOR flag
is NOT like 2.0 MONITOR; the equivalent of 2.0 MONITOR is 1.50 LISTENER.
2.0 has no equivalent of 1.50 MONITOR). In both 1.50 and 2.0, WHO for
wizards shows an extended listing with connect sites and other special
information; to see the listing that mortals get, use the command DOING
instead.
* * * * *
Pern version 1.14 introduced a ROYALTY flag (which can optionally be
turned off at compile-time). This flag is settable by wizards. Objects
ROYALTY can examine and teleport like wizards, but have no other wizard
powers; all of the statements about wizards above also apply to ROYALTY.
This flag does not exist in 2.0.
PennMUSH 1.50 patchlevel 7 introduced a powers system. This
enables wizards to grant specific objects, including players, the power
to accomplish certain tasks that previous were restricted to wizards.
Also, since the BUILDER and IMMORTAL flags from previous patchlevels
are, intuitively, powers rather than real flag toggles, they were changed
to powers in patchlevel 7.
The powers include "teleport anywhere", "teleport anything", "examine
anything", "boot", and most of the other useful wizard powers, save
the ability to @force/control anything. Players who receive such
powers should exercise them with the same caution a wizard should use,
and they should not be given out lightly. A player granted all the
powers has all the abilities of a ROYALTY, and more, except for the
@rwall command. Therefore, prudence should be exercised in granting
special powers.
8.2 Attribute ownership - @atrchown and @atrlock
Attributes may be owned independently of objects. An unlocked
attribute can be changed by the owner of the object. A locked attribute
may only be changed by the owner of that attribute. Locked and unlocked
attributes are, for the purpose of triggers and similar evaluation,
exactly the same.
Only wizards may set attributes on things that they do not own. The
most recent player to change an attribute is its owner. Please note that it
does not do any harm for someone else to own one of your attributes. If the
attribute is locked, however, you will not be able to remove it _even if you
are a wizard. A wizard may, however, unlock the attribute and then remove it.
In 1.50, two commands are used to handle attributes. @atrchown
changes the ownership. The syntax is @atrchown <object>/<attribute>=<new owner>
@atrlock governs attribute locks: @atrlock <object>/<attribute>=<on or off>
@atrlock <object>/<attribute> by itself returns the status of the lock.
The 2.0 syntax (which also works in 1.50) is "@lock <object>/<attribute>",
"@unlock <object>/<attribute>", and "@chown <object>/<attribute>=<player>".
A normal "examine" shows the owner and lock status of attributes.
8.3 Object ownership - @chown and @chownall
The @chown command is somewhat different for wizards. A wizard may
@chown any object he is carrying, or any object by dbref number. The syntax
is @chown <object>=<player>. Not that *<player> is _not_ used in @chown.
@chownall transfers the ownership of everything a player owns to
another player. @chownall <player> transfers ownership to the wizard who
executes this command. @chownall <player>=*<new owner> transfers ownership
to another player. Note the use of the pointer. A @chownall should NEVER be
done without the consent of both parties involved, since it is usually
difficult to reverse, especially if the recipient owns a lot of objects
himself.
8.4 The queue - @ps and @allhalt
Wizards can use @ps all to see the contents of the entire queue, or
@ps *<player> to see the queue for one specific player.
When the queue is very full, or a machine is looping so badly or
triggering so many objects that simply halting it is not feasible, the
command @allhalt can be executed. This clears out the entire queue - player,
object, and wait, and displays to all connected players the message, "Your
objects have been globally halted by <Wizard>." @allhalt should be used
sparingly; if the server is slow, the queue may be full, but it may not
necessitate an @allhalt. In 2.0, this is "@halt/all" rather than "@allhalt".
8.5 The database - @entrances, @find, @search, and @stats
@entrances will work on "here" or on any room number, for a wizard.
@stats can be broken down by player, using "@stats <player>" Note the
absence of a pointer.
Wizards need to be careful with @find, since @find with no arguments
outputs the list of all objects that the wizard controls - i.e., the entire
database. @search with no arguments, however, only does a @search on the
wizard, printing out all the objects he owns. @search with any arguments,
however, looks through the entire database, not just the wizard's objects.
If you are looking for something, always try to do a @search instead of a
@find, especially if you are on a 2.0 MUSH. @search which is restricted
to a player is _considerably_ faster than @find.
8.6 A note about security and privacy. DARK.
Wizards have enormous power. No notes on a MUSH are private; a
wizard can examine them. Wizards can set themselves DARK, disappearing from
the WHO list. In 1.50, any actions taken by a dark wizard show up as
"Someone" rather than the wizard's name, if the game is so configured.
Wizards cannot listen to whispers or pages, and always show up on a @sweep,
whether or not they are dark. A wizard owns everything; he can change,
destroy, or force it to do whatever he wants (unless it is God).
Because of this, wizards must be VERY careful to make sure that
there are no programming loopholes in their objects which would enable the
objects to @force them to perform certain actions.
Wizards should also be careful to announce their presence, if they
are entering a room and are DARK. There is virtually no justification for
spying on a private conversation (the exception may be listening to two
players plotting how to crash the mud, or something similar).
A wizard should _always_ check the location of a player before he
teleports to that player. Being paged by a player does NOT mean that the
player presently wishes for company. In general, the wizard should also ask
permission to enter the room. A wizard should also never teleport a player
anywhere without asking permission first - this is extremely rude.
Occasionally, one tends to act before thinking, but a wizard should try to
act with courtesy.
Also, remember that in 2.0, wizards who exceed the idle time normally
granted to mortals before an inactivity-timeout boot are set DARK.
Wizards are also booted for inactivity, but can set their @timeout
attribute to an arbitrarily high value; they will not be booted until
that @timeout has expired. Wizards who are DARK from inactivity have a
"d" next to their time instead of a "D", in the WHO list.
In 1.50, wizards are never booted for inactivity. They are, however,
set DARK at the mortal inactivity limit, if they are already set UNFINDABLE.
If you are the sort of person who tends to forget that he is set DARK,
you might want an automatic reminder given to you when you move. The
following is useful for this:
@move me=[switch(hasflag(%!,Dark),1,WARNING: You are set DARK.)]
8.7 The Master Room and Command Processing
In both 1.50 and 2.0, the command parser goes through the steps
shown here looking for a match on the command. If it finds one at a
particular step, it stops and performs it. If more than one match
(say, multiple south exits from a room), one is picked at random.
$-commands are an exception to this rule, in that ALL $-commands that match
are executed, except that the master room is only checked for $-commands
if none are matched in the check around the player.
The 2.0 evaluation order:
- Uppercase commands (WHO, QUIT, etc) if typed at a terminal.
- Prefix-character commands (", :, ;, etc)
- The 'home' command.
- Exits in the current room.
- Exits in the master room
- Internal commands.
- $-commands in the following places, all checked in parallel:
- Objects in your inventory.
- Objects in your current location.
- Your location (the room itself)
- You (optionally)
- $-commands in the ZONE chain of the player's location
- $-commands in the ZONE chain of the player himself
- $-commands in the following places, all checked in parallel:
- Objects in the master room.
- The master room itself.
The 1.50 evaluation order:
- Uppercase commands (WHO, QUIT, etc) if typed at a terminal.
- The 'home' command.
- Prefix-character commands (", :, ;, etc)
- Exits in the current room.
- Internal commands.
- Enter aliases on objects in the current room.
- Leave aliases on the object you are in, if applicable.
- $-commands in the following places, all checked in parallel:
- Objects in your current location.
- Your location (the room itself)
- Objects in your inventory.
- If nothing has been matched:
- If the zone of the player's location is a parent room,
- Parent room exits
- All $-commands on objects in the parent room
- Else,
- All $-commands on the zone object of the player's location
- If still nothing has been matched:
- All $-commands on the player's personal zone
- As a last resort, when matching still fails,
- Global exits (Master Room exits)
- All global $-commands ($-commands on objects in the Master Room)
In both 1.50 and 2.0, the Master Room contains exits and commands
which are global to the entire MUSH. This should be used with caution,
as having a lot of global commands slow down the MUSH. Make sure
something is really necessary before adding it to the Master Room. If
it's only useful in some specific area of building, consider using a
Zone instead (see the later section of this manual).
Also, because it is necessary to check every attribute on every object
in the Master Room for commands which don't match anything, the number
of attributes on objects in the Master Room should be kept to an
absolute minimum. It is also a good idea to keep the number of
objects in the Master Room down, since every object represents an
additional UseLock which must be checked. As a general rule of thumb,
if an attribute doesn't contain a $command, it shouldn't be on a
Master Room object. For convenience, some data attributes can be kept
on Master Room objects, but this should be avoided whenever possible,
even if the data attributes are set No_Command.
Note that the parents of objects in the Master Room, and, in 2.2,
parents of objects which are contained by a ZONE chain, are not
checked for $commands. This allows you to place data attributes on
the parent, for easy reference, thus leaving you with little excuse
for ever having non-essential attributes on the object itself.
9. Wiz-specific commands
9.1 Talking with other wizards
MUSH code provides the commands @wizwall, @wizpose, and @wizemit.
(In 2.0, these are @wall/wiz, @wall/wiz/pose, and @wall/wiz/emit). Note
that none of these use an = sign. @wizwall and @wizpose are really the same
command; "@wizwall :<pose>" is equivalent to "@wizpose <pose>" In the
case of @wizwall <message>, it is "Broadcast: <Wizard> says, "<message>""
In the case of @wizwall :<pose> or @wizpose <pose>, the format is,
"Broadcast: <Wizard> <pose>". @wizemit <message> shows the other wizards
"Broadcast [<Wizard>]: <message>"
1.50 provides @rwall, @rwallpose, and @rwallemit. They work
identically to the @wiz variants, except they send messages to both
royalty and wizards, prefixed with "Admin:" instead of "Broadcast:".
Only connected players may hear these messages.
9.2 Public messages
Wizards can shout using @wall <message>. There is no way of blocking
out shouts; therefore, this should be used sparingly. It sends the
message to every connected player.
Wizards can set the Message of the Day using @motd <message>. The
message stays up until another wizard resets it, or the MUSH goes down. The
MOTD is shown to players when they connect, and when they use @listmotd.
Wizards also have a @wizmotd, which is shown to all connecting wizards.
For wizards, @listmotd displays all MOTD messages.
2.0 refers to these commands as @motd, @motd/wizard, and @motd/list.
9.3 Locking out players
In certain situations, there may be a need to disable all non-wizard
logins. 1.50 code provides the @login <on or off> command. When @login is
off, all player connections will be refused - after the welcome screen, the
message set by using @rejectmotd <message> is displayed and the player is
disconnected.
In 2.0, the command to use is "@enable logins" or "@disable logins".
The @enable and @disable commands may be used to tweak other things as
well; this is probably the most commonly used of the options. The message
displayed to players who cannot connect may be set using @motd/down.
9.4 Dealing with players
There is no easy way to retrieve the lost password of a player.
Therefore, it is simpler to simply use @newpassword <player>=<new password>.
The player is informed that the wizard has changed his password. The player
should then log in and change his password to something else that the wizard
doesn't know. Never @newpassword a player without his knowledge, unless
it's an emergency.
@pcreate is a command which only works if the MUSH is compiled under
registration. @preate <player>=<password> creates a player with the name and
password. You may not create two players with the same name.
* * * * *
@boot *<player> can be used to force a player to disconnect from the
MUSH. This is the general punishment for being obnoxious, or for idling for
too long. If you are @booting someone for idling, you should, in general,
page them with a warning five minutes before doing the @boot.
@boot has another use -- killing off sessions of players who
are unable to disconnect, due to network problems. Generally, in this
case it is best to use "@boot/port", which allows you to boot a specific
question. In 1.50, the wizard WHO shows descriptor numbers; in 2.0, you
must use the SESSION command to get the descriptor number of a connection.
"@boot/port <descriptor number>" then closes that specific connection.
Players will often request to have "frozen", dead, connections @booted.
In 1.50, players will be booted with a message notifying them that
they have been booted off the game. In 2.0, players will also be told who
booted them off, unless "@boot/quiet" is used, in which case the player
will simply be abruptly disconnected without any kind of notification.
* * * * *
@toad turns a player into an ordinary object, called "A wart toad
named <player>" (1.50), or "A slimy toad named <player>" (2.0) and @chowns
all his objects to the wizard doing the @toad. The player will be booted off
the game, prior to being turned into an object.
@toad is actually somewhat redundant. @dest *player will @boot the
player, @chown all his objects to the executing wizard, and @destroy the
player itself. If possible, use this instead of @toad (TIM code and MUSE,
however, may be somewhat different.)
Be careful with @destroy #<dbref>. There is no check to see who the
object belongs to or what it is - be _very_ certain that you have the right
object number, or you may end up irretrievably blowing up an object which
represents hours of programming. There is no way to retrieve @destroyed
objects other than rooms (which may be set !GOING). 1.50 prevents this
somewhat by forcing wizards to use @nuke to destroy objects which do not
belong to them; please don't use @nuke as your standard command for
destruction, or you'll defeat the purpose of this safeguard!
The wizard command "slay" is a "kill" which always works. There's
generally no reason to use it, unless programming a puzzle or something
similar; all it does is give the player some money and send him home.
9.5 Dumping the database
The command @dump writes the database to disk. In 1.50, this can
take anywhere from a minute or two to half an hour - make sure not to do
overlapping @dumps. Overlapping dumps can cause crashes, incomplete database
writes, and other assorted undesired effects.
In 2.0, you don't generally need to worry about doing dumps, as the
disk database is saved fairly often and loss from crashes tends to be
minimal.
The command "@shutdown" shuts down the MUSH. It first does a @dump,
gives all connected players the name of the wizard who did the
@shutdown, and the message "Going down - Bye", then drops all
connections. Don't do this without a very good reason.
Note: if you have database damage and are shutting down because the
game will crash or doing something else equally nasty in a few
moments, DON'T! The straight @shutdown will save the database and your
damage will be permanent. In such a dire situation, you have two options:
find the God (or other person with direct access to the MUSH account) and
have him "kill -9" the process, or do a "@shutdown/abort". This will cause
the MUSH to dump core and die, allowing for the damage to be assessed later
by someone skliled with a debugger.
10. Database control
10.1 Quotas - limited object creation
If quotas are turned on, the command @allquota <limit> displays the
current quotas and objects owned by all players, and then resets their quotas
to the new limit minus the number of objects they currently own.
@quota <player> reports the number of objects a player owns, and
his quota still available. @squota <player>=<limit> reports the number of
objects the player owns and his remaining quota, and then sets his quota to
<limit> minus the current number of objects he owns. If the limit is 0, then
@squota works identically to @quota.
10.2 Money control
Wizards have unlimited money, and can freely give out money to
players using give *player=<money>. Wizards can also take away money from
players by giving them negative money. It is generally not a good idea to
give players vast amounts of money. The command @poor <money> resets the
money of every player on the MUSH to <money>. This command should be used
sparingly, if at all.
10.3 Consistency checking
The commands @purge and @dbck will probably not be used by most
wizards. They check the database for corruption: @purge checks the destroyed
object list and makes sure that all the objects on that list are really
there; @dbck forces the database to run an internal cleanup and consistency
check every ten minutes. @dbck automatically executes @purge.
In 1.50, if, for some reason, your database is corrupted but the
game is still up (usually through a bug in the internal compression routines),
you will find that an attempt to dump the database will cause a segmentation
fault and core dump (i.e. a nasty crash). You can generally get a clean
database write by using the "@dump/paranoid" command, which very thoroughly
scans the database before writing it to disk, checking for non-printable
characters and the like. Someone with access to the game's account should
then log in, back up the paranoid dump, and then kill off the game process
in some manner.
2.0 provides the ability to do some database repair within the
game. The first of the db repair commands is "@cut"; this cuts off the
object or exit chain at the wizard's location by setting the "next" field
of the object to NOTHING. The objects or exits beyond the cut retain
their location, but are not accessible except via dbref number.
They can be pasted back into their proper places via the @fixdb command.
This command allows you to more or less arbitrarily set the fields of
an object -- the contents, exits, location, and next pointers, as well
as the owner, value, and name. These commands are NOT to be used unless
you are CERTAIN you know what you are doing, as it is possible (and indeed
rather easy) to produce database inconsistencies/loops which can hang
or crash the server.
11. Zones
This section only applies to PennMUSH 1.50. Please see a later section
of this manual for a description of Zones in TinyMUSH 2.2.
11.1 Object zones
A Zone Object (or, alternatively, ZMO - Zone Master Object) is
simply an object that other objects have their zones set to. Objects
that have their zone field set to a ZMO are referred to as being in that
ZMO's zone. There's nothing at all special about a zone object, aside from
that property.
Anyone who passes the enter lock of a ZMO has control over objects
in that zone. Someone who has control of an object via passing the enter
lock on the ZMO can do many things that the object's real owner can do,
including examining the object, changing its attributes, and setting flags
on it. Two notable exceptions are the @chown and @destroy commands, which
are reserved to the object's real owner. Also, players NEVER control other
players.
This control property of zones makes it possible for two or more
people to work on a project together. A wizard is needed to @chzone a player
to a zone; henceforth, everything that player builds is automatically part
of that zone. The wizard-only @chzoneall command changes the zone of
everything a player owns. Wizards should not change the zone of a player
without first obtaining the approval of all other players in that zone.
For example, if I, Amberyl, wished to work on a project together
with Annalyn and Tavella, I would @create an object (let's call it MyZone),
and then "@elock MyZone=*Amberyl|*Annalyn|*Tavella". This would allow
myself, Annalyn, and Tavella to control all objects in the zone.
(PLEASE NOTE: wizards should never be in a zone with anyone! It's far too
easy for a regular player to abuse an item belonging to that wizard).
Players may @chzone their own objects to a ZMO that they own,
or are in the enter lock of. It isn't necessary to be personally zoned
to a ZMO in order to be able to control objects in it (the only criterion
is the enter lock of the ZMO); it is perfectly possible to be zoned to
something else (or Nothing), and @chzone the stuff you build to the
desired zone.
Zones have several other nifty features. First of all, $-commands
on the ZMO are "global" to rooms that are part of that ZMO, and to things
which are personally part of that ZMO. Also, objects can perform a
"@zemit <zone> = <message>" to emit a message to all rooms in that
zone. This command is computationally expensive and costs 100 coins, but
it can be very useful if you have, for example, a space station which
uses an intercom system for announcements.
11.2 Parent room zones
Parent rooms are a slightly more complex version of zones.
The main difference is that, instead of the ZMO being a thing, the
ZMO is a room. All information above about object zones also applies
to parent rooms.
Parent rooms have several more useful properties. First,
a parent room is a bit like the Master Room. It is treated as "global"
by objects which are zoned to it. If you are in a room zoned to a
parent room, you can use exits in that parent room. You can also
use $-commands defined on objects placed in the parent room.
This essentially allows you to create small areas on the MUSH
with their own local "global" commands and exits, without cluttering
up the Master Room. Since local commands take precedence over global
ones, you don't have to worry about global commands interfering with
your local parent room ones.
Unless you want to use parent room exits, you should use
object zones. Object zones are faster, and cause less overhead for the
server to worry about; this is an important consideration if the
MUSH is big.
11.3 ZoneMaster players
One final type of zone control is possible, using a player with
the ZONE flag set. Such players, called ZoneMasters, behave like ordinary
players, but any object that they own is controlled by whomever passes
the ZoneMaster's enter lock. For convenience, objects which pass the
ZoneMaster's enter lock are referred to here as "zone controllers".
Zone controllers are able to @chown objects to the ZoneMaster.
However, such objects count against the original owner's quota, and the
object's creation cost remains charged to the original owner, not to the
ZoneMaster. This enables quotas to be set on individual players, while
still allowing a "builder character" to own all the objects.
The ZoneMaster is more secure than a ZMO, since INHERIT objects
may be placed within the zone without any abnormal danger; since all
objects within the zone have the same owner, there is no danger of having
one's unzoned objects @forced through a security hole. Unlike a standard
ZMO, however, the ZoneMaster does not act as a master object; $commands
are not inherited off it.
Note that this is different from standard zoning in that the
"zoned" objects are actually owned by the ZoneMaster; thus, it is possible
to use @chzone to place the object in yet another zone, for the purpose
of inherit $commands, and so forth.
11.4 Local wizard control
It is possible, through use of zones, to have "local wizards".
This is accomplished by @chzone'ing all players that you want the
local wiz to control, to a ZMO (or parent room; ZMO will be used in
this discussion to refer to both). This ZMO should be @elock'ed to
just that local wiz. That player will then have control over all objects
created by players in that zone. Unlike a real wizard, however, he may
not @force players.
This may or may not be desirable, depending on your philosophy
of administration (assuming you are a god). Local wizards have almost
all the powers of normal wizards, without the accountability and expected
responsibility of full wizards. Although certain systems, such as MUSE,
have used player ranks in a way similar to local wizards, they do not
give such complete control to non-wizard (or wizard-equivalent) players.
It is the recommendation of this writer that local wizard
control only be used if the MUSH is extremely large, and organized into
big, but mostly self-contained, groups which require an administrator who
must be able to control the objects of his underlings.
12. The Fundamental Laws of Wizarding
The section below comes from a "lecture" that I've given new
wizards on MUSHes that I'm a "senior" wizard on. I've had several requests
for it in printed form, so it appears here, as kind of a summary to this
section of the manual. It summarizes rules for wizard conduct, and gives
a nutshell guide to wizard commands. The full lecture is available via
ftp from the same site where you obtained this manual; it will probably
be called "wiz-ethics" or something similar. All administrators are highly
encouraged to read the full lecture; this manual only hits the highlights.
12.1 Wizard Etiquette
There are three things that players REALLY hate, and which
generally constitute abuse of wizard powers. The first is @forcing a player
to do something. There's really never a reason to do this. You can almost
always duplicate the effect of a command that a player issues by just
doing it yourself. Forcing a player to say or pose something is obviously
unethical. Forcing a player's objects is also generally a bad idea.
Always ask permission before @teleporting a player, or teleporting to
a non-public location, even if the location is JUMP_OK. The first is
just courtesy; the only reason to ever teleport a player is if he
refuses to come of his own free will. It has the potential to mess up
some command the player is trying to execute; waiting a moment or two
for the player to come on his own isn't going to kill you. Following
the second rule will prevent you from teleporting into potentially
embarrassing situations. Just because someone is paging you doesn't
mean that he necessarily wants to talk to you in person.
Don't wander around DARK. If you're going to hang around dark because
you don't want people bothering you, stay in one of your rooms. If
you encounter another player, announce your presence. The same thing
applies to puppets who are DARK. Some people believe that the best way
to handle player discipline is to teleport to their location, DARK,
and spy on them. This is a breach of ethics, in most cases. Unless you
believe that players are deliberately conspiring to destroy the MUSH,
do not use DARK for anything other than hanging around without getting
bothered by player pages.
Two other brief points: don't examine private objects unless you need
to, and ESPECIALLY, do not use wizard powers to take code or code
segments without permission. In addition, never, ever, wiz while
intoxicated! Your judgement isn't steady, and you are also very
likely to accidentally mistype a command and cause some sort of minor
(or major) disaster.
12.2 The Five-Step Method of Player Management
If a player is behaving inappropriately, start with warnings and move
up to more direct action. The exception are spammers and those who are
being destructive towards the database; @boot and/or @destroy those
players immediately.
For players who are simply being obnoxious, breaking some of the MUSH
rules, etc., page them and politely tell them that their behavior is
unacceptable. If they don't respond to this "nice" warning within five
or ten minutes, page them again with a more strongly worded warning.
If they continue to misbehave, try a threat: "Do that one more time
and you're going to be @booted." The next thing to try, if the twink
is being stubborn, is setting the twink GAG. Most people will
disconnect of their own accord if they're gagged. For really
obnoxious, stubborn people, you can then resort to @boot. If the twink
returns, do a @newpassword. Note that if you are planning on doing a
@newpassword to lock out a twink, you should @newpassword _before_ you
@boot, since otherwise, the player can log right back in before you
have a chance to type the @newpassword command.
The reason for using @newpassword instead of @toad or @destroy is that
@newpassword is reversible. You should never use @toad or @destroy on
a player who owns stuff; that is a decision for God to make. Just do a
@newpassword and send mail to the other wizards.
Summary:
1. Nice warning
2. Not nice warning / threat
3. Gag
4. Boot
5. Newpassword
12.3 When to use wiz commands
@allhalt: This is an emergency-only command. It will halt all commands on
all objects, and clears out the wait queue. If there are any
objects which need to run continuously, this command should be
used as a last resort. Try to be considerate and retrigger objects
that need to run continuously, if you do an allhalt.
@boot: Never @boot without a good reason. If a player is on twice and
he can't kill one of his connections, he will generally page you
and ask for a @boot; don't do one unless he gives you permission.
The other use for @boot is detailed in the previous section.
@chownall: Never, ever, do one of these without the explicit permissions of
both of the parties involved. It's not a bad idea to send mail
to God (or at least make sure he knows) if you do one of these.
@dbck: The @dbck command is used to force a database consistency check.
All GOING objects get recycled. Unless you know what you're
doing, there's no real point to doing one.
@purge: This checks the destroyed object list for corruption. It's
normally done as part of a @dbck.
@dump: In 1.x, you don't want to do overlapping dumps. If you don't
have FORK enabled, you want to shout before doing one, because
it will probably cause quite a bit of lag. Otherwise, @wizwall
that you're doing a dump, so the other wizards know not to do
one right after you do.
@login: You can turn MUSH logins on and off with this command. Unless
you've got some kind of emergency which necessitates locking out
all players, don't use this. More importantly, don't forget to
turn logins back on after the emergency is over.
@daytime: This turns on or off computationally expensive commands. God
generally makes the decision when these commands should be
enabled. Turning them off when they should be turned on probably
won't hurt anything, but turning them on when they need to be
off has the potential to get God very upset with you.
Only 1.50 has this command.
@shutdown: In general, only wizards with access to the MUSH account should
do @shutdowns, so they can bring the MUSH back up afterwards.
The exception is if the MUSH is not autorestarted, and needs to
be taken down for a machine reboot or something similar.
If the database has somehow been corrupted, a @shutdown may or
may not be a good idea -- this command automatically does a
@dump, and you might be making your problem semi-permanent.
When in doubt, contact God; to shut down the game without doing
a @dump, use @shutdown/abort.
The most important thing to remember: USE COMMON SENSE.
------
That's it for wizard commands and advice.
Comments, corrections, and suggestions should be emailed to Amberyl,
at lwl@netcom.com