Editing MUSH

{{Short description|Text-based online social medium}}
{{Other uses|Mush (disambiguation)}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:MUSH login screenshot.PNG|float|right|thumb|250px|The login screen from M*U*S*H, the centre of development for PennMUSH.]] -->In [[multiplayer online games]], a '''MUSH''' (a [[backronym]]ed{{R|burka-nym}} variation on [[Multi-user dungeon|MUD]] most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination,{{R|beleriand|internetgames|shah-romine}} though Multi-User Shared Hack,{{R|ito}} Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a [[text-based]] [[online]] social medium to which multiple [[User (computing)|users]] are connected at the same time. MUSHes are often used for online social interaction and [[role-playing game]]s,{{R|bartle}} although the first forms of MUSH do not appear to be coded specifically to implement gaming activity.{{R|ito}} MUSH software was originally derived from MUDs; today's two major MUSH variants are descended from [[TinyMUD]], which was fundamentally a social game.{{R|schwartz}}
MUSH has [[Fork (software)|forked]] over the years and there are now different varieties with different features, although most have strong similarities and one who is fluent in coding one variety can switch to coding for the other with only a little effort.{{R|schwartz}} The [[source code]] for most widely used MUSH servers is [[open source software|open source]] and available from its current maintainers.{{R|schwartz|leong-mushdev}}

A primary feature of MUSH codebases that tends to distinguish it from other multi-user environments is the ability, by default, of any player to extend the world by creating new rooms or objects and specifying their behavior in the MUSH's internal scripting language.{{R|burka-tiny}} 

The programming language for MUSH, usually referred to as "MUSHcode" or "softcode" (to distinguish it from "hardcode"{{spaced ndash}}the language in which the MUSH server itself is written) was developed by Larry Foard. TinyMUSH started life as a set of enhancements to the original TinyMUD code. "MUSHcode" is similar in syntax to [[Lisp programming language|Lisp]].{{R|leong-manual}}

==Roleplay==
Traditionally, roleplay consists of a series of "poses".  Each character makes a "pose"{{spaced ndash}}that is, writes a description of speech, actions, etc. which the character performs.  Special commands allow players to print OOC (out of character) messages, distinguished by a prefixed string from IC (in character) action.  This medium borrows traits from both improvisational stage acting and writing.  Roleplaying is one of the primary activities of MUSHes, along with socializing.{{R|onering-guide|swmush|onering-rp|hearn|platt}}

There is nothing in the code base that restricts a new MUSH from being a traditional hack-and-slash MUD-style game.{{R|smith}} However, the earliest uses of MUSH servers were for roleplaying and socializing, and these early trends have largely governed their descendants.{{R|smith}}

==Administration==
All MUSH servers provide a flag that, when set on a player, bestows the ability to view and modify nearly everything in the game's database. Such players are usually called [[Wizard (MUD)|Wizards]], and typically form the basis for the MUSH administration.{{R|leong-manual}}

==Software==
Maintainers and developers of MUSH servers have traditionally shared ideas with one another, so most MUSH servers include concepts or code developed originally in other servers. There is particular interest in ensuring that common MUSHcode features work similarly across servers.{{R|leong-mushdev}}

PennMUSH, TinyMUSH, TinyMUX and RhostMUSH are all open-source MUSH servers

==See also==
*[[TinyMUD]] – the ancestor to MUSH servers.{{R|leong-manual}}
*[[MOO]]
*[[MUCK]]
*[[Multi-user dungeon|MUD]]
*[[Online text-based role-playing game]]
*[[Online creation]]
*[[MUSHclient]]

==References==
{{Reflist|40em|refs=
<ref name="beleriand">{{cite web
 |url=http://beleriand.mux.net/faq.html
 |title=Beleriand MUSH FAQ
 |quote=MUSH stands for "Multi-User Shared Hallucination."
}}</ref>
<ref name="internetgames">{{cite web
 |url=http://internetgames.about.com/od/mudmush/MUDs_and_MUSHs.htm
 |title=Internet Games About
 |quote=MUSH stands for "Multi-User Shared Hallucination."
 |access-date=2009-12-07
 |archive-date=2009-03-01
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301214355/http://internetgames.about.com/od/mudmush/MUDs_and_MUSHs.htm
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref>
<ref name="shah-romine">{{cite book
 | last1 = Shah | first1 = Rawn
 | last2 = Romine | first2 = James
 | year = 1995
 | title = Playing MUDs on the Internet
 | publisher = John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 | isbn = 0-471-11633-5
 | pages = 278
 | quote = Its name, MUSH, stands for Multiuser Shared Hallucination.
}}</ref>
<ref name="burka-nym">{{cite web
 | last = Burka | first = Lauren P.
 | url = http://www.linnaean.org/~lpb/muddex/mudline.html
 | title = The MUDline
 | year = 1995
 | quote = MUSH didn't stand for anything, but its authors later decided it meant "Multi-User Shared Hallucination."
}}</ref>
<ref name="ito">{{cite web
 | last = Ito | first = Joi | author-link = Joi Ito
 | url = http://90.146.8.18/de/festival2007/topics/e_Ito_wowtalkedited.pdf
 | title = Goodbye Privacy Presentation
 | year = 2006
 | quote = They [MUDS] spun off MOOs (MUD object oriented) and MUSHes (Multi-User Shared Hack) where it was more about creating things and creating objects. The kinds of people who participated in MOOs and MUSHes were very different from the kinds of people who participated in MUDs. MUDs were more about constraints and limitations and game-play.
}}</ref>
<ref name="bartle">{{cite book
 | last = Bartle | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Bartle
 | title = [[Designing Virtual Worlds]]
 | publisher = New Riders
 | year = 2003
 | isbn = 0-13-101816-7
 | pages = 47
 | quote = ''MUSHes''.  Socially oriented, mostly focused on role-playing, but occasionally non-gaming in nature.  MUSHes tend to have a Science Fiction setting based on books, comics, or movies, with Fantasy some way behind.
}}</ref>
<ref name="schwartz">{{cite web
 | last = Schwartz | first = Alan
 | url = http://www.pennmush.org/
 | title = PennMush FAQ
 | year = 2006
}}</ref>
<ref name="leong-manual">{{cite web
 | last = Leong | first = Lydia | author-link = Lydia Leong
 | url = http://duh.com/discordia/mushman/man2x1
 | title = MUSH Manual Version 2.008
 | year = 1995
 | quote = MUSH is a derivative of the original TinyMUD. [...] The programming language of MUSH is most similar to LISP, in its emphasis on lists and the way functions are evaluated.
}}</ref>
<ref name="leong-mushdev">{{cite web
 | last = Leong | first = Lydia | author-link = Lydia Leong
 | url = http://tinymush.sourceforge.net/historical/dev-faq.txt
 | title = TinyMush Development FAQ
 | year = 1999
}}</ref>
<ref name="burka-tiny">{{cite web
 | last = Burka | first = Lauren P.
 | url = http://www.linnaean.org/~lpb/muddex/mudline.html
 | title = The MUDline
 | year = 1995
 | quote = Unlike most previous MUDs, TinyMUD emphasizes world creation over competition.
}}</ref>
<ref name="onering-guide">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.virtualworldlets.net/Resources/Hosted/Resource.php?Name=RoleplayEtiquette
 |title=MUSH and Roleplaying Etiquette Guidelines
 |author=One Ring Mush Staff
}}</ref>
<ref name="swmush">{{cite web
 |url=http://stormbreaker.net/sw/rp/roleplay.htm
 |title=Interaction – The Power of the POSE
 |author=StarWars Mush staff
}}</ref>
<ref name="onering-rp">{{cite web
 |url=http://stormbreaker.net/sw/rp/roleplay.htm
 |title=RolePlay for Newbies
 |author=One Ring Mush staff
}}</ref>
<ref name="hearn">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.topmudsites.com/article01.shtml
 |title=An Introduction to Mush
 |author=Ervin Hearn III 
 |year=2000
}}</ref>
<ref name="platt">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.topmudsites.com/rp101-02.shtml
 |title=Taking the Stage
 |last=Platt|first=Wes|author-link=Wes Platt
 |year=2004
}}</ref>
<ref name="smith">{{cite web
 | last = Smith | first = Jennifer
 | url = http://www.mudconnect.com/mudfaq/
 | title = rec.games.mud FAQ
 | year = 1990
 | quote = Each type has its own unique style, and players are rarely forced to stick to one type of playing – there's no rule that says an LPMUD _must_ be a combat-oriented MUD, or that a TinyMUSH ''must not'' be a combat-oriented MUD. [...] The Tiny- and Teeny- family of MUDs are usually more social in orientation; the players on those MUDs tend to gather, chat, meet friends, make jokes, and discuss all kinds of things
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pennmush.org/ PennMUSH] developed from TinyMUD and PernMUSH at University of Pennsylvania, and later at University of California, Berkeley and University of Illinois at Chicago.
* [http://www.tinymush.net TinyMUSH] 3.0 through 3.3 (currently in alpha stage of development) derive from a merger of TinyMUSH 2.2.5 and TinyMUX 1.6, both of which ultimately derive from TinyMUD.
* [http://www.tinymux.org TinyMUX] 2.0 through 2.9 derive from TinyMUX 1.6. TinyMUX 1.0 through 1.6 were developed from a fork of TinyMUSH 2.0 10p6 and ultimately from TinyMUD.
* [http://btech.sourceforge.net/ BattletechMUX] A TinyMUX 1.6 derived codebase with real-time Battletech extensions.
* [http://code.google.com/p/rhostmush/ RhostMUSH] developed from TinyMUD, then TinyMUSE. It is currently opensource.

{{MUDs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mush}}
[[Category:Multiplayer online games]]
[[Category:MU* games]]
[[Category:MUD servers]]
[[Category:Online chat]]