Introduction to MOO

Imagine that the world could be anything you wanted it to be, and that you were able to bring your world into being for others to experience.  The MOO is such a place; the only limit is your ability to imagine and describe the places and objects you wish to create, from the most scenic landscapes to your most inspired flights of fantasy. The MOO can also be a space for representing information, sharing research, and constructing new forms of electronic text. Pedagogically, MOOs have been used in writing classes to increase interaction and participation, to teach students about writing for different audiences, forums, and media, to encourage planning and thinking carefully about structure and rhetorical effectiveness, and to introduce students to news ways to think about what writing is and does, as well as to different ways of considering and working with their topics.

MOO stands for "Multi-User-Domain Object Oriented," referring to the "object oriented" computer programing that allows these 'worlds' to exist on the Internet. It's difficult to fully understand until you've actually tried it, but a MOO does far more than a chat room can. In a MOO, you can talk to people like you would in chat, but you can also perform actions (called 'emoting'), make rooms or other places, describe them, link them together, and visit the places other people have made. In addition, you can create and describe objects that other people can interact with. 

Many MOOs are text-based, where everything takes place in writing.  Connections MOO welcomes a variety of classes and offers a strong community for those who use computer technology in their teaching and learning.  When you first log on, you'll see a screen that looks something like this:

 

This next screen shows a room description, some objects, and some interaction with the objects. Notice that the 'MOO Client', or program used to access the MOO, provides a space at the bottom of the screen (shown here in pink) to type in. This will appear differently depending on which program you use, but the basic layout will be similar. The commands appear in gray:
 

 

From these screen shots you can catch a glimps of how MOO commands work. Until you become more familiar with the MOO, it's a good idea to refer to a list of frequently used MOO commands.

You might also like to take a look at a full-size screenshot of me talking to a 'bot' (a special type of MOO object that can respond to key words).

 

Susan E. Antlitz
January 2002
http://seantlitz.com/moo