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The future of MUD |
Foddy
Arch-Wizard
Joined: Aug 19, 2001
Posts: 138 |  Posted: 31-10-2006 23:24
In order to grow the MUDII community and to attract more newbies, we felt that the time had come to re-evaluate the way MUD is paid for. Various options have been considered but we decided that the best option would be to make MUD free.
To make the game free, we have to reduce the running costs. This includes dissolving Muddled Games Ltd, dropping Worldpay and may include downgrading the server MUDII runs on.
Despite reducing the running costs, MUDII will still need financial support in order to allow players to continue to play. A large part of this needs to come from donations, but we will also be raising money through hosting adverts on the website. Once we go free we can never go back to subscriptions. It is therefore important that the donation system succeeds.
MUDII will be free from Wednesday 15th November. People who have already paid for time will have the option to turn the remaining credits into a donation or to recieve a refund.
If there are any questions please post to this forum thread.
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Silly
pilgrim
Joined: May 18, 2003
Posts: 28
From: UK
| Posted: 31-10-2006 23:38
Post a link to the new website (when completed) with this news on Digg and Slashdot?
Definately news worthy. 
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Havoc
pioneer
Joined: Feb 16, 2003
Posts: 360
From: portland, oregon, usa
| Posted: 01-11-2006 00:53
Wowsers! Can I set up a monthly donation?
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Havoc
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Cradle
cleric
Joined: Jul 07, 2003
Posts: 235
From: England
| Posted: 01-11-2006 10:57
Yes i also would like to make a monthly donation, is this possible through Direct debit?
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Cradle
cleric
Joined: Jul 07, 2003
Posts: 235
From: England
| Posted: 01-11-2006 10:58
If so foddy or kayra, please mudmail or mail me on mikefilth@msn.com
Even though i will donate i wont be playing again for a long long time!
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Foddy
Arch-Wizard
Joined: Aug 19, 2001
Posts: 138 | Posted: 01-11-2006 19:41
Quote:
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On 01-11-2006 00:53, Malbery wrote:
Wowsers! Can I set up a monthly donation?
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Yes - it should be possible, but will be through Paypal - I believe it can be set up to make regular payments.
Cradle - I'll let you know when it's sorted, but direct debit won't be an option (unless that's how you fund your Paypal account). Moving away from Worldpay may restrict us a little, but will certainly cut costs.
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Vulnax
explorer
Joined: Oct 19, 2001
Posts: 648
From: North West
| Posted: 01-11-2006 22:40
Foddy
Paypal take a % cut from payments you receive, I guess this is less than Worldpay management fees?
Subscription payments via Paypal can be done, see here for info.
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&nodeid=25228&leafid=2375&prior_transaction_id=680188&answer_id=16777220
What does dissolving Muddled Games Ltd mean to you / MUDii / players - obviously less cost from no longer being a limited company, but is it still a business, or now a "hobby" ?
Server integrity / bandwidth availability are key, will these be able to cope? I am sure you have looked into that before deciding to go this route! We can live with the odd hour off line I am sure.
Still worth persuing the non profit making organising or charity route!
Hope it all works out and particularly gets more people on, I'd hate to see MUDii go down.
Vully
[ This Message was edited by: vulnax on 01-11-2006 23:26 ]
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Vulnax
explorer
Joined: Oct 19, 2001
Posts: 648
From: North West
| Posted: 01-11-2006 22:44
Ohh yeah, a standing order could be set up ( not a direct debit, I think that they need to go to a business ?? ) to any named person via the individuals bank.
V
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Huff
cabalist
Joined: Sep 17, 2001
Posts: 58
From: London
| Posted: 01-11-2006 23:10
Foddy,
It may be worth keeping Muddled Games Ltd running but changing it from a Limited by Shares to Limited by Guarantee model. That way it ensures that all donations and funds go back into the company.
Just an idea...
Huff
   
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Vulnax
explorer
Joined: Oct 19, 2001
Posts: 648
From: North West
| Posted: 01-11-2006 23:28
Indeed Pip, we wouldn't Foddy / Karya to be liable for any costs accruing from MUDii failing ... some form of protection for the operators would be good. I assume the Limited by Guarantee company would do that?
V
Of course, I am not the one with a MBA in Business! 
[ This Message was edited by: Vulnax on 01-11-2006 23:28 ]
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Zordell
cleric
Joined: Aug 08, 2003
Posts: 216 | Posted: 02-11-2006 09:33
I don't understand business stuff at all but I will tell you that you have totally made our days. Thankyou so much- I personally never hoped to imagine it to be possible. I would like to donate as well when I can if it is possible to do via PayPal. Once again, thankyou, you made a lot of people very smiley and bouncy!
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Vulnax
explorer
Joined: Oct 19, 2001
Posts: 648
From: North West
| Posted: 02-11-2006 13:04
How will the free MUDii be policed, to prevent being over-run with people making hundreds of accounts to mess the game up with?
A la Wireplay's free to play days!
More visible wizzes, limit the accounts available against IP address / e-mail addie ??
[ This Message was edited by: Vulnax on 02-11-2006 13:05 ]
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Foddy
Arch-Wizard
Joined: Aug 19, 2001
Posts: 138 | Posted: 02-11-2006 20:21
Quote:
| Vulnax wrote:
Paypal take a % cut from payments you receive, I guess this is less than Worldpay management fees?
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It depends on how things are set up, but Worldpay take a cut anyway - plus they charge a large yearly fee regardless of how many transactions go through.
Quote:
| Vulnax wrote:
What does dissolving Muddled Games Ltd mean to you / MUDii / players
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To me, it means less overheads, less administration and less costs. To MUD, there won't be a huge difference - it may actually allow us to be more flexible. To players, it depends on the player ...
Quote:
| Vulnax wrote:
Server integrity / bandwidth availability are key, will these be able to cope?
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Yes, I agree. We're certainly not going to do anything that makes the game unplayable. But, Phoenix is quite old now, and will likely require replacing at some point ... it may be that we decide to go for a lower-spec machine then.
Please understand that a lower-spec machine doesn't mean lag - even the average desktop is much faster than Phoenix these days! Don't worry, it'll be carefully thought through.
Phoenix is a 866MHz dual-processor Dell PowerEdge 2450 with hardware RAID, ECC ram, and redundant power supplies. MUD will happily run on a much slower server. It's not about cutting back at the expense of the game, it's about saving money so that we can spend more on things like prizes.
Quote:
| Vulnax wrote:
Still worth persuing the non profit making organising or charity route!
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It's an option, but (particularly in the case of charities) is still expensive. Don't forget the time spent on admin - while it's not a direct cost, it's time we could spend on much more productive (and for you, interesting) things!
Quote:
| Huff wrote:
It may be worth keeping Muddled Games Ltd running but changing it from a Limited by Shares to Limited by Guarantee model. That way it ensures that all donations and funds go back into the company.
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There isn't a huge difference between the two types of limited companies - in one case, the money is put in up front, and in the other at the end (should it ever end). There are still fees to pay, accounts to prepare, etc. The donations will go back into MUD whether it's run by a company or not.
Quote:
| Vulnax wrote:
How will the free MUDii be policed, to prevent being over-run with people making hundreds of accounts to mess the game up with?
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That's always been a concern of mine. Things were worse at Wireplay because we were restricted by data protection laws, which made trying to "police" duplicate accounts a nightmare. It's something we'll work through if it becomes a problem.
Quote:
| Zordell wrote:
Once again, thankyou, you made a lot of people very smiley and bouncy!
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:-)
Foddy
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Marly
pilgrim
Joined: Sep 11, 2004
Posts: 20 | Posted: 03-11-2006 17:26
Wow! How do we go about making our monthly sub into a donation? Would it be better for you to keep doing a monthly standing order (steady money) or for a larger, bi-monthly sum? Let us know if there's anything else (productive) that we can do!
Brisa x
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Havoc
pioneer
Joined: Feb 16, 2003
Posts: 360
From: portland, oregon, usa
| Posted: 04-11-2006 19:24
Yes. A monthly standing order should be free, no? I'd rather mud got every penny than a 98%. 
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Havoc
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Crowley
pioneer
Joined: Apr 14, 2003
Posts: 421
From: Birmingham
| Posted: 05-11-2006 14:53
Exciting!
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*Fiz the necromancess says "I've been advised by everyone in the game to ignore you, Crowley".
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Heiach
Wizard
Joined: Oct 31, 2001
Posts: 542
From: I can't remember!
| Posted: 15-11-2006 11:58
"If you want to play, you have to buy some more time.."
*mumbles*
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Droo
Wizard
Joined: Jan 06, 2002
Posts: 43
From: Ireland, of course!
| Posted: 22-11-2006 17:13
Even I think this is exciting!
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Havoc
pioneer
Joined: Feb 16, 2003
Posts: 360
From: portland, oregon, usa
| Posted: 22-11-2006 22:22
Isn't it great! I just want to get some time to be able to play now.
_________________
Havoc
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Thwomp
Wizard
Joined: Sep 14, 2001
Posts: 34 | Posted: 30-11-2006 01:18
So can I get a refund on my 1997 three-month Wireplay phonebill of ?500?
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