A MOO is a text-based virtual environment. A MOO is a kind of MUD (Multi-User Domain, MultiUser Dimension) but with an Object-Orientated enviroment and programming language.

MUDs are spaces of virtual adventure. Participation in such MUDs usually takes the form of games where you can combat other people and creatures, increasing in power and status.

A MOO is a type of social MUD, and the SKYMOOn is an educational MOO where role-playing and game-playing is experienced as part of a pedagogic project.

In role-playing MUDs, there can be lots of levels of power: servant, journeyman, captain, emperor, god, etc., depending on the fictional premises of the role-playing. In educational MOOs, however, there are basically guests, players, builders, programmers, and wizards.

Guests may log in freely at any time from the log-in screen. Guests do not need a password to log in. They can wander and explore SKYMOOn using basic commands but they cannot own any objects or build "rooms." They can, however, chat with other characters on the MOO--whether they are guests, players or builders. If you are visiting for a Writing Center tutorial, you will log in as a guest.

Players are persons who, like builders, have requested a distinctive identity and log-in with their own unique name and password. As such they can set descriptions for themselves and interact with others. They cannot, however, own any objects.

Builders are players who have been granted building rights. As such, they can actually create virtual areas where their characters can live (that is, a "home"). They can, in effect, describe and create an entire environment that reflects an educational project. Instructors are usually granted this privilege, since it is necessary to be able to own objects to operate the conversation recorders in the classrooms. SKYMOOn welcomes builders affiliated with a specific course and pedagogic course and project.

SKYMOOn occassionally will allow groups or classes to have a Builder Character, whose password could be shared by a number of players for ease of maintaining the rooms and objects within a large class project, and would be able to own more objects than an ordinary builder. Ordinarily, character passwords should not be shared.

Programmers are characters who have been given the rights to create entirely new objects for the use by a class or the whole MOO. This level of building is probably beyond what most SKYMOOn users will want or need, but if you are interested, please contact the MOO administration.

Wizards are MOO administrators. As such they create players and other characters, determine MOO policy, and perform MOO clean-up and maintenance chores. SKYMOOn's current wizards (named after Jupiter's moons):

Io, Site Wiz (Jim Fletcher, SCAILAB Director)
Callisto, tWIZzler (Eva Bednarowicz, Assistant Director at the Writing Center)
Ganymede, Building and Design Czar (Sarah Livingston, English Department Liaison to SCAILAB)
Europa, Wizlet-in-Training (Margaret Gonzales, Special Project Coordinator at the Writing Center)

If you wish to bring your class to the MOOn or start a building project, please e-mail your name, the names of the students, and a brief description of your project to scailab@uic.edu.