INTRODUCTION TO AussieMOO

Background:

MOO is a multidimensional Object-Oriented Conferencing tool. Messaging is the core technology of groupware solutions such as Lotus NOTES, as network users (distance education students to business users) seek to build, use and retain knowledge. MOO is a synchronous text-based technology for computer-mediated communications (conferencing) and object-oriented programming. This practical involves completion of the Tutorial Caverns, sharing conference dialogue with other users, and the eventual creation of your own player object at AussieMOO. The MOO Admin Hopper (aka Ken Eustace) is developing the virtual classroom community at AussieMOO.

Getting Started

1. Run Netscape and Go to Location:

       http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/aussiemoo.html

This is the AussieMOO Home Page. Various notes, commands, resources will be useful in providing a deeper understanding of on-line communities on a MOO. Spend some time to READ these pages and see what themes the AussieMOO group are building.

2. Connection to AussieMOO can be made using telnet (WinQVT) or by installing a MUD client such as MudWIN or MacMUSH (Macintosh), available for download from the AussieMOO Home page.

3. Configure MOO client to HOST as farrer.riv.csu.edu.au and 7777 as the IP port number. [These settings can be saved as a .mud file if using MUDwin.]

4. A shortcut is available from the AussieMOO Home page by clicking on the logo. This is a Java-telnet link to AussieMOO, but it has no logging function yet.

5. Each piece of software is capable of saving the transcript of each MOO session as a text file for later reading and editing off-line [as conference minutes]. Create a MOO transcript or log file called moo1.log

NOTE: Some telnet clients such as WinQVT have trouble with the key. If this is the case, then CTRL-J is used as the enter or return key.

Setting up your Collaboratory (Groupware interface)

1. For a note taking option, run the text editor. You can toggle between Netscape/MOO/Editor OR shrink the height of the text window and place it under the Netscape window. This will be your note pad. Save your notes as a text file called note1.txt

2. The height of the AussieMOO window can also be reduced and place at the bottom of the screen. This will be your "conference" window for collaborative work over the Internet.

(Host machine: farrer.riv.csu.edu.au Port number: 7777)

Guest Login and Tutorial on AussieMOO

1. After connection is made to AussieMOO, Enter:

     connect guest

into the input section at the bottom of the AussieMOO screen.

2. Part of your AussieMOO window should now look similar to:

     connect guest
     Okay,... guest is in use.  Logging you in as `Roo_Guest'
     *** Connected ***
     ********************************
     Welcome to AussieMOO, an Australian MOO. Please enjoy your stay here!

Note what guest object you are!

3. Click back to the MOO. Enter:

     @map

to see where you are and notice the object numbers.

4. Enter:

     look me

to see your object description.

5. Change your object description by entering:

     @describe me as "What you want to look like"

and check your appearance again with

     look me

6. Change your gender from neuter to male or female eg

     @gender female

7. Moving from place to place is called teleporting. To learn more about the basic MOO commands in action, complete the Tutorial of Caverns Exercise (#1126). Enter:

tut

You need to complete the tutorial in the Hall of Laws (#3075), in order to create your OWN player object with password. [You can always ask a friendly Wizard!]

NOTE: You will need your own character to build rooms and to create your own objects in the MOO database. If you have trouble with making a character, send me an e-mail with your chosen MOO character name.

MOO Conferencing

1. Teleport to room #3153 using the

     @go #3153

command. Look at some objects in the lab using the look command and enter

     @who

to find out who else is currently logged in and their location on MOO. NOTE: Our MOO sessions later, will take place in The Infostud Seminar Room (#461).

2. You can talk to others in the same room or page someone in another room. Use " before each statement in order to say something to the others in the room. eg

                     "G'night everybody
                     You say, "G'night everybody"

3. From the @who command you see that the person you wish to contact is in another room. Use the page command eg Hopper is in his office:

     page Hopper

4. If you wish to join Hopper in the same room use:

     @join Hopper

5. Go back to the AussieMOO Home page on Netscape and examine the other commands for communication and navigation on a MOO eg to emote a smile to the others in the room, the colon is used instead eg

                     :smiles                 (what you enter)
                     Roo_Guest smiles        (what everyone sees)

6. Initiate a conversation with someone for a short while by introducing yourself and and discussing a topic for a few minutes.

7. The help files can be accessed with the following commands:

             help index    and    help gen-index

8. When the conference is completed, close the moo1.log file.

9. Enter

     @quit

to end the MOO session.

10. Click on the text editor screen and save the file called note1.txt before quitting using File/Exit

11. Similarly close down Netscape.

12. Review the two files saved as note1.txt and moo1.log, offline. Reflect upon the benefits and limitations of your WWW/MOO groupware experience in your open learning and workplace activities.