MOO

Draft

Definition

• A MOOs is a Text-based virtual reality, i.e. a form of virtual environment.
• MOO = MUD, Object Oriented, so a MOO is a kind of MUD.

MOOs in education

MOOs very quite popular in education in the mid-nineties. They were used for a variety of purposes:

• Distance teaching virtual environments
• Virtual meeting spaces (like Chat
• Non-intrusive collaboration
• Learning environments (e.g. quests)
• As constructivist environment to learn programming
• As living hypertexts (text with people)
• Social rules experimentation and learning.
• Familiarization with online spaces and international exchange (activities with kids).

MOOs also were popular as environment for carrying out research, e.g. topics like

• Collaboration (e.g. Dillenburg et al. 1997)
• Sociology
• Identity (and in particular online identity

In 2006, text-based virtual communities have lost a lot of attraction, since some functionalities can be replaced by integrated environments such as groupware, C3MS or LMS but they are still used for a variety of purposes (since replacements are not really available). In particular, MOO is popular in language learning.

Software

In order to run a MOO, you need a server and a database. The database contains a lot of code without which building a MOO is extremely difficult ....

The MOO server

• Download from Source Forge (but before you consider doing this, see our enCore installation and configuration hints.

Moo Databases

There are several databases. To educators we recommend "enCore".

enCore

• enCore Learning Environment (MOO database recommended by DSchneider). Take version version 5 Beta (12:15, 13 April 2007 (MEST)). It works well enough for a production environment. However you also may take the earlier 4.01 version.

Notes:

• See our enCore installation and configuration hints.
• Home of encore was Lingua MOO, but the (lingua.utdallas.edu) is dead now (however the project is not dead)

Lambda Core

(this used to be the most popular core and its the basis of most other cores, e.g. enCore

• Wizard Basics and maintaining your own MOO

Moo clients

• Some MOOs like encore have a built-in web client. However the experience is not the same (e.g. text tends to be not as rich, e.g. messages triggered by passing through doors may not show). Therefore, many people still prefer to use text-only MOO clients.

List of Clients

• Daniel K. Schneider uses the http://mattcamp.paunix.org/rmoo.html RMOO] client for (x)emacs. You need to be familiar with emacs. If you are and manage to install it, this really is the best client ever.
• TKMOOlight used to be a popular client (not tested recently)
• Pueblo A general MUD client, supposed to work with MOOs.
• Savitar General purpose MUD client for Macintosh.

There are many other clients available (some are even being improved). Google.

Moo-like environments

(e.g. alternatives)

• Moose Crossing - "A text-based virtual world (or "MUD") designed to help kids to learn reading, writing, and computer programming" from Georgia Tech.

Links

MOOs in education

(not at all complete)

TECFAMOO

Daniel K. Schneider plans to replace it with an encore MOO, since we no longer have the resources to maintain this. A test version is here).

• tecfamoo.unige.ch 7777
• TECFAMOO Information page

MOO research indexes and groups

• The Lost Library of MOO Best resource for MOO research papers.
• TECFA's Educational MUD/MOO Page (very outdated, Daniel K. Schneider will move some of the surving links here some day).
• TecfaMOO project page
• Agora is a Wiki regarding the development of online multiuser environments.
• The Lost MOO library reborn indexes and saves important texts (technical and research)
• A good general Mud resource is Imaginary Realities.

User manuals

• The TecfaMOO Manuel (in French). Information on how to use the MOO and how to build elementary things. Voir aussi: Introduction technique au MOO (contient quelques transparents pour simple utilisateurs du MOO)
• The evolving TecfaMOO book - part II Technical Manuel Disclaimer: This manual is a (slowly!) ongoing effort. Some parts are still missing, some are bad, but some are useful.
• Fiche technique Moo de WinSet (y compris comment utiliser les channels sur TecfaMOO)

Programming Manuals

• The evolving TecfaMOO book - part II Technical Manuel Disclaimer: This manual is an ongoing effort. Most parts are still missing, some are bad, but some are useful.
• Melchyor's notes on HTML Rendering in enCore
• The official MOO Programmer's Manuel

References

• Bruckman, A. et Resnick, M. (1993). Virtual Professional Community: Results from the MediaMOO Project. In Third Internation Conference on Cyberspace, Austin, Texas. URL: PS

• P. Dillenbourg, P. Jermann, D. Schneider, D. Traum, C. Buiu, (1997) The design of MOO agents: Implications from a study on multi-modal collaborative problem solving, Proceedings 8th World Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, Kobe, Japan. HTML.