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Getting Involved with MOO

There are many ways to get involved with MOO and mooR, and not all of them require running your own server. Understanding your options can help you choose the path that's right for your interests and technical comfort level.

Hosting vs. Joining

Joining an Existing MOO

Most people start their MOO journey by connecting to an existing MOO as a player. Many MOOs welcome new users and some offer programming privileges (called "wizard" or "admin" status) to trusted community members. This is often the easiest way to:

  • Learn MOO programming
  • Understand how MOOs work
  • Build objects and areas
  • Participate in a community
  • Eventually become a programmer or administrator

Popular ways to find MOOs include:

  • The MUD Connector (mudconnect.com)
  • Reddit communities like r/MUD
  • Word of mouth from other MOO enthusiasts

Running Your Own Server

Some people prefer to run their own MOO server, which gives you complete control over:

  • The database and all objects
  • Who has access and what permissions they have
  • Server configuration and extensions
  • Custom modifications to the core

Deployment Options

Cloud Hosting

Most mooR servers today run "in the cloud" on services like:

  • Virtual Private Servers (VPS): DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr
  • Cloud platforms: Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure
  • Container platforms: Heroku, Railway, Fly.io

Cloud hosting offers advantages like:

  • No need to maintain physical hardware
  • Reliable internet connections
  • Automatic backups and scaling options
  • Geographic distribution for better latency

Local Development

You can also run mooR locally for:

  • Learning and experimentation
  • Developing new features
  • Testing configurations
  • Private family or friend groups

Contributing Without Hosting

Even if you don't want to run a server, there are many ways to contribute:

  • Core Development: Help build the "cowbell" core (see next section)
  • Documentation: Improve guides like this one
  • mooR Development: Contribute to the server software itself
  • Community Building: Help newcomers learn MOO programming
  • Object Creation: Build interesting objects and share the code

The beauty of MOO is that there's room for everyone, whether you want to be a player, programmer, administrator, or developer. The next section will explain the crucial concept of "cores" that makes all of this possible.