I think one of the signs of a successful MUD is the ability to keep players coming back for more. There are of course many ways of creating this draw yet the end goal is to hook the player. Overall creating an attachment between the game and player base is considered to be a good thing.

Of course there can always be too much of a good thing. So when does this attachment to the game, identity, community ("friends"), or any other hook become too much?

What is the line between healthy enjoyment of a recreational activity and obsession or addiction?

Section 3 from Raven's DartMud Purity Test:

Have you ever:

played Dartmud for:
more than
_ 6 hours
_ 12 hours
_ 24 hours
_ 48 hours
_opted to mud rather than go to a party or other social event
_opted to mud rather than engage in sexual activity IRL
_skipped work to play Dartmud
_ more than 1 day in a row
_been fired from your job primarily because of mudding
_ and you didn't care
_flunked school primarily because of mudding
_ and you didn't care
_been dumped by an SO primarily because of mudding
_ and you didn't care
_gotten divorced primarily because of mudding
_ and you didn't care

__ Subtotal Possible: 16

Substitute your favorite Mud's name in there and take the test. I think if your score is more than 4 or 5, then you have crossed the line into addiction.

That reminds me of some of the other general addiction check-sheets (alchahol, smack)

I dont think each one of those should be just worth 1 point, i think each one should have a different point basis... somethin like this:


played Dartmud for:
more than
(1)_     6 hours
(2)_    12 hours
(3)_    24 hours
(4)_    48 hours
(1)_opted to mud rather than go to a party or other social event
(1)_opted to mud rather than engage in sexual activity IRL
(2)_skipped work to play Dartmud
(4)_  more than 1 day in a row
(4)_been fired from your job primarily because of mudding
(6)_  and you didn't care
(4)_flunked school primarily because of mudding
(6)_  and you didn't care
(4)_been dumped by an SO primarily because of mudding
(6)_  and you didn't care
(6)_gotten divorced primarily because of mudding
(8)_  and you didn't care

1-2 points, possibly addicted
3-4 points, seek help
4+  points, seek help immediately

of course i'm not a psycologist, this is just my opinion that some of these checks are much more important then the others