186 LANGUAGE AND THE INTERNET
A similar juxtaposition of styles occurs when computer-
generatedmessagesareaddedtothemixofdirect-speechutterances
and emotes. The latter two, despite their differences, are united by
a generally colloquial tone and a readiness to deviate from stan-
dard English norms; the computer-generated items are typically
in a fairly formal standard English, in terms of spelling, punctu-
ation, capitalization, and construction. The influence of standard
English is everywhere present, in fact, notwithstanding the regu-
lar efforts to depart from it. Even in direct-speech contexts, MUD
players can display a strong sense of standards of communication.
Indeed, throughout the virtual worlds situation, as in chatgroups,
it is never a matter of ‘anything goes’. Taboos are strongly present,
and players are sensitive to them. Co-operative linguistic perfor-
mance is asine qua nonof a new player being made welcome.
If someone’s utterance is wildly inaccurate in typing or spelling,
it will be criticized by other players, or even by the player eir-
self, as in these comments:I just lost my fingers,I’malousey[sic]
typist.
The overriding impression of MUD language is of a mixture
of styles – which is hardly surprising, given the multiplicity of
functions they have evolved to meet (from adventure game to ex-
ploratory programming to serious discussion to insult forum to
gossipychat^19 )–andtheirattimesexplicitconcerntoevolveunique
identities. Preferences vary over the size of the group: some MUDs
prefer many players, cultivating the atmosphere of a party; others
wantthesizetobesmall,findingthatpartiescontaintoomuchnoise
(spam). Some groups cope with the problem of multiple players by
fostering subgroups – a set of players go off into another room, or
whisper to each other a lot. Others find such practices anti-social.
The style a group uses also depends greatly on the number of par-
ticipants trying to speak at once. Cherny found that if more than
si xspeakers were talking together within one minute, the number
(^19) ‘ElseMOO is a community run largely by gossip’ (Cherny, 1999: 286). However, this
is not like face-to-face gossip, for the texts can be reviewed and quoted. The slanging
matches sometimes encountered are reminiscent of the verbal duelling noted in face-to-
face contexts: Crystal (1997a: 60–3); see also p. 55 above.