April 2000 MUME Questionnaire Results
315 answers collected between 10 February 2000 and 4 April 2000. Survey conducted and analyzed by Manwë.
315
Respondents
23.4
Mean Age
92.7%
Ranked MUME #1
1,284
Est. Total Players
1. Demographics & Age Distribution
Mean Age: 23.39 years (Std Dev: 5.55)
| Age | Percentage | Age | Percentage | Age | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤14 | 3.49% | 20 | 7.94% | 25 | 9.84% |
| 15 | 3.81% | 21 | 8.25% | 26 | 6.03% |
| 16 | 3.49% | 22 | 6.03% | 27 | 6.03% |
| 17 | 3.17% | 23 | 4.76% | 28 | 6.35% |
| 18 | 4.44% | 24 | 5.40% | 29 | 2.54% |
| 19 | 6.03% | 35+ | 2.85% |
Key Insight: 66.66% of players were between 19 and 28 years old. A new generation had arrived, with 24.43% under 20 years old.
2. Gender, Relationships & Profession
| Gender | Percentage | Marital Status | Percentage | Occupation | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 93.65% | Single | 67.62% | Student | 46.98% |
| Female | 6.35% | In Couple | 19.37% | Employed | 37.46% |
| Married | 12.06% | Employed Student | 8.57% | ||
| Divorced | 0.95% | Unemployed / Other | 7.00% |
3. Geographic Distribution
| Country | Percentage | Country | Percentage | Country | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 34.92% | UK | 4.13% | Australia | 1.27% |
| Estonia | 14.60% | Finland | 3.81% | Germany | 1.27% |
| Sweden | 13.97% | Netherlands | 2.86% | Italy | 1.90% |
| Norway | 5.71% | Czech Republic | 2.22% | Spain / Russia | 0.95% each |
| Canada | 4.13% | Denmark | 2.22% | Others | < 0.7% each |
4. Player Referral & Acquisition
| Source | Percentage | Source | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friend | 68.57% | Web Page | 3.49% |
| Mudlist | 11.75% | Magazine | 3.49% |
| Other | 4.76% | Another MUD | 2.54% |
5. In-Game Statistics & Gameplay Habits
- Characters per Player:
- Whitie Characters: Mean 3.82 (Std Dev: 2.66)
- Darkie Characters: Mean 2.38 (Std Dev: 2.27)
- Ainur (God) Ownership: 40.00%
- Overall Average: 6.61 characters per player (~1,284 total players across 8,485 database characters).
- Legend Characters (Level 26+):
- Whitie Legends: Mean 1.83 (36.51% owned 0)
- Darkie Legends: Mean 1.03 (61.90% owned 0)
- Highest Mortal Level Reached: Mean 31.61 (Std Dev: 12.99)
- Roleplaying & Player-Killing (PK) Frequency:
Roleplaying Frequency
| Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Often / Always | 40.95% |
| Sometimes | 35.87% |
| Rarely / Never | 23.17% |
Player-Killing (PK) Participation
| Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Often / Always | 45.72% |
| Sometimes | 26.03% |
| Rarely / Never | 28.26% |
- Weekly Hours Played: Mean 21.11 hours/week (Std Dev: 17.50)
- 9.21% played ≤ 3 hours/week (retired or board readers).
- Active playing population estimated at 1,166 players.
6. MUME Evaluations & Player Ratings
| Aspect | Excellent | Good | Correct | Bad / Awful |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Design | 46.67% | 45.08% | 6.35% | 1.91% |
| Game System | 34.92% | 53.97% | 6.98% | 4.13% |
| Management | 12.70% | 50.48% | 28.25% | 8.57% |
- MUME Rank: 92.70% ranked MUME as their #1 MUD.
- MUD Loyalty: 75.24% played only MUME (no other MUDs).
7. Connection, Clients & Operating Systems
- Playing Location: Home (58.73%), University (21.59%), Office (14.60%), School (3.17%)
- Connection Types: Modem (37.46%), T1/T2/T3 (32.39%), ISDN (16.83%), Cable (9.21%), ADSL (4.13%)
Client Software Choice
| Client | Percentage |
|---|---|
| zMUD | 32.06% |
| Powwow | 21.27% |
| Other | 17.78% |
| None (Telnet) | 10.79% |
| Cancan | 7.62% |
| Tintin / TinyFugue | 10.16% |
Operating System Distribution
| Operating System | 1998 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 9x / 2K / NT | 50.35% | 60.00% |
| Linux / Unix | 25.18% | 30.48% |
| MacOS | 7.09% | 3.49% |
| MS-DOS / Win3x | 7.81% | 2.85% |