From: Mike Levine <mrunix@ic.net>

Haven't put 2-cents in recently so here my thoughts on gaining coding
experience before you decide to run a mud.

1.  Download a fresh copy of whatever code base you would like to try.
2.  Purchase an introductory and intermediate book on Coding in C.
3.  Purchase an introductory book on Software Engineering.
4.  Purchase an introductory book on Data Types in C.
5.  Read, Read, Read.
6.  Run your mud locally and play with it as an administrator and player
    until such time as you really understand the structure of the code and
    mud base you are going to create your ultimate mud with. DO NOT
    CODE AT THIS STAGE.
7.  At some point you'll have an idea or two. *Start with *very small*
    changes. Understand exactly what you want to do *before* you do it.
    This is where software engineering comes into play. Plan your changes,
    write them down, test them on paper first - before - you alter one bit
    of code.
8.  Test, Test, Test
9.  Always have a copy of your last working version of the mud. For that
    matter, if disk space allows, keep a copy of each working version of
    your mud so that you can at least go back one step if things go wrong;
    they shouldn't if you planned things right - but hard drive crashes
    are another thing - keep your copies external to the hard drive you
    are developing on.
10. There's always some excitement with the idea of opening up your first
    or subsequent muds. Don't open them up or advertise too early. Work
    on them until there is a lot more to offer than just stock zones and
    mobs. Experienced mudders visiting your mud will expect *something*
    different and will go away very quickly if all you have on offer is a
    stock mud. I mean, we all can download bpl11, compile it and open it
    up to the public.
11. The most difficult part of developing a good mud is BALANCE. Good
    zone/player/mob/eq balance *is* the most critical and often overlooked
    aspect of administrating muds. A good example of bad balance is when
    someone downloads stock bpl11, increases levels to 100 and does 
    nothing with mob levels/hps/exp or equipment/spells. Try to get to
    grips with understanding what balance really is, how much and what
    code it affects, and what you envision your players may want to have.
12.  Test, Test, Test

IMHO. Please add if you feel necessary. If you disagree or have
personal comment please address it directly to me: mrunix@ic.net .

Best Regards
Mike Levine
mrunix@ic.net