Student Essays about the Web and MUDs

hen you examine these essays, you will often find very interesting links and arguments about the value of on-line interactions and sites. After the title of each, I indicate the author and basic argument. So far as I know, all the links included in these essays are still active.

• Websites, by Samantha Bender, is a research essay that explores the differences between personal pages fashioned by individuals and those fashioned by companies. She gives clear examples of each.
• Web Pages and My Personal Opinion of Them, by Yuma Morita, is a short paper describing what makes a valuable web page. He gives wide ranging examples of both research and entertainment uses of web pages and good examples.
• When I Was an Avocado, I Tangoed Seductively With Ralphie: An In-Depth Analysis of People's Obsession With MUDs, by Laura D'Afflitti, is a research paper on the reasons that people have for getting so deeply involved with MUDs. Laura includes not only her own experiences but also several theories about the satisfactions of MUD interactions.
• Exploring the MUDs: An Adventure in Cyberspace, by Holly Moirs, offers a history of MUDs as well as a different slant than the previous essay on the formation of selves in MUDs. Her essay also is supported by research and conveys both the dangers and pleasures of MUDDing.
• REQUIRE Hypertext Essays? by J P Lipton takes up the issue of whether a course like this one should insist that the students compose essays in HTML and hypertext. Lipton argues that this kind of essay should be required rather than just an option, as in English 115, Spring 1996.

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