Some of TinyTIM's Features

A place as large as TinyTIM (trust me, it's large) can hardly list all its great features in one document, unless maybe it's TIM's own database (which, of course, you access by playing TIM). But here's a list of a few of TIM's highlights, do check 'em out!

The Nexus

When you type NORTH from the starting point of TIM (Limbo), you will find yourself in the Nexus. The Nexus is the main chatting room of TIM, where players of all times converge to argue, discuss, harangue, console and humor each other. It is also the primary place to get everywhere else on TIM. There are over 100 links from the Nexus, called "Planes", that are entirely different worlds that extend from it. For instance, there are Churches, Forests, Office Buildings, Universes that are for every shape, size and preference of salad dressing. The Nexus is in a constant state of flux, with entirely new planes appearing every week, and old rotten ones going away. There is a Directory Machine in the Nexus that can give you information on what the current places are to explore.

The Nexus is also the home to the Clock on the Wall, the Old Man of the Nexus, Atlas, and the Statue of TIM. You'll know them when you see them. The Old Man doesn't like you. The clock does too much. Atlas Shrugs.


The Clock on the Wall

The Clock on the Wall is the single most complicated Thing on TIM. Really. Completely. People have been known to have conversations with it. People ask it questions they wouldn't ask their best friend or closest lover. It has been known to send people screaming off the game. It's been parodied and paid homage to on other MUSHes.

Above all, though, it's a clock. It resides in the Nexus, and it will tell you what time it is, if you say "What Time Is It?" out loud in the Nexus.

The clock understands something like 50 commands; it can tell you various bits of information on other players. It can check for groups online. And it has a whole set of responses to different school names and various actions done to or near it.

The clock, as you can see, is an epic all in itself. Like the tax code. The clock, though, dedicates its next song to you. Go listen.

But for god's sake, please don't say "Clock, tell me about "Log"."


Layout of TinyTIM

TinyTIM's layout may seem complicated at first, but in fact is rather simple. There are four main areas: The Main Area Place/Nexus, The Grand Hotel, Pern, and Urban TIM. These areas are all connected to the Interplace, which is sort of a go-between room for these different places.

You begin your journey as a TIMster in Limbo, which is a holding area for new and disconnected Players. From there, you go north, and you're in the Main Area Place (also called the Nexus). Typing Interplace will put you in the area of the same name, and from there, you can go to Pern, Urban TIM or The Grand Hotel.


 =======================                       ===================
 = THE MAIN AREA PLACE =                  xxxxx= THE GRAND HOTEL =
 =     (THE NEXUS)     =xxxxxxxxxxxx      x    ===================
 =======================           x      x
	    x                   ==================
	    x                   = THE INTERPLACE =
	    x                   ==================
	=========                   x     x
	= LIMBO =                   x     x
	=========                   x     x     =============
				    x     xxxxxx= URBAN TIM =
			 ========   x            ============
			 = PERN =xxxx
			 ========


Urban TIM

Urban TIM is TinyTIM's own smallish city, a collections of Shops, Parks, a Red Light District, and bad fast food.

The City of TIM is one of TinyTIM's oldest areas. Nearly every wizard who ever was has taken a hand at redoing the layout of the place. The current layout was designed by Sketch. It has been zoned into 5 main areas:

  1. The Upper-Class Residential District to the Northwest,
  2. The Shopping District (South and Southwest),
  3. The Park (Dead Center),
  4. The Slum (Northeast) and
  5. the Red Light District (Southeast) (don't pass up a trip to Empedocles' House of Ill-Repute).
Getting around to look at places is simplicity itself. The city is laid out in a grid pattern, extending East-West from 3rd to 7th street, and North- South from 1st to 4th Avenue. As a result, there's a lot of places to explore.

Be sure to shop around in the various shops you'll surely find if you wander around Urban TIM long enough. Bring pennies!

Just outside of UrbanTIM, to the south, is The TinyTIM Temple, where you can drop objects to get money. Don't abuse it to make money; ask a wizard, who'll probably give you more cash than you could ever want anyway.

If you're a new visitor to UrbanTIM, go north once you're in the city proper, then go east. You should be in the UrbanTIM Visitor's Center, where you can buy a Travel Guide to Urban TIM, which will make your visting of Urban TIM that more spectacular. Enjoy!


E-mailing to TinyTIM

We feel for those poor slobs out there who don't play TinyTIM. We really do. We try to help them deal with the horrors of that place they call the "Real World." In order to facilitate communication between that benighted place and TinyTIM, where it all really happens, there's TIMmail.

TIMmail is a one-way gateway from ordinary E-mail to the TinyTIM Post Office. It can only be used to send letters to players with mailboxes in the Post Office. If TIM is down when the letter comes through, it'll probably get lost, so make sure you can confirm letters some other way. TIMmail reformats the body of a letter, since it's going to become the @success of a TIM object. It also truncates the message after about 500 characters or so. Cope.

To use TIMmail, send E-mail to timmail@yay.tim.org. The "Subject:" header of the mail should be the name of the character you're sending the mail to. Your return E-mail address will also be on the message.

For the really WWW-addicted, try our WWW interface to TIMmail! You need a Web browser that can handle forms, though.

Note that at least for the time being, the sender and recipient will be logged, to help track how well the thing is working. See Empedocles with questions, etc. Have fun.


Pern

Telgar Weyr is the oldest weyr continuously in existence. The oldest weyr is/was Andiyar Weyr on what is now known as Classic, but Andiyar was lost in a volcano eruption at the time Classic went down for the first time. Many of the survivors relocated and founded Telgar.

To get to Telgar from the TinyTIM Main Area Place (affectionately known as the nexus), go to the InterPlace and then take the Pern exit. You will end up on a road between the weyr and the holds. Taking the road to the north will take you into the weyr; south and over some mountains will get you to Telgar Hold; west will take you to Crom Hold. These are the current major developed areas of Telgar, but we are always looking to add more.

Telgar tries to keep rules and regulations to a minimum; we believe in trying to maintain an atmosphere where the maximum number of people can create their dreams of Pern.

People become holders and crafters at Telgar usually by talking to the current Pernese, making sure no one else is holding that position, and expressing a desire to hold the position. A suitable place for the Hall or Hold is then determined, and construction can begin. Your RL email address will also be needed for Pernese events.

To become a candidate for a hatching at the Weyr, you simply leave tinymail for the weyrwoman stating your desire to become a candidate and containing your RL email address. Your name will then be added to the candidate's list and instructions will be emailed when a clutch is on the Hatching Grounds. All candidates are encouraged to explore the area and become involved. Candidates must be human, since only humans have settled Pern. Like the Pern in Ms. McCaffrey's books, candidacy is just that: candidacy. We do not and cannot guarantee that any person will Impress at any time. Dragons choose when and where they will.

About Fire Lizards: it is Telgar Policy that we do not control fire lizards. Fire Lizards may be Impressed along a beach or through a fire lizard hatching. Those who own fire lizards may hold flights and hatchings as they wish. We only ask that you schedule them so as not to conflict with other scheduled events.

Events: all Pernese are highly encouraged to plan and hold events. We ask that you inform the Weyrleaders of the events for help in scheduling and publicity, but in general, it is not necessary to have them directly involved. The exceptions to this are queen dragon flights, since they will result in hatchings, which take some coordination.

All Weyrs Agreement: this was unilaterally voided by another MUSH, so it no longer stands. TIM's Pern is a full Pern unto itself, with no crossovers.

If you have other questions, or think other topics should be included in this overview document, please either leave tinymail or reply via email.

Marcia of Telgar, Updated January 1993.


Technical Information

If case you have any interests in what it takes to run a game like TinyTIM (A lot of people like to ask us), here are some of the Tech Specs that apply to us and our machine.
Name:
TinyTIM
Why:
Funniest thing we could come up with starting with "Tiny-".
Started on:
Mid-Late March, 1990 (March 18th Observed)
Founded by:
Trout.Complex / Sketch
Theme:
Have fun / Be goofy to each other
Current Database size:
Roughly 18-19 Megabytes
Rooms:
Roughly 10,000 - Number changes constantly
Players:
Average 2000 Total, 500+ considered "Active" (Steady Use)
Current Software:
MUSH 1.0 heavily Upgraded by R'nice
Upgraded meaning like Upgrading Lead into Gold
Machine:
Sparcstation 1 Runalike, Dedicated to TIM
Hard Memory:
32 megs
Disk Storage:
1.2 Gigabytes
Operating System:
SunOS 4.1.2
Favorite Ice Cream:
Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Lowest / Highest Usage Times:
4am-7am / 9pm-12pm
Is there a TIM?
Yes. There he is now! LOOK! Aw, you Missed Him.