>Folks, I am *not* (not, not, not) talking about "no registration". I am
>talking about breaking the deadly assumption that entering a room means
>registering with *that server*. This is the MUD model, and it works for
>MUDs -- but MUDs are, frankly, toys compared with what we're talking
>about building here.
Don't you need some kind of a "Laws of Physics" server for the room, which
handles collision detection, acts as a bouncer, etc? Or are you figuring
that's a one-time download like a Java app, after which each browser
handles it all?
>2) Some sites aren't going to want to put up interaction servers at all.
> That doesn't make them useless. I want to put up some "space" on the
> Web, and plan on doing so, but I don't put good odds on talking my
> company into shelling out for a machine powerful enough to serve the
> interactions as well. That's going to be a *very* common problem; I'd
> bet that 3/4 of the people who would put up spaces aren't going to be
> able to serve them, at least in the nearish term.
Supply and demand. Enough users were willing to pay whoever would put
up a Web server that Web servers are now ubiquitous. This may be
slightly less true for interaction servers, but it should be
analogous if people want them.
>Instead, assume that the server is just playing traffic
>cop, putting the clients in touch with each other and keeping track
>of long-term changes to the world. Let the clients do all the hard
>work.
Is this the same role I'm describing above as a "Laws of Physics Server?"
Or do you mean a lesser role?
--Andy