<s>
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
,	O
abbreviated	O
AA	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
fantasy-themed	O
MUD	B-Application
,	O
a	O
text-based	O
online	O
role-playing	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
"	O
map-coordinate	O
"	O
system	O
rather	O
than	O
linked	O
areas	O
,	O
which	O
contributes	O
to	O
the	O
immersive	O
feeling	O
of	O
entering	O
another	O
'	O
world	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Areas	O
are	O
then	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
nearly	O
10,000	O
room	O
"	O
map	O
"	O
and	O
tied	O
into	O
the	O
geography	O
and	O
history	O
of	O
the	O
fantasy	B-Application
world	O
,	O
called	O
Oerthe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
mud	B-Application
strives	O
for	O
a	O
"	O
describe-all	O
"	O
policy	O
for	O
all	O
areas	O
,	O
whereby	O
any	O
item/object/feature	O
should	O
respond	O
to	O
as	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
senses	O
as	O
possible	O
,	O
which	O
adds	O
to	O
the	O
immersive	O
quality	O
,	O
although	O
not	O
all	O
older	O
areas	O
conform	O
to	O
current	O
balance	O
and	O
describe-all	O
policies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
most	O
MUDs	B-Application
were	O
housed	O
on	O
university	O
mainframe	O
computers	O
,	O
either	O
illicitly	O
or	O
with	O
tacit	O
approval	O
from	O
the	O
computer	O
science	O
department	O
(	O
many	O
of	O
whom	O
played	O
or	O
created	O
the	O
games	O
they	O
hosted	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1993	O
,	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
faced	O
the	O
threat	O
of	O
being	O
shut	O
down	O
by	O
the	O
Swiss	O
university	O
that	O
hosted	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Eidgenössische	O
Technische	O
Hochschule	O
Zürich	O
,	O
for	O
excessive	O
bandwidth	O
usage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hundreds	O
of	O
players	O
made	O
donations	O
totalling	O
more	O
than	O
US$7000	O
and	O
bought	O
a	O
SparcStation	B-Architecture
2	I-Architecture
workstation	O
,	O
relocating	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
to	O
Washington	O
,	O
D.C.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
Zor	O
(	O
who	O
functioned	O
as	O
God	B-Application
,	O
or	O
chief	O
administrator	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
abdicated	O
his	O
singular	O
authority	O
over	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
and	O
turned	O
over	O
control	O
to	O
a	O
newly	O
created	O
Senate	O
of	O
Wizards	B-Application
,	O
with	O
Amante	O
serving	O
as	O
the	O
Senate	O
President	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Senate	O
consists	O
of	O
the	O
Arch	B-Application
Wizards	I-Application
of	O
the	O
different	O
functional	O
administrations	O
,	O
plus	O
additional	O
Senators	O
at	O
large	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
Amante	O
abdicated	O
his	O
role	O
as	O
Senate	O
President	O
and	O
the	O
Senate	O
assumed	O
complete	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
,	O
and	O
has	O
continued	O
to	O
administer	O
with	O
9	O
to	O
12	O
members	O
who	O
periodically	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
the	O
next	O
decade	O
,	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
was	O
hosted	O
by	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
access	O
providers	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
its	O
population	O
has	O
never	O
been	O
as	O
high	O
as	O
some	O
other	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
it	O
remains	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
popular	O
LPMuds	B-Application
on	O
the	O
internet	O
today	O
,	O
despite	O
facing	O
stiff	O
competition	O
from	O
commercial	O
and/or	O
graphical	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ironically	O
,	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
has	O
been	O
cited	O
by	O
original	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
designer	O
Ryan	O
Palacio	O
as	O
being	O
heavily	O
played	O
by	O
the	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
development	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lead	O
designer	O
of	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
,	O
Raph	B-Application
Koster	I-Application
,	O
played	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
for	O
inspiration	O
creating	O
LegendMUD	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
aspects	O
of	O
LegendMUD	B-Protocol
later	O
shaped	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
code	O
is	O
continually	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
volunteer	O
"	B-Application
wizards	I-Application
"	I-Application
,	O
or	O
coders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
elect	O
to	O
become	O
a	O
wizard	B-Application
upon	O
meeting	O
three	O
requirements	O
:	O
1	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
wizards	B-Application
go	O
through	O
an	O
educational	O
process	O
where	O
they	O
learn	O
about	O
coding	O
enhancements	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
develop	O
an	O
idea	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
area	O
,	O
and	O
proceed	O
to	O
build	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
's	O
move	O
to	O
the	O
Michigan	O
server	O
brought	O
several	O
changes	O
:	O
during	O
the	O
move	O
,	O
the	O
old	O
site	O
was	O
available	O
in	O
"	O
Anarchy	O
Mode	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
traditional	O
experience	O
when	O
the	O
game	O
moved	O
from	O
one	O
server	O
to	O
another	O
,	O
with	O
all	O
rules	O
on	O
player	O
killing	O
,	O
multiplaying	O
,	O
wizard-mortal	O
interference	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
guidelines	O
of	O
Law	O
suspended	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
These	O
reboots	O
,	O
common	O
in	O
MUDs	B-Application
to	O
recover	O
memory	B-Error_Name
leaks	I-Error_Name
and	O
to	O
clear	O
'	O
trash	O
 '	O
items	O
which	O
accumulate	O
,	O
restore	O
the	O
world	O
to	O
a	O
default	O
state	O
,	O
leaving	O
characters	O
to	O
regain	O
equipment	O
from	O
scratch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
continent	O
named	O
Infidian	B-Application
was	O
opened	O
after	O
several	O
years	O
 '	O
wait	O
,	O
nearly	O
doubling	O
the	O
available	O
landmass	O
space	O
on	O
the	O
map	O
for	O
areas	O
and	O
alleviating	O
overcrowding	O
of	O
older	O
areas	O
on	O
the	O
main	O
continent	O
of	O
Anguish	O
(	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
game	O
gets	O
its	O
name	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Infidian	B-Application
is	O
reputed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
historical	O
homeland	O
of	O
the	O
humans	O
who	O
came	O
to	O
Anguish	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
races	O
already	O
lived	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
nearly	O
pacifistic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
,	O
a	O
player	O
can	O
choose	O
from	O
multiple	O
character	O
classes	O
to	O
experience	O
different	O
play	O
styles	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
rogue	O
:	O
Despite	O
persistent	O
rumours	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
rogues	O
in	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clerics	O
on	O
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
are	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
worship	O
only	O
"	O
good	O
"	O
gods/goddesses	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Antana	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
therefore	O
welcome	O
to	O
join	O
and	O
worship	O
the	O
gods	O
of	O
Chaos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ancient	B-Application
Anguish	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Amylaar	O
LPMud	B-Application
driver	O
and	O
the	O
Loch	O
Ness	O
mudlib	O
,	O
from	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
of	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
