<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
medieval	O
fantasy	O
MUD	B-Application
,	O
established	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
is	O
Finland-based	O
and	O
operated	O
and	O
owned	O
by	O
a	O
non-profit	O
organization	O
,	O
Balanced	O
Alternative	O
Techniques	O
ry	O
(	O
"	O
B.A.T.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2011	O
,	O
number	O
of	O
subscriptions	O
was	O
similarly	O
over	O
30,000	O
giving	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
a	O
flat	O
growth	O
(	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
players	O
equal	O
those	O
who	O
no	O
longer	O
frequent	O
the	O
game	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
LPMuds	B-Application
and	O
has	O
been	O
online	O
with	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
,	O
if	O
any	O
minor	O
breaks	O
since	O
14	O
April	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
initially	O
set-up	O
by	O
a	O
wizard	B-Application
who	O
named	O
himself	O
Jaf	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
many	O
volunteer	O
coders	O
,	O
all	O
becoming	O
wizards	B-Application
in	O
the	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MUD	B-Application
's	O
name	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
server	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
first	O
hosted	O
on	O
,	O
batman.cs.hut.fi	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
has	O
relocated	O
several	O
times	O
,	O
at	O
one	O
point	O
residing	O
in	O
Oulu	O
,	O
Finland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
November	O
2007	O
and	O
August	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
servers	O
were	O
co-located	O
in	O
the	O
two	O
data	O
centers	O
of	O
Nebula	O
in	O
Helsinki	O
,	O
Finland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
moved	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
data	O
center	O
,	O
Ficolo	O
's	O
The	O
Air	O
in	O
Vantaa	O
,	O
Finland	O
,	O
in	O
August	O
2021	O
and	O
is	O
running	O
on	O
dedicated	O
servers	O
with	O
redundant	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
phenomenal	O
age	O
as	O
an	O
Internet	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
,	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
is	O
constantly	O
evolving	O
which	O
makes	O
it	O
both	O
challenging	O
and	O
entertaining	O
to	O
new	O
and	O
old	O
players	O
alike	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
rich	O
set	O
of	O
features	O
,	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
may	O
be	O
a	O
bit	O
overwhelming	O
for	O
a	O
newcomer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ry	O
applied	O
for	O
the	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
trademark	O
and	O
"	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
"	O
was	O
registered	O
as	O
a	O
trademark	O
by	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
Patent	O
and	O
Trademark	O
Office	O
on	O
April	O
5	O
,	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Study	O
subjects	O
:	O
Nethack	B-Application
and	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
"	O
,	O
Audiovisual	O
Mediaculture	O
written	O
by	O
Jussi	O
Huhtala	O
(	O
in	O
Finnish	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
100-page	O
Pro	O
graduation	O
master	O
's	O
thesis	O
with	O
the	O
topic	O
"	O
Virtual	B-General_Concept
gift	I-General_Concept
-	O
Trading	O
gifts	O
in	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
virtual	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
"	O
in	O
cultural	O
anthropology	O
for	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
Jyväskylä	O
was	O
published	O
,	O
written	O
by	O
a	O
non-player	O
in	O
Finnish	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
has	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
races	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
arguable	O
that	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
formed	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
virtual	B-Architecture
communities	I-Architecture
of	O
gamers	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
What	O
marks	O
the	O
community	O
significant	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
active	O
operation	O
and	O
participation	O
of	O
the	O
individuals	O
within	O
the	O
virtual	B-Architecture
community	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
conventions	O
and	O
events	O
are	O
being	O
held	O
across	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
with	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
notable	O
probably	O
being	O
the	O
Indiana	O
,	O
U.S.	O
based	O
Campcon	O
,	O
being	O
held	O
for	O
the	O
11th	O
consecutive	O
year	O
in	O
June	O
,	O
2009	O
a	O
real	O
life	O
gathering	O
of	O
active	O
participants	O
of	O
the	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
provides	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
interplayer	O
communication	O
methods	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
players	O
to	O
talk	O
and	O
chat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
about	O
one	O
hundred	O
players	O
simultaneously	O
online	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
also	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
largest	O
traditional	O
MUDs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
its	O
popularity	O
has	O
fallen	O
off	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
with	O
fewer	O
new	O
players	O
joining	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aggressive	O
efforts	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
MUD	B-Application
more	O
newbie	O
friendly	O
but	O
most	O
players	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
well	O
established	O
players	O
who	O
have	O
invested	O
months	O
or	O
years	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
employs	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
economy	I-Application
,	O
with	O
players	O
selling	O
rare	O
items	O
and	O
favours	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
internal	O
currency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BatMUD	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
first	O
MUD	B-Application
played	O
by	O
Matt	O
"	O
Sarapis	O
"	O
Mihaly	O
,	O
founder	O
of	O
Iron	O
Realms	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mihaly	O
became	O
a	O
wizard	B-Application
on	O
BatMUD	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
was	O
banned	O
for	O
making	O
a	O
room	O
that	O
trapped	O
and	O
disabled	O
other	O
wizards	B-Application
.	O
</s>
