[mattowen_uk]

It's not really the fault of MUD developers, more the obsessive nature of the players, who each have their own favourite client that is set-up exactly how they like it, and full of huge macros and plug-ins that only they understand. These players will not even try out your new MU* if it doesn't support their client.

[ecdavis]

I think it is the fault of the MUD developers, because they feel like they must support those players.

The group of people who play MUDs "traditionally" (with a dedicated, telnet-based MUD client) is small and shrinking every year.

The group of people who play lo-fi, retro-style games is large and growing every year.

Why give special treatment to the former group if it hinders your ability to appeal to the latter group?