Ahh, I remember the good old days of MUDding (and not working on my physics homework as I should have been). My old stomping ground is still alive and kicking, surprisingly: https://www.alteraeon.com/ with 70 users currently on! Its codebase was "built entirely from scratch" and is "DIKU-like". Written in C, the way the gods intended (joking). Wild that these text-based games are still finding new players.
Crimson Stained Lands is a Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) featuring races such as elf, human, dwarf, orc, and minotaur. Play as one of our many classes including assassin, bard, healer, mage, paladin, ranger, shapeshifter, thief, and warrior.
Recently came back and hero'd a character for old times sake. The people who still play are a good crew and very welcoming of anyone who wants to play.
It's a different game with fewer players, in that you have the run of desirable zones like Demonforge or Bloodstone but the meta for running them has changed to account for smaller formations. Really fun!
I quit sometime shortly after the introduction of weather systems and dragon rampages. I assume by now it has achieved sentience.
*All I remember is if you get stuck somewhere around level 15-20 try farming the theater in Riverton. Do a trade run to make the trip worthwhile. You can load up on Oak Staves and golden healing potions in the shop and just spam kill a bunch of creatures roaming the streets to speed through this usually sticky spot. Then go to refuge.