1stMondays info

We are excited that you will be attending an online discussion in AlaMOO about topics related to teaching writing with technology. Consider 1stMondays@AlaMOO to be like a group of faculty at your school who agree to read an article and discuss it together each month—the only difference is that instead of gathering in the faculty lounge down the hall, we will gather via the internet and the faculty who attend might be from around the country.

The Online Learning Environment—AlaMOO—where we will gather may be a bit foreign to you at first, but the materials included in this page should help you attend. I encourage you to print this page for easy reference.

Lennie Irvin (Lirvin@accd.edu)
AlaMOO Administrator
English Instructor, San Antonio College

At this AlaMOO login page (see image above), all you need to do is click LOG IN.

After you login, you will be prompted for a guest name. Just enter what you would like to be called. Fill in as much information as you would like on the page. If you wish for a character within AlaMOO, email Lennie Irvin with your request (Lirvin@accd.edu).

To get to the Conference Center, Navigate by clicking links on the right of your screen. In the graphical side of your screen on the right, click Conference Center. (Often sessions are held in The Great Hall.)

You could also Navigate by teleporting: MOOs contain seemingly magical powers and within them you can teleport to various places in the MOO by using the @go command. To teleport to the Conference Center, simply type: @go Conference Center
Sessions tend to happen in The Great Hall.

Discussion sessions held in AlaMOO are recorded and logged for future access. All recorded sessions will follow the policies regarding research and disclosure adopted by AlaMOO from Connections MOO. Logs of sessions may be accessed via the web at the AlaMOO Conference Center Session Logs Home Page (http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/lirvin/AlaMOO/MOOlogs/logsindex.htm).

All participants should be informed that their discussion is being recorded and will be archived on the web. By participating, they are accepting this fact.

Anyone researching should let others in the discussion know what they are about and receive consent from anyone before the researcher uses quotations from any of the participants. "If you can't find'em; don't cite 'em."

AlaMOO Help Resources –Available as links below and within the Help Kiosk accessible from AlaMOO Plaza

The MOO QuickStart page that follows this one will provide you with all the commands you will need to speak and interact in the MOO. Bring it with you to the MOO session. What is foreign about MOOs is that one needs to enter a “command” or “verb” to make the MOO program do something. For example, to speak you type:

The command “say” gets the MOO to send the text “Hi” as a message. One alternative if you find typing in “say” all the time to be problematic is to click the SAY radio button next to the text input area. “Say” will automatically be put before each line of text you wish to input, so all you have to do is type and hit enter.

MOO Quick Start--for 1^st time MOOers (print or minimize this for easy reference while you MOO)

Communicating--Speaking out loud in the same room
SAY-- To speak to someone, type the word SAY before your words (or use a quote mark "). You can also click the "say" button to shift to the "say" mode for extended conversations. Examples:
You type: Say Hello -or- "Hello	You see: You say, "Hello"		Others in room see: John says, "Hello."
TO--To direct your speech at a specific individual in the room, often as a reply, type the word to then the name of the person you are talking to, and finally the text of your message:
You type: To Erin Hi			You and others in the room see: John [to Erin]: Hi
EMOTE--To express emotion, feelings, or non-verbal actions (cues). Type the word emote or a colon followed by the text (or you can click the emote button).
You type: emote smiles -or- :smiles			You and others in the room see: John smiles
Communicating--Private Speech
PAGE--To speak privately to someone so that no one can hear except the individual paged (this works across the MOO), type page, their name, and the text of your message. Example: page John Hello
WHISPER--To speak privately to someone in the same room: whisper <text> to <name>
You type: whisper "Hi" to John		You see: You whisper, "HI" to John.		Other person sees: John whispers, "HI"
Movement/Navigation
LOOK--Type LOOK or click the LOOK button to see a general description of where you are. LOOK also serves as a BACK button. When you click on an object to open and examine it, you can click or type LOOK to return to the room where the object lives.
MOVING AROUND--entering and exiting rooms
1^st Way-- Click the navigation links in the right hand side of the MOO screen (Below LINKS:) 2^nd Way-- Teleport with the @GO command. Type: @go <room name>
WHO'S in the MOO? Type @WHO or click the WHO button to see who is in the MOO and where they are. You can join a person by clicking on their location link or typing @join <name> .
@EXAMINE --Gives you a list of the "verbs" or commands that operate that particular object. @examine works on any object in the MOO. Type: @examine <object name>
Other Useful Commands
@QUIT-- To exit the MOO, type @quit or click the QUIT button.
HELP-- Listed below are all the ways to get help in the MOO.
The Help Kiosk-- Available from the entrance room for the MOO. Lightbulbs--Look at the viewing window and if you see the lightbulb icon, you can click on it for help. Xpress Help Button-- You can also click on the HELP button in the Xpress button bar. @Help-- Type @help and you will gain access to all the help catalogued in the textual side of the MOO. Help <object or verb name>-- Type this to see specific help materials.
@URL--To share a web page with a whole room type the @url command followed by the web address. Everyone in the room will see this web page. Type: @url <webaddress>
Created by Lennie Irvin for the EnCore MOO Open Source Documentation Project, August 2001.

Information for Attending an Online Session in AlaMOO