There are two easy ways to introduce yourself to MOO Canada, Eh?. If you are working alone, you will want to use the automated tutor (just log in, there are instructions on what to do). If you are working with a friend who is logged in at the same time, you will want to use this tutorial (print out a couple copies of this text). Both methods teach exactly the same things and both are divided into four lessons that take approximately fives minutes each to complete.
The first step is for you and your friend to log in. You should appear in a room known as The Grassy Knoll, (if you seem to be somewhere else, please type @move me to #11). Ignore the message it prints about typing help me; that is for people using the tutor, not this tutorial.
Lets start with a couple of simple commands. To find out what players are currently logged into the MOO, use the and the @where commands. Type them both. Each will give you a list of all connected players and some details about them. You will see yourself in these lists. If your friend is logged on, s/he will appear there too. For more information on these commands and other ways to use them, type ?@who or ?@where .
The next command is even more useful. Type look. You will see the description of the room you are currently standing in (which should be the grassy knoll). You will also see a list of objects and people in that room. Your friend is probably there. Look is such an important command that you only have to type the first letter, try it, just type l. Now try looking at specific objects in the room. Type l sign or l flag. In each case you see the description of that object you looked at. Try looking at your friend (if s/he is there) and yourself. Since you are a new player, you probably have no description, and no gender. The help topic ?players contains information on how to set these personal properties.
The this lesson you will need your friend. Use the commands you already know to check that s/he is in the same room as you. To say hello to everyone in the room (including your friend), type ``Hello (just type a double-quote in front of whatever you want to say). Everyone in the current room will hear you say that. Spend a minute talking with your friend.
The previous command is known as say since you could have also typed say Hello. (try it). The next command is known as emote but (like say) everyone uses a short form. Type :smiles. (Just type a colon in front of whatever you want to appear to do) and everyone in the room will see you smile. Communicating effectively on the MOO takes a bit of practice, but you will get the hang of it.
Say and emote are useful for communication with someone in the same room as you. However, if the person you want to talk to isn't in the same room, you will have to use page instead. Type page Max Can you hear me? (substitute the name of your friend's character in the place of Max). Only the person you page will hear your message.
Look at ?communication for more ways to communicate. One of the methods it lists is whisper. Use the help to find out how this command works (type ?whisper ). Try if with your friend.
Look at the map that is sitting on the grassy knoll. You will see that the Down Town section (like the rest of the MOO) is divided up into lots of separate rooms. These rooms are connected by exits. Type east, and you will go through the exit that links the knoll to another room, in this case Megabyte Road [1]. Look at the description of this room. It lists all the directions that are avalible for you to move. Go to the post office that is to the southwest, but instead of typing the whole word, just type the common abbreviation, sw. A good rule of thumb on the MOO is that if you are typing a command over and over again, there is a short-cut, the programmers and the wizards hate typing as much as you do.
Spend a few minutes exploring down town. Whenever you see a new object, look at it. Look at @who or @where, and note that your position has changed. When you are ready to continue, type home. This command will teleport you to your home, which is probably the grassy knoll. If you become a builder you will be able to create your own home.
The last movement command is @join. If you see someone on the @who or @where lists and you want to teleport to their location, just type @join Max (substituting the person's name for Max). Try joining your friend with this command.
For more information about moving around the MOO, look at ?movement . It will tell you about the all-powerful @move command.
Type ?me (this is a special command that teleports you to the help center). You will see several objects, including something called two stone tablets. Pick it up with the get command (if you can't figure out how, look up ?get ). Once you have it, look at yourself and you will see that you are carrying it. Now drop it. That wasn't difficult, was it?
Look at the GPS map dispenser. This may take some experimenting, but figure out how to get your own GPS map. If you and your friend can do this without asking others for help, then you are ready to take the next step: becoming a builder. See ?ranks for more information.