A builder is an immortal who does just that - they build.  They develop areas, mobs, and items suitable for adventuring.  While these are not "bare bones" areas, they are generally a little less complex because a builder does not get into the deeper coding of an apprentice or higher level coder.  Builders add a lot to the mud - their areas can help flesh out the world, and they can offer more new areas because they are not bothered with the more complex code and problems of the mud.  Like all immortals, they have guidelines to follow because of the increased trust placed into them by the staff.  They are given access to files and information, and as such, they must be trustworthy.  Because they are meant to work on one specific thing - building areas - they have certain restrictions placed upon them.  Following are a few guidelines for builders:

1 - Builders ARE immortals.  With that comes a certain amount of trust on our part and responsibility on yours.  Breaking that trust by interacting with players, giving away secrets, etc., will result in serious reprecussions which could include having your characters rid.  Not interacting with players includes things like not using the "note" command, not "dropping in" to listen to players, not going into the avatar lounge, etc - not just not talking to them directly.

2 - Builders are not apprentices, creators, or what players normally think of when they think of a "wiz".  If you enjoy being a builder and think you might want to take it further, you will be expected to go through an apprenticeship just like the rest of us.  This involves a longer break to give you time to become a wiz - not a player with a wiz character.

3 - Builders are expected to code within their areas.  They should not be dealing with things that affect the mud as a whole, such as commands, things in /std, and so on.  There are many reasons for this - they don't have the experience, they should focus on their jobs, and, quite frankly, they have not necessarily shown their dedication by taking an extended break from playing.

4 - Builders should use their imaginations to develop interesting areas and interactive mobs that help stimulate roleplay on the mud.

5 - Builders should ask questions that relate to areas they are building.  Any wiz available will answer to the best of their abilities and provide feedback, examples, and so on.

6 - Builders should play and continue to enjoy the mud.  A builder is someone who enhances the mud - not someone chained up in a box (that's the admin :P).  This can be done through RP as well as building areas.

7 - Builders are expected to take a break from playing while they adjust to coding.  There are a lot of things to learn, so a break is needed.  Generally, one to two weeks is what we ask of builders, depending on your time online and your learning curve.

see also:  imm-rules, guidelines, avatar101
