God or Goddess, in MUD

MUD

A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...

s, often refers to an administrator of a MUD server, most typically the owner. Sometimes multiple individuals with the title of God are present, or the term may even be applied to all administrative and development staff, but it is usual for the term to refer to the most senior administrator. A similar term, mostly used in DikuMUD

DikuMUD

DikuMUD is a multiplayer text-based role-playing game, which is a type of MUD. It was written in 1990 and 1991 by Sebastian Hammer, Tom Madsen, Katja Nyboe, Michael Seifert, and Hans Henrik Staerfeldt at DIKU —the department of computer science at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen,...

s, is implementer

Implementer

Implementer was originally the self-given name of the creators of the Infocom text adventure series Zork. Implementor, often shortened to Imp, became the title given to game designers and programmers at Infocom. Implementers were inserted as minor characters in several Infocom games...

, or "imp".

Where the term is used, the God or Gods will most often be supervising staffers referred to as wizards

Wizard (MUD)

Wizard is commonly used in MUDs, particularly LPMuds, AberMUDs and MU*, as a term for the MUD's developers and administrators. The usage originates with Richard Bartle's original MUD1 and MUD2. It is frequently abbreviated "wiz", which is sometimes used as a verb; to wiz is to become a wizard...

 or immortals

Immortal (MUD)

An immortal, in MUDs and particularly DikuMUDs, is an administrator and/or developer of the game, often a player who has achieved "immortal" status by achievements within the game world. It is frequently abbreviated "imm" or "immort"...

.

The appearance of entities referred to as "gods" in a MUD does not necessarily mean that this usage of the word is being applied; the word's ordinary usage

God (male deity)

A god, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or "goddesses". While the term 'goddess' specifically refers to a female deity, the plural 'gods' can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender....

 is also frequently in evidence, referring to non-player character

Non-player character

A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...

 gods or even non-administrative player character

Player character

A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

gods.

Power dynamics

Discussion of MUD Gods frequently touches on the absolute power individuals assuming this title typically have over the virtual environment. A common conflict in MUDs occurs between an administrator who uses this power in an arbitrary and capricious fashion and others who believe standards of fairness should be upheld. MUD-related works often warn prospective players against annoying a God, citing the lack of behavioral constraint on this sort of figure.