Date: Fri 14-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

iinfo-The-Zone-Microsoft

Full Text:

Internet Info For Real People: The Zone and MS

By Bob Brand

Can 300,000 people be wrong? Probably not!

The Zone is one of the fastest growing game playing sites on the Internet

today. It is operated free of charge by Microsoft as a showcase for its

technology. If you like to play games -- Hearts, Spades, Bridge, Backgammon,

just to name a few -- this may be of interest.

Microsoft allows only net-sters using their very latest browser Internet

Explorer 4.0 to visit. Released in early October '97, 4.0 is a large 28

megabyte program. In addition, it only runs on Windows 95 and NT. With these

requirements in place, you too can play.

It's Social

Each game player, like a snowflake, is unique. Some players enjoy the

challenge of competitive play while others enjoy the social interaction of

meeting new people. The Zone provides room for all levels of skill and player

interaction, The social level of play is important to many people who visit

gaming sites. The non-threatening nature of the social encounters with total

strangers and exploring areas of mutual interest hold strong attractions for

many.

The first time you visit the Zone (http://www.zone.com) registration is

needed. After filling out some minimal personal information, you are asked for

a password. (As the Zone has increased in popularity, this process has become

more complex.) Next, you choose the game you want to play and the level of

difficulty, social or expert. This choice allows you to enter a room full of

tables where you find people playing against other human opponents or one or

more computers called "bots." When you spot a table that has several human

players and a computer, the proper etiquette is to ask if you may join.

Getting To Know People

Invariably when playing, the first question is "Where are you from?" The

social side of game playing is often the glue that holds the games together.

Should you find players with crude behavior, it is appropriate to cease play.

Like so many other situations, it turns out to be a small world. Before long,

personalities emerge. Net-sters gravitate to those players who share mutual

interests and avoid players with whom they have less in common. Essentially,

the game playing becomes the mortar of the cyber-structure that evolves.

Real names are never used. This is the Internet, remember. The nicknames range

the landscape -- zigzag, luv2play, mstexas, DoorNo2. Sometimes it is not

possible to determine if the player is male or female. Keep in mind that the

Zone tends to be a socially "upscale" environment as the hardware/software

requirements are steep. Nevertheless, from time to time a person with crude

behavior or weak social skills appears. If peer pressure does not correct the

behavior, people leave the table.

While this tends to "weed out" obnoxious gamers, the rise in popularity of the

Zone attracts many first-timers who have yet to learn netiquette. New people

are welcomed often with courtesy and patience. The Zone provides basic rules

for each game. It is a good idea to watch or "kibbitz" on a gaming table

before actually playing the first time. Tournaments and zone messages among

players at the Zone are other added attractions to enhance interactivity.

For The Serious

Addiction to the Zone can become a problem. For those people who visit

frequently, it can become a cyber-neighborhood. Just like going to a local

diner or coffee shop, you become comfortable with some of the local crowd and

play with cyber-friends. This can lead to tournament play or pre-arranged

times when cyber-acquaintances meet. Although the Net has worldwide reach,

most people at the Zone tend to be from the US or Canada. As creatures of

habit, we tend to gather at the same time of day in the same place.

There is one major problem with the Zone. Getting dropped or "booted" from the

server is at best an annoyance and can be quite irritating when it occurs

during a critical hand or tournament play. As the site fills up with players,

the Microsoft server cannot handle the load. As a result, it sheds visitors.

Suddenly, your connection to the room and the website is terminated. Getting

reconnected involves re-entering the site and at times even rebooting your

system. This is highly disruptive. On a busy night, it is not unusual to be

forced to reconnect three or four times. This aggravation is the price paid

for free socializing and enjoyable game play here. Perhaps Microsoft will fix

this some day.

There have been rumors that Microsoft will begin asking players to pay for use

of the Zone. Should that happen, many people will look elsewhere for on-line

entertainment. Until then, the Zone continues to deliver on-line travelers an

enjoyable pastime.

URLs of interest: http://www.zone.com/

(This is the 77th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the

Internet. Next, "Hitman and Pope Joan" is the subject on tap. Stay tuned.

Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet

Info for Real People (including links to sites mentioned in this article) can

be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions to:

rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)