If you're running Windows 95, the quickest way to connect to Maddock is by using TELNET.EXE which will be located in your C:\Windows directory. Run it and under the Connect menu choose Remote System. Enter maddock.svdltd.com in the space for Host name, 4205 for the port, and click on connect. That should connect you to the MUSH.
    If you're not using Windows 95, don't seem to have TELNET.EXE, or would like to use a client program specifically designed for connecting to MUDs, MUSHes, etc. you'll find a fairly comprehensive listing of such clients at http://www.onlineroleplay.com  Based on personal experience I can recommend GeNewic, Pueblo, and SimpleMU. SimpleMU, incidentally, was written by one of the founders of Maddock. Different clients will assume different levels of competence on the part of the user. Some will require you to set up a directory and program group for them, others will come with fairly complete installation programs that will do everything for you. Once you've got the program running you'll have to look for something like a 'connect' or 'edit world list' menu that will allow you to enter the host name and port as above.
    Once you connect to the MUSH you have several options; you can log on as a guest, create a new character, type WHO to see who is currently connected, or QUIT to disconnect from the MUSH.
    If you enter 'connect guest guest' you'll be logged onto the guest character and can wander the MUSH looking around at stuff. If you just want to do that you can skip over this next section about creating a character to the part about useful commands on the MUSH.

If you want to create a character enter 'create name password' at the MUSH's opening screen. If you want to use more than one word for a name you'll need to enclose the entire name in quotes (e.g., create "Wyatt Earp" tombstone). A word about naming characters: one of the rules of Maddock is that you can't play actual historical characters or prominent fictional ones either, so you can't be Cole Younger or Brisco County, Jr. I named my character, Lassiter, after one of the heroes of Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage, but he's not the actual Lassiter from the book so there is a little leeway to be had.
    Once you've given the command to create a character you'll be in what's called the Soul Recycling Room. There are some things that you'll have to do before you can leave the room.
    First, you need to set some "attributes" on yourself so the game knows how to treat you. Type the following commands:

@sex me=sex	where sex is either Male or Female. This sets your sex so the game knows how to refer to you. Until this is set the game will consider you an "it" rather than a man or woman.
@lock me=me	This locks you so that someone else can't just pick you up like you were an object.
@desc me=description	This sets a description that other people will see when they look at you.

    If you'd like to see some examples you can type 'ex/f *name' where name is the name of a character you'd like to take a look at. Some people do consider it to be rude to look at them when you're not in the same room as they are so here are some folks I know won't mind you taking a little peek:
        Lassiter (that's me, the sheriff),
        Ty (a local homesteader),
        Frost (piano player at the saloon),
        Evan (mayor and gunsmith),
        Kyle (Territorial Marshal),
        Maggie (Kyle's wife).
    You'll note there is some variance in quality. Some are good, some mediocre. We don't expect everyone to have a stunning description. Just something to give people an idea what you look like.  

Okay, once you've set yourself up with the previous commands or logged on as the guest character, you'll probably want to read the Player's Guide to get more of a feel for Maddock. Its easy enough to do. Just type 'guide' and follow the instructions. In fact, if you've created a new character you'll have to read the guide before the game will let you out of the Soul Recycling Room.
    Once you're logged in as guest or have created a new character, here are some commands you'll find useful.

direction	Entering a direction (north, south, etc.) will cause you to go in that direction if there is an exit that way.
exit name	Entering the name of an exit, usually displayed at the bottom of a room description, will cause you to go through that exit.
look	Looks around, displaying the room description and a list of any contents. For purposes of the MUSH, any location, even if it's outside, is considered a room.
look object	looks at a specific object that's in the same room as you. If, for example, you were standing in the square and Lassiter was there as well you could 'look lassiter' to see my description.
say message	will cause you to say your message to anyone who is in the same room as you. The game will insert quotes for you so you don't have to worry about that.
"message	The double quote is an abbreviation for the say command so this is the same as typing 'say message'.
whisper name=message	whispers your message to the named character provided he or she is in the same room as you. No one else will hear your message.
page name=message	sends your message to the named character no matter where they are in Maddock.
pose pose	will cause you to strike a pose for everyone in the same room as you. If, for example, I typed 'pose jumps for joy.', everyone in my room would see "Lassiter jumps for joy."
:pose	The colon can be used as an abbreviation for the pose command.
;pose	The semi-colon is a special version of the pose command. When your pose is displayed, the game won't insert a space between your name and the pose. Useful for inserting punctuation in a pose. For example, ";'s hands slap leather." could display "Lassiter's hands slap leather."
WHO	lists who is currently logged onto the game.
+where	is the same as WHO but it also lists each character's location within the game, very useful for finding out where things are happening.
+finger name	Inspired by the UNIX finger command, +finger will display information about the named character such as their location, position within the game, character background, and other things.
+background name or +bg name	will display background information for the named character, provided they've set one up for the game to see.
news	displays the news files with information about the setting. There is a lot to read here, don't let it get to you. Everyone is encouraged to read through the news file but you're not expected to be an expert on it before you set foot in the game. We'd rather you come out and play than get bogged down in minutiae and give up on us.
help and +help	will list available commands and give you instructions for getting more information about them. Note that there is an actual programming language that players can access for coding objects within the game and you'll see a lot of programming commands listed if you use help. Don't let that discourage you. You don't need to have any programming ability to play. In fact, we tend to encourage people not to code objects unless absolutely necessary. We'd rather you describe or pose yourself as carrying a Winchester, for example, than actually code one up.
QUIT	This command will log you off the game and disconnect you from the MUX server.

 
    That should be enough to get you around town to have a look around and decide if you'd like to join us in our "game". Please don't hesitate to page me, Lassiter, with any questions you might have. You may also see people who are listed as staff, either in the WHO listing or when you +finger them. You can page them with questions as well. It is usually considered polite, however, to first ask if they've got a moment to answer some questions.  

There are some rules of etiquette that you should know about. Anything that you say or pose should be "in character" (IC). It disrupts the mood for everyone if you walk into the saloon and say, "how 'bout those Green Bay Packers." Out of character (OOC) remarks, unless they affect what is going on in character (like real life [RL] intrudes in the form of your mother-in-law dropping by unannounced and you have to go perform family duty when you'd rather be sitting in the saloon drinking rotgut whiskey and playing poker), should be limited to pages and the communication channels (which I haven't explained because you don't really need to use them yet). If you do have to say or pose something OOC, its customary to preface it with <OOC> or an * to make sure people know its an OOC remark. For example, "Lassiter * has to go walk the dog. Back in 5 minutes."
    It is extremely bad form to pose something that forces something on someone else. Let's say that Lassiter has a run in with a desperado named Sneed and a scuffle ensues. I'm not allowed to pose "Lassiter punches Sneed in the stomach, doubling the outlaw over in pain." What I can pose is "Lassiter throws a punch at Sneed's midriff." Sneed is now free to pose the punch striking home if he wants but he could also pose avoiding the blow somehow.
    Rooms on the MUSH are just like rooms in real-life. Its perfectly fine to go wandering around public places but its not okay to just walk into a private area that your character wouldn't normally have access to. If you want to step into the sheriff's office uninvited that's fine but Lassiter's room in the boarding house is another matter entirely. Just use a little common sense here. I once saw someone just walk into somebody else's house because they did a '+where', that was where everyone else currently logged on was, and they wanted to play. They didn't think about it from the other characters' perspectives. Imagine what you would do in RL (real life) if a complete stranger just let themselves into your house and you'll have a pretty good idea of what the other players reactions were. The proper thing for the player to have done, rather than just walking into the house, would have been to page the people in the house and ask if there was any chance of someone coming out to play.
    Most people in the game are fairly tolerant of new players and they'll be understanding if you break some rules or don't appear to know what you're doing. Everyone was a newbie at one time or another. I've seen people walk into a room where role-play (RP) is going on, announce that they are new to the game and ask if it would be okay if they just stood there and watched to get a feel for how its supposed to work, and everyone is just fine with that. Just use a little common sense and everything should be okay.