RuthMOO: The Origins of the Name

Although there has been much research and debate upon the topic, to date there is no generally accepted origin for the name of RuthMOO. There has been some speculation that it was named after the archwizard's typist, but this has now been solidly debunked. We know of no credible researcher at this point who believes that it was named after a person.

There are currently three major competing theories as to the origin of the name, RuthMOO:

• Book of Ruth - There is a significant camp which holds that the name was taken from the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. The major evidence presented in support of this theory is the religious affiliation of Brandeis University. A brief survey of the MOO however should quickly show that not only is the university nonsectarian, but so is the MOO. Some have additionally suggested that although the archwizard's typist is not named Ruth, that the biblical figure may serve as some sort of personal ideal and that is the meaning behind the name. Or perhaps that it is the image of Ruth, the outsider, joining a distant community and assimilating into the culture as it seems fairly certain that the archwizard's typist does not reside near Brandeis. We would like to point out that, as attractive as this theory may sound, the humor associated with MOOs is legendary, and the complete lack of any mother-in-law jokes in the database leaves us frankly skeptical.
  
• Ruth/Ruthless - More promising in our opinion is the theory that RuthMOO was named in response to a taunt offered to the archwizard. The (possibly apocryphal) story is that someone once accused the archwizard of being ruthless, and that the name of the MOO is her response. Unfortunately our research has not been able to uncover a definitive source for this story, and existing character references suggest that if the story is true at all, the taunt was probably made in jest, although this would not invalidate the theory. There is a vocal minority, however, who claim that this evidence cannot be found because the incident never occured. They claim, instead, that it was manufactured post facto by a group of undergraduates as a joke. We can only hope that, if by some chance this is the case, the culpable parties will step forward and identify themselves.
  
• Brandeis Motto - One of the most interesting theories, and one which is gaining a growing number of adherents, is that the name is derived from the Brandeis motto: Truth: Even Unto Its Innermost Parts, where 'ruth' is taken to be an 'inner part' of the word truth. This would be an elaborate and obscure sort of word play, but not wholly out of character. There have been arguments that 'ruth' is not in fact the innermost part of truth, that 'u' or 'rut' would be better candidates for that label. Some quick searching however revealed that UMOO is already being used as the name of a MOO at the University of Windsor in Ontario, and it seems unlikely that the name RutMOO would have been chosen for an educational environment of this sort, even in the furtherance of word play. We feel that this theory is worthy of further research, but given the current lack of supporting evidence, we must consider it a weak contender.

Some Newer Theories

In the interest of completeness we have included the following additional theories as to the origin of the name, RuthMOO. We hasten to add the caveat that no reliable evidence has been forthcoming to support any of these fringe theories. We do, however, feel that the emergence of these theories does serve to highlight the complete lack of concensus among scholars in this area.

• Candy Bar - This theory was likely inspired by the notorious sweet tooth of one of the RuthMOO wizards. Claims that the name was derived from the "Baby Ruth" candy bar must be regarded with extreme suspicion. Although the wizard in question is known to be excessively fond of chocolate, he has never actually been observed consuming a "Baby Ruth" candy bar, either in part or in whole. When we combine this with the common confusion over the origin of the name of the "Baby Ruth" candy bar itself, we are forced to a preliminary conclusion that this theory was likely advanced for its humorous effect. For those who would argue a connection with "Babe" Ruth and baseball, using the most common mistaken origin of the candy bar name, we can only add that careful research has turned up evidence of this wizard having participated in football. Nowhere has any affiliation with baseball been found.
• Jazz Singer - This theory is also tied to the same wizard as the "Candy Bar" theory. In this case, it is linked to his well known love of jazz, in this case embodied in the locally popular singer and entertainer, Ruth Brown. Although Ruth Brown is well loved in Boston and other areas, as shown by the frequency with which her live performances sell out, there simply is no evidence to link Ruth Brown, as fine a performer as she is, with Brandeis University or RuthMOO.

Back to the RuthMOO home page.

This page maintained by S. J. Herdman.