I've been playing Dark Risings for a long time. Probably anyone who plays a MUD is going to get fed up and try something else once in a while, and DR isn't for everybody. It's a DIKU, so if you've played a DIKU before you're going to find some of the areas familiar. DR's real strength, and what sets it apart, is simply not doing a lot of things that make other MUDs lousy:

Stats! You don't roll stats on DR, so don't worry about submitting to a dodgy stat-rolling program or hitting enter a thousand times for the magic numbers. It's pretty hard to mess up your first character.

Human, Dwarf, Orc, Mage, Warrior, etc. You don't need to have read an obscure fantasy book for the races and classes in DR to make sense. Even your grandma knows what an orc is, right?

You ever play a MUD that used too much ANSI color? Or none? Dark Risings uses ANSI a little bit, conservatively, tastefully, and it can be turned off.

New players' hands are not held if they don't want them held. You don't like scripted tutorials and neither do we, so take all the time you need. The 'real' game is only one room from the start.

Noobs have diplomatic immunity until they choose to turn it off. Dark Risings has a guild devoted to helping new players get settled in the game. You can certainly get a character to the highest mortal level without getting beat up before you decide whether or not DR is for you.

I know it's been said, but the players and the staff really pull it together. Dark Risings is foremost not a MUD run by dopes, which for what I've seen during the times I get fed up and try something else, is pretty uncommon. Come and take a look around, if you want. Get to know the players. Put something cool in your title. If you can dig it, we'd be glad to have you.