Well, there is the expression, "don't bite off more than you can chew". Some people need to learn that for themselves. Ambition is a good thing though, and failure is a part of the learning process when it comes to setting realistic goals.

Good to know there is intelligent life out there!

I wouldn't say that working over the internet is a complete non-starter - I try to deal offline where I can, but it's the difference between your client base being anyone within an hour of your house vs. the whole world. I've spoken to a couple of the indie devs in my area, and they always say they'll pick someone they know over a stranger nine times out of ten, even if the stranger's work is better, as you know they're reliable. So I'm working on making sure I'm "someone they know"!

I think we need a filter in Help Wanted that takes any posts for MMOs and files them in the bin.

Maybe we should have a separate "MMO Help Wanted" board?

The "[MMO]" prefix will actually be software supported in the next version of the site -- you should be able to search Help Wanted and filter those topics out of the view.

I agree, although I'd add that the iPhone often falls into the overambitious case too, rather than being a typical example of classic indie projects - people who think that doing something "on the iPhone" is a guaranteed money spinner, because they read about one company that made millions. (Never mind that you never hear about the people who don't do so well; or that there are far bigger platforms like Windows or Android; or that there are other download stores like Nokia's Ovi that have a far bigger downloads per app ratio.)

I think we can also draw a line between "ideas people" - people who think that bringing "ideas" to the table means they can get everyone else to write their MMORPG for them - and people who can program. Whilst it is an easy trap for programmers to get bogged down in writing something too complex (I know I've done it in the past when I was younger), it doesn't seem to be on anywhere near the same scale as the former. In my experience of Help Wanted, the hopeless MMORPG cases are almost from the "I've got a great idea" people...

The rest of the forums are filled with expert advice from top-notch developers.

I can't tell if you're joking or not.

The Dunning-Kruger effect has something to do with being over-ambitious, but I think it's mostly something simpler behind the drive for these ideas.

A lot of people wanting to build MMOs are doing it for one main thing only -respect. You can get some respect making smaller games, if they're popular enough. But if you want more respect you gotta go big and ridiculous. They want to follow Hideo Kojima and John Carmack in their footsteps, which makes them not too different from the people that think they can get a game designer job overnight. Back on track, where can millions of people play one game together? Enter the MMO game. These game planners want to hear/read everyone say "Hey have you played this awesome RPG? I can't get tired of it". They don't want to do it because they're interested in how an MMO game gets done.

So there you go, some just need to be a bit more frank when they post, so say "I want to make this MMO not just because I think these ideas are cool, but when it's done I will feel LIKE A BAUS".