In a world with graphical MMOs, Mucks and their ilk are a dying breed. But they offer something that Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, and Sims don't: organized role playing.
Reading through some of the players' histories just now, I saw that Caerca had been RP'ing informally on a fan site. My daughter has been RP'ing similarly with her friends on some instant message thing, inspired by a web comic where all the characters speak in texts. I think organized role playing is a niche, not a huge niche, but not a tiny one either.
So that's some thoughts I've had on mucks in general lately. Discussion questions: What is the future of mucks? of NarniaMUCK? Of online organized role play?