I posted this in the programmers thread awhile ago..
If you want a good starting visual basic mud.. here's a link to one.
http://www.jaruzel.com/mud.shtml
Absolutely great for intermediate coders. You will need to know some visual basic to use this, but not -alot-.
[Edit - It is pretty much completely bareboned.. But very easy to expand on. I'll be giving my project which i did awhile ago to the owner of the original mud to post on that site aswell once i get a chance. Added the commands GRIN, SMILE, NOD, YELL, TELEPORT, TRANSFER, SCA, SETSCORE, ME, STRIKE, RESPAWN, SPANK, SING, WHISPER, TELL, GOTO, DEMORT, WIZNET, INVIS, GUIDE, JOIN(UPDATED), SNOOP, ', `, WEAR, REMOVE]
Have fun
WindowsXP Home(Service pack 2), Athlon XP 2400+(2.1Ghz), 1GIG Ram, Ati Radeon 9800Pro 128MB.