A very confusing result...

ID:1937666
 
Sep 18 2015, 5:34 am
(See the best response by Lummox JR.)
Code:
obj
     Crossed()
          world << length(players)

This results in 0 no matter how many things get added.

Yet..
mob
     verb
         check()
               world << length(players)

Will result in the amount of things that were added to the list.
Is this a bug?

This is literally all the code involved... Aside from the code that adds the objects into the list.

Sep 18 2015, 5:40 am
One possibility is that you have multiple players lists. It's hard to say without seeing the full code.
Sep 18 2015, 6:34 am
Best response
Yeah, I'd have to say it seems like either /obj, /atom/movable, /atom, or /datum has a players list defined. That would take precedence over the global one.

You'll want to be sure also that the non-global list is /tmp. If you have actual mobs in that list, this is a tremendously easy way to accidentally save other people's mobs in a savefile, and you'll soon start running across the dreaded "rollback" issue.
Sep 18 2015, 6:44 am
oh my, the terrible days when that happen xD
Sep 18 2015, 10:37 am
Oh, yup that was the problem. Thank you!