Something for all to keep in mind

As I was perusing the Boards, I came across this little piece of wisdom which all should know and keep in mind.

(from Role play 101)

Role play 101

1. Entrances
A large pet peeve of many is the entering of Cities, Villages, Camps, Structures and Forests. Be alert and aware of where you enter. If it is in a forest there will be no gates, nor can a Tarn land you within the trees so you must be creative and find a way to enter. If in a City usually the people present are NOT within one spot. The City is large so you would have to approach the site they are in. Nodding to guards perhaps conversing. Seeing towers in some of the Cities that have them. Acknowledge your surroundings as you enter to interact. It is good to be versed in some knowledge and if without that knowledge ask in whisper then proceed if guided. Nothing is worse then having roleplay interrupted by those just walking in and talking.
2. Acknowledging others
So many times we see people greet and talk to those within a room having not had the ability to know them prior. You are a Stranger if you have not met before so behave as such. If your characters have met before then it is fine to acknowledge and proceed with interaction. Just because you can see the other character's names in the room list do not just call them by name, introduce yourself perhaps or acknowledge you are Strangers if this hasn't occurred between the two characters as of yet.
If for some reason though a stranger to you appears in a room and addresses you, do not immediately jump them foregoing the roleplay experience itself but perhaps turn the interaction into them perhaps having heard of you and maybe from where. Two wrongs do not make a right and both can have ill effects on the roleplay as a whole. As far as npc characters go there is a time to use them to help you enter and would be ideal for either guards and escorts allowing interaction though the venue is small at the time. It creates more appeal to be able to realistically see the entrance.
3. Be realistic
Another large pet peeve is realistic roleplay. Just because you are a pixel in this realm do not all of a sudden acquire super hero powers. You are human, Goreans were human. You cannot scale large buildings or gates, you cannot see behind you unless you turn your head, you cannot know things unless they have been discussed with you within the roleplay. Just because you have seen things on a community board giving you knowledge your character has not. Your character has to discover things on their own. Have fun with it and be creative. One of my greatest irritations in Gor is the use of im to call for help. This wasn't feasible, there were no telepathic qualities on Gor. What is occurring in the room is occurring and those not present would be in ignorance of them.
4. Perfect your art
…read ..read…read…learn your environment and make it happen to come alive. You are a participant once you enter and it is your responsibility to uphold your portion of interaction. Slaves practice endlessly to let you see them, this is not something a Free needs to not do either. Let us see you…become real and create the vision.
5. Talking of earth and everyday life
Talking of everyday life within a chat room while roleplay is occurring is just plain rude. Take it to im, to me that is the purpose of im, real life. Don't spoil others enjoyment as you learn.
6. Be Serious
If you seriously approach to learn most will help and interact showing you ways to portray your character but the burden of creativeness will still lie on your shoulders. It is an art and fun as so many will witness to you. Learn by doing and go slowly. Observe with limited banter until you are comfortable within this forum.
7. Gor isn't for a day
Gor itself cannot be learned in a day. If you come seeking to find sexual gratification you will be sadly disappointed. Nothing in life worth having or living is without effort. Learn what it is that you want and grow within your role. For everything you take you should also be ready to give.

 

Salty Old Bastard

The decline of online Gor (part 3)

In my last entry I began to delve deeper into the problems plaguing online Gor, beginning with how people play too much on others' RT emotions and also rely on their own RT emotions to the point that they are letting the emotional baggage from RT dictate what they can and cannot do and how they should act. There is another thing that is plaguing online Gor these days. That thing is accountability or a lack thereof.

On many homepages and message boards nowadays it has been said that you WILL be held accountable for your words and as far as with thoughtposts, the saying goes "you post it you own it." And yet I had seen a case of one person posting a list of people who are no longer welcome in his Home (Free or slave) because of how they act and he got ripped for it. Now he is making those people accountable for their actions, moreso as a warning that the person in question will do the same thing in the future and yet there are those saying he is in the wrong. Now, I am all for a second chance, but it is when the person ABUSES that chance constantly that the line has to be drawn somewhere. This is a case of people having their cake and eating it too, as all too often we HEAR about holding people accountable for their actions and when one person actually does it many are like "Well you cannot do that."

To use another example from what I had seen in my own real life, it is like my roommate who said that his job is stressing him out and he is considering just turning in the keys to the company van and walking away because his brother who works with him is causing the most stress. Now, my roommate's brother asked him if he was actually thinking of doing such and when he said that he was indeed thinking of doing such his brother moaned and whined. My roommate is accountable for his actions, yet it is his brother messing up and not being accountable because of certain things. I use that as an example of how we say that accountability should be paramount and yet when one person does something to hold another accountable that person is being made out to tbe the bad guy. We ALL meed to be held accountable for our words and deeds, whether here in Gor or in our own real lives.

Again, these words and opinions are mine and I am always open for a discussion on these words among adults and not let this be a big argument as I had seen many develop into nowadays. My Messengers are ALWAYS open for discussion.

The decline of Gor (part 2)

Last year I began writing about the downfall of Gor and posted 2 articles I had written between 1998 and 2000 and also how those words held true today. Over the past few months I have seen many things which have only served to add to the downfall of online Gor. As a matter of fact, this past week alone I had seen one Free Person shelve because of an incident and a bounty from a Home he left, one slave shelve while in captivity because she did not like how the roleplay turned out. And just earlier this day a Free was lambasted by a slave because the Free did not respect the slave's OOC wishes to not be collared. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I am here today to say that when we ALL, whethwer we play a Free or a slave, put in our HTML codes and hit the little Submit button, we enter one world and leave the other behind. Yes, that even includes RT emotional baggage. Only when we do that we can put our TOTAL FOCUS AND ENERGY into the persona we created. to make a comparison to such, allow me to draw from something I had seen firsthand. My roommate had come home from a hard day at work and when he enters the gate surrounding our property he comes home to unwind from the stress his job brings, but there had been some days in which he comes home and he is so stressed out it is like he is bringing his work home with him. One thing I told my roommate is that I do not care what happens on the other side of the gate because I am only concerned with the plot of land that my house is on and the people inside it. We come to Gor pretty much to unwind from the stress RT brings, but there are some people who bring the stress from RT into the roleplay. Now I admit I had done the same thing on occasion, but it is very rarely and even then if it gets to be too much I step away from the computer and calm down. When I come to Gor I do not worry about how things are RT from the time I hit the enter key (or submit button) until the time I leave the room or log off of Gor for the night because I focus ALL OF MY TIME AND ENERGY into my roleplay and to the personna I created. In my opinion, Gor started declining to the mess it is in now because people rely too much (and also play) on RT emotions more than the roleplay itself and how it turns out. I currently have 2 slaves in my personal steel who are damned good roleplayers in their own rights. Now occasionally they do something to upset me and I had to punish them, but they know that it is all a part of life on Gor and as such they accept their part in life as slaves. All I am saying is that we should worry about roleplaying our personnas to the best of our abilities and not bring RT emotions into play too much as when we bring RT emotions too much into the roleplay, then in my opinion we lose focus as to what Gor is really all about.

The words I share here are my own opinions. If you feel different and wish to speak with me on this, feel free to ping me on my Messenger services or in an email. I am ALWAYS up to and open for good ADULT discussions which do not degenerate into the arguing and backbiting I see nowadays. Let us settle the differences like the rational, calm adults we are.