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.

The decline of online Gor (part one)

From My Rant Blog:

When I started this blog I originally did not want to rant about online roleplay, but from what I had read and what happened recently this needed to be said.

from http://kharog.tripod.com/diatribe1.html

WHAT HAPPENED TO GOR?

In October, 1998, I had stumbled across a Gor section while I was chatting on Chatropolis. At the time I knew nothing of Gor, so I walked into the Kassar Camp which at the time was led by Ubar BLADE. The name I used was Worf, a Klingon Warrior. Now before I get bashed and trashed because I chose a Klingon let me explain just WHY I chose that persona. I am a big Star Trek fan, and I chose a Klingon persona because they value honor over everything. Hence, the reason why whenever either I or somebody else departs I always wish them HONOR and Success. I stayed in the Camp about an hour, and then left because as many of you know I have no computer at home so I use the college or public library computers and depend on the public transportation system. The following week I found out about WebMaze and entered the Tuchuk Camp there which at the time was led by Ubar KNIGHTSTORM. I observed and asked many questions about both the Camp and the website, taking in what I had seen and read. I do not know if it was on my first or second visit to the Camp but I noticed a Member was a little upset about something so I asked him what was bothering him and helped the best I could, though I was not a Member of the Camp. Later that day before I left for the bus this Member came to me and asked if he could speak with me in PM. I approved and he asked me if I was a member of a Home. I told him no and he said that he would speak with the Ubar and see if I can become a Member based on what I had done earlier that day in trying to help him in his distress. The following week the Ubar spoke with me and made me a member of the Camp. During the time I was a member I got to meet many people who to this day I will never forget, no matter what name they use now. I also learned a little more about Gor and what it means to be truly Gorean. Also during my time in Tuchuk I was able to be online more often and eventually was named to the position of GateKeeper. In late November to early December GreyEagle, the Member that I had helped out my first or second day visiting the Camp, had opened the Kataii Wagon Camp and asked if I can help him open it and build it. I accepted the offer and during my time as First Shield there I had acquired a slave and was also honored to be a Member of the House of GreyEagle. During my time in the Camp I was able to be online a lot more and one time did something to the Ubara of what was then Chatlantis Tuchuk West, which I am still kicking myself in the ass to this day. Also during that time a Warrior had entered the Camp and became a Member, then somehow slithered his way to be above me both in rank and in stature. I did not like it and so I resigned from both the House of GreyEagle and from Kataii, thereby incurring the wrath of the House and the Camp. I came back to KNIGHTSTORM's Tuchuk Camp which was by this time located in ErosChat. I had hoped that there I can begin anew without harm from the GreyEagles, but I was found and then decided to kill myself off to begin anew. Was I dishonorable in doing that? As I look back on that incident I was, but I learned from that and grew more and more as a Gorean.

Even when I did start anew as Kharog tai Meshtarc (my current persona) I had problems, but life is hard, and as the saying goes "If life deals you lemons make lemonade." In other words, life is hard, but make the best out of what life dealt you. I had been injured many times on various sites, captured once by a band of Panthers on AlterRealm, moved from Home to Home because of political maneuverings, FC'ed twice only to see them blow up in my face, built a Home of my own (Fort Kahless) only to see it go down the tubes, but I remained strong and firm in what I believe in.

I am writing this not as a sob story but rather to let all know what Gor was like back before 2000. Back then there were no "death matches," no whiney slaves or pain sluts, no major name-calling like there is now. Back then there were only a few sites which offered a limited amount of Gorean rooms, and with the small amount back then at least if there were arguments or disagreements it was settled peacefully and not with violence. Granted Gor is a violent world, but at least things were settled like men before things got into one big "flame war" on a message board. Back then people did not fight over petty things, slaves were not as mouthy or sassy as some of them are now. I challenge each and every one of you out there, myself included, to bring Gor back to what it was when I first started out in 1998. I am not talking site wise when I speak of this. Rather I am talking philosophy and behavior wise, as I noticed a lack of respect and HONOR among many toward each other as well as toward themselves. If we work on bringing honor back to our lives and our Homes, if we get back to the books, then we would not have the problems we are facing with today.
If anyone disagrees with me, or if you agree with me, feel free to contact me via email or ICQ. My email addresses are rickbulow@iwon.com and kharog@iwon.com and my ICQ number is 130590002. I wish A/all HONOR and Success, for without them all else, including life, is worthless.

Those words, penned by me in 2001, hold true to this day. I had left in 2003 because I thought I had failed as a Leader and as a Warrior, but now I realize that I had not failed in Gor but rather that Gor had failed me. Where were the times in which people led by HONOR and also who held true to what they believed in? I know if the shit I hear about on the Boards happened back before 2000 that things were done about it swiftly and that would be the end of it, not taken to a Message Board for people to air their dirty laundry in public.


from http://kharog.tripod.com/newspaper_articles/honorarticle.html

Been Thinking About....Honor
Kharog tai Meshtarc
2nd of the GateKeepers
WebMaze Thentis

Honor: Many on Gor that I have seen state that they know what it is and that they are honorable, but do they really? Granted, my name and the pictures I use are not totally of Gor, nor do I claim to be full Gorean. However, I will say this much: If you cannot fail, you cannot succeed.

What do I mean by that statement? Simply this: One cannot truly experience the feelings that honor brings without first having the capability to feel and comprehend the utter lack of it. To me, honor is what makes me keep going despite the trials and tribulations of everyday life. I am reminded of what a few people had written about honor in earlier articles of the Gorean Times, that honor is a "knowing that what one is doing is right and decent and correct."

Expanding on that comment, I am reminded of a Warrior who is now dead who honorably defended and served His Homestone, yet at the same time, there was another Warrior, who is also now dead, who achieved His honor in a dishonorable way. Now I ask you: Of the two Warriors, which one showed loyalty, honor, and duty, which all Goreans, be it slave or Free, strive for? Was it not the One who achieved His honor the honorable way?

I leave you with this one thought, and if there are any who read this and disagree with anything I had said, feel free to email me at kharog@gocubs.com; kharog@angelfire.com; or feel free to look for me in WebMaze Thentis. The thought is: Honor is more important than life.

I wish all Honor and Success.

AFTERTHOUGHT

Those words, which I wrote over 2 years ago, still ring true today. Honor is tantamount to A/all, whether Free or slave, Warrior, Merchant, or even Panther Girl. Any thoughts, feelings, or questions on the article I had written, or even on this afterthought, feel free to email me at my new email address which is kharog@iwon.com or you can contact me via ICQ number 130590002.

Both statements were written during my first excursion on Gor, and they hold true today. Many of you who knew me as Kharog and as Worf still know that I am out here and am holding true to my words. I might have changed my appearance and character, but one thing I have not changed is the heart and the love for Gor that I held so true back then. If any have a problem with what I say, feel free to post on this blog entry, on the message boards, or hit me up on MSN or Yahoo or even in an email. You can even find me as I traverse Gor. I go by Maximus and am always willing to talk things over like reasonable men.