Thoughts one

[Joe]

The entire process of life for him was nothing more than a game, a joke of sorts with the last laugh always being on you. With this as the driving force for how life was played there where still rules to the game or what was the point in playing in the first place. I have put down a quick collection of observations and random thoughts that I have gathered over the years as Joe.

For those who have no dealings with Joe, then I greet you now and take this chance to say a little about what he has come to mean to me and what some of the ideologies of the large, Nyah loving ,laughing, sandwich eating lunatic holds dear to his even larger heart.

Go with a smile.

Gorean time for me is a fun time for the most part and with that in mind I have sought to put that smile on the face of others that I have had any contact with. I am fully cognisant that there will be people out there that do not like Joe nor his way of going about the world as he does and in true Male Gorean style I would like to say 'tough shit titty face'. I do not put my face in other people's role-play as much as I can help it, in a confrontational way. Not due to the fact that I fear or dislike combat but I do dislike people telling other people what to do and the use of influence to enforce this rule. I am always happy to offer my advice, such that it is, for any that wish to hear myself drone on about how to have a good time.

Gor, for some that I have come to see, is a labour and a tumultuous drama of arguments and ill will, why? This has left me thinking on many a night playing in the small dusk hours and how they may feel when the screen goes off. Several reasons I have come to believe could be responsible for the 'ill will' Gorean. Not least to say that their real life must be incomplete and this life mirrors the one that they vomit on to the screen in some form of release of self destructive, self harm measure to let the frustrations of the day at the office or perhaps an abusive parent, lover or past my well force the person to continuously become this self destructive element. Or just a bored prick with nothing better to do. Then there is the Gorean that plays the darker side of the nature as they would do with the philosophy of the books, yes indeed the Black Caste, everyone needs a bad guy to hate and this play is no exception.


I rather like the Gorean bad image and have in the past played the part of pirate and henchman, I agree that I do not play the part well and would doubt that I send a shiver of fear up a persons spine. This is not and never has been why I do this. I play Joe as I enjoy submergence into a day to day fantasy world, the world of the Torvladian. The easy going giant that is happy ploughing a field, drinking a mead and chatting with friends and sailing off to smack a few heads in on a raid, all done in good humour. It is the smaller side of role-play that I enjoy, getting the atmosphere of going fishing at a river bank and chatting with a slave or escorting Nyah on one of her many trade trips. Playing the hapless Joe has for the most part brought me nothing but pleasure and I look forward at the end of a hard day of doing what I do to get to relax with a glass of red wine and a 7'2" giant called Joe and His beautiful Tuchuk, Nyah.


The Home.

This is a room on a site that I use as my base plate for going around the place and seeing the various sights and attitudes of the Gorean people. I have sat quite and simply watched people and how they interact with others. How the attitude seems to change depending on what name comes in the room. I have made rather a few friends in the Gorean world and hold the values that they have on this game rather dear to my heart.

I have always enjoyed the company of Kurzon's home as he leads a home very well suited to my style. I tend to go about my own thing and get into many adventures and self-indulgent role-play and that seems fine with him. He does not poke his nose in with what everyone should be doing second to second and the Steading, I feel, works well as a group of adults doing their thing. I have not noticed many problems at my home and if there was, then they tend to be sorted out rather quickly and quietly before it gets childish. Never have I felt under pressure to stay and that for me is one of the greatest bonuses that a place can offer. Kurzon gives his rough guide as to the theme of the room and then off you go!

I have, in the past, gone to play in many a place and seen how they work, or don't. I am acutely aware that there are numerous places that I have not seen and I do not think myself more or less Gorean than anyone else that I have met. I may have a little more knowledge than most but then I have been around for a while. So I feel I am able to toss my two coppers in if you like it or not.

Sometimes I have seen homes 'swell' with members and very quickly become unstable as the personality clashes start and the room begins to split in to the various loyalties that so often tend to rise up.

These days I have my own place and I have set this up with my wonderful world called Nyah. She is my driving force and the fuel that fires my imagination. Nyah is so much more than the FC of companion to Joe, this Lady is the reason that Joe wakes with a smile and sleeps with a grin. His best friend.

I am not saying I have all the answers and if you are reading this with the miscomprehension that I actually know what I am talking about then I apologise that you got this far to find out that I don't. This is no more than a random collection of thoughts as I said as I sit here, rather bored, on a night shift when all the office people of the UK sleeping happy in their beds, blissfully unaware that someone like me is looking after their safety. I would rather have Homer Simpson but then the public do not know that and a better world we have for their ignorance I think.

How to play, the nice way.

I hear and read, Gor is not fair, Gor is not harsh it is simply Gor. Complete and utter tosh if ever I heard it, yes I agree that Gor the book and principal is not fair but as for on line it is fair and that is why we have role-play rules set out to make it as fair as possible. I tend to hear this from people that are not on the receiving end of the issue that they state this to in their infinite wisdom. Gor for me is a game that allows people from many varied backgrounds, creeds and cultures to come and share in a common theme and experience. I am sure many would scream foul should a group of Blacks, good ones, go on a rampage and start killing people off but the same people cry 'gamer' when they go about doing it to slaves in the crossroads.
Respect, is the key element that appears to be lacking in most of the problems that I find and could be the resolution of many of the fractions that tend to pop up from time to time. The goal of Gor has seemed to had some sort of cycles to it over the years as to what was the persons goal. The apex moving from Master skill, to the ability to spar then moving to how 'well' a person knew the books. They miss the entire point in this pursuit, it is about people, meeting them and having a good time. This is not to say that the good time can not be a large drama, rather the opposite, it can and often is a girl getting a capture and this done in a fair and mutually satisfying way. I only object when people resort to 'lawyer' tactics to bully, confuse and peer pressure people into playing a role they do not want to or find distasteful. I would give the example of myself catching a girl in the crossroads, the role is chasing and catching this little beauty. She wants the chase I assume as she is in that room in the first place, I then find out that she did not know about this and asks me to let her go and let her carry on with her role-play. What to do? What do you mean what to do, there is nothing to do but the right thing! You organise a role-play that allows you to let the girl go and get on with playing as she wanted to in the first place.

How fundamentally wrong of me it would be to 'force' this person to play out a part wholly for my satisfaction. In the same manner I would go ballistic if I went in a Panther room by error and not an exchange room and they attack me thinking full well that I know where I am. I explain I made an error and they attack anyway, I then defend and try to get out and would be rather pissed at this stage anyway. Then I find that I got caught and they get to keep my character in that room and role doing anything they damn well please. I would be spitting Cornflakes all over my nice new screen, trust me on this, not to mention msning every lunatic, caffeine wired freak I knew with a keyboard. I am then a 'gamer'? well I think the Panthers would think so, I would think what a bunch of arseholes and just wait till I got my go. In the same way I use to role-play with slaves, yes, I am aware that there are ladies out there that like the lifestyle of BDSM and that the forced capture is just the thing they are looking for on Gor. This takes nothing away from the original statement of respecting another for the role that they play and wish to play.

Respect is earned? Nonsense, respect of a civil nature to another person is the fundamental basic right of all. Admiration is earned, respect is a given and working with this very simple philosophy has held me in good stead over my years on Gor and indeed in my own life. There was a time when I was an angry young man ready willing and more than able to fight anything that had the impertinence to look sideways at me. I was wrong, I made the mistake that many do, that fear equals respect, it does not. It generates a false display of respect to that individual and you lose the true respect of that person wanting to be in your company simply for the reason that they enjoy your company.

Gor, if you wish to fight that is, is a battle of wits for the most part and this is something I do enjoy. Panthers I have found are particularly good fun when it comes to a battle of wits and insulting jibes and jests and I adore them for it. The person throwing their on line weight around as they know spar rules inside and out and type for some director at work and pop out a 600 word post in 3 minutes gets nothing from me but a shrug and the fleeting thought of 'how sad' if that is all they have to go with. How much more they could do and be if they wanted to and how fun it would be if this person spent half as much time playing as they did being an on line bully (see why we have 'ill will' Goreans section).

Bullies come in many forms and guises and do not be fooled by thinking that the only bully is the cyber sword bully. FW and slaves are equally as capable of being bullies, they do it with emotional manipulation and by slicing the rules to suit what they want others to do. It can be done in innocence thinking that they are trying to make the role better for all. No one asked for an unofficial John Norman aid and so I for one do not like to be preached to. Some people use the shadow of the cyber sword bully as cover to act like the self professed leader of Gor, this too is utter shit and I have never liked it. We are adults, playing an adults game if this has escaped you and you find that you are having sleepless nights over someone being an arse and you just have to show the world of Gor that your way is the right way. Then I humbly suggest that you go on holiday or something for a few days and get a better perspective. This is not something that is real as much time and effort as you put into it, this is not your real life. Have fun with it and find some new experience, meet some people and chill out from the kids or whatever. Never take this so serious that it would cost you a cosy night sleep when you flick the screen off and remember that you forgot to put that load of laundry on.

Role-play basics of Gor.

Yes, they suck, they read as dry as a Ikea flat pack wardrobe manual! The books of Gor BUT if you don't read the things you will not get the outline of the world you are playing in. The series was wrote by a Philosopher, Norman, and god do I know it as he sure is no Margaret Weis (DragonLance series, wonderful read if you get the chance). He does however give a good listing of the social and Eco structure of the Gorean planet with detail and analysis. He gives examples of how this happens in the form of Tarl but always remember that Tarl is the hero of the story and gets far more good luck than most everyday people would see in twenty life times. So, if you read some of the books before you start your adventure then you have a base to work off on how your character would and could react to many things that happen on Gor. When you have a drink of kalana, you have an idea how it would taste and look not just the fact you saw some free woman do it and it looked cool.

Once you have read some / all the books you then can sit down and look at what race of person you would like to try, what caste if any and even where you want to live. This should take some time and thought so you get the most of your on line fantasy experience and submerge your imagination and creative flow fully to get you in the mood. I tend to turn off my lights, pour my wine and light a large candle (so I can see the keys) the dark of the room against the contrast of the light of the screen helps me to fall more into the screen and forget the world that surrounds me. This is just how I do it and for each of us it may differ in some ways. Perhaps you have small kids running about then of course it makes the fantasy that much harder to fully achieve. Don't go on line just because you are in a bad mood and feel like hurting someone, go and vent it and use your Gor time as you would a relaxing bath or invigorating shower. This of course is simply advice and like all advice it remains your free will right as an individual what you do with it.

So now we have an understanding of what is going on, we have a race and the basic outline of a character and the fun goes on. History! Take a little time to give your character a background or biography of sorts, this can be placed on a site member page or just kept on your hard drive. I think you may well be surprised at how it helps you to identify with your character and breaths a deeper contour of life and colour into him or her.

Don't go nuts collecting scripts of this and scripts of that if you are not a Scribe. I have found that if you simply ask a Scribe to do some admin work for you they are only too happy to do it.

When you are new and looking for a home you may well be blasted with offers from every place you go to join, oh how we love you and how this is a loving and loyal family. You may even get offered Rank and title right from the get go, I find this is so damaging to your role-play it goes beyond words. Some homes still carry 'probation' periods and they can be dull, it is at this stage you get to read web sites and sit and watch a great deal of how people interact and what is and what is not done. If you have read the books you will already have a great start anyway and now start to polish your character. I would hope that you aim for the lowest of ranks in the home and that way when you do get promotion you will have a feeling of truly getting some place in Gor.

Sparring! The greatest fun ever made on a computer, when done right. Problem is that it is so often not done right that it scares me how much people want to try and settle a problem with a cyber fight. Does the very fact that the people who made up the rules VERY seldom get in a fight over things escape people? This should give you an idea that the spar is another form of entertaining role-play and not the reason for being on GOR in the first place.



Joe MacBain.
Jarl of Hulneth

[Joe]

There are times when you may well have to fight someone if they go poking there big fat Gorean nose in your business. If you are playing a Gorean Man then it is good to remember that you are a man in the first place and should act like one. Do not just pick fights with people you think you can win and be the big bad arse with them and then be all girlie smiles when some speed typing lunatic comes in the room, have seen this happen so many times that it is not even funny anymore! If you have been wronged and or your role play is invaded by another 'ill will' Gorean then go fight the arse! You play a warrior, not a warrior when it suits you to be one. If a person is better at the spars than you then chances are that you are going to die. Sounds shitty but that the way the deal goes folks. You get a challenge, take it and pick up a new character and you get to start all over again you lucky people you.

When you are dead I find it best to stay dead and not just pop back when you are gone. Give it a little time before you come back I would suggest 2 weeks is a good period and the right time you will need to find a new character. Try not to look at the death of your character as the death of your role-play but simply a new start to a new adventure and you get to take all the experience that you gained before and apply it this time around.

I do hope that you have taken the time to get to know your character a little before you just jump right on in and start chewing on the meat as you will lose out on all the nutrients of the vegetables before you know what is going on you are all drawn in to the drama and petty squabbles that have plagued Gor. Not just Gor but petty squabbling tends to destroy any relationship no matter if role-play or not.

What is good role-play?

This is very much dependant on the player and what one perceives as a good role another may well contend that is a play to be avoided. Once you take your own moral value and equal this to the role you play and the way you interact with other players you alone are in control of what is a good role-play and what is not. The differing ideas have been much of the cause of many argument and lengthy debate upon many various sites and boards over the years. There is no single good way to role-play and only your own way will suit you to experience what you enjoy. This made in the most poignant for me in the debate of old Gor and new Gor, a controversial statement if ever I heard one. I take the view that Gor evolves in the essence of role-play and how we try to bring to life the inter-changeable ideas and interactions of what we do with our time on line. Gor, is an idea by John Norman and this remains a constant factor but due to the nature of things we strive to mould the way we want others to play and in the form of rules upon rules we push people in a direction that suits us. I do see the need for rules and the application of them but the problem remains that the rules are in the form still of ideas and ideas change in the perception by the person reading them. So the same set of rules will have many differing meanings to people and the conflict of idea goes on well into the night. Even the best intentions to set a ruling factor over people will have the same result and many rules thou absolute, no kill zone etc, will have yet more factors effecting it. To join a site your room must be a full kill zone. So the rules go on and people try to shape and govern the original idea of John Norman.

Good role-playing for me and this is my opinion and therefore for me is correct no matter the belief of others, is to feel that I have played and had fun and not had any or as little as possible, negative effect on the people that I role-play with. I will happily fight people and not take this personal but in the context of the role-play. What I do object to is the outer influence of role-play for the personal spite and or ill will of one to another to effect the role that the other is playing. I could go into great detail and examples but most will know what I am talking about so I shall give a basic idea of this principal. You have an argument off line in MSN with a player, you then take that negative emotion and use the rules and your skills of Gorean knowledge and type speed to effect that person on Gor. You may well also put around your opinion of this person to others in order to try and create that person to be ostracised from the on line community. This is petty and childish and something I have never liked about the nature of us all. I have of course wished it at times but have always walked away and I can simply remove myself from that persons role-play. Should they then proceed to harass my role-play or that of my friends that I am left with the ability to speak to the admin on the matter and should this not resolve the issue then I would fight back in whatever manner was left open to me. This being a last resort when communication has failed, always a sad day to be sure.

So I have always had the belief that good role-play is based around respect of other peoples beliefs and rights to role-play as they wish as long as it does not effect mine in any major negative way. If you apply this ideology to all people that role-play it would in fact rule out many problems that we face day to day, not all, but most. Do not look for others to do this first or it will simply never happen but look at your own role and start with the one that effects others the most in your own world, yourself. Simply by respecting one it can have a ripple effect and cause that person to pass this on to another and gain more or less an expediential growth of not an idea but of a way of interacting with others and growing in your own role-play as you go along. It is not an easy thing and I know I have fallen foul of my own ideas on many an occasion, Gor by it’s very nature is emotive and you get caught up in the rush of emotion and oft have I seen the fast post that goes out in haste. This remains a problem that once out there it is out there for good, it is not like the spoken word that can be smoothed over so easily so choose with care what you send out in a moment of anger or high session of emotion.

The real and the virtual.

This is a topic that I hold very close to my heart and have fallen at the way side on so many an occasion. It is imperative that you remember that the Gor life you lead is a folding factor and mixture of the two. It is not as simple as to say that rt is one thing and vt is another, they blend in differing proportions as depends on the player and how much of there own real emotion that they are putting into it. Again I use the word respect when playing and keep your mind open that your perspective may well not be that of theirs. You just having a fun drunken night on the computer may well cause a person to have a miserable time and go away in tears. Now some may well not care about this and have the opinion that if they cannot take it they should not play and I would use the same cold answer of if you cannot care for your fellow man then you have no place in society, this or the Gorean. Yes, many will be playing on false emotion and that is their loss not yours if you are true to the feeling that you hold when you go on line and have the spine to stand for what you believe in. There have been many a time that I have gone to a PM whisper simply to check that the person is okay and often they are fine and simply very convincing writers. This does not make a weak male but more over it makes you a stronger person that you check that what you are doing is understood by all that are effected by it. It takes but a second to explain to someone and this, for me anyway, shows the measure of a man that he takes responsibility for his actions. If you are setting up a romantic or FC relationship and is purely on line then take the time to have a private chat with the other let them know that you are not looking for any real time romantic or emotional commitment. It does not cure all the problems but if it does go tits up then at least you know that you did try and tell them.

When getting involved with people on line for the first time, exercise caution in all that you do. Many people are genuine and only here for a good time but like the rest of society there are the subversive elements that for one reason or another pray on people and their emotions.

Getting romantic involvement with a person on line is the tricky part if you end up going down that line I wish you well but take head as it is no easy path. There is light as I happen to personally know people that this has and is working out for very well but I also know many who’s heart has been left smashed on the rocks of betrayal and despair. Take your time and try not to get swept away in this as with the role-play you can get a false sense of security and bravado as you can at anytime turn off the machine and it all goes away. It does not, you have to work on the assumption that the other person is telling the truth about the emotion they feel, in moderation and still allow the room to think they may well be full of shit at the same time. No easy task and the lack of physical relationship is a frustration I would not wish on an enemy. It does have some advantage in the case that you do get to communicate far more with an on line date then you would a physical one as you know you are not getting laid at the end of it you do not focus on how they look or how you look and you get a much better overall picture of who and what that person is about. Then you have to take it one step at a time and not go flying off like a love sick puppy with a new bone. I wish anyone trying to do a long distance relationship all the luck in the world, your going to need it but don’t let that put you off if that does come your way and remember to be honest but not overly detailed in the first place. It takes far longer than a typical relationship and you must allow for this.


The background world of Gor.

Be under no illusion if this is all new to you, there is as much going on in PM, phone calls and messages of one type or another as there is on the screen you sit and view. There are alliances of friends and the more mature (for the Ladies) and the old Bastards will have known each other a long time. You may well think a person vulnerable as you are faster or know the rules and won a few match ups and even seem to have a few friends. The table can and very often does turn if you insist on going around acting like a cock long enough.

There are also meetings and gatherings of Goreans that happen all over the world, Gorfest (run by Sha'kar) and Weekend in Torvladsland (run by Kurzon), while I have never been in attendance I have heard many good reports about the games that go on. Archery, spars with padded swords and even a Panther chase where the women get to throw sponge balls at the men in the form of capture darts. I see it as a light hearted weekend of fun and games with some friends. Some may have a differing view and the master/slave experience may well be your cup of tea, it's not mine, I'm a coffee man myself. In so much to say that there seems to be something for everyone to enjoy and Kurzon and Sha'kar I know run a rather tight ship and I would go so far as to say would make wonderful hosts. Kurzon's held in Canada and Sha'kar down in Oklahoma I think, sorry Sha!

Anyway, you can see how much some people put into this game and how you should not only pay a little well earned respect for the role-play but just as much time and respect for the people that play it………..always on the given that the respect is returned your way of course. If people want to get pent up and personal, it's their problem not yours, happy role playing.

My own perception of the Gorean role-play.

I have spent a lot of time thinking on this subject of how we could all do a better job of role playing. I came to the conclusion long ago that it was impossible to change the very nature of people to be pricks on occasion and thus any effort used to stop them would be futile. I see those that cause trouble for whatever misguided reason as being useful in their own weird little way. They will continue to do this sort of thing in the delusion that they are right and that it is everyone else that is the problem. This is very similar to the psychotic having little to no insight as to the illness that they have. To simply tell someone that they are being a cock does not work and is as much use as telling a paranoid psycho that there is no one under the bed. So why do I bother to do this I ask myself. Well, I never have in the past as it was never worth my time but as I have some time on my hands I have chosen to share a few small observations that I have. The basic message I would like to send is grow up and stop acting like you are the be all and end all of this little world and let people get on with having a good time. Just because one does not like it does nothing to lesson the right of the other to do it. The idea we all work on is already wrote down by John Norman anyway. The principal of on line Gor however is not and is in our own hands to do with as we please. If you are going to interact with people it is foolhardy to think that you are just going to steam roll your idea on them about what is and is not in the shadow area that is always found on Gorean on line role-play. Arrogant in the extreme and even unhealthy to think you have the right to force people to see things your way or you will remove their character or even go about disrupting a home (room).


I have found it strange that many people that do this sort of thing never learn and will continue on the same cycle over and over again. No matter the advice they receive from others or the example given by others as to why they continue to just not feel able to fit in and cause aggravation and turmoil.

I once listened to a radio show on Gor and was listening to the DJ, Autumn it was at the time, talking about on line Gor. As I listened to her talking about 'silly cyber fights' and the like I was instantly annoyed that she did not see the honour and male pride in combat. The more and more I sat back and listened the more I began to agree and could see a self inflicted emotional attachment of a real event to that of the virtual. Bizarre even for myself as I would like to think of myself as a reasonably educated and well read man of the world. This emotional transference of events to the virtual is fantastic when you are using your imagination and creative thought in such a way that it evokes this inner emotional feeling of involvement. I would say you should take great heed that you do not lose sight of the fact that this is simply a game when all said and done and the emotive issues that Gor can arise in people should be like that of the actor on stage. The actor feels the emotion of the character he plays and in fact needs this attachment to be able to give the best performance that he can, drawing on his own experience to deliver part of himself is all in the art of creative and imaginative people. The problem lies in the fact that the actor knows when the play is over that it was a play, here on line people can tend to lose sight of this and invest so mush of themselves that the character and the person become the same thing. No wonder then when a traumatic event comes up that this would leave the player in true distress.

I myself do this to get the most from my fantasy time and when in a spar I have had an adrenaline rush just from typing smashing a persona's skull in, great fun! I have had feelings of sorrow and of grief when attending a pyre of a friend and even the physical feeling of elation seeing a couple get Free Companioned. Furring does very little for me and these days I do not do it anyway as there is far more role-play to be getting on with. I can do it but I do not get aroused by it as I have done so many that it is no more to me now than role-playing chopping wood. Plus the fact that the sweet little slave arse you are doing could well be a six foot seven inch Jamaican male basket ball player named Jamal, just a thought for all you cyber sex lovers. So in conclusion, on line Gor for me is a past time fantasy escapism that I love dearly and get to play with like minded people from all over the world without even having to put my shorts on, what a fantastic idea and game.


Much love and respect

Joe MacBain
Jarl of Hulneth

[Witness Despoiler]

thankya so very much for writing this Joe ... smiles at my hero

[Sedim]

You have, as usual, applied that formidable mind of yours to an incredibly complex subject and turned it into something that makes perfect sense.....at least to this short redheaded typist Thank you...your words are most wise and many would do well to take them to heart.

[Carinus]

Thank you for wise words. My view of Gor is very similar.

Yes, Norman has created a rich world, basic rules are set, and it's up to us to augment it with our own additions and ideas. This is meant to be fun, relax and good laugh (sometimes), I am not interested in arguing whether something was in the books or not (even Norman is not consistent about Gor throughout whole series). (Side note: I think that's why Carinus chose one of the most extraordinary and rule-breaking FW on Gor for his mate. ~g~ )

It's about meeting people, it's about interaction. Many important words have already been told, but the most important (in my opinion) is respect. Even when playing the character, we should not forget, that there are always real people sitting behind keyboards. Some of them might not be affected by role play, but (I believe) many are, and you can leave them angry or in tears as result of your role play (on the other hand, you can make them feel very happy as well).

For me, r/p and r/t relationship is kind of one-way road. While my character can influence me in the real world, the actions of the character are usually not influenced by state of his typist. It's rather simple, I have other means of venting an anger than harassing people online.

Carinus & his typist

[sadun]

Thanks You for taking the time to write This Joe for it has helped Me out very much.

[Joe]

Your very welcome -smiles-

[Nyah]

Always listened to your wise words.... Thankyou Joe *s*

Nyah Coultrain