Gorean roleplay. It seems very simple to write a definition for that term. It’s roleplay based on Gor, the world described by John Norman in his series of novels.
And one big problem with SL Gor can be pinpointed in website like this one by Matrix Voom. While I really do admire his desire to train other slaves, his writings are chock full of those dreadful online-isms.
Why roleplay in Gorean sims if you use terms and roles that not only don’t exist in the books, but in some cases, actually seek to rip apart the very basis of Gorean society?
If you want to learn Gor, read the books. If you absolutely cannot stomach the books, fine. Find websites that teach you by the books. You can determine who teaches by the book by the usage of quotes.
I will reiterate.
All Free Men are called Master. Never by title.
All Free Women are called Mistress, including panthers. Never address a Free person by title.
Other slaves are kajira or kajirus.
There is no such thing as a servery. It’s a kitchen.
There is no such thing as a scribery. It’s a library.
It’s not Urth. It’s Earth.
There are NO seven, ten, or sixty-nine steps in serving. ONLY common sense.
It’s collar. Not ko-lar.
Tattoos are rare in Gor, and never on slaves.
Piercings are limited to the ears and nose.
There is no Kassar language.
I’m not a child. Don’t dare call me “lil one.”
Sometimes slaves have to speak in third person. Most of the time, they don’t.
Slave do greet by using the word “Tal.”
There are red silk slaves and white silk slaves. It indicates the sexual status of a slave. It has nothing to do with the color of the silks a slave wears.
There is no kar-ta.
There is no formal bazi tea ceremony.
Ka-la-na was served safely in silver in the books, It is NOT poisonous.
Please don’t rub serving ware on your skin to check for nicks. You might damage your Master’s property.
In the books, slaves never said a prayer over a drink.
Three steps back? You are serving a crowded tavern full of men, and you think you have TIME to take three steps back every time you have to leave the side of a Master?
The standard farewell in the books is “I wish you well.” Not “Wind and Steel,” not “Soft paths,” and so on.
Rask is a character in one of the books, not a Gorean insult.
Slaves never beg to enter a tavern.
Slaves can kneel with their palms either up or down. Palms up indicate a slave’s surrender, submission, vulnerability and readiness to serve.
Slaves could not touch weapons. To touch a weapon could mean death.
Slaves can touch money, and they didn’t always carry it in their mouths.
I do read all of your posts, even though I don’t comment often.
I don’t live a Gorean lifestyle, but the books have certainly shaped my personality and how I interact with other people.
Thanks for trying to ensure people go to the source instead of making things up. I agree with everything you’ve written here. This was really a great post!
I wish you well.
By: jimsmuse on October 1, 2008
at 1:33 am
The problem with SL Gor is that it assumes and translates the books to be static, without realising that Gor only works in dynamic space! It is often forgotten that even by strict storyline, Tarl Cabot (the Gorean archetype – or the representation of everything that is Gor) is sent back to Gor… this is how most of the books begin… he is beckoned to Gor, and he returns, seemingly once every 1000 Gorean years; for one reason alone! TO CREATE A REVOLUTION!
That is; nearly each story in the book is about how Gor had become stagnant and is forgetting the meaning of what it is to be Gorean when Tarl Cabot returns revitalise them, revolutionise them, and get them to remember what Gor really is.
People who roleplay Gor forget this. They forget the dynamic nature of it – they take every rule spoken by a Gorean in the book to be an unwavering code. Firstly, that is a fallacy. There are several rules within Gor that Tarl fights against because he feels it is against everything that is Gor! A little insight is required if one is to take the essence of Gor and apply it into their own lives. One needs to understand the nature of Tarl Cabot.
But for the most part, and humans in general, don’t like to do that – they would rather be literal, unthinking, and create a mass of bricks and walls to represent what Gor is to them. It becomes more about the look of it, the sake of appearances, rather than the HEART of it. The heart gets lipservice, nothing more.
And that, is why SL Gor does not work for most folks. Oh, they may insist that it does, but I have seen its functionality, studied the history of it for several years – when they insist that it does work, it is merely a lie they tell themselves.
You may say that most cities in SL Gor are disney – they do not stick to the books, but I have seen the birth of so many SL Gor cities, as well as their imminent demise. And each time a city was born, its creators swore that this would be the first City true to Gor. And each time, unflinchingly, they would make the same mistakes as their predecessors.
Only a few Masters did I meet who knew the truth of what I speak – and they were able to make Gor a fulfilling experience, and are perhaps evolving still today, taking the essence of Gor to new heights – understanding fully that the book is a stepping stone – an insight into the state of mind. It is not a book of laws – it is a book of revolutions.
Make no mistake, nowhere here do I mention that one should make things up, that one should fabricate according to their every whim an idea of Gor that has nothing to do with Gor itself! I am saying – REMEMBER THE ESSENCE! Apply it! Do not make it a bunch of laws! It will not work. Because it will not be adaptive to every situation – it will be stagnant, unyielding, and ultimately, unenlightening.
Yes, there are laws, but they are secondary! First, there is honor! And honor cannot be a law! There must be honor among men of steel, and honor within the heart of the kajira. This sort of honor is kindled. You can’t write a law that all men should be honorable and expect to validate it! That’s why SL Gor does not work! Steps must be taken to create an environment that encourages and enthuses honor among the society. Then, it is Gorean. Otherwise, it is a piece of dung not worthy of even being called Disney.
People are too concerned with appearances – on how things are named and called, when it is actually meaningless to one’s transformative experience of Gor. It is foolishness. Gor evolves! One must understand this! The books clearly reveal it! You ned to be aware that in applying Gor to a lifestyle (something John Norman clearly never intended), a few questions need to be asked about functionality! It is the obvious and rational step to take!
But questions of functionality are not being asked! Rulers or creators of a City are not discussing and pondering from their past mistakes exactly which part of John Norman’s Gor can be translated into a lifestyle, and exactly which part needs some holes filled in, so that one can stay true to the essence of Gor. Instead we have slaves quoting books! Utterly ridiculous!
If we are to have rules, then first rule is that the slave who ventures to quote a book shall have her throat slit. For nothing is less Gorean! Goreans do not interest themselves in the thinking of slaves! And that is another reason why SL Gor does not work. A Gorean does not bargain with slaves – yet SL Gor is full of this bargaining, happening each and every second.
But mostly, SL Gor does not work because the slavegirl is a modern day human woman sitting behind the safety of a computer screen treating Gor as – fantasy roleplay. In most cases, this would be the accurate situation; The slavegirl actually does not fear the imminence of death that exists on Gor – it is just words on the screen!
AND FOR THIS REASON YOU CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSLATE THE BOOKS! Because you are dealing with humans roleplaying Goreans! Not Goreans being Goreans. So, you must adapt – to intergrate the one facet that wasn’t in the books – a city full of humans feigning Goreanism. For this reason, it becomes imperative to inspire honor in the roleplayers – to take them through scenarios, to reward it. Only in that way can we kindle human RPers to get into the Gorean mind. That may be the only solution to making Gor work as a lifestyle or a roleplay.
By: vajrakrishna on May 21, 2009
at 8:09 am
[...] inspired response to this post here. Tagged with: 1000 years, archetype, cities, computer screen, disney, disney gor, dynamic, [...]
By: The Problem with SL Gor. « The Revolution is Within on May 21, 2009
at 8:24 am