Indeed, it is hard to maintain good RP standards without real rules set in advance. And in open-ended roleplay, you cannot make rules for everything in any case. Roleplaying is not that easy, and doing it in a conflict-setting without an arbitrator around all the time is really hard. Many of those who do try to administer roleplaying are allowing their in character part to influence their decisions. For example, I am admin on a gorean sim but also I play the part of chieftess of a panther tribe there. It is harder for me to tell a ‘sister’ of my tribe she broke a rule than it is for me to tell that to an outlaw that just came to enslave us. Most admins are also leaders of a group or city. And many do not even bother trying to be fair. And quite a few even seem to take pleasure in being unfair.

I do not think the roleplay/life-style divide is still the main thing dividing Gor in SL. It was perhaps a year ago, but now most of the stricter life-stylers have shielded themselves off and do not bother much with the roleplayers and there many sims. In fact, the roleplayer environment has has changed considerably. What would once have been called ‘disney’ is now common, such as ‘red caste’ warriors dressing in all black and female mercenaries all over. Because those that actually read the books that the environment is based on often have withdrawn from the main RP sims, people have to make things up as they go. As a result, gor has gotten a lot less ‘fascist’ and things are common practise now that would have met with instant disapproval a year ago.

That does not mean that less close adherence to the books also leads to a more open and tolerant roleplaying environment. Even more so than previously, Gor has become a place of conflicts between groups and individuals. Even the attempts by sim owners that would like to get together to improve the situation seem to founder on mistrust. Also, the latest ‘political devide in Gor’ seems to center around combat meters and weapons, mostly having to do with the ‘single combat meter for all gor’ and the ‘new weapon standard’ ideas that one texan came up with.

Still, there is good, interesting, exciting and funny roleplaying to be had in Gor. It is clearly the largest roleplaying ‘scene’ in SL measured in the numbers of sims devoted to it and it is still a fairly consistent and simple world with a lot of elements of conflict and development which make it very suitable for roleplaying. With the bad, there is good and vice versa. I suppose the smart roleplayer skirts the arguments, the politics and the discussions about ‘validity’ of roleplay and seeks out the good in all of it.

Indeed, it is hard to maintain good RP standards without real rules set in advance. And in open-ended roleplay, you cannot make rules for everything in any case. Roleplaying is not that easy, and doing it in a conflict-setting without an arbitrator around all the time is really hard. Many of those who do try to administer roleplaying are allowing their in character part to influence their decisions. For example, I am admin on a gorean sim but also I play the part of chieftess of a panther tribe there. It is harder for me to tell a ‘sister’ of my tribe she broke a rule than it is for me to tell that to an outlaw that just came to enslave us. Most admins are also leaders of a group or city. And many do not even bother trying to be fair. And quite a few even seem to take pleasure in being unfair.

I do not think the roleplay/life-style divide is still the main thing dividing Gor in SL. It was perhaps a year ago, but now most of the stricter life-stylers have shielded themselves off and do not bother much with the roleplayers and there many sims. In fact, the roleplayer environment has has changed considerably. What would once have been called ‘disney’ is now common, such as ‘red caste’ warriors dressing in all black and female mercenaries all over. Because those that actually read the books that the environment is based on often have withdrawn from the main RP sims, people have to make things up as they go. As a result, gor has gotten a lot less ‘fascist’ and things are common practise now that would have met with instant disapproval a year ago.

That does not mean that less close adherence to the books also leads to a more open and tolerant roleplaying environment. Even more so than previously, Gor has become a place of conflicts between groups and individuals. Even the attempts by sim owners that would like to get together to improve the situation seem to founder on mistrust. Also, the latest ‘political devide in Gor’ seems to center around combat meters and weapons, mostly having to do with the ‘single combat meter for all gor’ and the ‘new weapon standard’ ideas that one texan came up with.

Still, there is good, interesting, exciting and funny roleplaying to be had in Gor. It is clearly the largest roleplaying ‘scene’ in SL measured in the numbers of sims devoted to it and it is still a fairly consistent and simple world with a lot of elements of conflict and development which make it very suitable for roleplaying. With the bad, there is good and vice versa. I suppose the smart roleplayer skirts the arguments, the politics and the discussions about ‘validity’ of roleplay and seeks out the good in all of it.

1. kill marked people for black gold

2. kill traitors of the caste/ not really caste members but acclaim to be (Likewise, female assassins)

I can also understand how Gorean’s = Nazi’s.

some things never change I see….and people wonder why mafia RP went to shit?

Actually, i’ve talked to a few gay goreans, and they say they’re often kicked out of sims or treated poorly for being gay. In the more strict lifestyle ones, any sort of male slave is heavily looked down upon, especially gay ones.

But it depends on where you look, some are more free (and tend to be called disney gor by the others) and others are more strict, male master, female slave only types.

I spend six months playing in Gor and never heard homosexuality or lesbianism referenced except as a way to ridicule or demean another. The admin of my city was even vehemently against girl-on-girl action, saying that such stuff couldn’t be allowed in Gor. If there are gay Goreans, I never saw a one of them.