Stay in your Role

{I had this article first in the blog of Tidra, but after some consideration I thought it's better to place it here as it's about my personal opinion about some RPers and nothing that concernes the Isle of Tidra directly}

Yesterday I did something I never did before: I just tp'd out of an ongoing RP. Maybe I overreacted, but I was too annoyed. Upset. Just had enough. It was the result of a long line of annoyance. And why? Because I won't any longer deal with people which don't stay in the role they have chosen. The problem is: You meet them way too often. One of the not-in-role characters - maybe the most annoying - is the insolent, aggressive, bratty slave.

There are many "rules" out there in SL-Gor and other Gor-RP communities. - Talking of "Gorean law". Giving lists of "slave rules". But every reader has his own imagination and picture of Gor, when reading the books. Many RPers don't read the books at all and just depend on those collections of quotations others did for them. Especially those "Luthers Scrolls". But you always have to realise, that those "rules" and "laws" are subjective interpretations. John Norman isn't really consequent in his novels and full of contradictions. There are always exceptions and for every quotation you find to "prove" your own interpretation, another one will find a quotation to "prove" the opposite.  So there's no way around reading at least two or three of the books and not rely on that what others tell you about how "Gor" should be.


So, back to those insolent, aggressive, bratty slaves. Those are so many these days especially among the outlaw-groups. - I do not care much for those published "slave rules" in SL-Gor. Many of them are onlinisms or just unrealistic. Like to end every sentence with "Master/Mistress"... there are many conversations in the books where slaves don't do that in each sentence. Or to crawl around on their knees the whole time... it's a must to show respect and submission at the right moment, but in the books they didn't do it the whole day. Or asking for permission to pass... Gee! Imagine a big city like Ar when a slave tries to do the errands for his/her Master/Mistress and would have to ask every Free for permission to pass! --- All those things are onlinisms and subjective interpretations of certain people who try to force their imagination of Gor to others.
No, I do not care much about those rules. It always depends on the situation. It's more the attitude and tenor that counts. To wear a collar isn't equivalent to be submissive. As well as to be a Free isn't equivalent to be dominant. But to wear a collar means, that you're always and any time threatened by punishment and death. All you who play slaves be aware of this! It is not like BDSM on Earth. You may like to submit or you may not. But you have no choice when you wear a collar. The Free does not have to prove his dominance. Not every Free in Gor is a mighty warrior. But: He is a Free. You are a slave. You wear the collar, so you are slave. You are unpleasant, you feel the whip or you'll be fed to the sleen.
But of course in a pixel-world, where punishment means not much and death neither, there is no threat. And even worse: The owners tolerate the behaviour of their slaves and support it. I have to admit that I sometimes make the same mistake... for instance when my lil devil Wolf talks of "kicking the Masters' ass" - I smile patiently, but actually I shouldn't! Actually I should whip him for that attitude.

Back to the situation yesterday: So, I visited that island... I picked a lock of the main-gate of the castle... nobody was around... I RPed it all... Hadn't planned to steal anything, just wanted to rearrange the furniture and hang some paintings on the wall... *winks*... Then five people - the owners - at once tp'd into the SIM. And a slavegirl ran up behind me just as I was about to write a notice to the castle-owner on a parchment.. She aimed her slingshot at me, threatened me with rocks, tried to command me around, rolled her eyes:

[2010/04/14 8:17]  owner1 has entered the sim.
[2010/04/14 8:22]  Franziskus Ninetails takes a parchment from his belt instead, leans against the door, and writes a quick note "Tal, Artist of Picklocks! Franziskus of Tidra was here to get his son's weapons back, but found the place empty. I assume, there's no way that you bring it back to us voluntarily?"
[2010/04/14 8:22]  owner2 has entered the sim.
[2010/04/14 8:22]  owner3 has entered the sim.
[2010/04/14 8:23]  owner4 has entered the sim.
[2010/04/14 8:23]  kajira has entered draw distance.
[2010/04/14 8:23]  owner5 has entered the sim.
[2010/04/14 8:23]  kajira has entered chat range.
[2010/04/14 8:23]  kajira: and who be you?
[2010/04/14 8:24]  kajira [drawsheath slingshot]
[2010/04/14 8:24]  Franziskus Ninetails hestitates and sighs, considering that it's senseless to ask a thief to give back stolen good. But anyways he continues writing...
[2010/04/14 8:24]  kajira grabs her slingshot at the unknown man and scowls at him
[2010/04/14 8:24]  Franziskus Ninetails: gasps
[2010/04/14 8:24]  Franziskus Ninetails: By the Priest Kings! GIRL!!!!
[2010/04/14 8:24]  kajira rolls her eyes... "yes ?"
[2010/04/14 8:24]  Franziskus Ninetails: you almost caused me a heart-attack!
[2010/04/14 8:25]  kajira chuckles... "and?"
[2010/04/14 8:25]  owner1 shouts: what's going on out there' oi am having breakfast!
[2010/04/14 8:25]  kajira: oh the ramberry muffins are devine Master! this one made them fresh! *she shouts back*
[2010/04/14 8:25]  Franziskus Ninetails just span around and leans against the door, catching for breath
[2010/04/14 8:25]  owner1 shouts: thanks hun, i am having them!
[2010/04/14 8:26]  kajira grabs a stone and pulls her slingshot back... "and why should this one not shoot you... you broke the door!"
[2010/04/14 8:26]  owner5 has entered chat range.
[2010/04/14 8:26]  Franziskus Ninetails: how will you know`?
[2010/04/14 8:26]  kajira: all of us have keys... and you are the only one who does not....
[2010/04/14 8:26]  kajira: this one has not been gone... that long Master
[2010/04/14 8:26]  Franziskus Ninetails: ((haha - okay.... I get the picture... - Bye, XY... you can ban me from here))

Yes, I got the picture and it was not a good one. In Gor - no matter how your own interpretation of the books is - that girl would be dead right now. But she might be the better fighter OOC (which is no art: I'm terrible lagging in battles OOC and IC I'm a magistrate, a sub-caste of the scribes, a man of word, law, wisdom and knowledge... NOT a man of violence and sword) and she had support from her whole group, so she behaved like that just because she COULD. And I'm tired of that! (Not to speak about the bad RP, that she couldn't know, that it was me who picked the doors and that she couldn't just tp right into the castle-yard!) I'm tired of those outlaw-slaves and any other slaves who think they have to challenge every Free and that they can be arrogant, bratty, bigmouthed and respectless, because they are protected by their Masters and their group or self-assure of their own fighting-skills. From now on I will just ignore them. And if necessary I will TP out and call every RP invalid with people who don't know their role.