5 - Mapmaking Class

Jarvis Quan
Rayne Quellar
Roi Bingyi
VolmarGoth Vollmar
Amir Seoung
Rockin Babii

Jarvis Quan: Tonight's class is on mapmakers and geographers in Gor.
[17:58]  Jarvis Quan: I'm going to do this is two steps.
Jarvis Quan: First I'm going to talk about their role in Gor according to the books as I understand it.
Jarvis Quan: If any of you know better please don't be polite. Leap in a correct me.
Jarvis Quan: Now in today's world, if you want a map of the city, you can pull into any gas station and buy one.
Jarvis Quan: If you want to know the population of a country, top imports exports things like that you can easily get such information off the internet or from a public library (speaking of real life on earth of course.)
Jarvis Quan: There was a time on Earth when this was not the case.
Jarvis Quan: Maps and guides were kept secret.
Jarvis Quan: For example every ship sailing the seas had a navigator.
Jarvis Quan: The navigator had a "rutter" and graduated from a recognised school of navigators
Jarvis Quan: a "rutter" represented the places the navigator been and how to get from point a to point b and the "rutter" was a very carefully and closely guarded secret.
Jarvis Quan: Many navigators kept two rutters.
Jarvis Quan: One was placed to be easy to find but was deliberately full off all kinds of errors so if you stole it and used it, you're end up on a reef.
Jarvis Quan: The "real" one was kept in an extra special safe place and guarded with life of the navigator.
jarvis Quan: The same was often true of non sea maps
Jarvis Quan: Routes to from cities were closely guarded secrets kept by merchants and warriors, secret paths were common, passages in and out of cities were also common but kept secret except for the main gates in and out.
Jarvis Quan: The reasons are obvious if we step out of hte modenr well ordered open world of Earth today and back into an era that required warfare and hand to hand combat survive.
 Jarvis Quan: The home advnatage in a batlle was an immense one.
Jarvis Quan: The local warriors and ctiizens knew there way around
their city because they lived it each day.
 Jarvis Quan: So if a stranger came to in attack, they could often melt away down side streets or warriors come out of nowhere
Jarvis Quan: wthout warning from some unexpected turn.
Jarvis Quan: There were no street signs, no neat grids to follow.
Jarvis Quan: If you have ever visited an ancient city you will see this today.
Jarvis Quan: So now back to Gor.
Jarvis Quan: What do we know?
Jarvis Quan: There is this quote
Jarvis Quan: It is illegal in many cities, incidentally, to take maps of the city out of the city. More than one fellow, too, has put himself in the quarries or on the bench of a galley for having been caught with such a map in his possession.
[Magicians of Gor - 388]
 Jarvis Quan: So, it would seem that Goreans have the attitudes about maps that were common on Earth before our day.
Jarvis Quan: We know one subcaste of scribes was the mapmaker and one subcaste was a geographer.
Jarvis Quan: From the descriptions, especially from "Exploers of Gor" a geographer was not really what we think of today as a geographer but rather much more like an explorer or navigator of ancient earth.
 Jarvis Quan: It was his job to keep careful notes and details of where some group had been, what local customs were.
Jarvis Quan: The map maker likely traveled with him and worked with him
Jarvis Quan: he likely made the details maps.
Jarvis Quan: Mapmakers alos likely traveled with warriors carrying the maps the warriors needed, consulting with the leadership of the warrior group, and making new maps wheenver they ventured into new territory.
Jarvis Quan: It is my opinion that a mapmaker and geogrpaher would likely be scribes somewhere more akin to warriors that to most other scribes.
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: interesting!
Jarvis Quan: MOst likely, be neccessity they have experience handling weapons, were used to traveling in rough conditions and were adventurers in their own right.
 Jarvis Quan: Think of an earth fellow like Cartier, Columbus, Stanley
Jarvis Quan: That type and not the fellow sitting in an office teaching high school kids.
 Jarvis Quan: Much of Gor was completely unknown and geographers and map makers the ones who were actively working to fill in the blanks on the maps.
Jarvis Quan: But mostly I expect they were jealous of their knowledge.
Jarvis Quan: The greatest of these seem to have been Shaba from Explorers. Jarvis Quan: Much of Gor was completely unknown and geographers and map makers the ones who were actively working to fill in the blanks on the maps.
Jarvis Quan: But mostly I expect they were jealous of their knowledge.
Jarvis Quan: The greatest of these seem to have been Shaba from Explorers. Jarvis Quan: Much of Gor was completely unknown and geographers and map makers the ones who were actively working to fill in the blanks on the maps.
 Jarvis Quan: But mostly I expect they were jealous of their knowledge.
Jarvis Quan: The greatest of these seem to have been Shaba from Explorers.
Jarvis Quan: He was exceptional in that he gathered all kind of information about the tropical areas, died doing it, and left a legacy for all Gor.
Jarvis Quan: On his death he arranged for Tarl to be certain all his scrolls maps and information were delieverd to the Sardar fairs, copies and distributed so all Gor could benefit from them.
 Jarvis Quan: If you read the account, this was astonishing, wonderful, strange and greeted with wild joy by the scribes interested in such things.
Jarvis Quan: So I think he was not the norm.
Jarvis Quan: So that is my opinion of what the geographers and mapmakers of Gor likely were.
Jarvis Quan: Does anyone have any comments or questions?
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: haha.. makes sense.. I am a Gergrapher.. and I am more of a all purpose kind of person good with weapons when needed that is into travel alot by different means.. boat, ship, tarn,
Jarvis Quan: right
Jarvis Quan: a think a geogrpaher would be an all purpose guy VolmarrGoth Vollmar: even like to do a bit of everything
Jarvis Quan: probably spoke more thsan one language
Rayne Queller: so then was Tarl a blue caste at heart?
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: well I am from Torvaldsland so I know that dislect well
Jarvis Quan: laughing
Jarvis Quan: Tarl was a sort of everyman hero
Jarvis Quan: SO yes he had some geographer at heart
Rockin Babii: But a Warrior first and formost.
Jarvis Quan: I wold agree with that statement.
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: I've kind of always considered myself a Explorer Scribe... aka Geographer
Rayne Queller: me thinks perhapse he wrote himself a bigger part in his adventures that he truely played
Jarvis Quan: Well in Vonda when Cadogan Trenchard and Reina Drake were making the laws for the city, this was included
Jarvis Quan: 3.1.3.5
Maps of the City.
Maps of the city are to be kept by authorized Scribes and Warriors only. Such authorizations may be obtained from the Administrator, the High Council, the Praetor or the head of the caste of Scribes. Any man or woman found in possession of a map of the city without such authorization is subject to arrest and the charged with treason.
Seismic Streeter is Online
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: I imagine also most Geographers tend to be a more more blunt and rough and tumble sorts.. kind of laid back and able to adopt to many kinds of places
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: Geographers have authorization eh?
Jarvis Quan: I think so. Shaba fit right on with the society in the equitorial region.
 Jarvis Quan: So our builder approached me and asked that she make a nice map of Vonda so people could arrvie and easily find their way around and my reaction was "Ulp! Not good."
Jarvis Quan: I read her that law and she agreed she wouldn't.
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: I saw one before! but it was not accurate!
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: of Vonda that is.. at the gates
Rayne Queller: one would think it common sense not to give out maps of the city
Jarvis Quan: Well it was an early draft that got changed.
Jarvis Quan: But if we think like Earth men why not?
Jarvis Quan: Now let's go entirely OOC and talk about how practically to make a map.
 Rayne Queller: I am glad I do not know earth men then, they sound like nerak
Jarvis Quan: slaves
Jarvis Quan: a planet of slaves
Amir Seoung rises. "My apologies. I must leave early. I wish you all well, Scribes."
Rayne Queller: we can't use ascii, unless we specify the window size
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: wish you well Sir
Rockin Babii: Be well
Jarvis Quan: I wish you well
Roi Bingyi: Be Well, Sir
Rayne Queller: safe paths sir
Jarvis Quan: Now practical map making OOC.
Jarvis Quan: please hit your map button.
Jarvis Quan: not minimap, map
Jarvis Quan: If you giv the map time to rez and the Kurr aren't running loose in the server agains
Jarvis Quan: You get a fairly good ariel view of the sim.
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: yes
Jarvis Quan: I'm not sure what the height is but I do see things normally found at 600m or more are not in the view, things like OOC markets and dance floors.
Jarvis Quan: I'm not sure what the height is but I do see things normally found at 600m or more are not in the view, things like OOC markets and dance floors.
Jarvis Quan: Now you can use a screen shot command, which will be uniqie to your computer, to catch that image.
ChippyAnn Kamm: does anyone have control over what is seen in maps?
Jarvis Quan: It can be converted then into a JPEG
Jarvis Quan: I think that only the Lindens do.
ChippyAnn Kamm: nods
Jarvis Quan: I know on the mainland people sometimes make words like doors or put special images in. Everyone put Nessus in the map search feature and you can see an example of this.
Rayne Queller: any idea how to rotate the camera with gnome desktop, holding ctl switches destops
Jarvis Quan: No
Jarvis Quan: Now when Nessus rezs what do you see?
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: star of david.. texas
Jarvis Quan: Take a wild guess what's in Nessu and Gluphisia?
 VolmarrGoth Vollmar: Jewish people and Texans?
Rockin Babii: hahahaha
Jarvis Quan: Gluphisis ias a residential sim done in small farmlands like texas and nessus has the Sl Synagogue in it.
 arvis Quan: Once you have the image saved using a csreen shot you can then use any common drawing program such as Powerpoint or Illustrator or Photoshop to make your map.
Jarvis Quan: Start wit the outline image and add words, legends whatever you need.
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: if you make a map of another city will they try to hunt you down and kill you?
Jarvis Quan: If they catch you! Save that into a JPEG, upload as a texture and voila map.
Jarvis Quan: Another way is to actually make a 3d version of the map.
Jarvis Quan: Using prims.
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: so keep all the maps you make top secret except for giving them to who really needs them in your own city?
Jarvis Quan: If you are Gorean yes.
Jarvis Quan: My persona preference is Powerpoint for maps because it's faily idiot proof.
Jarvis Quan: I am an idiot about most programs.
Rockin Babii jots that down
Jarvis Quan: If you're lucky and have a photoshop whizz like we used to have here in Olni you can get that person to do it for you.
Jarvis Quan: Do you recall the wonderful map we had made by Develish Etzel. Lady Ann?
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: still need the Geographer to go there to tell the Mapmaker what each building is!
arvis Quan: laughs maybe yes
Jarvis Quan: So that's what I wanted to cover tonight. Any more comments or suggestions before we close?
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: seems like both these jobs are ones better for men as women find it less safe to travel
Rockin Babii laughs softly thinking every thing is better for men,,, this is Gor
Jarvis Quan: I can't see a Free Woman as either.
Rayne Queller: all is well sir, I'll keep the scrolls safe and in order, process new information
Rayne Queller: depends sir,
Jarvis Quan: An unusual woman maybe.
Rayne Queller: if the free woman is teh map maker, thieves looking to steal the maps ,will not check her garments
Rayne Queller: what does a woman have that men might want?
VolmarrGoth Vollmar: hahaha.. I would!
Rockin Babii: She would have to hire an army of mercenaries to travel about,,, and who would protect her from them
[18:40]  Rayne Queller: then sir is not a sneak thief
end