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Many people have many different ideas as to what Gor is actually all about. Gor is a fantasy world, also known as Counter-Earth, because it is supposed to spin on an orbit that's exactly opposite to the Earth, thus hiding it from us at all times as it sits on the other side of the Sun. The books were written by John Norman, and at the time of this writing, there are 26 of them, some of which are still in print. While they are fantasy novels, the Chronicles of Gor espouse certain philosophies which speak to our inner natures, and for many people, are very natural. These are the things that we're going to look at here.

Gor is about living life to its fullest. That means you don't just read about it, watch it on television, or pretend to do it over a computer. Gor is about living, first hand, experiencing life and immersing in it. In the books, the characters do this constantly, aware of such minute things in their environment as the quality of the air around them, and the difference in gravity between Earth, and Gor.

Gor is about being who and what you are. In the books, those who pretend to be other than who they are, are always discovered in the end, and are the worse for it. It is about finding yourself, no matter what it takes, and then being the best you can be at who and what you are.

Gor is about the exaltation of gender. On Gor it is said, there are two genders, they are not the same. Earth tries to minimize the differences between gender; Gor maximizes them: and not just the physical differences but the mental, emotional, and spiritual differences as well. Men are men, women are women, and one should never confuse the two. A man treats a woman as a woman, and vice versa, giving the respect due if they are both Free, or treating her as a slave, if that is what she is.

On Gor, there is that one primary distinction: that between Free People and kajira, or slaves. In on-line Gor, a Free Person has a capitalized nick, and a slave has no capitalized letters in their nick. A Free Person may command, a slave will obey. This is never to be confused or forgotten.

In the end, you yourself will have to decide what Gor is about for you.

Gor bears little relation to the BDSM groups whence so many come to the Gorean venue. BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism) is an Earth lifestyle based on Power Exchange and pursuit of pleasure, while Gor is an lifestyle based on a philosophy of self-actualization, and for many on the ideals of Honor and Self-discipline. Though Goreans may or may not tie other people up, discipline them, and perhaps severly physically punish them, it certainly has nothing to do with sadism or masochism, per se.

Gor is fully aware that most men are Dominant, and most women are submissive, and not only permits these relationships to occur, but insists on it when they are correct and right for the parties involved. On Gor, sadism and masochism are considered perversions, and are very rare. It should be noted that the later books it is quite common to see wanton acts of ruelty directed at the slaves; however, this is presented in a negative, or non-standard light.

Many people come to Gor from BDSM, having glimpsed within BDSM the aspects which Gor exemplifies, discovering that Gor was what they truly desired all along.

On the computer you've discovered on-line Gor, and on-line Gor is a computer-specific virtual reality, only existing on the computer. Many of the things you will find and learn in on-line Gor are very relevant for personal growth, as well as training for being able to practice the Gorean Ways in real life. Bear in mind, of course, that many of the conventions that you'll find in on-line Gor are not from the books, or even practical in real life. They are computer conventions for the medium that we are using, to make things work well over a computer. Take the time to think about the things you do in on-line Gor, and determine which things are real and possible in real life, and which are not. Ask questions, if you are unclear on the matter.

Always remember that true Gor is found in a book. All the knowledge about Gor that you will come across which is fantasy-novel specific, is precisely that: just things from a fantasy novel, bearing little relation to real life. While it's all well and good to know the difference between paga and sul-paga (and many Masters will insist that you know this difference), Earth has no paga or sul-paga. In the end, the things which can only be found in trueGor are just gamer props. On the other hand, many of those same things are very handy training tools, and will be used as such in both on-line Gor and in real life. Remember not to over-do it, and remember the venue of Gor that you are working in and with. Don't let it catch you up in foolishness that makes no sense whatsoever. When in doubt, ask a trusted Master, or better, a number of them, to get advice. [And always remember that there was NO way Norman could have covered EVERY facet of Gorean life. He wrote about the things that furthered his story lines and there are HUGE chunks missing in his narratives. As an example, children are discussed, in general, but there is no specific mention of how they are raised, schools, etc.]

In the BDSM venue there are Doms and Dommes, which refer to a male and female "Top", in relation to a "bottom" or "sub". The difference between a Dom and a Master is profound and absolute. A Dom only appears to be in control of a situation, in reality he is not. The BDSM venue uses "safe-words" by which the sub (submissive) may indicate that what the Dom is doing is unacceptable, hurting, or just simply something that the sub does not wish to do. In Gor, there are no safe-words. The Master is truly in charge, in all particulars. The Master owns the slave, the Master makes the decisions, the Master commands, and the slave obeys. There is a vast difference here in the level of power which a Master wields, versus a Dom, and so there is a commensurate level of responsibility that a Master has, which a Dom does not. A Dom is only pretending to be in control, to satisfy sexual appetite, while a Master actually is in control, satisfying not on sexual appetite but emotional and spiritual needs as well.

A Master owns the entire kajira, not just her time in bed. He owns her body, her mind, her emotions, her very soul, and yes, even her thoughts. His ownership is total and absolute, she belongs to him. Likewise, his responsibility is absolute, and it is critical that the Master be both honorable, and intelligent. A stupid man cannot be a proper Master to kajira, he would not understand the fullness of his responsibility along with the power. The kajira's very life is in the hands of the Master.

This is also why you will see, from time to time, a seemingly amazing amount of contempt from Gorean Masters for BDSM Doms. This is because the Doms pretend to the control and power and responsibility of the Master, yet they are just puppets of the submissive, who actually has the last word.

The Gorean Master is the real thing, accept no substitutes.

A kajira is a slave, and yet, a very special sort of slave, and not to be confused with the usual understandings of what a slave is. A normal slave has no choice, makes no decisions -- their likes or dislikes, opinions and whatnot, are meaningless because they have none which have not been given to them. Their love is worthless, because they have no choice in what they do or whom they love. They do as commanded, nothing more and nothing less. A kajira is also a slave, but a kajira is a slave by choice, and therein lies all the difference. A kajira loves deeply and fully, not only as commanded but because it is so absolutely a part of her. The essence of a kajira is devotion, nothing less is worthy of her, nothing less is acceptable to the Master. The kajira makes one choice, she may choose who her Master is. After that, the choices are his to make, it is well if the kajira chooses wisely. Her will becomes the will of the Master, his whims become her ardent desires. She is obedient in all things, and strives to always be pleasing to him. He in his turn, owns her, provides for her, ensures that she is the best that she can be, teaches her and upholds her, fulfills her need for her slavery even as she fulfills his Mastery.

For this, We're going to direct your attention to a quote from the Scrolls, the Chronicles of Gor, John Norman explains this well.

24:213   Ritual is important. It is fulfilling and meaningful. It is beautiful. It is symbolic, mnemonic, and instructive. It establishes protocols. It expresses, defines, and clarifies conditions. It is essential to, and ingredient within, civilization. Similarly, do not overlook the significance and value of symbolism.

In Gor, you will often encounter things which are done as a ritual, or in a ceremonial fashion. Don't disregard these things. Instead, seek to find their meanings, and then when you perform them yourself, bear in mind what the ritual means, each step along the way. Each step should have a purpose, because otherwise it is meaningless and truly a waste of everyone's time.

When in Gor, it is appropriate for everyone, Free and slave alike, to be courteous when dealing with one's peers and those below you. This cannot be overstated. Courtesy gives rise to basic respect, and as you respect others, so you in turn will be respected. Basic courtesy goes a very long way in Gor, whatever venue of Gor you happen to be in. [As My ex-FC's grandmother was found of saying: "politeness is the grease that permits the free working of society."]

A number of on-line Gorean standards of behavior between Free and slave are to be covered at this time. First, when addressing a Free Person, always capitalize his/her nick, even as you use lower-case for the nicks of slaves. A Master tends to get a bit irritated if he sees a kajira addressing him with a lower-case nick, as though he were a slave. When greeting a Free Person, if you are also a Free Person, always use the greeting, "Tal". This is a Gorean address of greeting, similar to the Italian "ciao", it is appropriate for both greeting or wishing one farewell. If you are a slave, always use "greetings" instead of "Tal". [Note: There are some places, Turia for instance, that prefer slaves to use "Tal"; this is not incorrect, but a matter of choice. We choose to have the kajirae use "greetings".]

And finally, if you are a Free Person, it is appropriate to refer to another Free Person as "Sir" or "Lady". If you are a slave, then you should be referring to the Free Person as "Master", or "Mistress".

In sum:

Free Person -> Free Person	Tal, Sir or Lady
Free Person -> Kajir	greetings
Kajir -> Free Person	greetings Master/Mistress
Kajir -> Kajir	greetings

Likewise, whenever a kajira speaks to a Free Person, always use the proper form of address in every sentence. Thus, respond with "Yes Master" or "No Mistress", not simply "Yes" or "No", and never merely nod!

When a kajira is serving or speaking with a given Master or Mistress, it is expected that she focus completely on that Free Person. In Oryx' words, "the One you are serving is your entire universe." That means that she cannot be in other channels, when on-line, and it means that she does not even recognize that other people are speaking to her, or about her. Her attention on the Master or Mistress is absolute. She may beg permission to greet or respond, but even that shows the Master that she is not giving him her undivided attention, and that her devotion is less than it should be.

In on-line Gor, there are many who will find the kajira of tLi [or any well-trained girl/boy] to be very desirable, so much so that they will decide to take them in an improper fashion. The reason for this is simple: the kajira that are trained by a channel which has devoted years and pages on pages of webtext to training kajirae are, in fact, very desirable! They are professionally trained and nurtured to be the best that they can be, and the Master has not had to do any work at all in order to obtain a kajira who has been trained in all the aspects of being a Gorean kajira.

However, most kajirae who have taken a channel collar have done so with the understanding that they are making a commitment to that channel. Even as the kajirae are given the benefit of that channel's training and care and protection, the kajira should be giving something back to that channel in the form of being there, of serving and be pleasing, and consequently, enhancing that channel's atmosphere and reputation. Often, even though they have not completed that commitment, someone may decide to try and "steal them away" regardless. This is done by attempting to get the kajira to go to another channel with them, or perhaps try to catch the kajira outside of the channel before they enter, or even to send private messages to the kajira from outside of the channel, to convince the kajira to leave.

Understand that anyone who would do such a thing lacks honor themselves. The right thing to do would be to discuss the matter with the Staff of that channel, so that they can see for themselves if the person is at least sincere and has the best interests of the kajira at heart. If the person is serious and sincere, there is no difficulty with the matter, so long as the kajira in question also desires to take that person's collar. If not, the Staff can stand as a buffer, sending the person to look elsewhere for a kajira appropriate to them. If all is well and the kajira desires the collar of the inquiring Master, as time progresses the kajira can be marked as being held in trust for that Master, who is welcome to come into the channel and work with the kajira directly and often.

If a kajira suspects that someone is attempting to poach them, the proper thing to do is to inform the Staff, and the other slaves of the channel. If possible, have a log saved of the event, so that there can be no question of what happened. It may not be a poaching attempt, but it is better safe than sorry. A kajira who ends up in the hands of a dishonorable Free Person will one day find themselves hurt. How can one who is dishonorable be expected to treat anyone at all well when they are unable to be trustworthy? The chances of that can easily be reduced by simply keeping the Staff informed.

Why do you wear a collar? Why bother with it at all? In Gor, there are eight common purposes to a collar, each one is valid, and many have additional reasons to place a kajira in a collar. However, these are the reasons which occur to most if not all, and the reasons why the kajirae of tLi always wear their collar.

From the Scrolls (13:77  ):

1. Visibly designates a girl as slave
2. Impresses a girl's slavery upon her, makes her more aware of her slavery
3. Identifies her Master, Mistress, or Channel ownership
4. Makes it easier to leash her
5. Makes it easier to put her in various ties/restraints

Other reasons


6. Because it is beautiful
7. Because it pleases her Owner to do so
8. Shows that by her every word and deed, she represents tLi to others.

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