Dear Sirs, very impressed by your site and The Gorean Voice...i would consider myself as a recent convert to the world and the way of life of a Gorean... although, its concepts, philosophies and beliefs mirror my own...and remarkably so...

i am an unreconstructed southerner (read: confederate) and grew up in the traditions and manners of the South...respect, chivalry, duty and Honor were and remain it's highest and most respected virtues...our whole country was based on a man's honor and his willingness to take up the sword if his possessions (or acquisition of property including but not limited to slaves...), his faith, his nation or his family was impugned or outrightly threatened by anyone...that's why our national and battle flag was/and is still based on the cross of St. Andrew...(those who misuse our banner in the name of hate, are ignorant, foolish and despised!) i hope you can appreciate where i am coming from on this ...

the Gorean way has a very strong and extremely positive attraction to me and i want to be a part of it...adding my part to make it better by learning and living its traditions and values...

i have been doing quite a bit of research, including but not limited to reading Norman's books and utilizing the myriad of internet resourses...now i need to ask for help, i hope that you can provide the answers or at least point me in the right direction...i need guidance in the choice of a name and a choice of the proper caste to join...also and perhaps the most valuable thing you could provide is a forum where i could grow as the Master i intend to be...where should i look...is there a site to join to be entered on the citizen rolls of Gor. i want to proceed in the proper manner and grow in knowledge/understanding of Gor...

i ask for your help and guidance in this quest.

I am Sincerely yours,

John (a seeking Master...)

Tal John,

Thank you for the kind words about THE GOREAN VOICE, the dedicated and sorely under-compensated staff here truly do appreciate them. ;0)

You ask what name you should use as a Gorean and what caste you should be? Those kinds of questions are easy. You can pick a name that means something to you - it could even be your own name. My name is Bear, it is the name I am known by on and offline. It never occurred to me to call myself anything but. If you do pick a pseudonym, The only general rule is to not be insulting with it, or lame (ie. SuperDuperGoreanMaster is not a name that will earn you much credit in our community). Keep it simple, and make it mean something to you.

As for caste, it all depends on what you do in your life. What is your career? Are you in the armed forces or have been? You could claim the scarlet. Have you owned a retail business or worked at selling? Merchants. Perhaps you are an architect? Builders. A physician? The Green Caste is for you. The point is to not step into the trap of making a "gorean character" to interact with others online and off, for that only leads to harm and heartache.

Simply, be yourself, be true to yourself, and enjoy. ;0)

As far as a site to learn, goes, you have found them! THE GOREAN VOICE is the largest, most popular Gorean publication in existance, outside of the novels themselves. This issue has some wonderful articles on living the lifestyle. In between our publishing dates, I would suggest you peruse THE GOREAN PUBLIC BOARDS. The URL and a link is on the front page of the magazine. Finally, I run an IRC channel on aust.net called #silk&Steel (Not the tavern on DALnet that started all of online Gor, but rather a Gorean Lifestyle Discussion channel). You are welcome to stop by and chat and discuss issues of a Gorean nature with the people there.

I wish you well, John, on your path and hope that one day soon we can meet online and discuss what it means to be Gorean in this society.

Bear-

 

From: Cara <subfem@rocketmail.com>
To: Gorean_Voice@hotmail.com
Subject: Forums
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 13:43:52 -0700 (PDT)

Hello,

I wanted to write and say how much I enjoy the Gorean Voice, and in particular reading the cork board. I hope you won't consider this an inappropriate question, but would you know of any other similar places? It can be so laborious searching the internet, when much is not what I am looking for. I would like to also take this opportunity to thank you for your web site. I am sure it is enjoyed by many.

Respectfully

Cara Shaw.

And Bear- replies

Hello Cara,

Yes, there have been many such endeavors springing up as the Gorean Public Boards grew in popularity. The truth is that most of the general ones have already failed and folded and disappeared. There are some boards up that cater to specific communities on specific venues - such as AOL and such, but they deal more with issues of that community, feature Gorean "trivia" quizzes and the reprinting of song lyrics (don't ask, I have no idea), declarations of undying love and other such things. I am sure by this time you have come across some of them in your search, and hope you continue to use and enjoy the Gorean Public Board in the manner we sought to provide it - a service to the lifestyle Gorean and Gorean fan community.

Bear-

The GOREAN VOICE solicits letters to the editor on any topic of Gorean interest.
You may send letters to   Gorean_Voice@hotmail.com
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