TALZHEMIR'S BOOK OF DREAMS


In a way, when a furre first arrives 
in your Dream, it's like they are trying 
to solve a puzzle.  The puzzle they are
trying to solve is this:  "Where are the 
other furres?"  Whether or not a stranger 
stays depends strongly on how possible
they think it is to find others, or to
guess where they would go if they did
arrive.

"Where are the other furres?!"

Their eyes will be on the walkabout screen,
not the words of the Entrytext.  They DON'T
want to bump signs and read them to figure
it out, and if you make them do that, they
may even feel like their time was needlessly
wasted.  The lack of a clear idea of where
to go is highly unpleasant.

The first question in the arriving furre's
mind is "Where are the other furres?"  Then,
if they don't have a strong idea of an answer,
imparted by one pathway being noticeably 
"better" than the rest, the second question
in their mind is most likely to be... 
"DAMMIT. WHERE ARE THE OTHER FURRES?!"

This is more important than having a beautiful 
interface Patch, or cool portraits, or 
nifty games that you can play, or a good set
of rules, or a Dream-associated web page.

Unless your Dream already has at least a
hundred furres in it, new arrivals consider
their time too precious to stay and search.









This book is not a tutorial in DragonSpeak.  Rather, it talks about
the underlying theory of Dreams.  How do they work; what
mathematical concepts do they embody; what makes a Dream
more attractive.



You might recognize things you've seen or done many times 
before, but never had a name for.  Sometimes we do our 
best work alone, but most of the greatest works are the 
cooperative efforts.  To pool our knowledge, talent, and 
energy, we have to at least be speaking the same language.
This book seeks to give you the best "foundation" it can,
and to share the "esoteric language" of a Dream's
underlying mathematics.



1. THE PYRAMID OF KNOWLEDGE

"If I have seen further, it is because I have stood on 
the shoulders of giants..."     --Sir Isaac Newton


In martial arts, the teacher's goal is not to make 
others do things "their" way, or "their school's" way.  
The teacher's goal is to offer a way that happens to work.  
A master can teach you in a week what would take you months 
to discover on your own.  Not only that, but there are many 
things you would never think up on your own.  They 
represent the pooling-together of the knowledge of many 
past masters.  It might sound a bit pretentious, but the 
same is true of the Furcadian Dream Masons.


The Dream Mason draws on what has come before, 
and (we hope) seeks to build upon it, contributing.
That's the metaphor of the pyramid.



2.  THE SQUARE AND COMPASS



These are the traditional symbols of Freemasonry,
and I will borrow them here as symbols of Dreammasonry as well.

If you're an artist, especially with mechanical 
drawing, you are probably familiar with the "square", an 
L-shaped tool for drawing a right-angle.  Did you ever 
consider how the first right angle was made?



One way is to to take a straightedge and 
pen, and keep making intersecting lines until you hit 
upon one that looks pretty symmetrical.  Another (and
slightly better) way is to take a piece of paper, fold 
it in half, and then fold it again.

A third way is to take a compass and straightedge, 
make a line, make two intersecting arcs with one compass 
point on the line, then connect those points of
intersection.  This is more complicated than the 
first two methods, but it's also more sure and
accurate.  Once you do this, you can preserve the
right angle by making a square.


What good is a square?  Well, for one thing, it's needed
for making tall stone buildings.  If the stone blocks
of tall Chartres Cathedral were shaped without squares,
for instance, it would have collapsed.


In Dream Masonry, the compass stands for intellectual 
effort: the preciousness of all the ideas, the principles, 
that a group or culture can preserve.  The square stands for all 
the good those inventions do- like all the time a pre-existing
square saves anybody who needs a right angle, and buildings more
than two stories high.  The compass and square are the symbols of 
reasoning and preservation of knowledge, tools for moving towards 
perfection.

...They're also handy for drawing neat grids.
 Diamond Grid Paper 



3.  ANATOMY OF A DREAM
You're probably familiar with this material but 
I'll go over it briefly just in case.  It's best learned 
by simply using it, anyways.  Please bear with me.

A Dream is made up of numerous files, such as its 
Patch .FSH files, but only two are necessary:  the .MAP 
and the .DS.  (Information about Patches can be found 
 here 

3.1  THE .MAP FILE: TWO GRIDS

The .MAP file contains types and locations of 
all the floor tiles, all the walls, and all the objects.  
The current maximum size of a Dream is 200 X 208.

The Furcadian diamond grid draws on the principle 
of 17th century French philosopher and mathematician 
Rene Descartes.  As anyone past 7th grade should 
probably know, two-dimensional locations are annotated 
as (x,y).

In the "Cartesian
coordinate system, the x numbers 
grow larger as you move away from the left edge, and 
the y numbers grow larger as you move up from the bottom 
edge.  In the Furcadian system, y grows larger as you 
move away from the *top* edge.

The Furcadian numbering is also a little eccentric:  
x's increase normally from left to right, but y's sort
of zig-zag between two adjacent vertical files of diamonds.

Between every two diamond-shaped tiles is a possible 
location for a wall.  Walls and tiles *can* share coordinates.  (60,16)  


4  THE .DS FILE: THE WORDS

(Cause) "When the Moon is in the seventh house
 (Cond.) And Jupiter aligns with Mars
 (Effect) Then peace will guide the planets
 (Effect) And love will steer the stars..."
-Age of Aquarius, from "Hair" the musical

DragonSpeak is a "scripting language".  It can be edited
and viewed with an ordinary text editor, so long as it 
is saved as an ordinary .TXT type file.  (.DOC and 
others insert invisible characters, which will mess 
your DragonSpeak up.)  A .DS script has to have the 
same name as its associated .MAP file.  

Like other computer languages, DragonSpeak is 
made up of specific commands ("Lines"), and syntax.  
What makes DragonSpeak special is that the lines 
contain comments in English, which makes coding as 
easy as cutting and pasting the lines, and filling 
in the occasional blanks with numbers of objects or
floors.


4.1 Lines of DragonSpeak

The commands of DragonSpeak are the familiar 
lines beginning (0:9), and so on.  DragonSpeak in its 
minimalized form is only parentheses, colons, and 
numerals.  The words are only there to save humans 
from having to memorize what they do.


(0:#) Causes (also known as Triggers)
   These begin with "When..."

(1:#) Additional Conditions
   These begin with  "and..."

(2:0) (Felorin only knows)

(3:#) Areas
   These refer to locations, such as "everywhere", 
   "at position (#,#)", and locations relative to 
   the Triggering Furre.

(4:#) Filters
   These are the "global" conditions, such as 
   "only where the floor is type #".

(5:#) Effects
   These are all the things DragonSpeak can 
   actually *do*, for example, "place Object #".


The syntax of DragonSpeak is fairly easy to 
grasp, too.  Keeping the following rules in mind, if
it makes sense in plain English, then the script 
will do what it seems like it should do.

  1. A single Trigger can have multiple Conditions, 
         Filters, and Effects.
  2. All Conditions must be satisfied to provoke any later Effects.
  3. Effects limited by an Area are executed separately.  
        (Indentation is very helpful for understanding 
        "groupings" of areas and effects at a glance.  

     For example, the following will give you one 
Happy King Richard, and one Pit With Plank, each in 
their respective place.

==============================

   (0:7) When somebody moves into position (72,41),
   (1:1013) and position (72,42) is object type 483, RED HERRING
   (1:1013) and position (72,41) is object type 161, BLUE SNIPE
	(3:2) at position (72,42) on the map,
           (5:4) place object type 484. HAPPY KING RICHARD
	(3:2) at position (72,40) on the map,
           (5:6) swap object types 161 and 162. 
                          IMPASSABLE PIT   PIT WITH PLANK

==============================


4.2 Specifications for .DS Files

A .DS file can be up to 8000 "lines" long.  A 
"line" here means  every (#:#), regardless of its function
as trigger, filter, event, etc.  It must begin with the 
following line:
DSPK V01.10 Furcadia

The "actively read" part ends with the following:
*Endtriggers* 9999 *Endtriggers*

You're free to put numbers in the text after this line.

     *Warning*  Never never never put a number in your 
     .DS file unless it is beyond the Endtriggers line

     *Warning*  As of this writing, the SAVE OPTIMIZED 
    function of Visual DS will corrupt the file by not 
    leaving in the parentheses correctly.  Do not use it.

     *Note*  At the time of this writing, DS does not 
     have Effects that are text strings.  As this is so 
     obviously useful, it's a fairly high priority.



5. The DragonSpeak "Control Structure"

A .DS file is a "control structure".  The main 
server executes the lines very rapidly, in order, 
from top to bottom, over-and-over-and-over-and-over 
again.  

DragonSpeak was designed so that a user new to
coding would be very likely to accomplish something, 
and very unlikely to hit a snare such as a "loop trap".

The trade-off was that the "traditional" 
programming structures like "for/next" don't directly 
exist.  This also means that "branching" (like 
"if/then/else") is more awkward to achieve.

Comments are as useful in DragonSpeak as
they are in C++ or other computer langauges.  I 
put comments between /* and */ because this is 
also what many other languages happen to use.  
Use the one that you are most comfortable with, 
for your headers.

When you upload a Dream, the words are not 
transmitted.  So, unless your editor tells you 
it is pressed for space, there's no point to 
editing out the words.  By removing the words, 
you run the risk of confusing yourself later.

Try to give your places interesting names 
right away; don't expect yourself to come back 
to name it later.  Names like "hallway five" or 
"red hallway" aren't that great.  If that 
hallway doesn't have something special to it, 
consider putting something unique there so it 
can be "red hallway with fountain".

If you *do* think of a better name, you 
can always put it in later but *you* need a 
pretty interesting name for it *now*.  This is 
especially important if someone else is going 
to be working with you on the Dream.

At the end of a line, always write the name 
of an object in all-caps (for example, RED PILLOW)  
after you have filled out its object number.  
This pays off later if something goes wrong, or 
if you're doing something complicated, or if 
someone else wants to learn from your .DS.

Use all capitals for "blocks" of code.  Take
the time to indent them and insert carriage 
returns for neatness.  Separate blocks with 
a blank line for neatness.

HINT: Use rows of characters for separators.  With 
really complex DragonSpeak, use *all different* 
characters at different places, so they are sort 
of landmarks.  If it's REALLY complicated you can 
use rows of capital letters.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC



6. Conventions of "Structured" DragonSpeak

There are different kinds of blocks of code.  
Here are some categories, and the order in which 
they should be organized.  This won't affect the 
running speed of the Dream, as the server does 
its own reorganization for optimizing after you 
upload it, it's for ease of reading, and knowing 
where to check if you want to change it later.


I. Global Triggers

Generally we put the "global" DragonSpeak 
at the top.  These are the things that affect 
the whole Dream all the time, no matter where 
one is in the Dream.  Ambient music, timers 
that start up when the Dream starts, and 
animation by changing Objects are all examples 
of global DS.  (Being a logical sort, you 
probably did this without needing to be told.)


II. Entry Triggers

     These are the (0:9) type Triggers.


III. Geography Triggers

These are Triggers that let you go from one 
part of the Dream to another.  As a convention, put
the ENTRANCE DS first and the EXIT DS immediately 
after.


IV. Specialized Blocks of Code

Although the "global" Triggers go at the top, 
long blocks of "global" code, relating to a game, 
an activity, or similarly complicated structure 
can be placed here.


V.  Frequently Changed Triggers

Sometimes a Mason likes to occasionally change 
things around.  My Bookstore Dream gets changed 
seasonally.  I have code for a Christmas tree, 
and code for carving a pumpkin. 

VI. "Dormant" Code and Notes (Beyond *Endtriggers*)

When not in use, I delete the objects from 
the .MAP (but not the Patch) and move the code to 
beyond the *endtriggers* line.
 
I also store multiple versions of the entrytext here.




7.  Template Triggers in Visual DS

Template Triggers in Visual DS are "macros": 
blocks of code that you use fairly often.  Your 
Template Triggers are a personal collection of 
tools that you build up over time.  They seem 
awkward at first, but if you go out of your way
to set them up, it might really pay off later.

One Template Trigger that I recommend for 
all Masons is, very simply, custom separator lines.

   ---,-'-<@   ---,-'-<@   ---,-'-<@   ---,-'-<@  
   (longstemmed roses)

An unexpected use for Template Triggers 
is to store bits of code you just happen to *like*.

To make a Template Trigger, highlight the 
desired code in black, in the Project Code window.  
Click the + in the Template Triggers window.  This 
transfers the "snippet" as a Template.  Click on 
New Snippet to give it a name.  To insert a Template, 
double-click its little scroll.

     This is my most commonly used Template:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    ENTER
    (0:7) When somebody moves into position (#,#)
    (5:8) play sound 45 to whoever set off the trigger.
    (5:14) move the triggering furre to (#,#) if there's
             nobody already there.
    EXIT
    (0:7) When somebody moves into position (#,#)
    (5:8) play sound 45 to whoever set off the trigger.
    (5:14) move the triggering furre to (#,#) if there's
             nobody already there.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    *BONUS* Here are some "recipes" by Simon Potter:
     Simon Potter's InComplete Furcadian Guide



8. Useful Terms

This section mentions some of the 
mathematics behind DragonSpeak.


"Algorithmics"

    "Algorithmics" is the study of processes.  
The stripes of a zebra and the spots of a leopard
 are pigment distribution algorithms.  The 
spiralling shape of seashells and the hexagonal 
chambers of coral are formed by calcium-accretion 
algorithms.  Algorithms can be found in the recipe 
for bread, or the rules of a card game.  
Algorithmics is a branch of mathematics that 
pervades computing and life.

     Algorithms can be formulas such as, Y=X+3 .
  If Y was 5, then X would be 8.  Individual 
algorithms are sometimes called "functions" because 
the output "is a "function of" (depends upon) 
the input.

     Algorithms themselves can be translated 
from platform to platform, so algorithmics 
transcends individual computer languages.
Computer game designers don't need to know C++,
they need to know Algorithmics.


"State Machines"

     An algorithm needs to be somehow contained, 
or recorded.  To be used, an algorithm has to be 
part of some kind of "state machine."  Your home 
computer is a very sophisticated state machine.

   A state machine has: 
   --An initial "state" or record of something stored someplace 
   --A set of possible input events 
   --A set of new "states" that may result from the input

   It can also have:
   --A set of possible actions or output events that 
      result from a new state 

     The essence of a state machine is, "Some stuff 
goes in one end, and some stuff comes out the other 
end."  State machines can be physical as well as 
electronic; Charles Babbage's famous Difference Engine 
was brass gears of different sizes instead of wires 
or microchips.

     Your genetic code of DNA is a huge collection 
of algorithms.  They get processed through the 
chaos-powered ribosome state machine, which produces 
proteins.  New proteins are pushed along in steps by 
a lever that's bumped by the jostling of molecules 
inside the cell.  That motion, "Brownian motion" 
decreases with cold, so it's vital that you maintain 
a warm body temperature.  

     The lever gets rocked back and forth in two 
distinct positions, or states.  The ribosome is 
therefore a "discrete" state machine.

     The kitchen sink is a state machine.  Its typical 
initial state is "not running".  Its inputs are 
governed by "Left Knob" and "Right Knob".  These 
control the outputs of varying temperatures and 
water pressures.  The different states form a 
continuous spectrum of possibilities, so this 
is a "continuous" state machine.

     Sometimes when you script DS, you're building 
a circuit or even a "computer within a computer".  
DragonSpeak can be used to construct virtual 
(digital or "on-computer") "state machines".

State Machines 


"Stochastic"

     Stochastic usually means "an approach based on 
probabilities", for example, stochastic analysis of 
the relationship of moose and wolf populations.

     However, "stochastic" also means "random".  
Felorin refers to the graphics-displaying process 
of the client as "purely stochastic".  It's "random" 
in the same sense as "random access memory", the 
RAM of the client computer.

     You can contrast this approach to a "dynamic" 
client, for example, one that, if you Get a pillow, 
it writes the pillow's new location to your local 
hard drive (ROM).  

     Furcadia was designed to work on a computer 
with a very very very limited processor, a 
so-called "lazy" or "dumb" terminal.  I suspect 
you could probably construct an all-text Furcadia 
client that ran on a cellular phone, for a really 
hard-core Furcadia addict.



"Linear, or Sequential, versus Parallel Processing"

     If a computer processes instructions in a 
line, a queue, it's a linear processor.  The 
running of the DragonSpeak in your Dream is a 
linear process.  It just happens to take place 
so fast that the different changes can appear 
to be happening at the same time, like the 
swirling motion of the FurreWash in New Haven.

     If many individual "agents" are processing 
at the same time, this is a "parallel" process.  
The architecture of the main maps of Furcadia, 
collectively known as the Vinca, is a sort of 
loose processor for sorting Furres out according 
to their current moods and interests.  If they 
want to be in-character, for example, they tend 
towards Imaginarium; if they want to meet new 
people they can go to New Haven.  As all the 
furres are doing it on their own, this is a 
parallel process.


"Emergent Behaviors"

     Sometimes an algorithm incidentally produces 
a recognizable pattern.  When this happens, it's
called an "emergent  behavior".

     In a flock of birds, each bird has a copy 
of that species' flocking algorithm.  When geese 
fly, they have an urge to have one goose on either 
side of them.  The rolls of air from their wings 
tends to cause them to be not too close, but not 
too far either.  That causes them to fly in a 
line.  There's no single mind telepathically  
directing them to move together, though.  It's 
just a lot of similar impulses adding up to what 
looks like unity in a parallel process and the 
big flying V is an emergent behavior.


"Variables"

     Although DragonSpeak doesn't have variables 
like other computer languages, it does have an 
ability to "check" what item is at a specific 
location.  It can also place or remove or 
change them.  The identity of the item at the 
location can be made to stand for a certain 
"state".  An area of the map can be set up for 
the placing of the "variable" objects. 

     Then again, sometimes an object in plain 
sight does double-duty as both the item itself 
and the variable.  Suppose you want a lever 
that controls whether or not a kind of tile 
is walkable.  Here's the DS for it.

   (0:7) When somebody moves into position (72,40),
	(3:2) at position (72,40) on the map,
	(5:6) swap object types 161 and 162   SWITCH GREEN AND RED LEVERS

   (0:2) When somebody moves into floor type 178, DARK GRAY DOT TILE
	(1:1013) and position (72,40) is object type 162, RED LEVER
	(5:18) Move the triggering furre back where they came from.


"Iterations"

     Many things can "drive" a DragonSpeak 
state machine.  It can be started up by dropping 
an item or bumping a lever.  It can act as if 
it were actively "powered" by an object being 
repeatedly bumped ("discrete" states) or it can 
just keep running ("continuous" states).  An 
"iteration" is one "round", one discrete 
execution of an algorithm.

     Sometimes iterations "increase" the 
effects of the initial state.  You can place 
dominos so that the first one would knock over 
two, which each knock over two more, and so 
on, in a triangle formation.  By knocking the 
first domino over, you would demonstrate the 
algorithm of powers of two, with each 
successive row of dominos as an iteration 
of the powers of two.

     Then again, iterations of an algorithm 
can "decrease" the initial effect.   The 
way digits change as we count is easily 
done as an algorithm.  When we count in 
Base 10, the 10's digit changes every time 
the 1's digit has changed 10 times, and the 
100's digit changes every time the 10's 
digit has changed 10 times.  Each place 
value changes more slowly than the one 
before.

     Sometimes you end up forming an 
algorithm in your mind to *write* a 
lengthy DS script, repeating a section 
numerous times, changing it a little 
each time.  Felorin's Bowling Dream 
(bowling.map, included in the Furcadia 
download) has a lot of this kind of 
repetition.  Being a Dream Mason 
requires patience, which I also call 
"constructive stubbornness".


"Parameters"

     Parameters are things with variable 
values or states.  For example, the 
parameters of a Furcadian Furre include 
their gender, race, vest color, boot 
color, eye color, and badge color.  In 
a Trigger, the # sign stands for a 
parameter that you're supposed to 
replace with a number.


"Permutations"

     A permutation is a possible value 
for a parameter.  Sea Blue is a possible 
permutation of furre color.

     A permutation can also mean an 
example of something with many 
parameters.  When you first log in, 
the Furcadia sends a string of characters 
to the server, communicating your furre 
avatar's colors.  Each character is a 
parameter such as fur, hair, and eyes.


"Solution Space"

     This is an abstract description of the 
sum total of all the possible permutations 
using every parameter.  A furre overwhelmed 
by the perceived size of the solution space 
of a puzzle is likely to give up.

     Mazes are easy to make in Furcadian
Dreams, but few furres actually enjoy
solving them.  That's because making them
enjoyable takes a bit of effort and
understanding.

     The main trick is to have the 
"solution space" looks small.  That might be
accomplished by putting a path around the edge so
that a furre can see right away that it
doesn't go on forever.  That's what people
like about the classical circular labyrinth
with a goal at the middle.

     Another trick is to make the branchings
more memorable.  For example, you could make
the pathways two tiles wide, and put a red
flower pot at the first T-branching.  The
the furre who discovers the left branch did
not work is able to recall the right branch
is the next one they want to take.



     In a way, when a furre first arrives 
in your Dream, it's like they are trying 
to solve a puzzle.  The puzzle they are
trying to solve is this:  "Where are the 
other furres?"  Whether or not a stranger 
stays depends strongly on how possible
they think it is to find others.

"Where are the other furres?!"





"Tokenizing" and "Compression"

     Sending information more efficiently 
can be done by using a code, by "encoding" it.  
Making the code involves analyzing typical 
data, looking for the most common sequences.  
For example, 'the ' is very common in speech.  
It could be assigned `!1' as its "token".  
The list of things to tokenize, and all the 
tokens, is referred to as a "compression 
algorithm."  The system used in Furcadia 
created by Felorin is called "DragonFire", 
and is also used by FurryMUCK's server.

     One of the best compression algorithms 
is Lempel-Ziv.  It has a good "compression 
ratio", the ratio between the sizes of 
uncompressed and compressed data.  The PKZIP 
program uses Lempel-Ziv.  Text files are 
typically half as big once run through 
Lempel-Ziv.  Some graphics file formats are 
more "compressed" than others.  If I PKZIP 
a .JPG, it typically decreases by about 
3-6%.  That's because the .JPG algorithm  
*includes* a compression stage; all .JPG's 
are somewhat compressed.  A .GIF will 
typically decrease around 27-35%.

     Sequences of repetition, such as a 
row of pixels that are all the same color, 
are usually what get tokenized in art.  
Art made by 3D rendering or scanning has 
more shading than art hand-drawn on the 
computer. Furcadia's default art, being 
largely hand-drawn, tokenizes very well.  
My hand-drawn yellow chairs are 1/3 the 
file size of my 3D rendered yellow chairs.  
If download time is a concern, use 
hand-drawn art.  For "slickness", though, 
rendered art is hard to beat.




9.  Beyond Cut-and-Paste:  Advanced Masonry


Getting a Linear Language to produce "Circular" Results:
The "Dummy" Object Principle

     In my Go (boardgame) Dream, furres 
click Use (CTRL-U) to produce black stones at their feet.  
Doing so a second time turns the black stone to white.  
Doing so a third time causes the stone to disappear again.  
This saves Go players from having to run over, pick a 
stone up, and carry it back.

     The first step is to write down the changes you 
want.    Next, make lines of DS for each change.  
Next, reverse their order.  (If I didn't reverse 
the order, then at the top, Nothing would become 
a black stone, but in the next line, immediately 
become a white stone, and I wouldn't ever have 
black stones.)

     Then, in the first and last line, I use a 
dummy object, a placeholder, to prevent the last 
line of the cycle from undoing the first one.  It 
doesn't really matter what I use because this is 
the dummy object and it doesn't actually get placed.

----------
PLACE OR REMOVE STONES
   (0:19) When somebody uses object type 0,
	(3:5) where the triggering furre (moved from/is standing at),
	(5:5) change object type 2401 to type 2.  WHITE STONE BECOMES PILLOW
	(5:5) change object type 2400 to type 2401. BLACK BECOMES WHITE STONE
	(5:5) change object type 0 to type 2400.  NOTHING BECOMES BLACK STONE
	(5:5) change object type 2 to type 0. PILLOW BECOMES NOTHING
	(5:12) play sound 27 to everyone on the map.
----------


10.  WHAT MAKES A DREAM MORE APPEALING
     "The well-crafted Dream is an expression of 
     kindness to your guests."     --Talzhemir


10.1  Something to Do

     What's interesting to those who make Dreams is
not necessarily what's interesting to most furres.
Puzzles that delight the mathematically-minded
often nauseate others.  Different people find different
activities interesting.  We can quantify two
important aspects of an activity:  process-intensity
and information-intensity.

     The information gained playing a Number 15 
puzzle where you assemble a picture, is pretty
low.  The fun of this kind of activity is "the
doing" of it.  Having an activity take too much
repetition makes it "too process-intensive".  In
general, the typical person finds doing something
more than three times, tedious.  (Contrast this to
the work of a coder, who may do the same thing
a thousand times over and over.)

     Watching a play is a more information-
intense activity.  Too much information can be
a bad thing.  Most people don't like to read
technical manuals.  (And most coders do.)

     Seeing new art is a form of information-
intensity, but a very very brief one, unless the
object has roleplaying value.  However, roleplaying
often requires a kind of "critical mass", a minimum
number of furres to keep things interesting.

     When a furres is waiting for their friends to
log on, they may be reluctant to interact socially
with others.  This is a necessary thing-- without
it, one's social circle grows too large and there
isn't enough time to maintain all those
relationships.

      After a furre has figured out, "Where are
all the other furres", they are going to be faced
with the question, "What can I do when my favorite
people aren't here?"  The Dream that offers some
kind of pastime that doesn't require longterm 
commitment will win out.  Therefore, Chinese
Checkers, Hangman, and so forth, are a good ideas.

10.12 Bots

     Bots aren't supported officially by Furcadia.
That doesn't mean we aren't aware of how much they
add to the game!  Some of the most successful
Dreams are run by those who can combine bots with
Dragonspeak.

     At the bare minimum, a Bot can keep your
Dream up and running.  If the Bot uploads the
Dream, you can give it a command which a friend
can type to get "Share" privileges.  Or you could
have a command that allows those you trust to
Eject, while not giving them full Share privileges.

     Unfortunately, botmakers who actually code
things such as databases into their bots are quite
rare, and often don't have time to make such things
for others.  Also, installing the bot and running
it is often a Dream-specific job, requiring close
communication with the Mason if the Mason is not
also a Botter.

      It's hard to compete with the Dreams that
have bot driven activities such as gambling in
Ithika and sparring in Lost Lakes.  So, despite
all the hassle, I would conclude that having at 
least one bot is well worth the effort!

      What scant information I can offer you will
be found  here. 


10.2  The Nominal Activity

     Naming the Dream can have a big effect
on the activities that take place in it.  A place
called "Dyanna's Orphanage" says alot more about
what furres might DO there, than "Dyanna's Dream".

     Many furres will try very hard to fit in with
their setting.  If it's a swimming pool,they will
pose splashing, wear trunks and bikinis.  It's not
clear what you're "supposed" to do on Acropolis, so
it's not as attractive.  Furres prefer places where
their role is clear, to places where that isn't
clear.


10.3  Depth

     Starting from the entry point, each general
decision where to go can be like a branching of the
tree of possible paths to take.  We call this "depth".

     To communicate that your Dream is worth their
continued attention, concentrate some of the 
"interestingness" up near the entrance, and keep
doling it out as they progress.  If you save your cool
monuments, activities, and so forth, as a "reward"
for having endured dullness and travelled further,
furres are likely to perceive it as you wasting their
time.

     Furres don't like Dreams with too much depth,
because they worry they're missing out on something
and they worry they will get lost.

     One way to help communicate that your Dream has
several points of interest is Directory Gates.  It's
better to label them actively (in the Patch art), not 
passively (such as a sign you must bump).  Once
again, you can show some respect for the value of 
your guests' precious time!


10.4  Eliminate Twins

     Sometimes a part of a Dream accidentally feels
like another part of the Dream.  The brain stores
mental map info by "tokenizing".  One job a Mason
does is to be aware of identical tokens ("twins") and
try to eliminate them.

     Some details are so dominant that they will
not be corrected by "differencing" using other aspects.
Path configurations tend to dominate over walls and
doors, which in turn dominate over objects, which are
in turn perceived more prominently than floors.

     For example, an unfortunate example of this is the 
three exits on the SW wall of the Hall of Dreams on 
Allegria Island.  They each have different colored
floors and the one in the middle has four arches
instead of three, but to the casual furre, it's
usually just "some doorways on a southwest wall",
"some doorways on a southwest wall", and "some
doorways on a southwest wall."  They're the same
size, the same color; they even rest on the same
sort of cobbled pathway.

     Worst of all is the verbal confusion this
sometimes causes.  What is the most likely way your
locations might be described?  When a furre says,
"I'm outside of the exit of the Hall of Dreams,"
there are three places that could be!

     Compare this to draglan1.map (Goldwyn).  Here,
the buildings are different sizes.  There aren't
paths of a consistent width and color going to all
the locations.  A furre might say, "I'm at the
tavern", or "I'm at the monastery  in the tower,"
and there's a good chance someone else knows
right where they are.


10.5 "Taxi" Circuits

     This is a more sophisticated way of getting
around.  While making Theriopolis, I noticed there
were a number of gondolas.  They didn't do anything
at first, they were just scenery.

     So I requested that going on one, and typing
ctrl-U, take a furre to the next gondola.  The
route brings a furre in a circle around the map.
You can see them as white circles with red edges:
 Map of Theriopolis 

     Theriopolis is special in that it gives the
impression of being enormous.  It is, actually-
Diremoon and Direclaw filled nearly every last
tile allowable in a Furcadia Dream.  The "taxi
circuit" mechanic saved us from putting in an
OOC room with a number of exits to different points
in the canal city.  But this is one of those things
that really should be explained, either on a web
page, or on signs, or in the entrymessage.


10.6 How Many Bytes is Too Big?

     Some furres can't download large Dreams.
Some can- but will not do so unless they know
their friends are already there.  After all-
it might be a great Dream, but maybe the owner
is very picky about guests, and after all that
waiting, you might only get to see a tiny bit!

     In general, "smaller is better".  Not so
much because furres don't want the download
wait, but because they don't like getting
lost.  Here, just for the sake of a casual
survey, are the download sizes of several of
well-known Furcadia's Dreams.

   The Slave Pens 225 KB
   Wayfarer's Inn 446 KB
   Lost Lakes     470 KB
   The Beat       491 KB
   Talzhemir (Bookstore) 658 KB
   Furtropolis    697 KB
   Airship Cafe   748 KB
   Sanctuary      900 KB


10.7 Things to get from Patchmakers

     It's a good idea to work with at least
one Patchmaker.  They can help alot making
it easier for furres to get around in your
Dream by providing unique landmarks
and signs with writing.

     What other things you might want from
them is highly variable, because you're
balancing the download size with the
interestingness, of course.


11. THE "SPECIAL NEEDS" OF THE STRICT RP DREAM

11.1: Opting In

     On the surface, "Strict" RP appears to be about
forcing all the Dream's inhabitants to stay within
VERY tight boundaries.  In a game so predicated upon
freedom, how is it possible to keep order, to make
sure that all the characters conform?  The secret is
the mechanisms of "opting in".

     Instead of giving an `order' to a guest, opting in
is a `condition'.  The Dream can inform someone of what
the Dream's requirements for play are.  Then, it offers
them a choice:  Accept the restrictions, or go elsewhere.

     How this is phrased, is also important.  It's most
palatable when the wording comes across as "We understand 
we're not the only Dream in the universe.  You can take 
it or leave it."  A "Please" and a "Thank you" are
definitely called for.  A little humility goes a long
way towards earning respect.  If the Dream's
rules go on about punishments and penalties, it will 
seem to have the attitude of "You WILL follow these
rules or SCREW YOU!"

The request to opt in should look like an invitation, 
not an initiation involving ritual submission.  The
simplest and "lightest" form of Opt In mechanism is
an emit upon a passageway that says, "If you go beyond
this point, you are signalling your agreement."

In actual practice, this method often fails.  Furres
don't take this seriously.  Why not?  Socially speaking,
it is because the "onus", the "chore" of following the
rules has remained with the Dream's owner.  Saying,
"Anybody who goes through this door has accepted our
rules." is too much like saying, "If you break the 
rules, don't complain when you're ejected."

A better alternative is to say to the furre, "If you
agree to uphold these rules then please type  .I agree "

How is that different...?  Getting the furre to type
something works because it's active, not passive, and
this sends a different message.  Upholding the
rules isn't just a matter of somebody externally
watchdogging you and hitting you on the nose with a
newspaper if you transgress.  Upholding the rules is
something the Strict RP Dream really needs every
player to be doing, constantly.



11.2: Explaining Continuity

     Every Dream in Furcadia is assumed to have its
own "Continuity".  This is composed, at the outset,
of its world laws (whether or not 'magic' exists and
works, for instance), established geography (Hogwarts
is somewhere in England), established factions (The
Rebel Alliance is fighting the Empire), plot assumptions
(problems faced by Redwall or Narnian characters do
not go beyond the 'PG-13'rating!), and so on.

     Some Dream owners want to let furres roleplay
they please, as a default, and only interfere when
there is an obvious violation.  The advantage is that
new players face the least hassle when they arrive.
The problem, though, is that telling furres that what
they are doing is inappropriate without warning them
beforehand is unfair.

Players might have happily accepted that rule if 
it had been up-front, but, confronted with it after
the fact, they will feel like they are being punished
for something that isn't their fault.  So, although
it takes a lot of work to lay down the rules and 
make everyone read them, it is also more fair.

I recommend that a Strict RP Dream contain an OOC
area with immediate access to Continuity guidelines.
Most Continuities can be expressed clearly in about
five Dragonspeak emits.  Enough information can be
imparted to prevent most newcomer blunders.

Yes, these things could be expressed via a web page.
But consider that your Dream is in competition with
others to be the most efficient use of the player's
time.  Referring the player right off the bat to
a web page may (not necessarily but often) give the
impression that this is a Dream only for furres with
way too much time on their paws.

A gauntlet to impart crucial info (IC or OOC) can be a handy
and attractive tool.  The simplest form, with
the least ability to be obstructed by players,
ties tiles to emits.  A path is made, and a line
of tiles with the same emit must be crossed to
progress.  (This is essentially the same method used
in Furcadia's Welcome Map.)




11.3: Handling the OOC Area

Strict RPers don't have the liberty to RP with as
many furres as they want.  It is common for the
player to need to "hide" their character until the
furres that they normally interact with, return.
The natural tendency in Strict RP is to invest time
into ongoing plots.  There may be important
discussions occuring, and when they are interrupted
by RL, there may even be a need to "stop time".
When time is stopped, or when characters are involved
in some IC endeavour together, they can't have
always let random new furres hop in.

Just as actors need a backstage area, Strict RPers
need a convenient OOC lounge.  You can even provide
a command to teleport there.

There is a tendency for the OOC area to become a
sort of hangout.  This is counter-productive and
leads to cliquishness.  To help counter this, and 
the tendency of the OOC area to fill up with too many
idlers, it can emit a friendly reminder every so
often to prod furres to "Get back out there and RP!"


11.4: "Hangouts" and, the "Scatter Effect"

In Strict RP, characters have many reasons to be
hidden, both IC and OOC.  And this is very very
counter to the first words with which I begin this
document.  If Strict RPers have the immediate urge,
nay, need, to scatter, then how are other furres
to find them?

One way is for the Dream to have one main area
that's chosen as an IC "hangout", a clearing house
for new arrivals to link up with existing Factions
or make new Contacts.  A bar or restaurant is ideal.
An area with reasons that it is OOC or IC a
non-conflict "sanctuary" is especially attractive.

A big reason that RPers "hide" themselves is that
there is actually much more to Strict RP than
merely being more careful about Continuity.  I've
collected the top 26 things that make Strict RP go
alot smoother.  Not all Strict RPers want all of
these specific things, but they tend to want most
of them.  These are the things that the "newbies"
don't know, and, if they aren't taught, probably
will not learn.  It is why the "vets" are so proud
to call themselves vets:  They have learned quite
a bit beyond mere good spelling, creative posing, and
interesting vocabulary.

Mastering Strict 
RP

It's a very good idea for the Strict RP Dream to refer
to that page, or a custom page for that particular
Dream.  If your "veterans" are more confident that
your "newbies" can understand their high standards,
they're far more likely to accept and interact with
them.

(I give more information on running big Guilds
as Appendix 2.)




APPENDIX:  THE ARCHITECTURE OF FURCADIA

     When you log in to Furcadia, your client contacts 
Dragon's Eye's server, specifically, a process called 
Horton.  Horton's first job is to check your password.  
The password you typed on your computer is recorded 
rather openly in your character's .INI file, but Dragon's 
Eye never actually receives it.

     What Horton hears is actually an encrypted version.  
That's why we can't tell you your password if we lose it.  
This is a security measure to safeguard  player furres 
from the remote possibility of password theft on the 
Furcadia server, as they often use the same password 
elsewhere.

     *TIP*  If you're using Furcadia from a public 
terminal, and you need to keep your password protected, 
Sanctimonious has a program that will do it, called SafeFurc.
SafeFurc

     After connection, the client sends a string that 
looks something like this:
 color=**3)G88#"#
The race and colors are encrypted as the ASCII values 
of the symbols.  We could have made this information 
more efficient by compressing it better, but that would 
make bots significantly more difficult.  In Furcadia, 
bots do far more public good than public harm.  This 
has been true from the start and continues to be true 
six years later.

     When you upload your Dream, it goes through the 
Internet to Dragon's Eye's file storage cache process, 
whose name is SC, and from there, to a process called 
Heimdall (after the Norse watchman of the gates of Asgard).  
Heimdall's main business is letting furres in and out 
with their passwords, and taking in or handing out Dreams.

     Actually, there isn't just *one* Heimdall, there 
are lots of them, making Furcadia's architecture 
expandable.  They don't have to all run on the same 
computer, thus Furcadia's architecture is distributable.  
Heimdalls work dynamically with Horton to keep lists 
where each Dream gate is, synchronized.

     Each Dream's DragonSpeak and Map are run in a 
separate process on Heimdall called a Tribble (Felorin 
named them after the proliferating little fuzzy things
on Star Trek).

     The home computer of each furre guest runs the 
"client" program (a.k.a., the "graphics front end").  Its 
job is mostly to display what the main server tells it 
to display.

     Thus, all information sent by the client is filtered 
through the main server, and sent to other furres' clients 
as needed.  A /whisper doesn't really go direct from your 
computer to someone else's.

     If you "hacked" your client to add red pillows to 
the Dream, you'd only be fooling yourself:  the locations 
of items is kept on the main server.

     If you enter a Dream and there are already furres 
there, the main server sends coordinates and shape 
info for all current Dream inhabitants.  When you 
take an ordinary step in Furcadia, the (X,Y) coordinates 
of your furre are NOT re-sent to everyone in the Dream 
with every step you take.  What gets sent is the 
information to move your shape one space, and the 
information what your shape ought to look like, such as 
'female/musteline/green cape/blue trousers/etc.'.

     The main server detects if you walk into a space 
with teleporting DS, and sends the information to place 
you, to all those connected to that Dream.  This prevents 
someone from making a program that sends a fake teleport 
string, allowing them to defeat the Dream architecture 
by "cheating" you into a location.

     It is more efficient to let your client program 
decide to not display someone who is too far away, 
than to make the main server check if they are near 
you, and only send information if they are.  

     Those who code bots might be aware that Furcadia's 
server (alpha version) sends map data as text strings. 
The ASCII value of these characters translate out into 
numbers.  The details of the system have been 
successfully reverse-engineered by Banto Arabala, 
who shared this knowledge with Deltigar.  If you 
wish to know more-- please don't ask me, because I 
don't know, and don't ask Sanctimonious or Felorin,
 because they have better things to do, and we don't 
have the time/energy to support Bots (or clients for 
other platforms, no matter HOW popular they are).  

Appendix 2: Starting a Big Guild
Know what it takes...

This long article was initially inspired by something written by Amberyl 
for Puzzle Pirates's website.  Her article was geared towards running a 
pirate crew.  (Amberyl herself is truly a wizard's wizard, famed as the 
author of Amberyl's MUSH manual, amongst other things.)


http://www.godlike.com/mushman/

How to Know If You're Ready to Start a Big Guild

A more cynical title would be, "Give up now; YOU can't have a popular 
Dream."  But, that isn't what I think, nor what I mean to convey.  
Furcadia is all about having a little universe of your own, should you 
desire it.  This article is about realizing what it takes to attract a lot 
of furres.

1. Have you got lots of free time to devote to it on a daily basis?

First and foremost, even more than being the brains or the willpower 
behind the operation, the Rah provides the "social glue".  He or she is 
the "nexus" or "hub" that holds everybody else together.

You might have heard about 'quality time' but getting to know each other 
happens on plain ol' dumb 'quantity' time.  It's important that much of 
the time be used to just 'hang out'.

In real life, being physically near someone is a bonding thing.  When 
little kids first start playing with others, they don't share toys or talk 
to each other, they just sit side-by-side and do similar activities.  
Before we can cooperate, we tend to want to first get comfortable with 
each other.

For a well-populated Dream, four hours a day is typical and three hours 
appears to be the minimum to keep a thriving community together on a daily 
basis.

Keeping the Dream uploaded is overrated.  It helps if your Dream is 
uploaded by friends but ultimately, your presence was the more important 
component.  Once a Rah leaves, Dream populations plummet.


2. Does your schedule match the busiest times on Furcadia?

Like it or not, Guilds are in competition with other Guilds for furres who 
have talents like Patchmaking and DragonSpeak coding.  They commit their 
time to Dreams where the Rah happens to be on whenever they are.  You 
might be on eight hours a day-- but if it's during the time when most of 
America and Europe are asleep, you'll have a much tougher time finding 
members.

3. Do your personal tastes match what a large number of furres want?

Furcadia is, by design, a world of "opting in".  Sometimes what you want 
to play just doesn't happen to be what they want.  Do you have at least 
nine others who also want your choice of subject?

I'm not saying, "Introducing something that isn't already wildly popular 
is going to fail."  I just want you to be realistic here: separate 
'possible' from 'probable' and don't treat them as if they were the same.  
Introducing something new is a major handicap.

The movie "Field of Dreams" gave us the saying, "If you build it- they 
will come."  This advice rarely works for Rahs.  MAYBE one or two will be 
drawn in?  but according to me, you need at least nine to get some 
stability, 'critical mass'.  If somebody isn't familiar with the Canine 
Cobalt anime cartoon series, they probably aren't going to RP in your 
Canine Cobalt Dream.  (That was just an example I made up, to make my 
point.  There is no Canine Cobalt anime series.)

Typically, a number of furres can agree on a theme or genre (for example, 
"Let's play in a Harry Potter universe.")  Existing works of media, such 
as "Star Wars" are much easier to RP than "home brew" worlds.  Players 
prefer a fairly clear idea of what the IC world is supposed to be like.

Sometimes a Rah mistakes the popularity of a subject for actually wanting 
RP based on it.  Lots of people love "Cowboy Bebop" and would love to join 
a Guild where it's the subject of discussion, but have no interest in 
roleplaying it.  Just because name their furre after a Cowboy Bebop 
characters like Faye and Ed and Spike doesn't necessarily mean they want 
to RP in the Cowboy Bebop universe.


4. Have you got a clear idea of what the play style is going to be?

So many roleplaying Guilds seem to be doing fine, only to fall apart a few 
days later. What happened?  Usually, they got together without opting-in 
to one single play style in advance.  They have discovered too late that 
their own play style, which they thought was the natural play style that 
everybody "mature" should want, was just one of many.

A trainwreck like the one I've just described is easily avoided.  The 
successful Guild upholds a commitment to a single play style.  "Play 
style" describes the standards and conventions to which furres can hold 
each other.  It's not enough to have chosen a favorite background or 
theme.  Furres also need to know in advance just how loose or controlled 
roleplaying is going to be.

The two main camps of play style (the first big division) is Persona RP 
vs. Strict RP.  Members of a Guild will get into serious disputes over 
play style unless the Rah defines and commits to one.  It's usually the 
point at which RPing with no Guild at all falls apart.

In Persona RP, the main thing is to play a consistent character.  The 
dominant (but not necessarily the *only*) rule of play is "Hey, this is 
make-believe; if it isn't fun for me, why should I do it?"  Persona RP is 
a wide spectrum of play styles but what they have in common is this: your 
character is viewed as your personal property, and storylines, while they 
may be important, are *secondary*.

In the least serious sorts of Persona RP, what happened yesterday can be 
thrown out.  Somebody who was killed can be back alive againk, for 
instance.  In the most serious sorts of Persona RP, there's established 
history but it's limited to what everybody happened to witness and, 
because there were no disputes at the time, it's considered "accepted 
history".  These play styles are all Persona RP, but furres who prefer the 
different extremes aren't compatible.

In Strict RP, the dominant philosophy is, "In-character Actions should 
yield In-character Consequences".  Strict RP introduces a concept called 
"The Continuity".  A Continuity is made up of world laws (like, "Magic 
really works.") existing places, established factions, established 
characters, and so on.  The things on which a Continuity draws are its 
"Source Material".

In Strict RP, Continuity is so important that Strict players are willing 
to sacrifice or severely alter their character for the sake of drama.  
Developments like deaths add new features to the Continuity.  As with 
different varieties of Persona RPers, there's a wide spectrum of styles 
within Strict RP, and they aren't compatible with each other.

Some Strict RPers prefer "In Character Actions should yield FAIR In 
Character Consequences."  The "Fairness Clause" permits non-consent if it 
seems  unjust from an external perspective (for example, you wouldn't have 
to lose your character if they were ambushed by Jack the Ripper but you 
did nothing to provoke him.)  To keep the RP dramatic, dodging the outcome 
usually has to be paid for somehow, by having to spend a minimum amount of 
real time hospitalized, etc.

Other Strict RPers prefer "In Character Actions yield In Character 
Consequences, Period."  Why would they find "unfairness" acceptable?  Some 
genres are "darker", and without this kind of rule, the RP fails to create 
something appropriate.  A game with Jack the Ripper starts to lose 
credibility if every one of Jack's victims can "call non-consent".

So, which one will you choose?  You'll be spending hours a day with the 
results of your choice.  Before your Guild can satisfy everybody else, it 
has to satisfy you.

* Setting up Strict Roleplaying is a lot of work.   Describing your 
Continuity clearly is helpful. 

5. Have you established your reputation for fairness and being 
responsible?

Your first chance to display your fairness is being polite.  We come from 
a hyooman culture where "politeness" is usually described as following 
conventions of society, like saying the magic words "please" and "thank 
you".  But, at its roots, politeness is the practice of treating other 
people like your equals.

Another important way in which your reputation gets established is by 
being a staffer in somebody else's Guild.  You might offer to be a 
bartender or bouncer for someone else.

To be able to keep order in your Dream, the Rah needs the OOC respect of 
their guests.  If it seems like you treat your friends better than other 
guests, if there's favoritism of your girl/boy-friend, if you give abusive 
furres more chances than they deserve at the expense of the comfort of 
your other guests, then you don't seem like a capable leader.

Your guests may stick around because they enjoy your Dream's ambience but 
their resentment may tax your patience and make being Rah less and less 
pleasant.  Being fair pays off in respect, which leads to cooperation, 
which leads to contributing to the Dream.


6. Are you doing this mainly for others?

It's a "buyer's market" out there, lots of other Rahs and Guilds.  You're 
going to be in competition with those whose motto is (like they say in 
Dinotopia) "Others first, self last."

Every Rah has a different personal balance between things for their own 
gratification, and things for the Guild and Dream as a whole.  New Rahs, 
be prepared for the  constant pressure to favor the latter over your own 
interests.

A worst case scenario is, the Rah is a good patcher/Dream-coder who's made 
it clear that they're primarily running their Dream for their own 
amusement, and don't really care if guests have a good time.  Immature 
guests come to act like they have a moral right to own that community 
because you don't "deserve" it.  Then they may go on to try character 
assassination.  The only defense against all of this is to have been a 
consistent, strong, generous, and fair presence in your Dream from the 
start.

Furres who have seen your generosity and integrity in the longterm can't 
be swayed by jealous upstarts.  If you're doing this mainly for yourself, 
you're unlikely to have the support of your guests-- and you are going to 
need it.

Also, in general, doing things for others earns you status in Furcadia.

7. Are you familiar with Furcadia and how Dreams work?

Maybe this one is a silly question for you, maybe it's not.  

Have you read all of Furcadia's Rules yet?

http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/guardians/rules.html


Some of the workings of Furcadia aren't obvious, for example, the "Silence 
Rule".  Rahs are sometimes targeted by other furres for harassment.  
Beekin Guardians will not come into your Dream to be your bouncers; your 
sole recourse, beyond using an Ignore, is the Silence Rule.

Sometimes a furre will ask me to announce that they're looking for members 
for their Guild.  Sadly, I have to say, sorry, but I can't.  The number of 
furres who would want their new Guild announced is far greater than the 
number of announcements we'd all want to hear.  The same is true of 
personal announcements like weddings, birthdays, etc.  However, a new or 
small Guild that's hosting an *event* open to all Furcadians is welcome to 
submit news.


8. Have you got ideas for what you're going to do once the Guild is up and 
running?

As the Rah, you become responsible for more than just 'keeping the peace' 
and  'security'.  You're responsible for your guests having a good time.  
Sometimes that's going to be at the cost of your own fun.

Roleplaying sometimes goes along fine on its own; sometimes it requires 
input that you alone can provide, because you personally own the 
Continuity.  Major disasters and tragedies are in your gawdly paws.  If 
real life was a roleplaying game, that would be events like  9/11 and 
hurricanes in Florida.  Major celebrations are also in your bag of tricks.  
Do the furres of your world celebrate a harvest festival?  Is the princess 
getting married?  Is there an invasion of wyrmmes or a scary plague on its 
way?  In an RP Guild, the Rah is the one with the first authority to have 
these things happen.

OOC events are great, too.  Rahs can run contests just like Emerald Flame 
and the Beekin Associates do.  Prizes can be in-Dream titles, IC or OOC.  
You could knight somebody's character and grant them IC lands because OOC 
they got your Guild's bot up and running.  If you prefer not to give IC 
rewards, you might offer a portrait space or wings or other Digo's.

Scheduling your upcoming events can be done on your own web page, but they 
can also be shared with everybody here:
The Furcadia Community Calendar 


http://www.furcadia.com/services/calendar/calendar.php4?&cmd=monthly&cid=13

9. Can you take disappointment well?

How do Rahs get things done?  One answer is, they keep asking and asking 
until they find somebody who's willing to help, and they don't get 
disheartened by being turned down.  All Rahs hear alot more "No's" and 
"Sorry..." than they get "Yes! Sure!  Right away!"  Even after getting 
that enthusiastic agreement, alot of furres will forget they ever 
committed.

If it's not in your nature to forgive not being taken seriously, then 
being a Rah is likely to be more stressy than is healthy.  But don't be 
discouraged at the disappointments.  Bear in mind that most furres want 
you to see you succeed.  They'll tend to remember your successes and 
they'll tend to forgive and forget failures.


10. Have you learned to be a good judge others' personalities?

Can you tell when somebody is ready to be a Taneest?  Can you decide 
whether or not somebody can be trusted to upload your Guild's Dream?  Be 
aware that there are furres out there who try to get in good with a Rah 
just so they can make the Rah miserable by stealing their Dream.

When you start a Dream you might be lucky and have a lot of furres asking 
if they can have "jobs" in the Dream.  Great!  But how do you know if 
they'll contribute or mess things up?  Judging personalities usually takes 
time.  It's generally a mistake to let everybody who wants a job just have 
it, and you're not just being "difficult" or "playing hard to get".

I've asked a few successful Rahs how they "hire" furres.  There's a few 
tricks they have in common.  First, they look at the name, desc, and 
portrait.  Does this convey somebody who can communicate fairly well, and 
respect your other guests? 

Next, they tell the furre "Maybe" and ask them to come back again a couple 
times more.  Somebody who doesn't come back, probably wasn't going to take 
their "job" serious either.

The next part surprised me, but when I thought about it, it made alot of 
sense.  The Rahs didn't rely on their own impressions alone, but observed 
the prospective staffer interacting with others.  Then they talked to 
those furres and got their impressions.  If they "smelled right" to 
guests., they generally did well as staff.  When the Rahs went against 
guest impression, they discovered their new "employee" generally had to be 
removed.

11.  Are you willing to take an active role in getting furres connected up 
with others?

(I don't mean this in the sense of "dating".)  When someone new arrives, 
they say hi, and how are you.  Where do you go from there?  If you're the 
Rah, you might also ask them if they have a web page, do they like making 
Dreams, what drew them into your Dream, this kind of thing.  

It doesn't have to be related to RP at all.   A Rah for a social Dream 
could ask for your favorite sport or hobby.  RL pets is a pleasant topic 
too- Furcadia's got lots of people who like pets.

Roleplaying actually makes this easier, by giving players something to 
talk about.  Suppose you have "Noble Born" characters in your world.  When 
a new player shows up, you can OOCly tell them a little about other 
noble-born characters they're likely to have heard about.  

Help them work out common backgrounds- maybe Drewsylla the Fair was 
promised at birth as a bride to Prince Morgone.  Maybe Drewsylla and 
Morgone are cousins.  Maybe Drewsylla was raised as a commoner and she's 
actually Princess Drewsylla-- Prince Morgone's sister.  As the Rah, you 
can encourage this kind of IC interconnection in a way that nobody else 
can.

Sometimes I find a Rah who's gone into hiding from their own Guild.  I 
usually ask why, because not all Rahs do this.  A common answer is, "Furre 
X is desperate for company and I can't stand their neediness anymore!"


12. Have you got a fairly good memory or are you willing to take notes?

"Positive" name-dropping is a skill I've seen good Rahs use.  They find 
out what someone likes, and then mention the name of others with the same 
interest.  To be able to do this, you either have to remember or write it 
down.

It may feel artificial at first.  That's okay.  This is a synthetic 
environment, after all.  There's nothing wrong with augmenting your brain 
with paper or even just a text file in another window.


13. Can you withstand the company of furres for an extended period of 
time, for no immediate or direct reward?

Being Rah means constant handshaking.  Furres arrive and say hi; the Rah 
is a little bit obligated to acknowledge their presence.  Furres type up 
good-natured physical poses towards the Rah, and the Rah is a little bit 
obligated to play along.  Unless they're a staffer in the Dream, the new 
arrival tends to have little perception that the Rah may be talking to a 
dozen furres already.

And, there is more to that hand-shaking than mere "loneliness"...

As the local "alpha", it's the Rah's privilege to step in and 
befriend/protect a  newbie guest.  If the Rah doesn't-- others, female 
players especially, are likely to interpret this as "rejection".  They 
will tend to echo or support the Rah's apparent choice.  If, however, the 
Rah makes a show of greeting newcomers, then they are likely to be 
accepted.

It's important for a Rah to at least have an intuitive grasp of all this 
undercurrent.  A "burden" of friendliness rests on the shoulders of the 
Rah.  This is why Rahs appear to be almost compulsively friendly.  It's an 
aspect of their leadership.


14. Can you perceive the dynamics of relationships that underlie the 
immediate meanings of words?

Most online community leaders are women.  I find something of a gender gap 
on Furcadia and other online games.  I hope online social leadership isn't 
something innate to females, but rather, a situation that puts some males 
at a disadvantage but can be overcome.

When females get together, a lot of the words they say aren't that 
"meaningful".  To the typical male perspective, their communication 
appears touchy-feely, very emotional, with little actual presentation of 
important information, debate, or decision-making.  It can be irritating 
to some boys; they might say things like, "Girls are always talking but 
they aren't saying anything.  They don't think about what they're saying, 
they're just making noise out of habit."

What's being missed here is a level of communication that isn't entirely 
in the grammar.  For example, it's most usual to participate in the 
conversation at hand.  New arrivals have to spend a few lines saying 
hello; one thing that's happening is that they are also listening to try 
to catch the *thread* of the conversation.

Less socialized people don't know this.  They may overlook having been 
greeted in a friendly fashon, and complain about how, "I said something 
but nobody paid any attention to me!"

Not getting any kind of acknowledgement, even to a sensible and courteous 
question, is an unfortunate signal which means something like, "You're new 
here, therefore you haven't achieved status in this community yet.  Stuff 
you say doesn't really count."

Sometimes somebody will arrive and immediately introduce a new topic, 
which gets picked up on right away.  Subtle etiquette dictates that a new 
arrival can only do this if they've already achieved a certain amount of 
status within that group.  (A newcomer doesn't know who has status.)  
Changing the subject is a form of 'dominance' behavior, and it's sometimes 
the prerogative of the more "established" members of the community.

Somebody who comes along and introduces a topic with the intent of 
livening things up may have just performed the equivalent of walking up to 
a pack of wolves, baring their teeth and growling, or approaching a band 
of gorillas and beating their chest while standing upright.

How well a Rah picks up on this stuff helps determine how peaceful the 
social group is.


15. Can you delegate tasks to others, follow up on their accomplishment, 
and give out recognition where it's deserved?

Guild helpers are volunteers, and they are sacrificing their time just 
like you, the Rah, are.  How does a Rah get furres to do as they've 
agreed?

One BIG thing that encourages following through is public acknowledgement 
of initial commitments.  For example, if Ciedelon says that he is going to 
make you new lawn chairs for the Guild's Dream, you can announce that on 
the Guild's web page.  Knowing that everybody knows, Ciedelon is more 
likely to keep his promise.

If Ciedelon actually does as he says, he deserves the Rah's thanks, on 
behalf of the Guild.  And that, too, can be announced on a web page.  The 
Rah earns reputation for fairness when he or she gives (both public and 
private) praise and thanks where it's due.


16. Can you make decisions fairly fast?

For better or for worse, we tend to grant respect to those who decide more 
quickly than others.  If a Rah wishes to be followed, they need to earn 
their place up at the front by being a bit faster than everybody else.  
Being viewed as a competent leader requires quick wits.

Not everybody can do this.  We think at different rates.  Very very 
intelligent people can still be slow and/or less assertive deciders.  You 
might be excellent at communicating offline but just happen to be a slow 
typist.

----------

Being successful as a Rah and having a popular Guild is not entirely up to 
you.  There can be circumstances beyond your control (like, maybe you're 
the only furre in all of Furcadia who thinks the Riddick movies would be a 
great basis for RP).  The primary reason not everybody can be a Rah is the 
sheer amount of time one needs to invest.  

There's a limit on the number of great Guilds we can have, and I think it 
has to do with the limit on great Rahs.

Knowing how much is on the shoulders of your average Rah, I hope that 
everybody  will try harder to help them.  I think there's no shame in not 
being one.  It's really tough yet, it seems so easy! and thus, Furcadia 
suffers from "Too many chiefs, not enough braves" syndrome.

Much attention is given to becoming a Beekin on Furcadia.  Our Rahs, 
Tahneest/as,  and those who function like Guardians, Pixels, Masons, 
Bugges, etc. in private & Guild Dreams aren't getting the recognition they 
deserve.   Give it time; we've got some things in the works that will make 
Guilds a more visible part of Furcadia.  (This is largely Emerald Flame's 
and Gar's and Felorin's new treats; you'll have to wait for the Update to 
see what they've wrought.  It's amazing stuff!)   (and, I'm dying to get 
Chartering going again...)

And... to all our Rahs, Tahneest/as, everybody who uploads Dreams for a 
Guild, Guild Masons, Guild artists, Guild web-site maintainers, and other 
supporters of Furcadia's Guild, here is a big round of applause.