The Gates of Horn and Ivory takes it's name from Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid. The gates mentioned in that poem lead to the realm of the Dream Lord Morpheus. Morpheus is also known as the Sandman. There was also a very cool comic done by Neil Gaiman called The Sandman which came out a while ago under the DC Vertigo label. Both were inspiration for the name of this community.

    The Gates of Horn and Ivory is a community of members of all ages and walks of life. Some are students, some stay at home mothers, some work. The age range is from 12 to 53 although the typical age is teens and twenties. The owners of the board are Uma (umaeril, Horn and Ivory) and Lunaris (Lunaris Tenebrae). Our board is a general discussion board. We try to have here something for everyone, and of course that does not work, so not everyone who visits us and even posts for a little while will find this board completely to their taste in all aspects. We talk about all kinds of things, some are serious and some are silly. The following is a sample of some of the forums available at the Gates:

    In The Gates forum we get to know people if they want to introduce themselves (you don’t have to). If you post in the Gates, then check back for replies, not just mods but lots of members poke their heads in the Gates to see who is coming by and say hello.

    Metropolis is a general conversation forum. Imagine you are in a room full of friends all chatting. and you go from group to group sampling the conversations and joining in where you want to. You will find all sorts of on-topic threads about lots of different things. Threads are started by anyone so feel free to start one. Sometimes they are silly, and sometimes more introspective. Mostly it is just to talk about stuff that interests us.

    Archipelago is for threads that don't go anywhere else. Some news items, some silly threads, quizzes, jokes. Take a look, there is usually some interesting thread or poll in there.

    Frenzy is an unusual forum, mutable, where things come and go in a flash. Frenzy threads contain a multitude of rapidly evolving topics in threads that go on and on. There is no telling what thread will contain an intriguing philosophical discourse, or a discussion on the origin of a word, or the origin of the world for that matter (some get very silly too. heh). Don’t worry about reading the whole thread, just read the last page and start posting. You will get to know all the Frenziers real soon. There are also games to play in here.

    Vox Populi is where we discuss more weighty issues, like love or hate, what motivates us, how we feel about current events, religion. The Vox forum is carefully moderated to keep people from making personal attacks against others. This is a forum where you can let your opinion out and not get personally bashed. Of course that does not guarantee that your opinion won’t get argued against, but that is the nature of discourse. Please read the forum description stickied at the top of that forum if you want to post in it.

    Dire Abode is a place where we have deeper conversations. It is also a place to vent if you need to, or talk about your problems. There are plenty of sympathetic people in there if you need them and there are plenty with plain old common sense.

    Beyond the Sunset contains poetry, art, writing and right now an RP, interactive poetry. If you have something like a piece of art you are dying to post, but no host, then talk to me in Communiqué.

    Communiqué is where you can talk to Lunaris or myself. Lunaris can help with coding problems, sig stuff, images, things like that. You can test things out in that forum, get help, make suggestions, or talk to us there. If we can’t help you, we will try to find someone who can.

    Alternate Universes is where you can leave the link to your own board. I look at each one posted.

- Umaeril