Fixing a broken link snowballed into...
Moved the Defend Our Mother section from a portion of the main page to its own, new Quests page for better visibility and to reduce page length
Added five more causes to the Defend Our Mother list:
Updated ExcelGarou credits in Data from SpreadsheetGarou to ExcelGarou to match the card link, which replaced the Twitter link
Updated Help page
Added Quest and Help summary blurbs to main page
Updated Mundus' Pack Links pronouns to (its/her)
Preened some phrasing and instructions, and put the Q&A in Defend Our Mother Quest: Take Action! in a collapsed/expandable section so people can get to the lists of causes faster but the Q&A should hopefully still be easily accessible
44 Custom Glyphs were added to the Glyphery Index. I was hoping to get more done, but it turned out that between brain-stuff and other projects, I was entirely too busy to do much of anything this month. It's likely to be that way for February too as we're ramping up to do big events again and figuring out how to translate all the energy and impact they had at in-person spaces into digital space.
I'm going to try to make some time to do some improvements around the Geomid.Network Discord at least, but expect there to not be a February update and to not hear from me again until a March end-of-month update at the earliest. This is the longest I've done mostly-consistent monthly updates for this project, and I think I may just need a little break, and since I can't really set down my other project, this is the one I have to. It's awkward timing since I just got the Network together and then immediately felt like I needed a recovery hibernation, but better that I respect the need-signals I've receiving than ignore them and burn out.
In other news, congratulations to Yiodan (Shadows by Firelight) becoming an Onyx Path freelancer! He has his own channels on the Geomid.Network where you can chat with him, so if you decide to join the server, be sure to give him a congratulatory howl!
Happy Solstice!
Geomid.Network is now live! This is just the very start and there's lots of room to grow, but the website directory and Discord server are both up, and the invite to the latter can be found on the former.
The core idea is similar to World of Darkness and Onyx Path RPGs Game Play and Media on FB (with a focus on Werewolf: The Apocalypse) in that it will serve to help Werewolf fans share the Werewolf things they're working on, as well as provide a space for them to collaborate with others, and a protectorate for their projects for those who don't have a Discord server of their own, in addition to being another place people can socialize over game in general.
Geomid.Network is disabled+queer run and will be curated to the best of our ability so as to not platform people who engage in behavior that is abusive, harassing, or oppressive to marginalized identities. We won't be permitting or boosting the projects of people who have a history of being the cause of LARP horror stories, for instance, and removing those who we find out about if they are already listed. 💙
There are some future projects on the drawing board, like potential shared-world Chronicles, but first things first! You want to be listed on the directory so people can have an easier time finding your podcast, art portfolio or commissions, actual plays, and whatever else?
It may also excite you to know that Amylin (The Werewolf Den), Glyphmaker (Garou Glyph Dictionary), SpreadsheetGarou (@ExcelGarou), The Toering (Lore of the Apocalypse) and Yiodan (Shadows by Firelight) are already there!
If this sounds interesting to you, come perform the Rite of Connection!
Glyphery
The forecast for January updates is focusing on adding Custom Glyphs for the Glyphery Index.
I wanted to do something vaguely momentous this month, because this time last year was a momentous time for The Cyber Record. As always, I have to respect my energy and shifting limitations (or they'll will make me) and so I didn't get as much progress done as I would have liked, but I made some strides and finally, in the waning days of the month, I invited some fellow Werewolf nerds and fan creators to preview a Discord server that I have ready for the public on the winter solstice: Geomid.Network. It's been about year since I actually created the server, although the vast majority of that time was it just been sitting there idle while I hemmed and hawed about it, and had my time absorbed by other projects. Some conversations I had with other Werewolf folks gave me a push to come back to it, and this seemed to be a good time for it.
The launch of the server will also come with an accompanying directory site, to help people connect with other Werewolf fan creators and resources, so you can still benefit from it even if you don't Discord. #Vamily has a pretty strong community and connectivity for Vampire, and I want to see that for Werewolf. It's a lot harder for us to find each other and uplift each other and the spotlight the projects we work on and the crafts we make, and my hope is this will help do that!
Quest: Take Action!
Atlas
Glyphery
A few additions to the Custom Glyphs were uploaded, which you can find here: Glyphery Change Log.
Also, Google Sheets recently had an update that finally allows the insertion of images into a cell, whereas previously they could only be placed atop them — meaning you couldn't have images as part of a sortable index, before. The addition of the function had me immediately updating the Glyphery Index as soon as I noticed it, so now that spreadsheet includes an image of the referenced glyph in the same row, for all 309 official glyphs listed. I cannot overstate how excited I am about this, it was the one thing I had been needing for the index to really make it complete in its use. Custom glyphs are next...
A new section called Data has been added! It features the immense amount of work that SpreadsheetGarou has done collecting data and making statistical analysis on the demographics and representation of statted Werewolf NPCs and templates, and will one day have my own data that approaches these topics from a different angle. I'm very excited to be able to welcome this honored guest and help give the project the attention it deserves on The Cyber Record!
Official Glyphs
Four additions to Official Glyphs were made (which includes the Glyphery Index spreadsheet), including some stragglers I kept forgetting to clean up so they could be posted, and one that I had forgotten about entirely while trying to figure out how to label it: Bright Moon, Kings, Phoenix, and Pelt. Also, an official glyph I had previously labeled "Marrying Spirits" for the section it was in has been renamed to "Mate" as per the Werewolf: the Apocalypse Glyphs resource released by White Wolf on Storyteller's Vault that I just found out about, three years later. It was a bittersweet discovery, as I was one part proud that my own work putting together the collection of official glyphs had been so complete that it was missing only two from that resource (and included several that aren't in it!) — but simultaneous sad that it meant there weren't a ton of new glyphs and lexicon to get to add, as a result. Some big Galliard problems over here.
Glyph Challenge
I'm still deciding how I want to proceed with the Glyph Challenge. On the one hand, I have some aspirations to do something more elaborate with it; on the other hand, that might take a long time for me to be able to pull off because of my brain and related disabilities. Do I just stick with the simple thing of going with the AhaSlides version? Or do I focus on getting the much cooler thing going instead, so I don't have to worry about people losing their scores? Do I go ahead and finish the AhaSlides version and use that for now and then just invite people to retake the quiz when the more elaborate project eventually gets done? Insert Psyduck clutching their head here. Anyway, I haven't forgotten about the Glyph Challenge, I've just been weighing my options, the situation, and my ambitions against what is reasonable for my energy levels and I don't have a decision quiiiiite yet.
Atlas
I got waylaid by other things I had to get done so September ended up being a sparse month for updates, and the forecast for October is likely to be busy with other projects, too. Most of my TCR time was spent poking around and trying to learn how to make apps to improve the project as a whole, but I'm still a long ways off from being able to build anything. Also coming up: Rage Across Google Maps' creation was on October 8th 2013, which makes also makes it its golden birthday this year!
Atlas updates included a new map layer specifically for Hives, Pits, and other Wyrm-taken places, so if you want to want to look at just Gaian or just Wyrmish places of power on the map, that's now an option. Two more Wyrmish places were added, which you can find in the Atlas Change Log.
Another cause to donate to and support in other ways was added to the Quest: Take Action! under Defend Our Mother and to the Quest layer of Rage Across Google Maps: National Indigenous Women's Resource Center.
Earlier this month I talked with SpreadsheetGarou, another data-loving Werewolf nerd, and discovered that we had been working on almost the exact same demographics project but different angles! The spreadsheets I've been working on are still a ways off from completion and so I had been keeping a lid on them — less for secrecy and more so that I wouldn't blab about them either feel satiated by that or feel like now that I've blabbed about it I have to hold myself to an unnecessary deadline to get it finished. (Managing feelings of productivity with disabilities that impact it is a balancing act!) But SpreadsheetGarou's data is basically ready to be released and they gave me permission to host it here! Since this sort of reference material doesn't fit in the Atlas or Glyphery, I'll be moving making a new section for it from the backburner to the front burner (the good one, we all know the one) and hope to get that done sometime in October, or November at the latest.
Finally had time to get a demo of the first Glyph Challenge up!
Try it out and let me know what you think! Even if you don't know glyphs, you can give general feedback about functionality. Don't worry, the scores will be wiped after this testing phase.
This is the first in a series planned. Each following Challenge should progress in difficulty, and likely also get longer (but not too long!).
The optional submitting of email is a function that I can turn on (but is not currently on for the testing phase of this Challenge). That should allow me to track the progress of participants across all the Challenges they use that same email for, which in turn will let me tally their total score to put on the planned Challenges page.
I'm going to see how this first Lore Challenge performs before I get too wild with it, but I'm excited to finally be getting the first stage of more interactive components launched, especially since they double as teaching tools for the lore.
A new Pack Link was also added for a friend who is a photographer, gearhead, and occasional streamer. You'll likely be seeing some of their work here in the future once we're able to hang out again to do some photoshoots!
I mostly took the month "off" from The Cyber Record (making room for my disabilities during Disability Pride and Awareness Month? What serendipitous timing!) so the July update is minimal:
The Auspice and Tribe subpages, previously nested in the Custom Glyphs section, were combined into the main Custom Glyphs page itself, and I made a new table of contents for it. If this makes it makes that page too big to load or clunky to navigate, let me know! You can either reach out to me through any of the ways listed in the Chiminage section, or use the new Report Form. There are a number of limitations with Google Sites and I'm locked into the functions they provide, so I have to figure out ways to make do with what's there.
A new Pack Link was added for a friend and you should definitely check out his voice acting portfolio!
Thanks to a donation I was able to get a few improvements done!
The Cyber Record now has a new domain name: thecyberrecord.net. Nice and simple, easy to remember. (Unfortunately gw.net, aw.ooo and awoo.ooo were all unavailable. Sigh!)
A new Help page was made, which includes the Troubleshooting section (which was previously on the Atlas page) and the updated guide for how to turn Rage Across Google Maps off (or back on) on your phone, as well as a new Report Form for reporting errors or other issues.
There was one addition to Custom Glyphs, "Legend" Rank by Feral Noesis, finishing out that series of Rank Glyphs.
I rearranged the additional Werewolf links below the Pack Links, and now it prominently features The Werewolf Den podcast, and Werewolf: The Podcast.
Another three causes to donate to and support in other ways were added to the Quest: Take Action! under Defend Our Mother and to the Quest layer of Rage Across Google Maps: The Indian Residential School Survivor Society, Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society - New Friendship Centre, and Stop Line 3.
Also a number of as-yet-unannounced projects had some progress made on them, but I’m not ready to talk about them until they’re closer to being ready to share. They definitely involve more spreadsheets and charts, though!
There was more I’d had planned to get done, but the heat dome had other designs so those will have to wait for a later update. I’ll leave the June update off with this teaser: some interactive aspects beyond submitting your own creations have been planned for a while and some of those are finally in the works!
A few Atlas updates for May, which you can find here: Atlas Change Log.
Just a couple of Atlas updates for April, which you can find here: Atlas Change Log.
Soon I will be overhauling my set up, which should make it more comfortable for me to work on this project, especially when it comes to cross-referencing multiple sources for Sept/Caern locations and other data.
The Garou New Year begins on the first full moon that occurs after the Vernal Equinox. For this year, that means it begins on March 28th. Welcome to the month of Nerigal.
🌖
Jackie Cassada, one of the authors of Rage Across the Heavens, which gave us a whole added depth to the Aetherial skies of Werewolf: The Apocalypse and more tools to detail out our characters with, passed away in December 2020 from COVID-19. Nicky Rea, the other author of that book, survived the virus but has been dealing with the long term effects and expenses of that in addition to the loss of her partner.
The GoFundMe that was created by Phil Brucato on Nicky's behalf to help support her has lost momentum; it's been a month since any donations have been made. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the Garou New Year than to get a resurgence of support going for Nicky. Even if you aren't able to donate, please share and signal boost!
GoFundMe link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-author-and-widow-nicky-rea
🌖
New year, new sheet for the Map Companion spreadsheet; there is now a sheet called "Info" to help guide people who might stumble across the spreadsheet before the website. This "landing page" also contains the current version of the Map Companion so you know if your personal copy is up to date or if you need to make a fresh copy — such as when there were 16 existing entries had additions to the "Location, Indigenous territory" column this month.
You can see the specifics of the updates in the Atlas Change Log.
As a side note: the updates I do are usually in incremental spurts throughout the month as I have the time, rather than all at once, but the update to the version is made at or near the end of the month.
I accidentally started another spreadsheet project because of a question asked of me, but it's a ways off from completion and not ready for sharing yet, but you can expect to see charts resulting from it in the future.
As expected, there are no updates to report for February, as I have been Questing in an Umbral realm that takes the form of the Fenrir homelands!
I am very tempted to see if anyone wants to collaboratively build a Caern in Valheim...
The major forecast for January was adding to the substantial queue of locations to be audited and added to Rage Across Google Maps Atlas, and indeed, 20+ more official Septs/Caerns were added to that queue!
A new map marker icon was added to Rage Across Google Maps denote Septs that do not have Caern of their own. In some cases it is it not explicitly stated one way or the other. This map marker is used for Septs that are explicitly stated to not have a Caern. I had considered doing this earlier, but there hadn't really been much of a need to differentiate Septs-with-Caerns from Septs-without-Caerns until recently, when a substantial chunk of the new additions to the queue were stated to be without-Caerns.
A list of Protectorates and their sources (15 so far) has begun, although it will be some time before they are ready to be drawn on the map. Protectorates is a project that is at the end of a queue that has over a hundred Septs/Caerns ahead of it, but I wanted to at least start getting it lined up to see how much there is to work with and if it's worth pursuing all the way through.
3 more official Garou glyphs were added to Glyphery, and 1 Sept was placed on Rage Across Google Maps.
I've been working on some things for y'all to enjoy with another big update to The Cyber Record:
The Glyphery section has been greatly expanded, to the tune of an additional 263 Garou glyphs, 31 Bastet glyphs, and 7 Corax markers in a new Official Glyphs section, along with a spreadsheet index as a companion guide that lists a source for a given glyph. The spreadsheet is embedded at the bottom of the "Official Glyphs" page and can be popped out separately, if desired.
There is a massive update to Rage Across Google Maps in queue that I'm plinking away at as I have the time to do so. There's 116 Septs and Caerns already on the list to be added, and probably more on the way as I try to get my hands on some books I don't have yet. There's a couple Moon Bridges popping up, and I'm looking at adding Protectorates for those that list any information about them in the future.
As always, you can submit your custom Septs and Caerns — or Hives and Pits, or other Fera-equivalent sacred sites — to be included on Rage Across Google Maps. There is a form you can fill out on the website for this, or you can copy the template and email it to me if that works for you better.
There is also similar instructions to make it easier for submitting your fan-made glyphs to be included in the Custom Glyphs section of Glyphery.
Starting this month and going forward, there is monthly "Quest" where a certain number of people who donate to causes that are primarily be IBPOC projects, and share tale of their honorable deeds (by sharing their receipt of the donation with me) will earn them an opportunity to have their name picked for glyphifying. The goal is to raise awareness and help for these causes and have a little fun along the way, getting back to the roots of the call to action that Werewolf has always been.
And finally, all of the spreadsheets now match The Cyber Record's new theme.
The Cyber Record has fully migrated from its previous webhost to this Google site to better integrate with the rest of the Google features it makes use of. The old websites will remain up a time for the purposes of redirecting, but if you have bookmarked any of the The Cyber Record projects, please be sure to update them!
In addition to migrating the website, this update also included a round of improving all of the images (about 280 of them!) in Glyphery. Some of the contributed glyphs were made a very long time ago and were very small, so I cleaned them up and made them larger and much more visible.
I hope you all enjoy the facelift!
The website is optimized for viewing on desktop but it is automatically adaptive and should be just as legible on mobile. Please let me know if your experience navigating The Cyber Record on mobile is a chore. If there is strong feedback about it, I could be convinced to make a version that is optimized for mobile as well.
If you appreciate what I do and would like to support this on-going project, I now have a Patreon and a Ko-fi to accept chiminage.
