Arhet/Project

Arhet

The Arhet server structure is similar to, but not identical to, that found at OpenGeofiction, which was its inspiration.

Project

A few years ago, I decided to try an experiment. I opened Arhet to other mappers. In principle, this is no different from the OpenGeofiction model. However, in implementation, I took a different route. Below is a draft of current rules. The project has been live for several years. Contact me via email for membership.

Rules

1. Luciano is the law in Arhet - i.e. my word is law. Period.
2. Arhet is not "open" in the way that OpenGeofiction is "open." Participation is by invitation. If you wish to request an invitation, you should contact me via email. My email is easy to figure out. Hint: my name, at my domain.
3. For now, invites will only be offered to OGF participants in good standing. Anyone with a history of sockpuppetry, disrespectful mapping, etc., on that site will not be considered.
4. For now, I will ask users to use the same username as on OGF. This just makes it easier for me to decide if you're a decent person or not. (This might change in the future.)
5. Arhet is not to be the same kind of planet as OGF, however. I currently expect it will be quite a bit more chaotic. That's because...
   • There are no assigned territories - map where you want, what you want
   • There will be no wiki. This wiki, that you are reading, is mine. For my projects. If you want to wikify your mapping on Arhet, find or build your own wiki elsewhere.
   • There is no "verisimilitude rule" - map fantasy or alien things, if you want
   • There will be no plan for a planet-wide coherent geology, ecology, history, culture, or language. Those things were neglected on OGF at the beginning, and efforts to retcon them later are depressing. We avoid the problem by stating at the outset that these things are irrelevant.
   • There will be no user diaries. If you want to write about your mapping, start a blog or something.
6. In general, if your map is interesting, I won't object. There aren't that many rules, but there is zero tolerance for rule violations. Immediate banning, no discussion. Period. Mappers can be asked to leave for any reason, or for no reason.
7. It is preferred for users to connect to Arhet using JOSM. iD is enabled, but continued service is not guaranteed.
8. Respect other people's creations - do NOT map on top of other people's work. This doesn't mean that Luciano will be your "enforcer." People getting into edit wars are likely to be both banned.
9. No megalomaniacs. Creating a large continent doesn't give you a right to it. The world is big, but focus on detailed mapping, and large objects and spaces should be collaborative.
10. A note on copyright and trademark violations. Personally I don't care if you copy or use "real-world" places/names/etc. However, I don't want to get sued. Therefore copyright and trademark violations on the Arhet map are grounds for immediate banning. Note that putting a Starbucks or McDonalds in your imaginary town is using a trademark without permission, and is against the law. 'Nuff said.
11. Note that OSM is copyrighted, and using OSM data or tracing any copyrighted map without attribution is against the law! However, I am 99% confident that the small attribution in the lower right of the Arhet map is sufficient to cover "creative reuse" of OSM data. That text reads: "Tiles and data created by Geofictician and contributors, built on the OpenStreetMap platform, including creative re-use of data shared by OpenStreetMap contributors." So for now feel free to upload real-world data from OSM. But! If OSM ever contacts me with a takedown notice, I will immediately comply. That would mean your work would be lost.

Discussion Channel (Discord)

There is a an #Arhet channel on the "unofficial" OGF Central server (which was created by OGF user austinhuang). Contact Luciano for an invite.

User MappingExpert has created an Arhet-only discord channel, and most "official" discussion and announcements take place there. Contact MappingExpert (you can use the OGF messaging system) for an invite.

Backups

A new, re-designed backup process is in effect on the new server - hopefully much more reliable. Backups can be found at https://data.arhet.rent-a-planet.com/backups/

Replication

Effective April, 2022, OSM-style replication has been enabled for the Arhet apidb. The replication minutely diffs are available at https://data.arhet.rent-a-planet.com/replication/minute/

Contours/Topo

Arhet does not support topo (contours). Since I control the contour layer for OGF, I'm focusing my contour development work to that platform.

Map Layers (Renders)

There is currently just one layer (render style) for Arhet.

• arhet-carto ("1") - this is derived from the osm-carto style as of early 2020, with modifications to handle the custom coastline shapefiles. The render is completely re-drawn once every thirty minutes, approximately. This layer's "TMS" address (for linking with JOSM) is:

  tms[19]:https://tiles02.rent-a-planet.com/arhet-carto/{z}/{x}/{y}.png

Patreon

Arhet lives on a server that I pay monthly rent for. I am not rich... in fact, I'm currently unemployed. So if you're rich, help me out. My Patreon. Patreon is annoying, in that it only allows for a "monthly subscription" type of payment. If you want to give a one-time donation, I would love it. Just sign up for Patreon for one month, and then cancel. I won't be offended in any way.

I recognize the shortcomings of the Patreon tool, but I elected to use it because of its self-contained simplicity with respect to international tax-law issues, which are substantial for someone with an international audience like me.