The Rat Code Version 2.01 Hellahulla ratcode@yahoo.co.uk Contents * Operators * Section 1 - General Rat related stuff + B - Breeding + C - Clubs + D - Diet + F - Freedom + S - Shows * Section 2 - Section for individual rats + Brief Overview + S - Sex + A - Age + V - Variety + S - Shows + O - Origin * Section 3 - Personal details + oc - Occupation + re - Religion + a - Age + e - Education + n - Rat nut factor + p - Other pets * Examples * Usage * Contact Operators Use these operators when one rating does not fit you or if you are sometimes one rating, but sometimes another, or to indicate other areas of undecidedness. @ For this operator said trait is not very rigid, may change with time or with individual moods and interaction, people who sometimes change their rats feeding patterns would use D++@ ( ) for indicating ranges between 2 different codes (e.g. For breeders who own a rattery but think than certain types of breeding is morally wrong they would use B+(!B) This is different to @ in that it is specific to 2 different codes, whereas @ covers the whole range. > for 'wannabes'. Indicating that while someone is currently at one rating, but wants to reach another rating (be it up or down). (e.g. For someone who is a member of a rat club, but wants to join others they would use C>C+ $ Indicates that in this particular category the person makes money out of, it does not have to be their main job. (e.g. Someone who sells a few rats from their litters would use B$) ? Unless specified within a category a ? is used to indicate no knowledge of a category. (e.g. Someone who doesn't know the sex of their rat would use S?) ! Unless specified in the category description the ! placed before the category letter indicates that the person wants nothing to do with the category. (e.g. If a person wants nothing to do with rat clubs they would use !C) This is unlike ? in that this indicates refusal to participate whereas ? indicates lack of knowledge, it is also unlike # in that # signifies that the person doesn't want to indicate his/her point of view. # This operator, unless otherwise stated in the category description signifies that the person doesn't want to give any information about the subject. (e.g. A person who doesn't want people to know about his sex life would use s#). Section 1 - General Rat Related Stuff The first part of the Rat Code follows the format below: RC(1b) mfr ... e.g. Somebody who has 2 male rats 1 female and 7 rats who have died they would use 2m1f7r The Rat Code always starts with RC(version number) followed by the number of rats. If you have no rats and never have then use the code !RC(version number) B - Breeding B++ I personally supply my Town/County/Province/State/Country with rats B+ I own/operate a recognised rattery B I've bred a few litters out of curiosity B- I've ended up with a litter or two by accident B-- My rats don't know about the opposite sex !B Breeding is evil B? What is breeding C - Clubs C+++ I belong to every club I can find and have started my own! C++ I belong to three or more clubs C+ I belong to a few clubs C I am in one club C- I was in a club but my membership expired C-- I always meant to join one C? There are rat clubs? If you are a member of a club or more than 1 club then you can include the names (or common acronym) of the club in square brackets e.g.. C+[NFRS,Yorkshire rat club] D - Diet D+++ My rats make me order a pizza every night D++ They get all kinds of goodies - what I eat, they eat D+ My rats get a basic diet and treats every day D My rats get a basic diet and treats once in a while D- Lab blocks. Nothing else D-- I feed them hamster food D--- Oops! I forgot to feed them yesterday! D? Nobody told me they needed feeding F - Freedom F++ I don't even own a cage, my rats are free to go everywhere F+ I have a rat-proofed room that belongs to my rats F My rats come out to play whenever I can supervise F- The rats are allowed out on my bed/table/counter/etc. a few hours a day F-- I never take my rats out of their cage !F My rats are kept in shoe boxes F? I can't find my rats S - Shows S+++ I've been to lots of shows and organised at least one S++ I go to shows regularly and help out occasionally S+ I've been to several. When's the next one? S I've been to one S- I've never been to one, but I will one day S-- Shows don't interest me S? There are rat shows? !S There's never been one in my neck of the woods Section 2 - Individual Rats Here is the part of the Rats Code where you discuss in relative detail your individual rats, this may be a problem for people with lots of rats, if it is, and you don't wish to have a very large code then you can omit this section if you wish. {Enclose individual rat data in curly brackets} {Like this} e.g. RC(1b) 2f2r B-- C D++ F S! { } { } ... S - Sex Sm Male rat Sf Female rat A - Age A+++ 36 months or greater A++ 30 - 36 months A+ 24 - 30 months A 18 - 24 months A- 12 - 18 months A-- 6 - 12 months A--- less than 6 months !A Can't be bothered to update every rat every 6 months or so A? I don't know for sure V- Variety This code shows the colour variety and body shape/type of your rat, now some rat societies or owners use different names for the varieties than I use here, if that is the case, it's only a matter of finding the equivalent variety that your society or you personally use. Use the below modifiers to show the body shape and format your rats have (e.g. If you have a normal rat then you would use 'Vn' or a dumbo rat then you would use 'Vd') n Regular furry ratty r Rex ratty o Odd-eyed ;) d Dumbo ratty h Hairless ratty t Tailless ratty s Not R. Norvegicus You can use a combination of the above modifiers, say if you have a hairless, dumbo tailless (Genetically impossible) you would put 'Vdht' followed by nothing, as the below codes are all for hair colour varieties. SELF COLOURS PEW Pink eyed white BEW Black eyed white BL Black MK Mink CK Chocolate BU Blue AB American Blue RB Russian Blue PA Platinum CM Champagne BF Buff OT Other MARKING BS Berkshire IR Irish ES Essex BZ Blazed HD Hooded CA Capped VG Variegated DA Dalmatian HK Husky OH Other SILVER SL Basic Silver SF Silver Fawn SG Silver Grey OTHERS AG Agouti CI Cinnamon HI Himalayan CH Chinchilla SI Siamese CP Cinnamon Pearl PL Pearl TP Topaz BA Blue Agouti LY Lilac Agouti Place these codes on the end of your existing Variety code (e.g. For a normal pink eyed white you would use VnPEW or for a tailless Berkshire use VtBS, or for the entirely theoretical and quite impossible self blue dumbo tailless hairless rex use VrdhtBU ^_^) If you have a marked rat you can specify it's colour by first putting the variety code as normal Vn (or Vd Vr whatever) then the marking code (Capped) CA then a / then the colour (American Blue) AB thus making VnCA/AB. If you have lets say a normal self coloured rat with ticking use VnBZ/AB/AG A Blazed American Blue with ticking. S - Shows S+++ This rat has won one or more times at a show S++ This rat has been runner up one or more times at a show S+ This rat has been shown in the pet class (And achieved a result of some kind) S This rat has been shown, but never achieved anything S- This rat has attended a show as a pocket or shoulder rat, but not shown S-- This rat has never attended a show S--- This rat has never been out of the house T - Temperament T+++ This rat could charm the balls off of a dead penguin T++ This rat is more human than most politicians T+ This rat is dead cool T This rat is friendly T- This rat doesn't really like humans T-- This rat doesn't like other rats T--- This rat cowers in his/her cage T---- This rat bites me all of the time O - Origin Use this code to show where you got your rat from. This code is followed by one of the below modifiers. (e.g. If you found this rat in your garage use Ow or if you bred this rat yourself use Oh) h Home bred ra Rattery b Breeder p Pet shop re Rescue centre (RSPCA, ASPCA, Rodent rescue) w It's an escaped/wild rat! PARENTS If you bred this rat yourself or bought it from a breeder or rattery or you otherwise know the animals parentage then you can put in brackets [father/mother] the parents names. (e.g. If your rattery rat has parents called Sally and Frank use Ora[Frank/Sally] or if your pet shop rat's mother is called Diane but father unknown then use Op[?/Diane] Section 3 - Personal Details oc - Occupation ocA Art ocBM Business/management ocCI Construction industry ocCT Computers/IT ocE Engineering ocET Education/Training ocF Farming ocFB Finance/Banking ocGP Government/public service ocL Law ocLW Literature/writing ocMA Military/armed forces ocMC Media/Communications ocMH Medicine ocRB Retail ocS Science ocTH Theatre ocTI Transport industry ocVM Veterinary medicine ocAT Jack of all trades ocU Undecided (Students/Children/ETC) !oc Unemployed If you employed in multiple fields, or if your job covers more than one field then use / to separate the 2 fields. (e.g. For a lawyer who also lectures in law use ocL/ET) re - Religion reA Atheist/Agnostic reB Buddhist reC Christian denomination reD Discordian reH Hindu reHU Humanist reI Islam reJ Jehovahs Witness reJU Judaism reK Kibology reN New Age reP Pagan reQ Quaker reS Scientology reSK Sikhism reU Unitarian re? I'm not sure s - Sex sM Male sF Female sU Undisclosed a - Age a++++ 60+ years a+++ 50 - 59 years a++ 40 - 49 years a+ 30 - 39 years a 20 - 29 years a- 10 - 19 years a-- Under 10 years a# Undisclosed You may also instead of using the +'s and -'s use your exact age. (e.g. If you are 50 use a50 instead of a+++) e - Education e++++ Got my e+++ Managed to get a University to take me e++ Finished College e+ Haven't finished college e Finished high school e- Haven't finished high school e-- Haven't started high school !e I learned all I need to know from the "Hitchhiker Trilogy" e? School? Is that where all those kids used to go at 9 in the morning? n - Rat nut factor n++++ I am a rat n+++ My car is called the Ratmobile, my number plate is 1 L0v5 Ra75 and my nickname is Ratty n++ Almost everything I own has a rat on it n+ I have a lot of ratty related stuff n I own some rat things n- I have a single rat poster/calendar/mug n-- have no ratty stuff !n I don't like rats! p - Other pets If you have more pets than your ratties they use this code to indicate what you have. Start with p after the p put down the number of each type of pet followed by one of the codes below. (e.g. Someone who has a cat and a mouse would use p1c1r) d Dog c Cat f Fish l Lizard s Snake a Amphibian b Bird t Ferret i Insect or Arachnid e Rabbit y Farm animal r Another type of rodent If you have no other pets use the code !p Examples Here is an example of a completed code: RC(2) 2f2r B-- C D++ F S! {SCSI Sf A-- VnBS/BL S-- T+ Op} {IDE Sf A-- VnHD S-- T Op} ocU reP sM a- e++ n++++ p1c1r As with the Geek Code I think it would be nice to arrange it in a standard manner, like below: ~~~(---)8> RatCode <8(---)~~~ RC(2) 2f2r B-- C D++ F S! {SCSI Sf A-- VnBS/BL S-- T+ Op} {IDE Sf A-- VnHD S-- T Op} ocU reP sM a- e++ n++++ p1c1r ~~~(---)8> RatCode <8(---)~~~ Usage Now all that is left is to put this in your email and news .signature file and hey presto, every time you post a message or send an email, fellow rat lovers who happen to be looking at your message will instantly know about you and your pets. Contact Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, please mail them to ratcode@yahoo.co.uk Thanks for looking Hellahulla ================== Version history Version 2.01 Added e (Rabbit) to other pets section Added y (Farm Animal) to other pets section Version 2 Corrected several spelling and grammar errors Added T-- (This rat doesn't like other rats) to temperament section Added information on how to indicate which clubs you are a member of in the clubs section Added (HK - Husky) to marked section Added (i - insect or arachnid) to other pets section Version 1b Added !re to religion section Added section 2b (Breeders or people with more than 6 rats) Version 0.9 Removed computers, internet, housing and relationships by popular request Added Essex and Dalmatian (ES, DA) to marked varieties section Version 0.8 Reformatted the HTML version, used tables to make the categories easier to follow and less cluttered. Added religion (re) category to personal section Version 0.7 Added information on how to indicate colour of marked rat varieties Added Platinum (PL) to Selfs section Added Chinchilla (CH) to other varieties section Added odd-eyed (Vo) to Variety modifiers section Added Other (OH) to marked Variaties section Corrected duplicated codes (CP) in variety section Version 0.7b Added sexuality codes to the Sex section and added examples (zB,S,G,U) Corrected mistake in the origin section Added S+ (This rat has been shown in the pet class (And achieved a result of some kind)) to the Shows section Added Russian and American blue (RB, AB) to the selfs section Added the s (Not R. Norvegicus) in the variety section Version 0.6b Added version history section to the text version of the code Since Version 0.1 (Original version, not by me) Added individual rats section. Added categories to Personal section (Computers, Education, Housing, Internet, Relationships and Sex). Updated layout so the RC now covers 3 seperate sections, and looks a lot neater.