Ok, so with the next release, f3 is gonna be nerfed. So we're going to need better ways of navigating, especially underground. A lot of people use the "right hand rule" to help there. This means you always put your torches on the right hand side as you go into a cave system, so that to get out you simply keep the torches on your left side. This is all well and good, but sometimes cave systems are more complex and you need to leave more info. Also, with SMP, we're going to be running across each others trails often, and may want ways to leave each other messages.
One of my favorite bits of trivia is the existence of
Hobo sign code, a collection of symbols scrawled on walls with chalk or paint that tell other hobos important information about an area. I was thinking we could, as a community, establish something similar: Minecraft Torch code. This would be a series of patterns for torches that have specific meanings. This can help you and other people on your servers navigate large cave systems or the nether.
Here are a few suggested symbols, beyond the right hand rule. I use these extensively when I play.
This means "this way up." Anytime the exit from a cave system requires going up through the ceiling, I drop three torches in a vertical line. It will commonly be found next to a staircase or ladder.
This is the horizontal equivalent. Anytime I break into a new cave network from the side, I mark the exit with three torches in a horizontal line.
These are three torch arrows, capable of pointing in any of 8 directions. I use these at intersections to point the way to the exit, or in the overworld or nether to point the way home.
Speaking of the overworld, Making maps can be a pain. I like the edge of one map to line up with the edge of the previous map, but this is pretty difficult. So I developed a system of Monoliths to assist with mapping. This is a map marker. It't just a small cobble pillar with torches, placed at the corners of the map. I can then start a new map here, which will be centered on this pillar. If I do this at all four corners, I'll have 4 maps that line up perfectly. Do the corners of those maps, and I'll have 9 maps that line up perfectly (as well as the previous set of 4.) I like to label the pillar with the map number and the corner name, so when I find it later I know which map to bring up.
Anyway, I would like to expand the vocabulary and use of torch code. Lets add to this until we have our own system of shared hobo-signs.