Any idea why the magic map has been going black between Frogmorton and the Brandywine Bridge for the last few days?

Ok, call me stupid (I mean I've only played Genesis off and on since 1998) but I've never figured out what the Hunting and Tracking skills do. Any help?

I've been trying to bring some new players into the game, and they are looking for guilds to join, but they are complaining that the descriptions on the website are too short. For example the Rangers description: Learn how to use different weapons - Which ones, even broadly? Hand to hand, polearms, ...