First, welcome to the Collectors Board.
As Gytchy said, pin maps are usually associated with the official events. You're given a map (actually a print on a card suitable for framing) that shows pictures of the pins that go with the map, and you're to go around to different locations, answer trivia questions, and get the back of the map stamped. Once you have all the stamps, you get a completer pin. This was something really fun that Disney came up with that they dropped the ball on big time at the September event and turned it into another "line for a pin" but I won't get started on that.
Cast members with backwards pins?
Some CMs have pins on their lanyards with the pin back showing. The only way to find out what the pin is is to trade for it. Sometimes you get something cool, sometimes you don't, but it adds some fun to CM pin trading. One "suit" at MGM I encountered had a pin on her lanyard wrapped in a piece of paper that said "trivia question." She traded it after asking a trivia question, but she did give me more than one chance to get the question right.
BTW, the question she asked me was "what is the longest AND fastest attraction at WDW?" My first guess was Rock'n Roller Coaster but the correct answer was Test Track. The length is longer and the top speed is higher than RNRC.
What pins are kept in. There are some that are 3-ring binders with stiff felt pages, but most people carry their traders in pin bags. The books are usually for keepers that people leave at home.
Some pin carts at WDW have a trader book that you can make CM trades from -- basically an extension of the CM's lanyard.
And is there anything pin related that I should know about!!
Go see Scoop's seminar at Expo Hall in the MK for a great talk on how pins are made and trading etiquette.
There's a great crowd at the Contemporary pin meets Friday nights. People have great things to say about the ASSports meet on Thursdays, but unless things have changed the Boardwalk meet on Sunday can be skipped. I wasn't that impressed with it.
Aside from that, have fun!!
