Certain topics come up again and again on the Rialto. They are good questions, but each time they recur much net bandwidth and reader time is spent on repetitive responses and corrections to incorrect or incomplete answers.
This article, which is posted in several parts on a regular basis, attempts to cover these common topics definitively and succinctly, so that discussion doesn't get bogged down in the repetition. The complete Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list is available in several formats. The most current version is always the one available at http://rialto.ansteorra.org/sca-faq.html or http://www.faqs.org. An archive of the most recent posted version is available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu in directory /pub/usenet/rec.org.sca. Those without FTP access should send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body of the message to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.
For more complete introductions to the SCA, see the recurring postings "Come on in -- the water's fine" (by Hal Ravn <whheydt@pacbell.com> ) and "Life in the Current Middle Ages." (by Arval Benicour <mittle@panix.com> ).
Guide to Posting Style.
The Rialto consists of a Usenet newsgroup, (rec.org.sca) which is propagated to thousands of machines world-wide, and an electronic mail digest (the SCA Digest), which is produced on a badly overworked machine at MIT, and mailed directly to hundreds of people, also world-wide. We are also connected to Fidonet and other BBS networks.
The Rialto exists to discuss topics of interest to the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA is a non-profit, educational organization of people that study the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and recreate those parts we find most interesting.
The Rialto is named for a marketplace in Venice in the vicinity of the Rialto bridge. As people gathered there to gossip and exchange ideas, so do we gather here.
Check with your local system administrator or sysop for instructions for your exact machine and software. Generally, you either post a message to the newsgroup rec.org.sca, or send mail to sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu. See elsewhere in this FAQ for guidelines to posting style.
The SCA Digest is the electronic mail version of the Rialto. One can subscribe and unsubscribe by sending email to SCA-Request@mc.lcs.mit.edu, requesting your addition to or deletion from the list. Expect this to take up to a week - the people running the Digest are volunteers with other work to do. If you read rec.org.sca, there is no need for you to subscribe to SCA-Request, as messages are gatewayed in both directions.
You may ask for back issues of any digests by writing to SCA-Request@mc.lcs.mit.edu and specifying the date(s)/number(s) of the issue you want mailed to you. That address is serviced by overworked humans so expect any request to take up to a week to process. Please be reasonable about the number of back issues you request. ("Everything up to now" is *not* reasonable :-)
You can also check Stefan's Rialto Archive at http://www.florilegium.org by Stefan li Rous (stefan@florilegium.org) or Archives of the very early Rialto are available from Justin du Coeur, rialto@waks.org.
The short answer is that messages propagate from one system to another at varying speeds, and therefore an answer posted on a well-connected machine may arrive at a less-well-connected machine before the question does. The longer answer requires paying attention to the fact that the Rialto is both a Usenet newsgroup and a mailing list, and the gateway between them is another place where the ordering of messages can be scrambled. There is nothing that can easily (read cost-effectively) be done about the scrambling of message order (it would require a complete redesign of the Usenet newsgroups, just to start with) so please don't ask. This message scrambling, by the way, is a good reason to paraphrase or quote just enough of the message you are answering to make clear what you are talking about.
The legalities of copyright ownership in an electronic medium are currently murky. In countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention (which includes the USA and Canada), text is copyrighted from the moment of creation. However, text submitted to newsgroups and digests _may_ be different, as it is intended for a wide distribution. There is no clear answer in the USA at the present time. The polite thing to do, regardless of whether a lawyer would tell you it is necessary, is contact the author(s) of the article(s) in question, and ask for permission to publish. Abide by their wishes. Assuming permission is given, you (or your chronicler) probably want to save a hardcopy of the message giving you permission.
Important note: Due to the vast quantity of Yahoo! Groups lists, most of them are no longer listed here. Please check the references at the end of this section for how to find them.
AETHELMEARC Kingdom of AEthelmarc
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AETHELMEARC-ANNOUNCE Kingdom of AEthelmarc Announcements
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AL-JISR Oriental Dance, Music and Drum
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AVACAL Principality of Avacal (Avacal Common)
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ANSTEORRA Kingdom of Ansteorra
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ANSTEORRA-ANNOUNCE Kingdom of Ansteorra Announcements (moderated)
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ARTEMISIA Kingdom of Artemisia (The Aerie)
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ATENVELDT Kingdom of Atenveldt
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ATLANTIA Kingdom of Atlantia
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end
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Kendrick Wayfarer <lovelace@netcom.com>
BLUEFEATHER Homo and Bi sexuality in the SCA and the Middle Ages.
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CALONTIR Kingdom of Calontir
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CATHEDRAL Alternate Kingdom of An-Tir (The Cathedral Steps)
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DW-L Kingdom of Drachenwald Mailing List
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via email - send mail containing the single line HELP to
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E_LIST Kingdom of Ealdormere List
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EQESTRIAN Discussion of topics relating to equestrian activities
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EXCHEQUERS Excheqery topics
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GER-MAKERS Buillding of gers (yurts) and related structures.
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GRAND COUNCIL Mailing list for the SCA's Grand Council
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Posting: only members of the Grand Council may post, although anyone
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Editor: Tibor of Rock Valley <schuldy@math.harvard.edu>
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Archives: http://abel.math.harvard.edu/~schuldy/gc/gcarchives.html
H-NEEDLEWORK Historic Needlework
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HERBALIST SCA-Wide herbalism list
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HIST-BREW Historical Brewing - not limited to just SCA topics
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HIST-GAMES Historical Games - not limited to just SCA topics
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IBERIA Issues pertaining to Iberian peninsula
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LOCHAC Principality of Lochac (Australia)
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MAGYAR-SCA Things Hungarian in the SCA.
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Archives: public, at
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MERIDIES Kingdom of Meridies mailing list
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MERIDIES Kingdom of Meridies moderated mailing list
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MINSTREL Bardic topics
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NORTH East Kingdom Northern Region topics
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Maintainer: Miklos Sandorfia <andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca>
Archives: via anonymous FTP at ftp://bransle.ucs.mun.ca/pub/sca/
NORTHSHIELD Principality of Northshield, Middle Kingdom
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OUTLANDS Discussion of topics of interest to the Outlands
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RAPIER An Tir Kingdom Rapier discussion list
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SCA-ANNOUNCE Moderated announcements for the Society for Creative
Anachronism.
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SCA-CAID Kingdom of Caid topics
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SCA-COOKS SCA-wide cooking and feast topics
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Maintainer: Sir Gunthar Jonsson <sca-cooks-owner@ansteorra.org>
SCA-CHRONICLER discussion of topics relating to SCA publishing
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Maintainer: Dafydd Blaidd (Dave Majors) <dafydd@midrealm.org>
SCA-DANCE Discussion of dance in the SCA
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SCA-EAST East Kingdom topics
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SCA-EAST-ANNOUNCE East Kingdom Announcements
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SCA-FENCE Civilized discussion of fencing in the Known World
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Maintainer: Dafydd Wulfsson <dafydd@midrealm.org>
SCA-NEWBIE Topics for newcomers to the Society for Creative Anachronism.
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SCA_WEBMINISTERS Web topics for the Society for Creative Anachronism.
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SCAHRLDS Heraldic discussion
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Maintainer: Kwellend-Njal Kolskeggsson (vnend@aol.net)
Digest: Contact Alan Fairfax (atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu)
for details.
SCA-LAURELS SCA-wide Order of the Laurel topics
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Maintainer: Mistress Gunnora Hallakarva <sca-laurels-owner@ansteorra.org>
SCA-MIDDLE Middle Kingdom mailing list
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Maintainer: Dafydd Blaidd (Dave Majors) <dafydd@midrealm.org>
SCA-NEWBIES Newcomer topics for the Society for Creative Anachronism.
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SCA-RAPIER SCA-wide rapier/fencing topics
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SCA-WAR War strategies and tactics list
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SCA-WEST West Kingdom
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SCA-WEST-ANNOUNCE West Kingdom Announcements
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SCA-WWW Announcements of SCA WWW and other online resources
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SIEGE Siege engines, pre-black powder fortifications
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Maintainer: Sebastian Goral <amlsmith@plato.ucs.mun.ca>
Archives: via anonymous FTP at ftp://bransle.ucs.mun.ca/pub/sca/
SIEGECRAFT discussion of siegecraft and weapons in the SCA
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STEPS Kingdom of An-Tir (The Cathedral Steps)
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SUMMITS Principality of Summits
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THE-ARMORY Making armor for SCA use
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TIMH Today in Medieval History
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There are many public mailing sites such as egroups.com that have many SCA mailing lists on them. Try looking for SCA, medieval or other similiar search words as well as the specific topic you are interested in at: http://groups.yahoo.com or try: http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/Entertainment___Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/Medieval_and_Renaissance/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism?show_groups=1
For a web interface for subscriptions to some SCA lists try: http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html
There are lots of other mailing lists that may be be of interest to SCA people. Here is a listing of some of them. There are a number of different mailing list programs, each of which has their own procedure to subscribe to a list. Try sending mail to LISTSERV@<host address>, or MAJORDOMO@<host address>, or LISTPROC@<host address>, where <host address> is the part of the address for the list you're interested in that comes after the @ sign. The mail should have nothing in the subject line, and the body of the message should consist of nothing more than SUB <listname> <yourname> where <listname> is the name of the mailing list you are subscribing to (the part *before* the @ sign) and <yourname> is your name. If this isn't quite the right format for the mailing list software in use, read the error message you get in return carefully, and you should be able to figure out the right format.
If this is unsuccessful, try appending -Request to the name of the list, and sending mail to that address. E.g., try to subscribe to h-costume@indra.com by sending mail to h-costume-Request@indra.com.
Many of these lists are places where modern-world scholars communicate, and therefore are not places where persona is appropriate -- use your modern name.
ALBION-L@VM.USC.EDU British and Irish history
ANCIENT-RECIPE@YAHOOGROUPS.COM An archives of old recipes
ANSAX-L@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Anglo-Saxon and related subjects
ARTHURNET@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA Arthurian discussion
BIBLICAL-STUDIES@YAHOOGROUPS.COM The whole gamut of Biblical Studies
BYZANS-L@LISTS.MISSOURI.EDU Byzantine studies
BRAIDSANDBANDS@BRAIDSOCIETY.ORG Braid Society discussion list
CELTIC-L@LISTSERV.HEANET.IE Celtic culture
CHAUCER@UNLINFO.UNL.EDU Chaucer and Middle English
COMPAGNIA@PHOSPHOR-INK.COM Glass Beads
ECD@PLAYFORD.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU English Country Dance
EMHIST-L@RUTVM1.RUTGERS.EDU Early modern history
H-FEM@YAHOOGROUPS.COM Historic feminist list
FICINO@CHASS.UTORONTO.CA Renaissance-Reformation studies
FOLKLORE@TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU Folklore
FRANCEHS@UNIV-RENNES1.FR French historical studies
GAELIC-L@LISTSERV.HEANET.IE Gaelic language group
GRMNHIST@VM.USC.EDU German history from 800 AD
H-COSTUME@INDRA.COM Historic Costume
IRISHHISTORY@YAHOOGROUPS.COM Irish History
IRTRAD-L@LISTSERV.HEANET.IE Irish traditional music
ISLAM-L@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU Islamic studies
MASTERHUEN@YAHOOGROUPS.COM Medieval Cookery and History
MEDEVLIT@SIUCVMB.SIU.EDU Mediaeval literature
MEDFEM-L@U.WASHINGTON.EDU Medieval feminist studies
MEDIEV-L@UKANVM.CC.UKANS.EDU Medieval history (283 AD to 1500 AD)
MEDTEXTL@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU Medieval texts
NUMISM-L@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU Coinage up to c.1454
PERFORM@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Performance theory and medieval drama
REED@CHASS.UTORONTO.CA Medieval drama
RENAIS-L@ULKYVM.LOUISVILLE.EDU Early modern history
RENDANCE@MORGAN.UCS.MUN.CA Renaissance & Baroque dance
SPICETRAIL@YAHOOGROUPS.COM Middle east during medieval times
TML-L@IUBVM.UCS.INDIANA.EDU Online medieval Latin music theory texts
WWLOOM@YAHOOGROUPS.COM Warp Weighted Loom List
http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/other/elib.html
Electronic Library lists.
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/II/lists/diglib.htm
Discussion list for Digital Libraries.
http://info.lib.uh.edu/pacsl.html
Public-access computer systems forum.
http://www.konbib.nl/infolev/elag/elag
European library automation group list.
http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/lis-link
List for digital/electronic library.
http://www.netsword.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi
NetSword Discussion Forums
http://www.demon.co.uk/apl385/medievallife/subscrip.htm
Medieval Life Magazine
http://www.renaissancemagazine.com
Renaissance Magazine
Fidonet MEDIEVAL Echo Inquiries to David Aronson
<postmaster@f120.n109.z1.fidonet.org>
Yes. There are several sites that contain various files of SCA information, including this file, Corpora, the Heraldic Rules for Submission, the Online Armorial, several kingdom's laws, rules for combat, and so on. Each site has a different collection of material, so you may need to investigate more than one to find what you need.
Contact your local system administrator to learn how to use anonymous FTP to retrieve these files. Those without FTP access should send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.
ftp://ftp.pbm.com/pub/sca
maintained by lindahl@pbm.com (Gregory Blount)
Contact your local system administrator for a gopher client.
gopher://heort.bsuvc.bsu.edu
administered by Gwydion ap Myrddin <00mjstum@bsuvc.bsu.edu>
Contact your local system administrator for a WWW browser. The web pages available are changing so dynamically that I don't want to attempt to keep a list up to date here. Instead, use this link, and search for other sites of interest to you from here. If you have a web page you want to make known, look at this page to find the most appropriate place to link it in.
An SCA search engine can be found at:
This site has nearly 400 sites signed up on a variety of topics of interest to SCA members.
One option for finding people is to look in the Rolls Ethereal. This works best if you know someone's name.
Another option is to look in the Home Page Listing maintained by Ellisif Flakkari at http://sca.uwaterloo.ca/sca-people
The Rolls Ethereal list people on the Rialto, at least name and electronic address, and often interests, location, and awards. The Rolls are maintained by Justin du Coeur <rolls@waks.org> They are available via World Wide Web at http://www.waks.org/rolls
The first SCA newsgroup was named alt.sca. When the traffic grew to a respectable size, we moved to rec.org.sca because the rec hierarchy gets better distribution. alt.sca is currently defunct, but still carried at some sites. We recommend that users of alt.sca move over to rec.org.sca, and ask their system administrator to remove alt.sca from their system, to avoid future confusion.
There are a number of sites that archive song sources. Many of these are dial-up sites, requiring the use of a modem. Please do not ask for technical help with this on the Rialto -- there are sure to be better sources of this information close to you.
TIDMADT, Atlantia (703) 370-7054
SCRIBE, Ansteorra (214) 826-8141
City of London, Trimaris (407) 895-1335
The Black Book of Locksley http://www.locksley.com/blackbook/
Anno Societatis, or Year of the Society, counted from May 1, 1966 CE. (CE = Common Era, used to avoid the religious connotations of AD, or Anno Domini)
We have an informal agreement that a piece of netting worn on your person or hanging about your camp indicates you visit the Rialto. Remember there are people that have nets around that do *not* visit here.
The period (and place) of interest to the SCA, as defined in Corpora and the By-Laws, is Western Europe and cultures that had contact with Western Europe before the 17th Century.
The Grand Council is a body of 20-40 people, chartered by the Board of Directors to develop recommendations on improving the structures of the SCA, Inc. It is not a strictly representative body and has no power to legislate. Its membership has been chosen to represent as many different viewpoints on the SCA as possible. Major discussions are open for the public to read, see the listing for the Grand Council mailing list for details.
Pennsic is an annual war, with the main contenders being the East and Middle Kingdoms. It is the largest recurring event in the Laurel Kingdoms, with attendance in 1996 of just under 10,000. It has taken place since 1972, and has been held at Coopers Lake Campground near Slippery Rock, PA since 1977. The main battles of the war are held the third weekend in August, with other activities taking place the week and weekend preceding that. Pennsic was so named from "Pennsylvania" on the model of "Punic." More information can be found at http://www.pennsicwar.org
Estrella is an annual war between four Principle Kingdoms - Atenveldt, Artemisia, Caid and Outlands. They change allies each year at the treaty negotiations. It has taken place since 1985, and is held at Schnepf Farms near Queen Creek, Az. It is held on President's Day weekend (February). More information can be found at http://www.estrellawar.org
Lilies is an annual war that takes place in Calontir. Each year a new scenario is developed to vary the sides. Past scenarios have included Winter Queens vs. Summer Queens, Laurels vs. Pelicans, Baronies vs. Shires, and so on. It takes place at Smithville Lake, near Kansas City, MO.
Gulf War is an annual war between Ansteorra and Trimaris, being hosted by Meridies. It takes place at King's Arrow Ranch near Lumberton, MS. It is currently held during "spring break" in mid-March each year. More information can be found at http://www.gulfwars.org
There are some topics that recur fairly regularly that are almost guaranteed to cause heated debate. These topics generally involve matters of opinion, where debate can be entertaining, amusing, or informative, but often devolves into name-calling or worse. Below is a listing of some such topics, including a brief summary of the major points of view on each. If you decide to bring up one of these topics on the Rialto, be prepared for lengthy, and perhaps unfriendly, argument. If you seriously are interested in changing how the SCA as an organization deals with these topics, remember you *MUST* *WRITE* the Board of Directors with your opinions to effect any change on the organization as a whole. You will *not* change anything simply through discussing it on the Rialto.
(The following text was written by Ragnar the Bold, known in modern life as Keith Cartmell, a former member of the Board of Directors.)
What sort of a letter is most likely to influence the Board on a decision? Some of this will be plainly obvious, but you should see some of the letters the Board has received. Hope this clears up misconceptions.
Address it to:
Board of Directors
P.O. Box 360789
Milpitas, CA. 95036-0789
Do not send copies to individual directors, or the Society Seneschal, since copies will be made and sent out in the Board packets.
Keep your letter to one topic. If you wish to address several different topics, send several letters in the same envelope. The secretary will find it easier to correctly handle your letter if you clearly state the topic at the beginning. Letters that address an agenda item will be numbered with it. If your letter comments on several agenda items, it becomes a nightmare to correctly file, and find again when wanted. If it does not comment on any established agenda item, it will be placed into VII, Correspondence. It will be assigned to a director for a response. Every letter should get a response. Your letters are carefully read to see if a new agenda item must be created. This is done at the Committee of the Whole meeting, and any letters on the same topic will be moved to the new agenda item.
The Board packets add up to a pile of paper that is never less than about 3" thick. To make the best impression your letter should be clear, and to the point. The letter is photocopied, and the original filed, so getting everything on one side of an 8.5 x 11 page helps. Multiple pages should be clearly labeled 1 of x, 2 of x, ect, and don't staple. The main consideration in print medium is easy to read. Dark typewritten print is great. A 9 pin printer in draft mode badly needs a fresh ribbon. Handwritten; if you must, use dark ink, double space, and be as neat as possible. For most people (especially me) hand printing is neater than handwriting. It must be signed, and if your name is printed underneath it will be spelled that way in the minutes. The Board will not accept anonymous correspondence.
Timing. Sooner is better. Sending a letter about 2 to 6 weeks *after* the latest meeting is about ideal, or about 2 months *prior* to the next. The packets are smaller and the directors are not trying to cope with all the last minute essentials.
If your letter is a request for the Board to act as the final step in the channels for complaint and appeal, please include a summary of all the attempts to resolve the situation. Be meticulous about dates, actions, and who you send copies to. Remember that Board action will affect the entire SCA, not just your situation.
Current situation: According to Corpora the Sovereign and Consort must be of opposite gender, i.e. one male and one female by plumbing, regardless of affectional preference.
Pro: Those people in favor of allowing same-sex consorts feel that modern sensibilities are more important than historical practice, and that in the spirit of making the SCA as inclusive as possible, people should be allowed to fight in Crown Tourney for their significant other, regardless of their affectional preference.
Con: Those people against allowing same-sex consorts feel that historical accuracy is important, and that as there are no historical examples of a sovereign having a consort of the same sex, the SCA should not permit it. An additional argument is that the majority of the SCA is heterosexual, and that by having two members of the same sex on the throne, approximately half the SCA is deprived of a role model during that reign.
Current situation: In all kingdoms, the Sovereign is chosen by a regularly recurring, double elimination Crown Tourney. The frequency of this tourney varies by kingdom. The victor of this tourney becomes the Heir to the throne (title varies by kingdom), and the person for whom the victor fought becomes the Heir's Consort. After some period of time as Heirs, they are crowned Sovereign and Consort.
Proposals: We have seen many varied proposals on the Rialto for alternative ways of selecting the Sovereign. Each is treated separately below. In all cases, take as given the opinion (both Pro and Con) "We've never done it that way before."
1. Allow champions in Crown Tourney. A person would fight in Crown Tourney for a couple. If that person is victorious, the couple would become Sovereign and Consort. The fighter, in most versions of this proposal, would be required to serve as Champion throughout the reign, and would not be permitted to fight in Crown Tourney while they are Champion. Pro: allows non-fighters to be Sovereign. Con: people express worries about 'kingmakers' and hiring of champions.
2. Structure Crown Tourney as some combination of single combat and melee. Pro: better selects the Sovereign for leadership abilities. Looks more like historical 'wars of succession' to some people. Con: too much opportunity for ugly politics in deciding who fights on which team(s). Too unwieldy a tournament to finish in one day.
3. Select the Sovereign using some methods other than fighting tournament. Various combinations of A&S combination, archery, fencing, and so on have all been suggested at one time or another. Pro: allows non-fighters to be Sovereign. Emphasizes something other than fighting as the way to get ahead. Con: subjective nature of judging leaves too much opportunity for ugly politics. There are no historical examples of rulers being chosen by similar means.
Find your local group and show up. To attend an event, you must wear some attempt at pre-17th century clothing. If you like it, you may want to become a registered member, which among other things gets you newsletters. The Office of the Registry will provide basic introductory material, including a copy of your kingdom newsletter, on request. They also have packets of material available for teachers.
The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
Office of the Registry
P.O. Box 360789
Milpitas, CA 95036-0789
USA
408-263-9305
408-263-0641 fax
In Australia (The Principality of Lochac), contact:
Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
PO Box 1623
Kersbrook 5231
South Australia
AUSTRALIA
Guide to Posting Style
Each line of text posted to the Rialto is stored on thousands of Usenet machines, and is also processed through the digestifier software and mailed out to every recipient of the digest. Many of the readers of the Rialto must pay for disk space and connect time. Keeping this in mind, here are some common-sense guidelines for polite use of the Rialto. These are just suggestions: there are no rules. However, following these guidelines would be a courtesy to your fellow Rialtans, and to the good and generous institutions whose machines support our communication. Many of these suggestions are adapted from regular postings on news.announce.newusers, notably "Rules for Posting to Usenet," "What is Usenet?", "A Primer on How to Work with the Usenet," and "Hints on Writing Style for Usenet." If you have access to that newsgroup, please take the opportunity to read these postings.
Thanks to all who have contributed to this article.
This article is a work in progress. If you have other topics you'd like to see included, send me email with the question(s) and your suggested answer(s). If you have comment on the items included, please send me (polite) email.
The whole point of this effort is to reduce traffic. I will summarize comments sent to me, if it seems necessary.
A special thanks goes out to Robyyan Torr d'Elandris/Dennis R. Sherman for all the work he has put into this FAQ. Without his work, this would not exist.
| Phelim "Pug" Gervase | Richard "Pug" Bainter |
| Barony of Bryn Gwlad, Ansteorra | Austin, TX |
| pug@pug.net | |