From: ds4p+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Schroeder)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Group activity, 1650, Tangent, etc.
Date: 10 Nov 92 05:25:50 GMT
Organization: Doctoral student, Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Good gentles,

Tibor asks why the 'requirement' that groups host an event to demonstrate
they're active exists.  The answer, I believe, lies in a simple fact of
history.  Today there are over 600 SCA groups.  It is certainly not
essential that *every* group hold one event a year or every other year.
However, back before the Society was a teenager, in A.S.XI when my lady
and I joined, there _weren't_ that many groups and the expectation of
each group taking a turn at hosting an event was much stronger.

I join Tibor in his question about "What do kingdoms do for local groups
that requires 'recompense' in the form of hosting an event?"  I guess
I'd also like to ask "What do kingdoms do for local groups?" in general,
too, since it seems to me the primary role of the kingdom level seems
to be ensuring that local groups report up the chain.  

Also, on another matter, William de Corbie asserts that *one* person
acting 'without' authorization is responsible for the 1650-cutoff-date
"problem."  I'd like to remind folks that it wasn't just one person, it
was a lot of people and a lot of written material, too.  We carried a
major debate on the matter more than ten years ago in TI and I just
wanted people to know that the situation isn't as simple or as clear cut 
as William presents it.

All this work, remembering my early days in the Society and how much
has changed since then, prompts another line of inquiry.  How do we
mentally organize SCA generations?  When I joined everyone who wasn't
a rank newcomer like me got lumped into the category of "experienced
old-timer," no matter if that experience was only for six or twelve
months prior to when I joined.   Later I learned to discern the *real*
old-timers from the folks who'd only been around a few years.  In the
East in A.S. XI that meant I knew a few people who'd been around since
A.S. IV or V, the "old guard," plus a larger body of people who joined
over the next five years of the kingdom's existence.  Then five more
years went by and I turned into "middle guard," since half the people
or more around me had joined after me.  Now I realize that I'm lumped
into the "old guard" category by many, even though I started half a
decade or more after the founding of the kingdom.

I'm sure that Westerners have an even more secure "base" for their
"old guard," since many of the people who attended the first tourney
are still active.  But I'm curious.  How do you think of the various
generations of people in the Society?  What does it take to be "old
guard" in your part of the Known World?  How do the categories shift
over time?  If you've been around for a while, how do you 'slot'
yourself in the system of SCA generations?  If you're new, what
are you discovering about the generational differences among
all the people who were already here when you arrived?

I'll look forward to reading your comments, friends!

My best -- Bertram

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Bertram of Bearington                                      Dave Schroeder
Debatable Lands/AEthelmearc/East               Carnegie Mellon University
INTERNET: ds4p@andrew.cmu.edu                         412/731-3230 (Home)
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