From: dburgdor@cwis.unomaha.edu (Darryl Burgdorf)
Subject: Re: Group activity
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 00:35:31 GMT


Unto the good gentles of the Rialto come greetings from Elwyn of Thornbury!

Lord Arval questioned my previous comments about stagnant groups, stating
that I had somehow brought new and irrelevant matters into the discussion.
I vehemently disagree.  New, perhaps, but certainly not irrelevant.

The question under discussion is "Should groups be required to hold a minimum
number of events?"  Inherent in his negative response to this question is the
assumption that groups which do not want to hold events should be allowed to
have their way; in order to adequately evaluate that assumption, one MUST
look at the nature of those groups.

While I realize, as I stated before, that no generalization will cover every
contingency, it has been my experience that groups which do not want to or are
otherwise unable to hold events are among the more insular and stagnant 
portions of our Society.  It is these groups whose members tend not to travel
outside the immediate area.  And while it is true, as Ld Arval stated, that
anyone is welcome to attend the local meetings of these groups, does anyone
really believe that many gentles are going to make special trips to attend
another (distant) group's weekly fighters' practices or dance meetings?

It was, and still is, my contention that groups not willing to hold events for
a non-local populace are in danger of stagnation, and that requiring them to
sponsor such events -- requiring them to interact, at least minimally, with
the Kingdom at large -- is a measure intended to try to reverse or at least
delay their decline.

To illustrate my point, allow me to draw from my own and my lady's
observations of our own local group, the Barony of the Lonely Tower, and of
its Canton of Afon Ddraig.  (I have dwelt here for a year and a half; my wife
has been a member of the Barony for over three years.)

Since its days as a Shire, Lonely Tower has had a bit of a reputation for 
nastly politics and infighting among its members.  Over the years, the
situation gradually became worse.  When I came to the area, I found it
initially to be one of the most stagnant and ingrown groups that I'd
encountered.  There were certainly many reasons for this; at least part of
the problem, though, was the fact that the citizens of the Barony did not
interact much with the rest of the Kingdom.  There was little willingness
among the populace to sponsor events or to attend any other group's events,
save those not more than an hour or so away.  I, and others with whom I have
spoken, believe that the situation would have been even worse had not the
annual Twelfth Night event (the event with which the Barony chose to meet the
requirement under debate, and the only event held by the Barony for several
years) been required.

Last spring, things began to change.  The infighting began to take a much
less important role in the life of the Barony, and its members have generally
become much more active.  What happened?  Sir Rorik Galbraith, our Baron, 
became King of Calontir.  Suddenly, a large part of the Baronial populace HAD
to play on a Kingdom level.  Our insularity was broken, with what I think
anyone here would agree are obvious results.  At the moment, we are planning
four distinct events:  the annual Twelfth Night celebration, the "Discover
Americas" event to be held in a week and a half, my own bardic event in
February, and a Royal University session in July.  Our various "special
interest" groups are now meeting more regularly and more productively than
in quite some time.

(I should note that these improvements are also partially due to the recent
influx of new members.  However, I don't believe that most of those newbies
would have stayed long if the situation in the Barony hadn't already begun
to improve; and moreover, "new blood" is just another aspect of the non-
insularity I'm here advocating.)

As a further illustration of my point, compare the Barony and the Canton.
During the same period that the Barony as a whole was clearly stagnating, the
Canton was at least minimally active.  I don't know if I'd go so far as to
say it was a VITAL group, but it was certainly in much better shape than the
rest of the Barony.  The difference?  Canton members were willing to travel
outside the immediate area, and to sponsor their own events.  (In fact, at
least one of the Barony's Twelfth Night celebrations was at least technically
sponsored by members of the Canton, and much of the support for those events
came from the Canton.)

I firmly believe that willingness to sponsor events and willingness to travel
to distant events go hand in hand.  I also believe that without that willing-
ness to interact with the rest of the Kingdom, stagnation and eventual death
of the group is an almost unavoidable outcome.  Forcing a group to interact
with other groups may not solve the problem in all cases, but if it can help
in even a few, the requirement serves a valid purpose.

I also asked in my previous missive whether it was really all that difficult
for an active group fo sponsor the minimum number of events.  Lord Arval
declared that the question missed the point.  Again, I disagree; I believe
that the question is at the very heart of the matter.  If a group is unable
or unwilling to play the game that the rest of us play, are they really still
part of the SCA?

A vital, active group is likely to be not only able, but willing to show off
its talents to the Kingdom at large.  Unwillingness to do so, I believe, is
almost surely a danger sign:  a signal that there are serious problems in the
group that need to be dealt with.  Inability to hold even a minimum number of
events is likely a sign that the group is, effectively, dead.

As I said before, I realize that there are bound to be occasional exceptions.
And I do not pretend that the requirement of a minimum number of sponsored
events is the perfect solution to the problem of group stagnation.  But as a
general rule, I stand by the observations I have here made.

	In service to the Society and to the Dream,

		Ld Elwyn of Thornbury
		(Barony of the Lonely Tower, Kingdom of Calontir)


P.S. -- In reference to Lord Tibor's contention that a group could meet the
minimum requirements by sponsoring an "event" at the seneschal's place of 
employment for an hour or two on a weekday afternoon, I can only hope that
he was not truly as serious as he sounded.  I doubt that most gentlefolk of
the SCA would consider such a ludicrous proposition to constitute a real
event, and can not imagine that any Kingdom Seneschal would be foolish enough
to allow it to be put on the Kingdom calendar or advertised in the Kingdom
newsletter as such.


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