Message-Id: <9403180039.AA24998@accint.com>
To: <mfy@sli.com>
Cc: DCROSS@bentley.edu, carolingia@bloom-beacon.mit.edu
Subject: Re: A Plot to keep our burough "members"
In-Reply-To: Your message of Thu, 17 Mar 94 23:20:51 +0000.
    <9403172320.AA16027@ravel.sli.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 94 19:39:49 EST
From: jrp@accint.com

    Do you really, in all earnestness, believe that this is not already required
    for all practical purposes?  The usual euphemism for the system is "service."
    General service seems to be either (1) simply ignored, or (2) dismissed on the
    grounds that the worker is just doing it to get an award.  [Irony alert] After
    all, if so-and-so were really acting out of unselfish motives, they ought to be
    willing to work for someone else, right?  [End irony alert]

"Simply ignored" needs a little more exposition. I'd say that it's 
"Simply expected", and I argue that is how it should be. One of my
first experiences was in the Kitchen, and I loved it. I'll do it
again, with no qualms (unless something which I feel responsible to
do comes up)...if they'll have me, my culinary skills hovering around
tolerable. I'll do troll some day, too, although I might bitch and moan 
about it. I'll always lend a hand when it's needed. I firmly 
believe that the only 'leeches' on the Society are those people who
stand around doing nothing when they could be otherwise useful. A
minority, in any case. 
    
    Working without a patron in the SCA (oh, all right, in Carolingia) is like
    running up a down escalator with oil spills on it while people shoot salt
    pellets at you, and folk like Cariadoc argue that the speed of the escalator
    should be turned up a few notches.  (I am referring to his position on AoAs.)
    
Ahem. I'll rebuke this, at least at the level I can. I am fairly new,
and I believe I have no patron, and I am not missing anything. I've
been around  now 6 months (maybe more), except the last two :) (My schedual has 
put me in a box with regards to my hobbies. But *I*'m the one who always
wanted to jet around the country solving problem, so I have nobody
else to blame) Regardless...you can either say that Tibor,Sir Sebastian,
and Alexander Yevsha are my patrons, or you can say that none of them
are. They are all people I have learned from, in their capacities, and
they are people I am glad to know. I would hope they would
number among my friends, but I don't think any of them will claim
they are a patron, in any more strictured sense than that I learn
something from them when I talk to them. They are patrons of their
respective Arts, and thus to anyone who is intersted in them. 

I believe Tibicen's plan (I forget all the relevent details) solves
another problems, which in my view is a non-problem: that many college
age people are insecure, and worry about bothering people, so they don't
get involved. I firmly believe that if I was truely bothering someone with
my questions, they would tell me to pipe down or go away, so this
issue for me never comes up. 

    It isn't only at the Board level that our system has problems, Tibor.
    Just my opinion.

Again, I don't see a problem with the way things are. Now...I'm the
first one for change when stuff is broken, but I don't see anything
which fits my description. I would just recommend the Boroughs do what 
they are doing...invite, humor, and cajole their people into trying new 
things, things they might like.
    
        Franz Joder von Joderhuebel (Michael F. Yoder) [mfy@sli.com]
    
Johann    

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Jason R. Pascucci			Email: jrp@accint.com
Open Systems Engineer			Phone: 617-494-0066x317
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