[Ansteorra] A few quick obvious points

[James Crouchet]

What the newcomer lacks is knowledge. The idea is not to tell people to be
nice to them, but to point out that they need help learning how the SCA
operates. That does not require input from every person they meet, just a
few.

As for the trolls, they seem to find the newcomers quite well on their own
probably because, as you point out, they have the time to look. But if I see
a troll has latched onto someone with a newcomer medallion I would strongly
suspect they need rescuing. I suppose we just disagree on the odds. I think
far more good than bad will come to the person all recognize as new.

Perhaps I can put this to the test. I travel on business from time to time
and I often look up the SCA group where ever I go. I could show up in
mundane clothes with a "Hi, my name is James and I'm new" nametag. Few
people could miss that or doubt it's meaning. I could ask what this SCA
thing is all about and see what reception I get. I don't doubt it would be
generally very positive. Perhaps I can get some non-SCA friends to come play
for a day and do the same. A little data collection to see who is right
about this.

The one thing of which we find ourselves in most short supply these days is
time. If we all had lots of time to wander about getting to know everyone we
meet then, of course, none of this would be needed. Unfortunately we must
fill the roles of the gentles we pretend to be and the servants they surely
would have had.

Christian Doré