Participation

[Nancy Bradford-Reid]

>[This is x-posted to rec.org.sca]
>
>Good Evening,
>
>This is taken from a discussion on the Ansteorra mailing list where I have
>been in some people's perception criticising the way things work.
>
>>Further, unlike you, I still play with this Kingdom, and so do others who
>>respond on this list.  You, as far as I have seen, never show your face.
>
>The reason I am posting this to the group is that I have always heard that
>one is allowed to play in the Society as much or as little as you care or
>have time to. The closest I can come to playing do to mundane concerns for
>the last couple of months is participate in a mailing list and run a
>kingdom webpage(sadly in need of updating). Does that mean I should not
>kibbitz? How much particpation is required to entitle someone to express
>thier opinions about what occurs?
>
>In general i try not to comment upon topics which I have no knowledge or
>where I feel my perspective is too limited by my lack of exposure to the
>recent currents. I try to focus my attentions towards more general subject,
>organization, ways to run offices, and such historical subjects as I do
>have some grasp of.
>
>So, how much do you have to play in order to have some say?
>
>-Michael

Michael--it's not *what* you say, it's *how* you sometimes say it.
That is all most of us who might have a problem are concerned about.  It is
certainly your right to disagree, to discuss, just as much as it is anyone
else's, but the way in which you state your disagreement often offends
people.  For instance, one of your postings offended His Excellency, Sir
Kein.  I know Kein quite well and know that if something offended him, it
must have been very much out of line.  Gunhilda is right, once in a while
you come up with a very valid point, but very often it's missed because of
either the way in which you have stated it, or it is buried in questionable
and insulting rhetoric, not to mention occasional expletives.  When you
post a message, write it, set it aside for 10 minutes and then go back and
reread it.  If it has valid points, clean it up and send it.  If not, then
discard it.  It's the old "if you're angry, write a letter and send it to
yourself" therapy.  Don't be in such a hurry to fire something off that you
forget the common decencies around which this society was formed.  No
matter at what level you play, King or lurker on the net, a certain modicum
of courtesy and chivalry should be observed, that is all we ask.  If you
verbally accosted someone at an event the way I've seen you do here, you
might very well be asked to leave; so what would be inappropriate if you
were asked to clean up your act or leave here?  (And I am not advocating
the latter, mind you, only the former.)  The main difference is that, to my
knowledge, banishment on the net cannot be enforced, so some feel they can
say what they wish without thought to the consequences.  (And there are
some who feel you should be *active* as in showing up for events to have a
say.  I'll leave that one alone.)

I remain yours in Service,

Catherine Harwell, CIM AST