Ansteopality Revisited

[Tim McDaniel]

On Mon, 21 Oct 1996, Gunnora Hallakarva <gunnora at bga.com> wrote:
> The stupid guy in El Paso is gonna think we're devil worshippers no
> matter what we do.

Perhaps, but we don't have to feed him ammunition, to help him
convince others.

> Furthermore, I think everyone is aware that the idea is a
> "thought-experiment" and has been being milked for the entertainment
> value. ...  The whole discussion is for amusement, ...

I don't want to bog down into the Rialto standard
> > > > discussion
> > > of discussion
> > of what HE said
> about what SHE said
but I'd like to defend the reputation of my reading skills.

Some people were clearly doing this for fun -- e.g., Viscount Galen of
Bristol and meadhbh.

On the other hand, Mistress Mari, hjt at tenet.edu, wrote:
: And besides, if we were going to give the heralds fits over
: something and take a name from mythology, I have to go with
: Hell. ...  If I'm going to go toe to toe with the College of Heralds
: over a name, believe me, it will be outrageous enough to be worth
: it.

and Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace, amazing at mail.utexas.edu, wrote
: Still, if anyone can come up with the documentation to allow us to
: use Hell or a reasonable analogue like Tartarus--hey, go for it.

Now maybe they were just trolling for the cluefscked, and if so, they
can paint a big black X on their e-fenders for me.  *I* thought they,
at least, were serious.

> Everyone is perfectly aware that names and concepts belonging to
> gods (whether of good or of evil) are Right Out heraldically.

Weeeell ... please let me expand upon your point, lest
misapprehensions be started.

It's OK to use a god's name if the name was also used in period by
humans (and fits the normal rules).  For example, "Thor" and its
derivatives is a perfectly reasonable and registerable given name for
a Norse-type person.  "Diana" is fine, too.  There are a few names
that, though never used by humans, were registered enough in the SCA
that they're permitted.  The prime examples are Rhiannon and Ceridwen,
both being names of goddesses never used by humans in period.

It used to be that, if you had a name that was used for supernatural
beings, you weren't allowed to register armory that used symbols
relating to the being.  For example, if you registered "Diana", you
couldn't use a crescent, a bow and/or arrow, or a deer (goddess of the
hunt and of the Moon, and all that).  However, that limitation was
loosened a few years ago.  For those who care

    There are still enough submitters Unclear On The Concept to
    warrant returning excessive fantasy references, or appearances of
    magical or non-mortal claims.  But the key word is excessive: ...
    For those names that are well documented as period human names,
    that also happen to be the names of gods, one armorial allusion to
    the god will no longer be considered excessive.

(Re Thora of Thescorre, August, 1992, Laurel Letter of Acceptances and
Returns; she was trying to register the name "Thora" and armory with a
lightning bolt.)

> Have any of them ever harmed the SCA?  Not if we just ignored them.
> I'd sure like to hear examples of real, actual damage that you think
> the SCA can suffer because of some religious kook in El Paso or
> wherever.

You replied after I wrote about the police investigation and the child
custody loss.  However, I don't have many good facts about them.  Do
you have more information, and can correct my little amount of memory?
If the facts are substantially as my memory indicates, what about
those cases doesn't count as harm?

You can't ignore the police (for long).  You can't ignore site owners
who won't rent to you any more.

> Lighten up, will ya?  It's a JOKE.

I agree with Miss Manners: that kind of statement is two insults for
the price of one.

- "I'm quite aware that I offended you, but I'm not apologizing,
  because I was in the right."
- "You don't have a proper sense of humor." -- some other people would
  think those fighting words.

May I suggest something like "I'm sorry that there was a
misunderstanding; I just meant it all as a joke."?  It doesn't say
anything about blame and it shows sympathy that a problem occurred.

-- 
Daniel de Lincoln
                             Tim McDaniel
                        Reply-To: tmcd at crl.com
    mcdaniel at mcdaniel.dallas.tx.us is wrong tool.  Never use this.