A&S judging

I. Marc Carlson LIB_IMC at centum.utulsa.edu
Thu Oct 31 11:06:14 PST 1996


<Aquilanne<amazing at mail.utexas.edu (dennis grace)>>
>I. Marc Carlson wrote:
>"if you can't find somthing nice to say about an entry, don't say anything
>at all

To be fair, *I* didn't say that.  My wife did.  I tend to agree though,
since I can think of very few ways in which an A&S entry could constitute
behavior that would demand a nasty reponse :)

>I agree.  Any judge worth their metal can find something positive to say
>about an entry...

I have had one or two cases where it was a bit of a trick, but, yes.
Personally, I would like to think that the only places where I will 
even approach being negative is if someone were to say something that 
is blatantly not true (i.e., "It's made from Period Materials with 
Period Techniques" when it's made of plastic, in which case I will
try to gently suggest that this might be in error -- but then again, I've
also had that come back and bite me on the rear).  OTOH, I have learned
that sometimes it's just a lot less trouble to wimp out and lie, rather
than try to spend months trying to explain to your friends "Hey, so you
got a lousy score -- 'Mechs *aren't* a Period Heraldic Charge"...

>that did well would run in the 8 to 10 range.  Why devastate someone with a
>0 or a 1 when a 3 to a 5 can get across the idea of needing improvement...

I think a 0 should be reserved for something that is completely lacking.
For example, a 0 in "documentation" means that there is NO documentation
at ALL.

>>I have some deep, personal problems with "competitions", although 
>>displays and simple evaluations don't bother me.  When I am competing,
>>*I don't want criticism*.  I want to win, or not (that seems to be the 
>>way they do it at the fair, after all :) ).
>Most folk have a hard time getting past the intrinsic negative connotations
>of the terms "criticism" and "critique."...

It's not that the terms are negative.  It's that I'm not there to receive
lessons, or get feed back. If I am in a "competition", I am there to 
*compete*.  I daresay that there are some Fighters who chose not to 
fight in bouts where rather than a clear victory, the victor is to be 
chosen on style, or technique.

I am perfectly happy to accept criticism, just not in a "competition".
*Losing* is criticism enough. That you have assumed I don't understand 
the meaning of the terms "criticism" and "critique" when my complaint
was, I thought, clearly with the misuse of the term "compete" is 
unfortunate.

>...(my ego hungers constantly, how about yours?)...

Mine is on a continual starvation diet, but that's only to keep it docile.

>>Of course, this DOES run smack into the SCA cultural value that "if you
>>don't get a goodie for it, what's the point?"...
>That's not exactly fair...And exactly what is wrong with wanting 
>recognition?...

Did I say that there WAS anything wrong with wanting recognition?  My
statement was that there was a mindset prevalent in the Society that
there is no point in doing anything unless there is a prize.  As can be
inferred from my feelings about *competition*, some things DO boil down
to simple "Victory" or "Failure", "Win" or "Lose", and with "winning"
come the laurels of glory.

However, if you feel that *everything* is a competition, then, I believe,
you've missed the point.  *Some* things can be done for their own sake, 
and since I rather enjoy research, learning, and bettering my skills
I think that these things should be kept from becoming entangled in the
sometimes emotionally charged tentacles of competition.  Some things I
do *just* for the pleasure of a "job well done".  I was simply noting 
that not everyone agrees with me on that, and that *some* people are in 
the Society to get all the recognition they can from it, all the titles,
all the "cookies", and if there is no such "prize", there's no point doing
anything.

If that's unfair, that's too bad, since it's a simple paraphrase.

>Yes, it's a pretty picture, but like any other pretty picture this takes
>work.  Maybe I'm on my own here, but who out there doesn't want to see 
>this kind of mindset for A&S?
>Far too idealistic for my own good,

I don't believe that you can have "kind and nurturing" in a competative
atmosphere.

I. Marc Carlson, Reference Librarian    |LIB_IMC at CENTUM.UTULSA.EDU
Tulsa Community College, West Campus LRC|Sometimes known as:
Reference Tech. McFarlin Library        | Diarmuit Ui Dhuinn 
University of Tulsa, 2933 E. 6th St.    | University of Northkeep 
Tulsa, OK  74104-3123 (918) 631-3794    | Northkeepshire, Ansteorra



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