ANST - Webs and Chronicles and Cash

[Dennis Grace]

Salut Cozyns,

Lyonel aisai.

I'm trying to send this again because the first post did not include the 
entire message.  Sorry about that.

Pug posted:
>  The Virtual Scribes' Handbook can currently be found at:
>
>http://southern.ansteorra.org/vscribe.html

I looked over the site--nice work, Pug, as always--and I was reminded of 
a point of confusion from many years ago (man, when I go off on a 
tangent I...oh, wait, that's another tangent).

I remember once--way back when I was a landed baron a billion miles from 
here--we had a little temporary financial difficulty with our 
newsletter.  Our chronicler--an enterprising youngster--decided to take 
matters into her own hands.  She arranged for the local Tandy Leather 
store to run an ad with us.  Of course, the Kingdom Chronicler 
immediately informed us that she was *not* allowed to do that.  We found 
other ways to address our problem, but I had intended to look into that 
bizarre regulation when time allowed.  Then I forgot.

Now, Pug's publication of the Virtual Scribe's handbook tells me:

>>>>>>>>>>>>
Since paid and non-paid advertisements are not allowed, direct links to 
merchants, companies, etc., are not permitted. A careful inspection of 
websites requested to be linked up should be made to help ensure that 
they are not a merchant nor attempting to avoid this limitation in any 
manner.
<<<<<<<<<<<<

Well, I thought, I wonder if this is an outgrowth of the same old rule? 
So I checked the Ansteorra Kingdom Chronicler's Handbook and found this:

>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monitoring of Local Branch Newsletters--Innapropriate Inclusions:
...
...
...
8) Paid advertisement (only Corporate publications such as Kingdom 
newsletters and Tournaments Illuminated can accept paid advertisements).

9) Non-paid advertisements. Event announcements, notices of revels, 
parties and nonofficial events are acceptable. Advertisements that are 
not directly Society related are not acceptable.
<<<<<<<<<<<<

AFter looking at that, I started wondering, does anyone actually have 
any rational explanation for such things?  I mean, I've seen SCA groups 
do all sorts of screewball things to make money, why is advertising such 
a bugbear?  So, I went to the highest source, hoping to find some 
logical resolution.

According to the Society Chronicler's Publications Policy (located at 
http://www.sca.org/officers/chronicler/policy.html and last updated 
3/19/98):

>>>>>>>>>>>
It is the policy of the Society that, due to the complexity of Internal 
Revenue Service regulations, local newsletters cannot accept paid 
advertising for publication in their newsletters. Individuals may, 
however, sponsor pages within the newsletter, and may have a brief 
announcement of that sponsorship listed either on that page or elsewhere 
within the newsletter.
<<<<<<<<<<<

Note:  the Society pubs policy statement does *not* limit the use of 
advertising to "Corporate publications."  That statement is either 
something we came up with ourselves or an item nested in some obscure 
Society Exchequer's document (I know Mistress Catherine Angelique is on 
the Pelican list, which is one of many reasons I've posted this missive 
there as well).

Okay, I'll readiily admit that I'm no financial wizard.  I have a 
tendency to fall asleep anytime anyone uses the words "principle" and 
interest in the same sentence. Nonetheless, this claim in the Society 
Chronicler's policy sounds like a lot of hooey to me.  How does running 
an ad in a local newsletter present any more challenge for IRS reporting 
than holding a garage sale?

I think we're missing out on some golden opportunities here--especially 
for the Kingdom website. Understand, of course, I only want to address 
*appropriate* advertising (for which the Society policy page provides 
more than adequate guidelines).

Whaddy'all think?

lo vostre por vos servir
Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace, Capitan
Bryn Gwlad
Ansteorra
Micel yfel deth se unwritere.
		--AElfric of York


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