ANST - Newcomers

[gptaylor]

As it was stated, there was concern for newcomers information, particularly on
the web.

I'm not taking this as an attack.  I want to know.

When I first started messing with the online hospitaler's info, the link from
the main Ansteorra page was difficult to find (the link was at the top of the
page...too prominent to be "obvious").  It's been put back with all of the other
links, as one of the smaller subheadings, called, "newcomers".  Is this now
obvious?  Does it need to be bigger?

Is our problem that there is too MUCH information on the main Hospitaler's Web
page?

*  Michael De La Mare's Guiding Hand is filled with lots of good information,
both about the SCA in general and about Ansteorra.  I updated it a year or so
ago, but there still are slight problems (doesn't have several of the newer
non-armigerous awards on it).  The laws are probably also out of date.

*  I've added "Forward into the Past", though it does not yet have images
(anybody want to do some scanning???).  It's good enough to stand without them,
and does have all of the very basic SCA information in it.  Who, what, where,
why, when, how, etc.

                 *Please note that we really can't dramatically alter content in
either of these
                 publications, for copyright reasons.  Particulary in Forward
into the Past...

*Most of the articles that are normally passed out by local hospitalers are
online in digital format.  They are primarily from TI.  Again, no alteration
allowed.

On a non-electronic level, there generally is a list of required readings that
local hospitalers are told to keep and xerox for newbies (many of which are
presently online, in case they need a fresh copy).  When I was SR Hospitaler,
whenever there was a changeover in a local hospitaler, I remailed them this
packet of articles, so that they could be sure to have them all (I tried to get
locals to inventory their hospitaler's box and tell me what they had...generally
didn't happen...easier to begin again).  Other regionals are generally told to
do the same thing.

Overall, I don't know if the problem that was discussed at Red Tape actually has
already been addressed by the better initial Link to Ansteorra.org...or if the
online problems are a continuing .  I don't know if the local hospitaler didn't
get the articles, or passed out all of them without xeroxing additional copies.

Finally, one thing that we are doing in Bjornsborg is passing out a small 3-fold
flyer with basic SCA info, local contact info, links to the web sites, etc, to
those who show up at the park where we hold our fighter practices.  We have a
great local deputy hospitaler who sets up a small table with the words, "Free
Information" on a small sign, for those who are more shy.  Any group who wants a
copy of this flyer (artwork by Ragnar), can download it from the hospitaler
site, in either pdf format (with a space to write in local phone numbers, etc)
or as a MS Word document, for editing and personalization.  See if you can find
it on the hospitaler site.  Let me know if it's too deeply buried.

Isobel


Morgan Cain wrote:

> The issue is not whether the information exists.
>
> The issue is that the information is not being given to those who need it.
>
> Information on the web is useless to those without access, or who do not
> know where to look.  It is better if the persons responsible for interacting
> with newcomers have paper material that can be given to them, and best if
> that material is particular to the group or area.
>
>                             ---= Morgan (yeah, done that too)
>
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