[Ansteorra] Member or Not?

[Rose & Chad]

You know, I looked back to make sure that I hadn't missed something when purchasing our memberships. I remember that I had plenty of occasion to stare at the screens explaining membership, as my Visa was repeatedly rejected and subsequently turned off altogether, as an SCA membership is apparently an odd thing for someone to purchase online, and my bank thought someone had stolen my card and was making fraudulent purchases. I had to go to my bank and get a new card after that. :) (You hear that, people. We're weird. Rofl.) 
   
  I have copy and pasted directly from the site itself, and I have included those clips and the URLs they came from below my message, so you don't have to wade through it to get to the meat of the thing.
   
  Nowhere does it state that other members receive less benefits than sustaining members, except where it allows you to opt out of receiving publications by purchasing an associate membership. It makes perfect sense to me that people who don't get publications pay less. Those publications are very professional, and are not cheap to print, and not everyone wants them.
   
  But being counted as a member is certainly a benefit, and should be a right for every member... Esp. since my local group can be disbanded for not having enough members. And once again, I'm defining a member as someone who has paid for a membership, which I most certainly have done. So once again, I ask... Who decided that people who paid for memberships weren't members, and when did it happen? I have been on hiatus for about 7 years while my kids were really little and I worked in a nights-and-weekends job, and apparently the whole place has been turned upside-down in these last few years... :)
   
  To wit, I am *not* counted as a member and I did *not* get exactly what the documents promised. Please be advised, sir, that it is not up to the purchaser to have to call up someone and ask if it's the same, just in case it's not. That asinine. It is up to the seller to detail if it is different. Imagine the hell that would be raised if I advertised a size 7, one carat diamond ring, and then offered a smaller ring size, say a size 6 that obviously has less gold, for less money. And then I shipped out a size 6, half carat diamond ring. I would be sued and rightfully so.
   
  The following excerpt is from http://sca.org/members/welcome.html:
  About Membership in the SCA  There are several levels of membership in the Society: a Sustaining membership ($35) includes a year's subscription to your kingdom's newsletter, which contains kingdom news, announcements for events taking place in your area, and local group contacts.  Lower-priced Associate and Family memberships are also available.
   
  You are not required to purchase an SCA membership before attending SCA meetings and events. Membership is a requirement for holding office in SCA groups, for participation in combat and combat-related activities in some kingdoms, and for eligibility to receive awards in some kingdoms.     End of excerpt.     This excerpt is from https://membership.sca.org/, where you actually purchase the membership:     Joining the SCA is now easier than ever! With a few clicks and a credit card, you can become a new member or renew your existing membership online!
  An important note about Family Memberships!  Family Memberships must be purchased at the same time that a Sustaining or International Membership is purchased. On the page where you choose your membership type, there is an area where you can specify the number of Family Memberships needed. On the next page, you will be asked for the names and membership number (if known) for each family member.
   
  If you do not specify the number of Family Memberships needed at this time, once your credit card has been charged, you will not be able to purchase Family Memberships on-line without purchasing another Sustaining or International Membership.
  How much does a membership cost?          Membership Type  Cost (US Dollars)    Sustaining/International
(Includes Kingdom newsletter subscription)  $35.00    Associate
(Membership card only, does not recieve any publications)  $20.00    Family Member
(One additional adult and any minor children 21 and under residing at the same address as a Sustaining member)  $10.00 per family member, $25.00 maximum
  End of excerpt.
   
  Jay Rudin <rudin at ev1.net> wrote:
  Don't be silly. You *are* counted as a member, with exactly the membership benefits you were promised when you joined. Kingdom Law requires a certain number of subscribing memberships, and you were never promised that a non-subscribing membership would be counted as a subscribing one.

It was never true, and it will never be true, that all memberships carry 
the same benefits.

Petition for a change in kingdom law if you like, but don't complain that the membership you bought provided exactly the benefits that the documents promised, rather than some other, richer set of benefits that you didn't buy.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin