[Ansteorra] Member or Not?

[Randy Nicholson]

Colin wrote;

"I do agree it's not up to SCA Corporate to identify this distinction since
it is Ansteorra-specific, but I also find it significant that the difference
is so well hidden that even some kingdom officers did not know it."

 That's the crux of the problem isn't it?  Local officers are responsible
for knowing the kingdom law just as regional or kingdom officers are, and
should have some working knowledge of corpora as well.  Our job as officers
should be to insure that our groups are successful first and foremost!  That
means that is our duty to protect, nurture and to sustain the group.  The
seneschal should, at any given point, know how many sustaining members that
his/her group has and should be aware of where the group's status falls
within kingdom law.  If there is a problem the local seneschal should be the
first person to know it and to address it!  And if the seneschal is doing
his/her job correctly in this area, the populace should be aware of the fact
that there is not enough sustaining members in the group.  

 I know that as my local groups' Hospitaler my job is to recruit new people.
I do tell them that while it is not necessary to become a member, if they do
elect to become a member that the best way they can support our local group
is to become a sustaining member and I explain why that is.

I am of the opinion that it is the responsibility of the local officers and
the membership at large to be aware of what their membership means within
the confines of kingdom law.  

As for the corporation, or even the kingdom, having the responsibility to
inform every single person who goes online to purchase a membership to
clearly state that only sustaining/subscribing members count towards a
groups status is not reasonable.  It is just as much the responsibility of
the purchaser/consumer to investigate what he/she is buying.  There is
enough documentation out there available that anyone can discover what each
membership bracket includes.  Just because someone doesn't want to go look
for it doesn't mean that that person then gets to blame the corporation for
their own lack of effort to be a good consumer. 

But, I do feel that it is an undue burden to expect a family of 5 to
purchase sustaining membership for all 5 people.  I think that there should
be a mix of memberships allowed to count towards sustaining a group's
status.  Not counting family members is a bit disenfranchising.  After all,
those people are there and they are active and that family is what the SCA
is about.

Ld. Robert deBray