[Ansteorra] why regions?

[Chris Zakes]

At 03:45 PM 8/6/2011, you wrote:
>The creation of regions was suppose to give groups in all areas a 
>level of officers that would help them. The kingdom officer found it 
>too hard to personally get to all the group. Area's were talking 
>about the need  of principalities to solve this problem.
>Regions were created to give groups a kingdom officers that they 
>could get help from and someone who could take problems up to the 
>Crown. They were to give the smalls a source of data so they would 
>know who they could go to for advice and help
>That seemed to help for about an decade but now it has failed. hTe 
>fact that so many small groups have failed and the fact we are 
>losing problem proves that the system isn't working.

I expect the economic situation has a *lot* more to do with groups 
failing than how the kingdom is structured. If you've lost your job, 
you probably don't have the money to do much SCA-ing. When gas prices 
are around $3.50/gallon, frequent trips to the other end of the 
kingdom become less feasible.


>It might be time for the Crown and Its officers to put more one to 
>one time into our problems.
>  The Crown might look in creating more kingdom level deputies. and 
> corresponding warranted officers


So you want to get rid of one layer of bureaucracy--the regional 
officers--and replace them with a different layer of bureaucracy? How 
is that going to help?


>For example, every active art form or activity mean more people in a 
>group. If a group is attracting heavy and rapier fighter and archers 
>and lots of fiber arts people they might need to think about 
>broadening the bardic and metal working and research aspect of the 
>SCA, There is a great chance they have no one interested in those 
>subjects because the RW rule for organizing  Is "like recruits like".
>  A office that is there with list of people who might be willing to 
> come to the group and materials. A person on a computer and a phone 
> that can offer help to demo organizers and offer a list of teachers 
> that would be able to teach the new people that were recruited. the 
> regional officers used to do this but that doesn't appear to being 
> done. A kingdom system might prove more useful.

If its not being done under the current system, how will changing 
job-titles or shuffling the officers around suddenly make it happen?


>We are in trouble and only the Crown and Kingdom officers can pull 
>resources out to help groups in trouble. The Crown can ask its peers to help.

And the local or regional officers *can't* do this? Why not? I direct 
your attention to the upcoming Academy of the 
Rapier  http://academy.dwarfworks.com/  It's being put on by the 
Central Region precisely *because* the kingdom-level officers were 
being obstructions to holding a kingdom Academy of the Rapier. But 
the funny thing is that the teachers, classes and students will look 
a whole lot like a kingdom event, even though the label says "regional."

         -Tivar Moondragon