[Ansteorra] Camp fee what to do about it

[Stefan li Rous]

It is your choice, but I think it would be reasonable to charge for  
your handouts or supplies for a class. So, I thank you for doing this.

Although a bit off-topic for this particular thread, if you have some  
class handouts that will stand-alone with out the actual class, I'd  
love to have them for the Florilegium. This would continue to be free  
for both you and your readers and perhaps let others who haven't been  
able to attend your classes benefit from what you've been teaching.

Personally I think the camp fee is quite reasonable. It is less than  
the taxes I will have to pay on my airline ticket to fly up there and  
back. It is much less than I pay to my Pennsic household when I camp  
with them down by the lake. If I camped with Ansteorra, I'd be in the  
populace/non-VIP camp and I'm not sure I would walk several blocks for  
a drink of cold water, but I definitely would walk that short distance  
for a hot shower and that alone is worth this camp fee.  As at Gulf  
Wars the general event showers can be a long way off and the chance of  
getting warm, much less hot water, is rather hit and miss. Unless you  
like your showers at 2 or 4 am.

I do appreciate Ysabeau of Prague's better description of what the  
camp fee was going for. I don't believe the showers were even  
mentioned in the initial announcement and I wasn't sure what the ice  
was to be used for. For all the initial message said, it could have  
been mainly to keep the King's beer cold. The lanterns and torches are  
also reasonable if they are being placed in both the populace and the  
Royal areas, but I may have missed that being mentioned in this  
barrage of messages.

When I last camped with Ansteorra at Pennsic 21, 23, 25 and 27, I seem  
to remember Ansteorra was in one, single, homogenous camp, although I  
don't remember any sort of camp fee. But the camp wasn't very cohesive  
or welcoming, with everyone going their own ways. For Pennsic 25, we  
hauled the Ansteorra pavilion up there, but except for perhaps the  
chili night, it didn't get set up because we were so crowded. Maybe  
more room is what we got when the second Ansteorra block was added,  
but it would be better to have both blocks next to each other, even if  
the Royal block has to move a couple of blocks further out, so the two  
blocks can be adjacent. I'd like to think that some of the things that  
this camp fee will provide will help bring the separate Ansteorra  
blocks closer together as a unit. But if the services are not spread  
across the two blocks it will be more, not less, divisive.

Who may or may not have a dog in this battle, depending upon whether  
he gets a job in time to register for Pennsic. :-(

Stefan

On May 21, 2011, at 10:13 PM, Dan Baker wrote:

> Umm, I have taught many classes over the years, and no I am not a  
> peer.  I
> have yet to charge for a copy of a handout, or materials, and  
> certainly not
> travel expenses.  And I have taught classes of as many as 75  
> people.  I
> chose to take care of my costs,THAT IS MY CHOICE, and I have no  
> problem with
> others who for various reasons defray their expenses with a nominal  
> fee.
> Now if they are charging an excessive fee, say $5 for $1 worth of  
> handouts,
> I object and will not pay or partake in the class.  Fees should  
> reflect the
> true out of pocket costs.  And the same for a Pennsic camp fee.   
> There are
> costs to running a camp for a group, if everyone chips in to cover  
> the true
> costs, how is that not fair?  Did you want the services to be ala  
> carte?  Oh
> heck I will pay for this and this, but not that?

Ysabeau of Prague said:
<<< The fee is for all of the things that most of us take for granted  
at any
event...trash cans with trash bags, Gott coolers filled with ice water  
for
anyone who is thirsty, gatorade, oranges, and pickles for the Ansteorran
fighters and their guests on the field, propane for the hot shower  
that is
shared between 85 people instead of 500, fuel for the tiki torches and
batteries for the lanterns, etc. None of these items are part of
your Pennsic site fee and it is only through the generosity of Master  
Cynric
and Mistress Seraphina and individual donations that there hasn't been  
a fee
before now. If your issue is that they are being provided in the first
place, then please don't take advantage of the opportunity to be part  
of the
Ansteorran Pennsic Community. The Ansteorran Pennsic Community feels  
that it
is a better place with these things. >>>

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****