If you look at the Old Queens Bards charter compared to the new Ansteorra Bardic College you will find these points differ One the Old charter had rankings. These turned out to be a pain in the butt so I would like to not go back to them. Two there is a system for marking your sash. I think we should informally revive it. I don't think it should be in the charter . We know what they are for and do them if we want to. I think we should try to get the local groups to start giving out secondary awards for best story, poetry, song and instrumental music. I think more pats on the head will inspire people. We could get together and offer the prizes. Three There was a firm statement of purpose. The new Charter is very vague. I did this to allow everyone to choose their own path. And the old charter forbade satire. In the Old Charter we took an oath of Service to our ideals. This got left out because people decided that it is up to the individual to chart his/hers own path. Four This is the big difference. In the new Charter the Premier Bard is in charge of everything. In the Old Queens Bard we had a Principal Bard that worked like the senechal and called meetings and gathered people together to address the needs of the community. When I was Principal Bard I had assistants in the North, South and Central. It was our job to organize educational and performing venues. They were organizers not bureaucrats. Am I explaining the difference. The Principal Bard's staff would call a meeting of Bard/performers , find out the people's need and try to work the problems out. We started a newsletter, We gather scholars together to provide research for the Bards/performers. We started an archive of Ansteorra history stories. We arranged bardic circles and classes on Bardcraft. When we had problems with the Kings and nobility we condense everything into the Premier Bard. This puts too much strain on the position. Either people feel it is too much work or they refuse to do any. In today's world we need about 18 months to get things organized. the Premier bard is in office for too short of a time and often the following PB isn't interested in keeping the programs going or working with the previous Bards people. We need long term officers that work for the college for at least 2 years to keep the teaching and performing things going. In Ansteorra the Crown has a lot of tradition to explain to new individuals what their job is, but the Premier Bard doesn't have the same folk knowledge. Willow ________________________________________________________________________ Try Juno Platinum for Free! Then, only $9.95/month! Unlimited Internet Access with 1GB of Email Storage. Visit http://www.juno.com/value to sign up today!