[Bryn-gwlad] N00bs

[Corbin O Cathasaigh]

Anna,
   
   I get where you're coming from with this analogy, I really do. Having worked for years in tech support myself, I know exactly what you're talking about.
   
  The thing is though, that handling newcomers is not like tech support. For that matter, getting into the SCA is not like running a computer either. In tech support the idea is to put the client in a position where they can handle themselves alone and not have to interact with you again. I don't think that's how we would want the SCA to be! In the SCA the idea is to always have people around, doing what we like to do, and asking questions--even Dore' is always asking us questions when we're practicing fencing techniques with him--in the interest of furthering the experience together; not experiencing it alone.
   
  I don't think you're a heartless bitch for saying it: you're simply using the analogy that is close at hand. I just think that approaching the issue of fostering newcomers in the same way that one approaches technical support might not be the best way of achieving the desired result.
   
  Yes, it is possible for a newcomer to get to the point that they feel that they have to be entertained, or that they are unable to experience the SCA without the people they first encountered being there to pull them through it. I've seen that happen too. I don't, however, think that that is the norm, nor that we should necessarily assume that is going to happen in most cases.
   
  I find a more apt analogy to be that of fledgling birds. Yes they must learn to leave the nest... eventually. Keep them in too long, and they never take to wing. But push them out too soon, and they become cat food.

Amanda Shields <ashields at apple.com> wrote:
      Also, and I may be a heartless bitch for saying it (Hell, I *am* heartless ) but most folks who need extensive shepherding beyond the first few times are not the kind who tend to stick around. I see it all the time in tech support. If you offer much beyond the basics of getting the user going and helping fix their screwups, you will get folks who will call you every day to find the ON button. When you finally have to shoot them down for going too much into third party or "how-to" issues, they get really, really upset.
  

  Anna



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