[Bryn-gwlad] Pop-up, parents, faux history, defense, discussions and heresy.

[James Crouchet]

I have a few comments about newcomers, demos and related stuff.
 
- I like Stephanie's idea of a newcomer's point at PiP. I was thinking 
along similar lines. A pop-up with a sign would make it obvious. Add a 
table, chair and guest book and you have an easily portable setup. 
Charles would not need to spend his life sitting at the table, just sign 
people up to work shifts there. A lot of people on this list have piped 
up so this would give them a chance to follow through and really connect 
with new people. Also, have at least two people work each shift (for 
MANY reasons).

- Having newcomers is a lot like having children; it changes your focus, 
how you spend your time and how you count your rewards in life. There 
was a time when Bryn Gwlad actively avoided recruitment of newcomers 
because the barony did not want to pay that price. If the barony is 
going to become a "parent" we need to walk into that commitment with our 
eyes open.

-  I think we are being led to recruit now because we see the price of 
not having done so in the past, but that is not enough. This will mean a 
few less Beaded Elizabethan gowns and a few more classes in making basic 
shirts and chemises. A few less advanced fighting classes and few more 
beginner sessions. A few less of those "pushing the envelope" projects 
and a few more classes on basics. If you "support recruiting", are you 
willing to make that commitment in your area of expertise?

- We should not just hand the newbie a foil and a trigger cloth T-tunic; 
they don't have to start with the faux historical stuff just because we 
did. We are now very capable and knowledgeable and we should be able to 
show the newcomers simple but historically accurate stuff.

- PiP is when the barony's fighters' get together. For us this is not 
just hanging out time or chatting time, it is our "guild" meeting. Keep 
that in mind when saying what "everyone" at PiP "should" be doing. Don't 
impose anything you would not be willing to do at your guild meetings. 
Meet and work with newcomers, sure, but the reason fighters come out to 
PiP is to learn and practice the art of defense. Compared with when it 
was just "fighter practice", we give up a lot of time to meetings, 
announcements and the like. That was the price of making it a general 
baronial get together and I think it has been worth it. I love the buzz 
of the social crowd on the side and the occasional strains of music 
across the field. But don't accuse us of ignoring the rest of the barony 
because we spend the bulk of our time training, discussing and doing 
fighting.

- I am very uncomfortable with terms like "need to", "must" and "we need 
them" in relation to demos and outside entities. No demo is above 
discussion. Our time is a very limited resource so the real need is to 
make the best use of it. Our discussions -- on this list and otherwise 
-- help us to decide what is the best application of our time. For those 
who get rattled by the apparent strife these discussions generate, sorry 
but that it the nature of debate and discussion. What I see is an honest 
exchange of opinions building to a common direction.

- I will say the heretical: Not every person is worth recruiting into 
the SCA. Even some who would join are not worth having. When we recruit 
we should go for more than volume, we need to consider quality and 
common interests too. In our gradual recruiting over the past few years 
we have been fortunate in getting high quality people with energy, 
talent, intelligence and who are compatible with our interests and 
goals. As we increase the pace let's try to pick venues that continue 
that, rather than bringing in groups that will be more of a draw on our 
resources than a boost. (No, I am not saying POTC is not a good demo.)

Christian Doré