[Bryn-gwlad] Ideas about newcomers from...a newcomer

[Corbin O Cathasaigh]

Hidden in your post, Coblaith, is what I feel is the best answer to the problem of identifying newcomers without them feeling self conscious.
   
  Just look for the people with It Comeths clutched in their hands. 
   
  -C
   
   
  P.S. That is actually offered as a serious suggestion!
  

Coblaith Mhuimhneach <Coblaith at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
  Sean wrote:
> The idea of a simple banner to alert individuals, such as myself, to a 
> location where information and friendly advice can be had is terrific. 
> This banner would be useful for attracting attention but would not 
> help anyone once they walked away. As I understand it Bryn Gwald has a 
> rather large number of participants and not every member knows one 
> another, so how are they going to know if a person near them is new or 
> not. Perhaps a simple cloth shield with the colors and Halberd of 
> Bryn-Gwald could be offered to "Newbies" so that others would know 
> they were...new.

Something like this had occurred to me. But I wonder how many 
newcomers would be comfortable with it. I'm concerned that it would 
seem to many like the propeller-beanies freshmen wear in old Hollywood 
movies about college kids--sort of de facto hazing. Perhaps if we 
presented them less as "something newcomers (have to or should) wear" 
than "something to wear if you want to invite people to come over and 
introduce themselves to you"?

I have also thought that it might be helpful if officers and guild 
principals wore some sort of insignia at Populace in the Park. 
Newcomers might not know what the individual badges mean, but they 
would know the people wearing them were available to answer questions 
and make introductions. (Of course those who were too busy doing other 
things to volunteer as foci for attention could leave them off.) And 
if somebody wanted to point one to a particular officer, they'd have a 
better way to do it. ("Right over there, with dark hair. Standing 
next to the big guy with the beard," is typically much less helpful 
than, for instance, "Right over there. The one with the black and 
white feathers on her armband.") I usually chase anybody I don't know 
around the park, waiving a sheaf of newsletters at them, anyway; I'd be 
happy to do it wearing the chroniclers' badge.

Similarly, members of the populace who were willing to be general 
"ambassadors" on any given night could wear the Barony's badge or 
green-and-gold bands or something. Then all the folks at the 
Hospitaler's table would have to do to is point them out and explain 
what they mean (or hail somebody who'd chosen to put one on, depending 
on the circumstances).

I, as a newcomer, wasn't unwilling to go up to people and say, "Hi," 
but I was reluctant to "horn in on" conversations and harass people who 
were busy doing other things, and it often looks as though EVERYBODY at 
PiP is busy. If there had been people wearing, "Harass me, please!" 
labels, I would've been more comfortable approaching them.



Coblaith Mhuimhneach
Chronicler, Barony of Bryn Gwlad
(as you might have guessed)
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