[ANSTHRLD] Court Reports

[Zodiacus Herald]

Dear Heralds,
This is a friendly reminder that court reports are due within two weeks of
an event. All heralds are expected to submit court reports for every court
they attend, but I especially need to be hearing from court heralds and
local heralds for every event. If I don't receive a report, I will usually
send a reminder email to the local herald anywhere between 1-3 weeks after
the event.

Asking that all heralds send a court report for each event may seem like it
would lead to an unnecessary duplication of effort, but in fact, multiple
reports help ensure that I receive all the required information for each
court, and that I have backups if the primary report doesn’t get to me for
some reason. I often get a much more complete picture of what actually
happened at an event if I have more than one report to review.

If I do not receive a report, I will always work through the local herald
first to try to get one, but please be aware that if I don't get a response
from the local herald within a week or so of inquiring, I will instead
contact the nobles who presided over the court and ask them to help me
reconstruct the list of awards given. In order to do that, I first have to
get a list of the scrolls that were prepared for the event from the Sable
Scroll, and then get the nobles to verify that those awards were actually
given, and then get a list of any additional awards that were added last
minute onsite. Reconstructing a court report is a time-consuming process,
and is in all ways less preferable than receiving an actual court report.
It's more work for Zodiacus, Sable Scroll, your landed nobles, and sometimes
the Crown. It takes longer, and there are additional places where errors can
be inadvertantly introduced. So, please, *please* send me court reports! I
enter most reports as soon as I receive them, so the sooner you get them to
me, the sooner all of your friends' and neighbors' new awards will be
recorded in the OP.


I realize that some nobles (understandably) don’t like to sign multiple
reports.  If a noble won’t sign a report for you, or if they tell you
another herald has already taken care of it, please send me your unsigned
report anyway, so that if the signed report is lost, I at least have
something to work with.  I can always get the nobles to re-affirm the
report, if needed. I’ll accept reports by snail mail or in electronic format
(digital photos or scans of the original).

I actually prefer scans of signed reports to snail mail reports, but both
methods are fine. My mailing address is in the back of the Black Star. If
you'd like to receive an email confirmation that I have received your snail
mail report, please include your email address on the report.

Here are a few things to remember when you are completing a court report:

- Anyone can do one! You don't have to be a herald. Just download the form
from http://herald.ansteorra.org/OP/
- You don't have to have a form! If you forget your forms at home, just
record the required information on any piece of paper (event flier, napkin,
notebook paper, whatever) and send it to me. The required information
includes the date, the event, the group, the names of the award recipients
and the awards they received, your name, and the signature of the presiding
nobles.
- Please record awards that are read into law at the event, but are not
given out due to the absence of the recipient, and make a notation on the
court report that the recipient wasn't present. I will not record the award
in the OP (so as not to give away the surprise), but the information you
report will help me make sure I have the correct date once the award IS
given out.
- Likewise, if an award that was previously read into law is given out,
please make a notation that it was read into law during a previous event or
reign. I will not record the award until I have confirmation that it has
been presented, so it's really important to report these, especially when
they are given out at something like a populace meeting or fighter practice,
where they are more likely to fall through the reporting cracks. I
especially need the date information, but sometimes it isn't announced or is
difficult to hear during court. In these cases, just do the best you can,
and I will try to confirm the date through alternate means.
- If no awards are given at an on-calendar event, the local herald should
still send me an email or note that states that no awards were given.
There's no need to send me a note about off-calendar events.
- If you are a local herald, be sure to keep a copy of your local event
reports for yourself.

I am currently receiving most of my reports from whoever is serving as Royal
Herald for each event. I need to hear from the rest of you also. If you are
a local herald and cannot attend your local event, please make sure that you
delegate your court reporting duties to a deputy or someone else.

Thanks to everyone for all their help and hard work. The vast majority of
the reports I receive are on time and thorough. Your promptness helps ensure
that the OP is always as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards,
Sara Penrose
Zodiacus