[Northkeep] Rambling (was January Saga)

[LRA]

Actually, I do agree with the majority of what you have said. I'm certainly
not a computer geek; I know others are the same way. I also know some do not
have access to computers or do not have the computer speed or needed
equipment to view the online newsletter.

I also know that for some financial considerations were keeping them from
being able to have our newsletter.

That is why there will be hard copies of the Saga available at populace for
no cost to both the people who do not have computer access and also to those
who could not previously afford it. Mailing is also an option, although
actual mailing costs must be charged to cover the costs for that.

My goals in putting the Saga online are multiple: (1) making it available to
more Northkeepers and other SCA folks; (2) making it available to those who
could not previously afford the Saga; (3) making it more easily available to
people interested in the SCA/Norhtkeep; and (4) saving the barony of bunch
of money (about $500 a year).

I hope we will be able to meet those goals with our new electronic version
of the newsletter as well as having some hard copies to hand out at populace
to newcomers and members who cannot get it electronically. If we have not
covered some of the bases, or if the plan needs to be adjusted so we can
cover all the bases, I'm always happy to work something out.

As always, Diarmaid, it is good to have people in the group who help look
out for others. I really do appreciate your concerns and your advice with
this project. And I also appreciate all the work you've done for every issue
with your Medieval year series.

Thanks.

Lynn the Inquisitive


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marc Carlson" <marccarlson20 at hotmail.com>
To: <northkeep at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2005 10:39 AM
Subject: [Northkeep] Rambling (was January Saga)


> >From: "LRA" <LRA at olpdsl.net>
> >Not to worry... I will be bringing you a hard copy at populace.
>
> I wasn't worried (although it is appreciated), I was just trying to make a
> point.  I know, I know, it's not the prevailing POV, and that's fine.  I'm
> just going to keep making though (requiring a specific set of hardware,
> software, or knowledge will tend to marginalize people).
>
> As an aside, which I am not actually directing at anyone, but may help
(for
> some) why I am so fussy about this.
>
> I have a friend who wrote me this week because he turned on his computer
and
> he got a diagnostic box on his desktop telling him that the sky was
falling,
> or some such - so he panicked and wrote me.  I had never seen this
> diagnostic before, so I went to my tech person here and said "WTF?" (or
> words to that effect).  She told me that he had some garbage files in his
> temp file folder and just needed to delete everything in it.  So I passed
> that along.  In the meantime he had gone to HIS tech person who told him
> "you need to do a scandisk and that will fix everything".  So he was
> panicking because he couldn't find a scandisk button.   So I explained to
> him that there wasn't a scandisk button, and hadn't been for  several
> versions of windows, however there IS an "error checking" button that does
> the same thing.  So he's done both those things and now he's fine.  The
real
> point is though that I went back to my tech person and told her about this
> (since she likes to be kept  aprised of how her advise works, and what
other
> tech people are suggesting).  Her assistant chirpped up with the comment
of
> "well, he sounds like one of those people who just nees to send his
computer
> back" (i..e, he's just too stupid to have a computer).  At which point he
> was gently and kindly reminded that stupid and ignorant aren't the same
> thing, one being incurable except by death, and the other can be beaten
out
> of you.  Just because someone doesn't know about the indepth detail crap
> about the history of how DOS works through Windows doesn't make them
stupid,
> while assuming that one's knowledge or how one choses to do things is the
> only way things can or even should be done is elitest claptrap.
>
> As Lynn and I have discussed (and will continue to disagree on, I'm sure),
> putting the Saga out with the primary format being the electronic one
makes
> several basic assumptions that I believe are flawed.  Those being that
most
> people in the Barony are online, or should be; that downloading pdfs is
> reasonable, easy or even possible (in my case, the nature of my dial up
> connection makes downloading large files of any sort from home very
> problematic), that people will want to, much less be able to add another
> program to their machines (You or I may not have problems with installing
> software -- but I work with a building full of people who are educated but
> still clueless about anything beyond how to access their email, and are
> somewhat sketchy about that; and a few of those ARE too stupid to be
> taught).
>
> Now, since my Diarmaid sense is acting up, I will end this by saying that
I
> know it's a done deal and it will almost certainly work just fine for
> virtually all cases - I'm just concerned about that minority of people who
> aren't going to able to manage it and get gradually more left out.  (and
> yes, I do realize that there's a condescending elitist assumption built in
> there too :) )
>
> Marc/Diarmaid
>
>
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