RF - Unto the populace (2a of 2)

[aodhfionn at unforgettable.com]

This was apparently to long for the server to take in one piece...

I'm sorry I did not quote these in full, but this thing was going to be long 
enough as it was.  Wherever possible, I have included a web address and 
a document name.

(My apologies to those I told this was from the Kingdom Handbook)
<Link: http://www.sca.org/docs/complain.hbk.html >
Society for Creative Anachronism
Organizational Handbook General Information
Channels for Complaint and Appeal
The Society is devoted to courtesy and trustworthiness and personal 
responsibility, and it sometimes seems that these ideals should be enough to 
permit members to work smoothly together. After all, virtually everyone agrees it 
is desirable to foster the Society's goals of encouraging research and recreation in 
its chosen period and to promote the welfare and prosperity of the organization 
and the education and enjoyment of everyone in it. Unfortunately, tensions and 
disputes develop anyway. 
The Board is the final court of appeal for disputes that have escalated beyond the 
ability of the participants or the officers to handle. However, it is reluctant to play 
that role because its rulings affect the entire Society - often by restricting 
everyone's freedom and reducing their enjoyment of the organization. Corpora 
provides an unlimited right of appeal to the Board, but members should make 
every effort to work out their disputes at as low a level in the organization as 
possible. 
While it is not possible to prescribe a specific list of things to do or people to 
consult that will serve in all disputes, the general procedure outlined here should 
be adaptable to most of them. If you are directly involved in a dispute, please go 
through a process at least as comprehensive as this one before asking the Board 
for help. If you are asked to intervene in someone else's dispute because of the 
office or title you hold, please don't rush in. First urge the principals to try all 
measures recommended for attempting to reach a settlement without involving 
your level of the organization. Then, if you do intervene, make every effort to find 
a resolution the participants can accept, instead of escalating the dispute to higher 
levels of the organization. 
A. PRINCIPLES 
1. Avoid trouble. There are many valid approaches to Society activity. Members 
should make room for each other to explore anything that supports the Society's 
goals, abides by its rules, and does not actively interfere with the environment it 
attempts to create. In many cases, the best way to deal with a minor problem or 
disagreement is to act as though it doesn't exist. HOWEVER, the advice about 
ignoring problems in the hope that they'll fade away does not apply to breaches of 
the law. If you encounter illegal activities, your obligations as a citizen are the 
same as in any other aspect of your life. Please keep the officers of your branch 
and kingdom informed if you decide to invoke the assistance of outside authorities 
in ways that may require them to answer questions about the matter at hand or 
about the Society itself, but do not hesitate to exercise your civic duty as you see 
it. 
2. Look for ways around hard choices. It may be possible to break a dilemma by 
taking up both alternatives, either together or at different times, instead of wasting 
energy arguing over which to choose. It may also be possible to find a third 
approach that both sides prefer to their original ideas. 
3. Try to keep a sense of perspective. Just because you're unhappy, it doesn't 
mean you're right! Make an effort to listen to the arguments of the other side with 
good will and honesty, and look for a solution with which everyone can live. 
4. Go through channels. If you can't solve the problem yourself, your requests for 
assistance should follow a line of authority without skipping anyone, and without 
spreading laterally through the organization any more than absolutely necessary. 
For example, when you reach a level that has royalty or royal representatives, 
include them on your copy list, but don't start out by copying all the royalty in 
your corner of the Known World on your initial complaint. Try to involve as few 
people as possible - the less you embarrass your opponent, the likelier you are to 
get a solution you can live with and not simply bury the dispute until it can 
resurface on different grounds. 
5. Be patient. Allow each level time to try to deal with the situation, and avoid the 
temptation to attack the people you've asked for help if they don't seem to be 
moving fast enough to suit you. 
B. PROCEDURES 
1. Try to work things out face to face. When someone does something that 
interferes with your appreciation of the Society in a way you can't ignore, or that 
seems to be contrary to the rules, talk it over. Explain the problem as you see it, 
and listen to the reply. (Likewise, if someone comes to you, listen carefully before 
you frame your answer.) With luck and good will, the problem will go away. 
You'll find ways to reduce the level of irritation, you'll stop real rules violations, or 
you'll come to understand why things you thought were violations were actually 
legitimate activities. If you can't communicate, ask someone you and the other 
party both respect to help, either by relaying messages or by moderating a 
meeting between you. Try not to go to an officer in charge of the area in question, 
as such an officer may be tempted or compelled to make a ruling instead of letting 
you reach an informal agreement. 
2. Write to the person you're having difficulty with. Describe the way you feel 
you're being damaged, without indulging in insults or threats. Ask for the action 
you feel would set things right, and indicate how long you feel you can wait for a 
reply before making further distribution of the complaint. Keep a copy of the 
letter, but do not send it to anyone but the addressee at this time. The written 
word is often more effective than the spoken word, so there's a good chance that 
this letter, or a series of direct letters and replies, will eventually lead you to a 
solution. As long as you feel you're making progress either in understanding or in 
getting your way, do not go on to step 3. 
3. Write a more formal letter to the other party. Outline any new points you may 
have thought of and refer to your previous correspondence. Send a copy to the 
officer in charge of the area in question, OR to the royalty or royal representative 
nearest the level where you have a dispute. Depending on the situation, it may be 
a good idea to send copies of the letters you've already written or received on the 
matter with the copy of the current letter you send to the superior; if you are 
doing so, be sure to mention it in your letter. (It is very important to proceed 
openly as you pursue your complaint; things are tense enough already without 
adding a new--and justified--charge of sneakiness to the general dispute!) Again, 
set a reasonable time for a reply, and consider it carefully when it arrives. As with 
step 2, continue at this level as long as it looks like there's any progress. 
4. Write directly to the officer in charge of the area in question, with copies to the 
subject of the dispute, the next higher officer, and the appropriate royalty or royal 
representative, if any. Explain how you feel you're being mistreated, and ask for 
specific help. Include the entire previous correspondence, if you have not already 
shared it with the officer--and mention the enclosures in the text. Evaluate the 
reply or replies before you decide to go forward. 
5. Repeat step 4, moving up the organization and including everyone you've 
involved on your copy list. Follow your correspondents' advice as to whether or 
not anyone else at or below their level needs to be consulted. Eventually, you run 
out of levels. 
6. If no one else has managed to find a solution, the Board will do so. However, 
there is no guarantee that you will like what they come up with, and there is 
nowhere else to turn. Even if you get something resembling what you originally 
asked for, the effect on the Society may well be regrettable, as the Board finds it 
almost impossible to deal with a specific situation without touching anything else. 
While it appears cumbersome, this technique should reach some sort of resolution 
in a matter of months. The greatest number of levels between you and the Board 
is five, assuming a dispute between members of a canton whose barony is part of 
a principality. The important thing is getting a solution, NOT getting to the Board, 
and the approach outlined in this article will probably let you settle the matter 
without involving the corporate administration at all. 
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>From the SCA Corpora

<Link: http://www.sca.org/docs/corpora.hbk.html >
VII. PERSONAL AWARDS AND TITLES 
A. PATENTS OF ARMS 
1. General Requirements: Candidates for any order conferring a Patent of Arms 
must meet the following minimum criteria. Additional requirements may be set by 
law and custom of the kingdoms as deemed appropriate and necessary by the 
Crown. 
a. They shall have been obedient to the governing documents of the Society and 
the laws of the kingdom. 
b. They shall have consistently shown respect for the Crown of the kingdom. 
c. They shall have set an example of courteous and noble behavior suitable to a 
peer of the realm. 
d. They shall have demonstrated support for the aims and ideals of the Society by 
being as authentic in dress, equipment and behavior as is within their power. 
e. They shall have shared their knowledge and skills with others. 
f. They shall have practiced hospitality according to their means and as 
appropriate to the circumstances. 
g. They shall have made every effort to learn and practice those skills desirable at 
and worthy of a civilized court. To this end they should have some knowledge of 
a wide range of period forms, including but not limited to literature, dancing, 
music, heraldry, and chess, and they should have some familiarity with combat as 
practiced in the Society. They should also participate in Society recreations of 
several aspects of the culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. 
2. Order of Precedence Within the Peerage. The Crown 
may establish the order of precedence within the peerage according to the laws 
and customs of the kingdom. However, the Chivalry, the Laurel, and the Pelican 
are of equal precedence and must be considered as one group.
...   ....   ....

4. Patent Orders. The following institutions are established for all kingdoms in the 
Society. A Patent of Arms may be conferred only upon a person being admitted 
into one of these. Each candidate for a patent order must satisfy the general 
requirements in VII.A.1, as well as the specific requirements listed here. 
a. The Chivalry. The Chivalry consists of two equal parts, the Order of 
Knighthood and the Order of Mastery of Arms. No one may belong to both 
orders at one time. When a member is admitted to the Chivalry by the Sovereign 
the choice of which order to join is made by the new member.
... .... ....

b. The Order of the Laurel. Members of the Order of the Laurel may choose to 
swear fealty, but are not required to do so.
... .... ....

c. The Order of the Pelican. Members of the Order of the Pelican may choose to 
swear fealty, but are not required to do so.
... .... ....

d. Royal Peerages. The titles assumed by former Crowns and Coronets may 
convey Patents of Arms if the laws and customs of the kingdom so provide. 
However, in order to receive a patent with the title, the recipient must meet the 
requirements in VII.A.1. 
e. The Order of the Rose. This order consists of former Royal Consorts of a 
kingdom. It is specifically charged with encouraging chivalrous and courteous 
behavior among all members of the Society. It may be non-armigerous, or it may 
be defined as a Patent Order according to the laws and customs of the kingdom. 
In the latter case, the general requirements in VII.A.1 must be met. 
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