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<BR><FONT FACE="Times New" COLOR="#000000" SIZE="4"><B>This was
apparently to long for the server to take in one piece...</B>
<BR><B>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.</B>
<BR><B>(My apologies to those I told this was from the Kingdom
Handbook)</B>
<BR><B><Link: </B>http://www.sca.org/docs/complain.hbk.html<B>
></B>
<BR><B>Society for Creative Anachronism</B>
<BR><B>Organizational Handbook General Information</B>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New" COLOR="#000000" SIZE="6"><B>Channels
for Complaint and Appeal</B>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New" COLOR="#000000" SIZE="4">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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR><B>A. PRINCIPLES</B>
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR><B>B. PROCEDURES</B>
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>-------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
<BR>From the SCA Corpora
<BR><Link: <a
href="http://www.sca.org/docs/corpora.hbk.html">http://www.sca.o
rg/docs/corpora.hbk.html</a> >
<BR>VII. PERSONAL AWARDS AND TITLES
<BR>A. PATENTS OF ARMS
<BR>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.
<BR>a. They shall have been obedient to the governing documents
of the Society and the laws of the kingdom.
<BR>b. They shall have consistently shown respect for the Crown
of the kingdom.
<BR>c. They shall have set an example of courteous and noble
behavior suitable to a peer of the realm.
<BR>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.
<BR>e. They shall have shared their knowledge and skills with
others.
<BR>f. They shall have practiced hospitality according to their
means and as appropriate to the circumstances.
<BR>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.
<BR>2. Order of Precedence Within the Peerage. The Crown
<BR>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.
<BR>.... .... ....
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>.... .... ....
<BR>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.
<BR>.... .... ....
<BR>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.
<BR>.... .... ....
<BR>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.
<BR>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.
<BR>-------------------------------------------------------------
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<BR><FONT FACE="Arial" COLOR="#000000" SIZE="3">Continued in Next
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