SC - Help for Novices

[Richard Kappler II]

>Juliana suggests some sort of "Welcome Wagon" type post be sent to
newcomers
>on the SCA-cooks list


Y'know....I wasn't gonna reply to this one, but finally thought better of it
after reading Bonne's post.  Not that Bonne and I disagree, she just made me
think (isn't that a scary idea!) and OWWWWW! IT HURTS!!!

I belong to a butt-ton of lists.  Without exception, this is both the most
prolific and friendliest list am or have been on.  On almost any of my other
lists, I usually agree that we should prolly come up with a FAQ that gets
shot off to new subscribers or however the computer weenies do that sort of
thing.  On this list I don't think its such a good idea.  I almost typed in
'granted, it couldn't hurt' but the point of my post is that, on this
particular list, yes it could.

We get new people all the time.  We answer the same questions over and over.
We cover this FAQ thing at least half that often.  Think about it though,
each time we answer the same old questions, why do we spend so much time
answering them?  Because each time we do, we come up with new input, new
perspectives, new ideas about the same old questions.  This is not a bad
thing.

Pretty much everyone on the list is overly accessible to all, from novice to
purported expert, going both ways (don't EVEN go there 'Lainie!).  Cecil,
B., and DeMille always answer questions gracefully and expeditiously,
regardless of who asks them or how many times they've been asked in the
past.  And then, when we lowly peons say "hey...waitadurnminute, that's not
how I interpreted that," all three of them listen and eventually rethink
their positions.  They don't always agree, but they gently, or not so much,
they explain their line of thought, and then listen some more.

The morons, the 'tin hat gestapo' types, the egotists all tend to disappear
rather quickly from Papa's livingroom.  I have yet to see ANYONE give a
'newbie' a hard time and live to tell about it here.  SFAIK (SAFEWAY for
those of you in Aethelmarc:-) I have not seen anyone give a newbie a hard
time period.  Exclamation point.    !

We're a pretty tolerant bunch.  Hell, you people put up with my antics, and
we won't even go into Wajdi's ....  how does he put it?.... neuronics?
without batting an eye.  That has to say something pretty significant for
the tolerance of this list right there, no?  (gotcha Wajdi!)

When a newbie asks what other lists might call 'stupid' or already beaten to
death questions, we all respond.  Amicably.  Earnestly.  With (malice?)
aforethought. This not only gives us all a chance to welcome a newcomer to
the fold and meet them thoroughly, it makes them feel at home.  It tells
them what the Florilegium is and where it can be found.  It tells them that
we actually like, not just tolerate newcomers.  It lets them ask questions
like "What the hell is the Miscellany?" that we might not otherwise think to
add to a FAQ list.  And most importantly, it makes us all rethink our
positions and our store of "established" knowledge on a regular basis.  We
have never had stagnation on this list and, as it is, I don't see how we
could.  A FAQ might lead us down that horrible, disasterous path.

I personally think the Florilegium is as much, if not more, of FAQ as we
need, and if we come up with something else, such as is being suggested
here, we will be doing ourselves and the newcomers a disservice.  Let's face
it folks, most of us think of the gentles on this list as pretty close to
family, if not better (remember the fish and 3 day rule?).  Would you want
to be welcomed into a new family by a FAQ that doesn't answer all your
questions but who's mere existence makes you reluctant to ask more?  Not on
this list, please, not on this list.

my 2 pfennigs, Puck

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