SC - Site Tokens

[RichSCA at aol.com]

I understand your feelings and your message has many valid points.  STILL I 
like them.  I used to collect them but the house burned down in 1988 and, 
except for all my cookbooks (which I really use), I actively "collect" 
nothing now. 

I was a member of a group (which no one is to name) where the winner of the 
Tournement List just showed up to fight - won the list and left.  Didn't pay 
a nickel or a dime for anything.  After that we had a requirement that 
fighters had to show their site token to the List Mistress to sign up for the 
list. I don't think they still do that, but people got used to it.  

Yes, we are an organization who wants to trusts it's membership to do right.  
And for many, the cost and time spent policeing the few is just not worth it. 
 

One thing I did as autocrat (and think was worth it) was make tokens for the 
Autocrat Staff.  Something they wore on their clothes that everyone could see 
easily.  We like to make programs for the event and in the program (and they 
were also told at Troll) that if they needed anything or wanted to know where 
anything was just ask a member of the Staff... and you will know them by 
their i.e. Golden Keys with three ribbons in Canton colors,  a pin of many 
colored ribbons,   A plastic garlic pinned to their clothes, etc.   

Rayne
 
 I have a bit of experience autocrating events :). In my experience, site
 tokens are a waste of money and time.
 
 1. they only work if you require that EVERYONE display it prominently. This
 means I am required to wear a robin hood hat with  my Elizabethan, or worse
 yet, pin a bit of ribbon with a modern safety pin to the front of my hard
 research period dress. This also nmeans you need a crowd of people who's
 job it is to stop everyone and check that they have their site token, and
 be willing to throw people out who dont have them visible or handy. What a
 crummy job!
 
 2. a well controlled front gate achieves the same goal...controlling
 entrance, and making sure everyone has paid their site fee. Its a very easy
 thing to sneak into most events, and if the bounders are determined,
 there's nothing you can do to prevent it, short of issuing site tokens and
 having some poor schmuck run around and check everyones "site lint" :).
 
 3. as a society, we pride ourselvs on honor and honesty. I personally
 prefer to rely on thej populace to do the right thing and pay their site
 fee. Again, a well controlled gate, manned with efficient and organized
 people means its easy to come, sign your waiver and pay your money and get
 on with having fun. requiring me to display proof of payment is rather
 insulting to me. I hate this....I have stories about going to the showers
 and being stopped because my Estrella site token wasnt visible. 
 
 4. often site fees cost money. multiply the cost per token and the number
 of expected attendees, plus extras (you dont want to run out), and it
 easily comes to a good percentage of your site budget. Even at a smaller
 event, we're often talking 10-20%. This is the difference between breaking
 even and losing money at many events. At a larger event, it can easily run
 into $1000s of dollars, if the token costs, say, even less than a dollar.
 Surely there's more fun things to spend the money on? how about a brunch
 spread for the populace? decorations? hire a mundane early music consort to
 play for the dancing so you dont hagve to use a boom box? hire a
 dishwashing crew so the kitchen crew can walk away after the feast? you get
 the idea.
 
 5. Site fees cost time and effort. As an autocrate, one has enough to do
 what with all the other little tasks and such. Volunteer manhours are
 better spent manning gate, running money to the bank, printing site
 handouts, putting out directional signs, etc etc etc. I've heard horror
 stories of the autocrate team being up until 3am the night before the event
 putting beads on safety pins, or gluing sparkly bits on a rosette.
 Autocrates who dont get sleep before the event are pretty much guarenteed
 to burn out rather spectacularily later in the day....
 
 Now, I know in some places, site tokens are used as souvenires of the
 event. I have had crowns insist on tokens that show their names and faces
 and the date. My response to that is "great idea...can you have them to us
 the week before?" if someone wants to volunteer the time and money to do
 them, that's fine, but there's no room in my budgets (money or time) to do
 that. 
 
 Now, please realize that this is my experience and my opinion. Im
 notoriously cheap when it comes to throwing events :). so take it for what
 its worth! (ie not much :)) But I've been doing this for a long time
 (autocratting events, from tiny to huge) and I have yet to see the costs of
 site tokens outweigh the benefits.
 
 --AM
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