SR - Gang-stewarding in the age of instantaneous matter transportation

Dory Grace amazing at texas.net
Thu Mar 18 21:26:55 PST 1999


Salut Cozyns,

Lyonel aisai.

Sosha said:
>Lynol wrote

*sigh*  My signature, including the correct spelling of my name, was only a
dozen lines away. Not an auspicious beginning to a letter proclaiming the
wonders of our age of communication.

After posting my argument against gang-stewarding events, Sosha claims:

>We are talking about a region that needs a bit more cohesion.  

According to whom?  More cohesion for what?  I believe the practice of
holding regional events will aid us in the process of determining our
regional identity (if such an identity we are to have).  I am not aware of
any deficiency in cohesion. 

Sosha further claims:
>This
>attitude of "I can do it with out help, yours included, brother/Coz"
>will not bring that about any faster.  

Such an attitude would indeed be less than helpful.  I made no such claims.
 I claimed that a single group can do a more efficient job of stewarding an
event than a committee from three or more groups.  I listed a few such
events that I have run only by way of example.  If it sounded too much like
bragging, fine:  lets use the last twenty Ansteorran Crown Tournaments as
examples.  They were all accomplished by individual groups, and I wasn't
involved in running any of them.  

I was trying to offer you some useful advice, Sosha.  I used my own
experiences (in a region that ran regular regional and later principality
events)as examples, not to brag about past accomplishments.

>If working with another group
>in this age of instantaneous information and dialogue, consists of a
>logistics nightmare, than [sic] something is not working right.

As your response demonstrates, instantaneous communication and dialogue are
fraught with complexities.  I, however, am more concerned with the
complexities of actual physical movement of materials (chairs, tables,
food, decorations) and people.  I did not realize someone had developed an
instantaneous matter transport mechanism to solve all our logistic problems.

Organizing and running a complex event within your own group, where you
know the idiosyncrasies of the individuals; where you know the
idiosyncrasies of the town, of the suppliers, and of the law enforcement
agencies; where you can easily bop over to see the site, check out the
feast preparations, see the decorations, and examine the chairs, can be a
trying experience all by itself.  Trying to do the same thing a hundred
miles away with the help of people you see less frequently and where you
are relying heavily on verbal communications is a nightmare I would not
wish on any steward.

>You are more than welcome to express your opinion to you Seneschal
>before the regional Seneschal's meeting.  Please do.  However a policy
>will be set at this meeting so make your voice known before hand.  

I have already expressed my opinion.  An event run by co-stewards from
three areas will present unnecessary difficulties to the stewards.  I'm not
saying it can't be done--I'm saying it's inefficient and accomplishes nothing.

As to your signatory claim--

>Sosha Lyon's O'Rourke
>SRS
>(who has autocrat over ten events herself without and with help)

--I've *never* stewarded an event without help.  That, too, would be
inefficient.

lo vostre por vos servir
Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace, OP
Dory Grace***The Inkwell
Austin, TX

"No matter where you go, there you are."
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