SR - ballots results

[tmcd at jump.net]

On Thu, 18 Nov 1999, uriel <uriel at airmail.net> wrote:
> 1. Is there some hidden agenda here that I'm just not getting - why
> else are time frames so very tight?

(I am reminded of a parody of _A Lion In Winter_: "Of course he has an
agenda.  We all have agendas.  It's A.S. 34 and we're barbarians.")

Personally, I think 6 weeks is long enough for those interested to
vote, *if* a local effort is made to get ballots to voters.  It took
me 2 minutes to vote at one fighter practice.

>Let the cohesiveness, the esprit of a regional identity come first,
>that will take the greater effort; a good name will naturally follow.

I agree about cohesiveness, esprit, and regional identity taking great
effort.

As for the name: speaking as a long-time herald, I can say with much
confidence that that happens not to be the case.  For example,
"Nordsteorra" is utterly impossible as a period-style place name, and
could be used for the northern region only because it's already
registered and Laurel doesn't get "take backs".  For that matter,
"Ansteorra" is the same way.  "Northshield" got thru as a principality
name in the Middle only because someone was able to justify it as a
weird modernization of Norse "northern shed" -- hardly reasonable for
a large principality, but SCA name standards are rather weak when
compared to period practice.

The only kingdom names that I can say immediately are unabashedly good
are the West, the Middle, and the East, based on Osterreich (Austria,
literally "East Kingdom").  Drachenwald, AEthelmearc, and EAldormere
are probably reasonable, but I haven't reseached it to be able to
say.  Ansteorra, Caid, An Tir, Meridies, Atenveldt (!), ... all are
utterly non-period.

It's like saying "Developing a persona takes the greater effort; good
clothing will naturally follow".  Worse, really: people get attached
to a name, even a bad one ... especially because a name often becomes
*part* of a regional identity.  Note modern arguments about
"Macedonia" and "Northern Ireland / Ulster / the Six Counties / the
Sterling Zone".  Say the wrong name in the wrong place and you might
get killed.

A captious critic may note that she wrote "good" and I wrote "period".
Personally, I'm a fan of the Middle Ages, or I wouldn't be here.  To
me, it can't be "good" if it's not "period".  I further believe that
SCA branches ought to set something of a good example.  Fortunately
for me, the SCA College of Arms has a vaguely similar position, in
that there has to be some period justification for a name for it to
get registered, and a large SCA branch can't be official without a
registered name.

Daniel de Lincolia
-- 
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Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at jump.net; 
if that fail, my work addresses are  tmcd at austin.ibm.com and tmcd at us.ibm.com.
tmcd at tmcd.austin.tx.us is a lie; tmcd at crl.com is old and will go away.

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