[Steppes] Plea for the SCA

[Timothy Rayburn]

>  I was looking online for some info on Heraldry when I stumbled across some
>old issues of the gazette and Ansteorran LOI online. I decided to check it
>out, being curious.

Quite natural thing to do.

> To my horror when I started reading, it was full of
>insults and snide remarks, "Is this an axe or an oversize toothbrush", "The
>blazon calls this a falcon but it looks more like an obese pigeon",remarks
>in that vein.

It is true that often these remarks are less than tactfully put.  And while I appreciate your comments after this regarding people who are new that might stumble along these comments, the College must be able to comment.  They must be able to express their thoughts on a device without concern for the feelings of the individuals involved.  Many people would be just as upset with "The primary charge, which according to the blazon is a Falcon, is unrecognizable as such, lacking the characteristics of a bird of prey, we suggest return for redraw." as they would the quotes above.

The commentary process at the College of Arms (Society Level) is kept private for just the reasons we are facing here, that a submitter may get upset.  But the Kingdoms who do internal commentary generally do not keep it secret because if they did, they would never train up new commenters.

I would encourage tact in all communications, but I also suggest that sometimes comments like this will happen because it is a training tool.  Also, I would note that commentary has gotten much better over the last decade, there were times it was much more brazen.

Timothy of Glastinbury
Central Regional Herald, titled Eclipse Herald