[Steppes] Steppes Digest, Vol 504, Issue 1

[Faelan Caimbeul]

I get the dialy digest, so I'm just going to do a running commentary of 
everything for the day. Please don't anyone take offense at me taking 
quotes from everything.
> Although I don't have hard numbers to back it up I think it is. But I'm not
> sure if it is a "Boomer" phenomena or what.  I do think that there are a
> couple of factors which make the SCA unappealing to the younger 20's
> demographic. The first is that the demographic isn't so much into the
> "Middle Ages" and all the New Agey stuff we were into at the time. Look
> at 20 or so years ago.  Jethro Tull was popular with their elves and fairies
> and things. D&D was big. The opportunity to go out and whack each other
> with real swords was freaking awesome. 
>  
> Nowadays there are other things to attract the 20-something nerd. LARP
> and video games are a lot less painful than getting whacked with a club but
> still give that viceral impression of being Conan. 
>   
Exactly. We've lost much of the "college party" atmosphere that made us 
famous, or infamous.
>  
> Another problem is the SCA was once created and ruled by 20-30 somethings.
> The first seneschal of Atenveldt was assigned because he was the only one
> old enough to sign legal documents. The SCA was more fantasy then. I've seen
> knightings in t-tunics and blue jeans and sandals. 
> (snip)  Fighting all day then drinking and leching all night were the common activities of events. And events were just that, something special. Months could go by with nothing near so when a tournament occurred everyone went and enjoyed the coolness of it.  Now we have two or three  events every weekend. There is nothing special. Look at 12th Night. It used to be THE dress up event of the winter. Now, it's just another boring court.
>   
(snip)

Drinking and partying all night? Please! Our children are trying to sleep!

What, that doesn't happen?

If you look around you find sci-fi/fantasy geeks, D&D players, and 
hippies. This is the bedrock of our society as a whole. Unfortunately, 
most of us have grown up. In short, we're taking ourselves too 
seriously. Where's the party? That part of being a 20 something hasn't 
changed. Unfortunately, the 20 somethings in the society that used to do 
the hard partying are grown ups now with kids.

I don't think having plenty of events is a bad thing, but we ALL need to 
make those events special and fun any way we can. I think getting back 
to our roots, with lessons learned from age and wisdom, is probably the 
way to go.
> The only really big turnout for our target demographic is big wars like Pennsic and
> Estrella. Here things are more like in the early days with a week of parties, drumming,
> fighting, really bad garb, hitting on belly dancers and the opportunity to cut loose.
> Fighting is frentic and a total rush. This is why our war attendance is growing but
> our tournament attendance shrinking. 
>   
Why can't we have that at smaller events?
> This is not intended to be critical of those who are blessed with more free
> time and fewer commitments than I have, just another "responsible"
> supporting viewpoint.
>
>   
Your life is what you make of it. Those of us without a lot of free time 
anymore would be much appreciative if the little time we have is spent 
on special events. If all events are special, then it doesn't matter 
what you get to. The society should be special, everything about it, 
events, activities, people . . . Then those that have limited time would 
feel making the effort is far more worth the effort.
> First, we need to make each event welcoming to New Comers.  HE Katheryn and
> I have had this conversation several times over the few years of my
> involvement.  If it had not been for a select few, I would probably would
> not have become involved.
>   
This is a major issue that's affected the society as a whole for years. 
Just in the last year I've met no less than 6 people that have heard of 
the SCA, gone to an event, and either been ignored, chastised by a 
Garb-Nazi (for their loaner gear), or otherwise made unwelcome. This is 
NOT how we keep the society strong people.
> If we only want to gain the younger populace membership, then perhaps we
> need to talk to those younger members of our groups and ask THEM what we
> need to do to involve the younger folk.  
Excellent idea!
> As I have grown in this group, I have become closer to some who I count as
> dear friends.  But mayhap we need to be a little less cliquish and more
> "open and welcoming arms".  
Another good point indeed. No one will hand around somewhere they're not 
wanted, if given the choice.
> This question has come up several times, on different lists, over the last  
> year. I can assure you that it is in fact not true. While I do not have  the 
> exact numbers at hand the quarterly reports from the corporate  office indicate 
> that the paid membership numbers for the Society are actually at  a record 
> high. 
>   
I would add this one caveat. The paid members are but a fraction of the 
unpaid ones. It is the concerns and tastes those members that we need to 
address as well, for they are far more likely to leave if they loose 
interest, since they don't have the "investment" that the rest of us 
have, most of whom I would guess didn't have a paid membership for their 
first few years either, but are now paid Peers of the Realm.
>     I joined the SCA when I was 16. I'm 41 now. When I joined, we went out to Play, the goal being to Play to the best of our means and abilities, and to Play in a world our own, where the Middle Ages (And Antiquity and the Renaisance, etc.) were re-CREATED, not re-enacted, the Way They Should Have Been.
>    
>   
This sounds just like me, except the 41 year old part ;) But I felt the 
same way when I was 16 and found out about the SCA at a local game 
convention.
>  
>   Now we Live to Serve A Dream no one can define, or really understands, since the SCA is made up of dreamers, Playing their own personal dream. It seems to me this Dream is a pretty grim business -- perhaps we need to Play more. 
>   
Huzzah!
>    
> But weren't were over at each other;s houses doing things more back then, too? Taverns and revels used to be the order of the day or the weekend. When was the last time you went to one, or hosted one?
>   
Excellent points. When I started in the Midrealm, most of my SCA 
attendance was a weekly scribal meeting at my master's house. We also 
played D&D together on the weekends. Monthly populace/business meetings 
usually had dance class, fighting, A&S classes of some kind . . . hard 
to do in a restaurant.
>    
>   Lastly, the SCA is fun because people brought fun to it. 
>   
Faelan