We're talking about rewards and meritocracy and how people slip through the cracks. Follow us on facebook. Also, smash that like button and that subscribe button. / steliosandlilah
So when your 80 year old wood carving father-in-law actually carves the Mid Realm dragon thrones and never gets as much as a thank you. Despite having a Knight as a son-in-law who reminds the king of the fact and says that common courtesy would require a hand shake and a thank you. Never mind an award, just a smile and a thank you. This is what is wrong with the Society.
Not to mention bringing your skills from modern times. My husband sets up the electricity for Merchant Row at Gulf Wars. The only reason he has his AoA is a shire in Ansteorra got people to send in letters to the King and Queen of Meridies. It took Seraphina standing up and saying "this is going to get fixed." I'm so grateful for her and her shire.
Hmmm So this is Why I Haven't gotten an Award since 1988. Despite participating and being service oriented to which ever group I belonged to at the time. Lilah has hit the nail on the head.
People need to look around and nominate all the people who are helping both behind and out front of the scenes. The local chapter should make sure that the chatelaine and other officers and positions need to make it a point to nominate people every month if there are people who deserve it. This should come up each monthly business meeting if not in the meeting then after it.
I like bringing in something of the thought from Scout Merit Badges, and maybe also from Achievements from a video game. Little recognitions of progress can be very encouraging to a newbie. I like the idea of keeping an activity/participation sheet and filling it in with whatever you do at an event, and perhaps getting some incremental acknowledgement when you've done X for the first time, or have done Y for the tenth time or something, as well as room for whoever's running an area to initial that yes, they saw you there, and by the way they were very helpful in X, and went above and beyond by doing Z. I'm not saying it's worthy of rank and peerage, I'm just saying it's an acknowledgement that you've given this much of your life towards the Society, and whether anyone personally likes you or notices you or feels impressed by you enough to spontaneously generate a letter, you have still been valuable and worthy of appreciation. A smile, at least, and sincere thanks as well as welcome to advance. Maybe after a person gives so many hours working as a background peasant helping support events, that's worth a token of some sort. Maybe just a ribbon, with an image of a worker bee, to let it be known you have worked many hours and deserve thanks and respect for that. The kingdom could not be successful without the succor provided by such volunteers. It is wrong for any worker to go unpaid, even by simple thanks.
This is one of my beef's as well. They SCA seems to reward its friends. It took years for me to get an AoA and it wasn't until I rode the coattails of my Knight that I was even noticed by anyone. When I went through some really hard times financially and could play every day. I was forgotten immediately.
It's so unfortunate that the organization sells these ideas, but engages in the same kinds of practices that corporations do. Reward friends and sycophants. Is that always the case? Of course not. But the fact that it happens at all is unacceptable to me. -Stelios
I have been in the SCA since 1990 and still don't have an AOA .I have stood in the rain digging trenches to keep encampments from flooding and never even got a thanks as 3 knights sat under there pavilion drinking and not one offered to help me.
I have been playing in the sca and fighting for around 23 years and I still have not got an AOA. I brought my wife in and she got hers within 6 months of playing because she is pretty. To this day the only way people know me is if my wife is with me. There is definitely something wrong....
I know the pain of this one. I've been playing since 96 and still don't have an AoA. I'm 40 now and I joked to my friend Althon that I figured at this rate I might get it at 60 lol
Within kingdoms we have Baronies by metro area. Smaller offshoots are shires and cantons. Barons and baronesses are recommended to the crown by popular vote, replaced every few years.
In my kingdom the current king and queen are trying very hard to get more people to submit awards. People I think just forget. Which is bad but I think it is somewhat unavoidable.
I've played since 1992 and this seems to be universal: newcomer fighters get fast-tracked to an AoA. And because most fighters are male, newcomer men have a huge leg up on getting noticed... and noticed quickly. Among those who aren't fighters, female newcomers who are perceived as attractive to the male gaze have a big leg up. Their name and who they are gets known and remembered very quickly. Men flutter around them and women go out of their way to befriend them help them integrate into the society. This overwhelmingly favors White women over non-White women. Non-white women who are straight but don't "perform" traditional feminity rot in no-recognition purgatory for a long, long time unless they are lucky enough to have someone in their SCA life who practices the "It's up to me to write that letter" philosophy, or until their local group is embarrassed by the glaring omission into finally doing it. Lilah, it's messed up that you had to wait so long to get your AoA. Thank goodness for Stelios, but it's also messed up that it took a relative newcomer to finally get you that long overdue recognition.
It is just non-white women - it is mostly all non single non hot people in general. I am a fighter and had taught and worked for 4 years - coming in second in Crown and had no awards. I got a Dragon's Tooth (top fighting award in the Mid Realm) before I got an AoA. I don't do things for awards - but getting awards make you WANT to do things.
Lol. Someone nominated them. From shire to Kingdom to Corp? I was SCA full time player 100% 15 years, and I didn’t-get an AOA for 10 years because my wife put me in for it.
So when your 80 year old wood carving father-in-law actually carves the Mid Realm dragon thrones and never gets as much as a thank you. Despite having a Knight as a son-in-law who reminds the king of the fact and says that common courtesy would require a hand shake and a thank you. Never mind an award, just a smile and a thank you. This is what is wrong with the Society.
Wow...that is a serious lack of tact. How rude. a HAND CARVED THRONE?! That would cost thousands! And not so much as a thank you? That's a crime.
Not to mention bringing your skills from modern times. My husband sets up the electricity for Merchant Row at Gulf Wars. The only reason he has his AoA is a shire in Ansteorra got people to send in letters to the King and Queen of Meridies. It took Seraphina standing up and saying "this is going to get fixed." I'm so grateful for her and her shire.
Hmmm So this is Why I Haven't gotten an Award since 1988. Despite participating and being service oriented to which ever group I belonged to at the time. Lilah has hit the nail on the head.
The squeeky wheel gets the grease
I know about the AoA problem. I got mine after 21 years and 2 different kingdoms. One of my friends had to wait 26 years before they got their AoA
People need to look around and nominate all the people who are helping both behind and out front of the scenes. The local chapter should make sure that the chatelaine and other officers and positions need to make it a point to nominate people every month if there are people who deserve it. This should come up each monthly business meeting if not in the meeting then after it.
I like bringing in something of the thought from Scout Merit Badges, and maybe also from Achievements from a video game. Little recognitions of progress can be very encouraging to a newbie. I like the idea of keeping an activity/participation sheet and filling it in with whatever you do at an event, and perhaps getting some incremental acknowledgement when you've done X for the first time, or have done Y for the tenth time or something, as well as room for whoever's running an area to initial that yes, they saw you there, and by the way they were very helpful in X, and went above and beyond by doing Z.
I'm not saying it's worthy of rank and peerage, I'm just saying it's an acknowledgement that you've given this much of your life towards the Society, and whether anyone personally likes you or notices you or feels impressed by you enough to spontaneously generate a letter, you have still been valuable and worthy of appreciation. A smile, at least, and sincere thanks as well as welcome to advance. Maybe after a person gives so many hours working as a background peasant helping support events, that's worth a token of some sort. Maybe just a ribbon, with an image of a worker bee, to let it be known you have worked many hours and deserve thanks and respect for that. The kingdom could not be successful without the succor provided by such volunteers. It is wrong for any worker to go unpaid, even by simple thanks.
This is one of my beef's as well. They SCA seems to reward its friends. It took years for me to get an AoA and it wasn't until I rode the coattails of my Knight that I was even noticed by anyone. When I went through some really hard times financially and could play every day. I was forgotten immediately.
It's so unfortunate that the organization sells these ideas, but engages in the same kinds of practices that corporations do. Reward friends and sycophants. Is that always the case? Of course not. But the fact that it happens at all is unacceptable to me.
-Stelios
I have been in the SCA since 1990 and still don't have an AOA .I have stood in the rain digging trenches to keep encampments from flooding and never even got a thanks as 3 knights sat under there pavilion drinking and not one offered to help me.
I have been playing in the sca and fighting for around 23 years and I still have not got an AOA. I brought my wife in and she got hers within 6 months of playing because she is pretty. To this day the only way people know me is if my wife is with me. There is definitely something wrong....
I have constantly written letters of recommendation for those I have observed over the years of playing
7:43 sounds like what the samurai had to go through you need to get noticed and then only a few will become samurai
I know the pain of this one. I've been playing since 96 and still don't have an AoA. I'm 40 now and I joked to my friend Althon that I figured at this rate I might get it at 60 lol
WHAT?!
Ok so how is the SCA organized? I understand that it's broken down into nations that cover multiple states but how is it broken down further?
Within kingdoms we have Baronies by metro area. Smaller offshoots are shires and cantons. Barons and baronesses are recommended to the crown by popular vote, replaced every few years.
Being the "Nastycrat" at events(ie....keeping the privies clean and stocked)
In my kingdom the current king and queen are trying very hard to get more people to submit awards. People I think just forget. Which is bad but I think it is somewhat unavoidable.
I've played since 1992 and this seems to be universal: newcomer fighters get fast-tracked to an AoA. And because most fighters are male, newcomer men have a huge leg up on getting noticed... and noticed quickly.
Among those who aren't fighters, female newcomers who are perceived as attractive to the male gaze have a big leg up. Their name and who they are gets known and remembered very quickly. Men flutter around them and women go out of their way to befriend them help them integrate into the society. This overwhelmingly favors White women over non-White women.
Non-white women who are straight but don't "perform" traditional feminity rot in no-recognition purgatory for a long, long time unless they are lucky enough to have someone in their SCA life who practices the "It's up to me to write that letter" philosophy, or until their local group is embarrassed by the glaring omission into finally doing it.
Lilah, it's messed up that you had to wait so long to get your AoA. Thank goodness for Stelios, but it's also messed up that it took a relative newcomer to finally get you that long overdue recognition.
It is just non-white women - it is mostly all non single non hot people in general. I am a fighter and had taught and worked for 4 years - coming in second in Crown and had no awards. I got a Dragon's Tooth (top fighting award in the Mid Realm) before I got an AoA. I don't do things for awards - but getting awards make you WANT to do things.
Me in a nutshell. Im 39. Been in off and on since i was 3. Fighter. Worked tons of events. Was an officer at 17. Current titles: 0.
Lol. Someone nominated them. From shire to Kingdom to Corp? I was SCA full time player 100% 15 years, and I didn’t-get an AOA for 10 years because my wife put me in for it.
Why can't I see your CZcams channel?
Joe Hubbard how can you not see it.?
Stelios & Lilah i can see it now.... tried clicking on you channel (page) and was getting an error message..... not