Seeking opinions on the state of the Barony

[jducoeur]

Okay, I've been making assertions (mostly in other peoples' journals) long enough -- time to check my facts, or at least make my data a little less anecdotal.

For much of the past year, I've been perceiving the Barony as being in what I can only call a "slump". Not something drastic or dramatic -- just a kind of mild malaise. Some of the symptoms I've noticed have been:

-- Overall, energy has been down.
-- Attendance at the various guilds and practices has dropped a bit, and there hasn't been quite as much creativity and spark as I'm used to, at least on average.
-- Event attendance has been down on average; at some events, markedly down.
-- Recruiting has been relatively weak.
-- Communication has been a bit spotty, on both the formal and informal levels: the various circles that make up the Barony are feeling a little more disjoint than I'm used to.
-- Fewer people have been starting New and Different projects, that get folks really fired up.
-- It's become a bit harder to get people who are interested in various jobs around the Barony (where "job" includes both offices and event-staff roles).

None of these have been startling, and I'm honestly not sure how long this trend has been running. I've been noticing it mainly in the aggregate, especially since the beginning of the year.

I'm looking to start some (preferably calm) discussion of the subject, but the first step is to try and separate out the pure personal bias. This matter is *so* subjective that it's hard to be certain how much of it is real, and how much is just my own perceptions. So I'm asking for opinions from any and all Carolingians: does the above description match your impressions? I'm not (yet) looking for reasons, explanations or cures, just an initial poll of whether folks think there *is* a problem, and what its symptoms are...

Edit (July 30): Okay, folks -- after a bit of thought, I'm going to shut down this thread. Thank you for the opinions, but this is turning into a genuine and far-reaching discussion, and the intent was never to have that here: I do think that the real discussion belongs over on the Carolingian list, which is currently better-suited to it. All I really wanted was a sense of whether there is something worth talking about, and the answer seems to be a fairly emphatic "yes".

Unfortunately, LJ doesn't let me shut down commenting without hiding all the comments. I'm going to do so for a day or so, to let things calm down, then I'll summarize over on the Baronial mailing list, and we can continue there. At that point I'll reopen the comments here, so everyone can have it to review...

Edit (August 3): All right -- having been told about the "freeze" feature, I've applied that instead. The comments are now visible again, but the threads are frozen so that people can't continue the arguments here. Sorry that took so long.

I'm in the middle of writing a letter to the Baronial mailing list. Look for that shortly...

Comments

(frozen) (no subject)

[dsrtao]

I think that there's been a bit of what you say; that it feels within the realm of normal variation to me; and that an improved economy and a nice big Baronial event would probably cure it.

(frozen) (no subject)

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Let's see...tired, absent, not making new friends, a little sullen, and withdrawn...If the Barony were human, I'd call it mildly depressed. Perhaps it's time to engage in some conscious behavior modification? I'll think about what that means and get back to you.

(frozen) (no subject)

[siderea]

So, how's that demo at WorldCon coming along?

(frozen) (no subject)

[jducoeur]

A fair point, and one that's been preying at the back of my mind for a while -- having not provided the motive force for it myself this time, the subject's been entirely absent.

I've been rather gunshy, I have to admit: my attempts to communicate with the WorldCon concom about LARP were *so* frustrating and abortive that trying again for an SCA demo wasn't really appealing. And I suspect that it's simply Too Damned Late at this point. But it's probably worth at least investigating.

It's somewhat illustrative of my question, though. There was a time when I would have fought harder to make sure it happened. The question is, is the fact that I didn't this time more due to my own mental state, or something more general?

(frozen) (no subject)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

I can't speak for the Barony as a whole, but you're certainly describing my experience. Except for dance practice, and the rare Historian question, I'm pretty much GAFIAted at the moment.

(frozen) (no subject)

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

Well, you actually partially know my view already, but I'll explicate a bit from the Thing I was responsible for. I think the King Lear production had a fair amount to do with a lot of what you've noticed, because it behind the scenes sucked up a huge amount of the baronial energy. Here is what I would say happened in it, vis a vis your points:

-- Overall, energy has been down.

In the show, that was variable. Many of the actors came full of energy time after time. Fernando, Pamela, Christian, Jennifer, Rhonwyn, and especially Jack all come to mind. The rest seemed to have mostly the normal variations I'd expect, with Christovau and Ebeth probably showing the least amount of energy. Not coincidentally, their two characters were the two I had the least amount of vision about, and so they weren't getting the same level of stimulus from me that many of the other actors did. To their credit, they did always plug away, even when they were being a bit lost. (And Chris did show a remarkable amount of energy working through the blinding scene, come to think of it.)

-- Attendance at the various guilds and practices has dropped a bit, and there hasn't been quite as much creativity and spark as I'm used to, at least on average.

We had practices twice a week, with a day-long mega-rehearsal once a month. I in fact wondered if the actors were going to revolt over that much work. They did not. Some of them really embraced it, some of them understood this was an experiment on a different way of doing things, and some of them put up with it because I had advertised that up front as the way we were going to do things.

That is, in fact, one of the reasons that this might be a funny example. The director can, to at least a limited extent, influence the energy level of a show, and as anyone who has had anything to do with me for the last couple of years knows, Lear was a creation of love for me, and I put in an effort commensurate with that, and that had an effect on the participants.

As for creativity and spark, you saw the results. I think there is a fairly large range of views about how we did. Regardless of what one thinks of the show, the immediate result is that the next Shakespeare in the Barony is also a tragedy, and I think the long-term result is that we are not going to necessarily limit ourselves to the comedies ever again.

-- Fewer people have been starting New and Different projects, that get folks really fired up.

Well, it wasn't different, in the sense that it was Another Shakespeare Play. And I do have to admit, that a fair amount of the fired up people I got in the barony was along the lines of worrying about whether the it was going to be a Catastrophe or not.

I wonder if at least some of the effect you've noticed was me yanking 40+people into an intense project for seven months, compounded by these folks not being all the Usual Suspects, many of whom were recovering from the MSND?

I do have some additional data about enthusiasm: when I started talking about doing an historical masque, the response I got was fairly immediate and positive, with people wondering if I could get things rolling even faster than I was planning on.

(frozen) (no subject)

[jducoeur]

I wonder if at least some of the effect you've noticed was me yanking 40+people into an intense project for seven months, compounded by these folks not being all the Usual Suspects, many of whom were recovering from the MSND?

It's can certainly believe that this is an influence, although it seems unlikely to be the whole story, given the size of the Barony. I'll admit that the effect isn't terribly unlike Giant Event Burnout (similar to what we saw after the MegoDemos). I'm just slightly at a loss to see how one project, many of whose members weren't drawn from the currently-active core of the Barony, could have quite so profound an effect.

I do have some additional data about enthusiasm: when I started talking about doing an historical masque, the response I got was fairly immediate and positive, with people wondering if I could get things rolling even faster than I was planning on.

That's encouraging, and actually not surprising -- everything I've seen says that when someone *does* propose something cool, folks are still getting behind it. It just doesn't seem to be happening as often as I expect, especially outside the realm of theater. But again, that's so subjective an observation that I may be off-base here...

(frozen) state of the barony

[(Anonymous)]

Do you think this has anything to do with general malaise in New England at present? So many people out of jobs, or worried about mundane issues. It might cut down on money/time/energy to contribute to the Barony.

--Marian

(frozen) Re: state of the barony

[cellio]

(Hi Marian!)

For what little it's worth, if you file off the serial numbers Justin's post could have easily been about Debatable Lands (in my opinion, of course). Yet some groups are doing just fine, I gather. So it might be more general along some to-be-determined axis.

(frozen) (no subject)

[siderea]

I see things rather differently. I see what looks like a progressive slump across the entire span of my time in the Society. There have been localized ups and downs, but the overall trajectory has been downward.

Let me put it this way: I haven't been involved at all in over a year. Since I have perceived the phenomenon under discussion, it must have been going on for over a year.

As far as I know, the boroughs are a disaster, with the possible exception of Greenwood Isle.

This includes Mitgaard, which I gather has stopped having weekly meetings (?). I don't know if it has any active undergraduates. There has been no list traffic, except spam, in over a year.

(frozen) (no subject)

[outlander.livejournal.com]

Greenwood is going reasonably well right now, but I & shprintzah have graduated, asdr83 is next year, and that is it for the undergrads. None of us (afaik) are on campus this year, which definately cuts down on our ability to attract new people.

(frozen) Settling Slump

[benign-cremator.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have noticed something along these lines over the past year as well. Mostly I have been attributing it to the economy, malaise about the war(s) (Iraq, Afghanistan, against terror, against freedom and the American people, etc), but also a good bit on a Settling Slump. There was a pick up in activity with the new Baron, and now that he is settling into the office,and we are settling into his leadership, things were bound to slow down a bit. Natural after the upsurge due to the change in power.

The only part of this that concerns me greatly is the drop in recruitment. Yes, we have enough people to be self sustaining and only picking up the occasional person through word of mouth will keep our numbers, but that is a slow road to stagnation. It is the only part of this that will not naturally correct itself (or is outside of our control anyway), from what I have seen.

(frozen) Malais?

[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps it all depends upon your point of view. Up in the towers we have had a remarkable number of people coming out of the woodwork and joining up. In the two years that I have been in the area, I have autocratted a King's and Queen's Champions which brought out many people and the rapier community to the tune of over 200 people. I have not felt that I have been held back, couldn't do something interesting or try a new idea that I might have. I'm even doing so.

What could be going on is a response to the economy (bad), an older, more reflective pool of people and well, there is that baby thing that tends to pull people away for a while. Thankfully, I'm past that.

So not from my point of view.

Nataliia (who doesn't do livejournal. ;-))

(frozen) (no subject)

[hawkegirl.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think a good bit is due to the reign. There are alot of people I see as back bone people in the area, working on helping the reign, and working on coronation. I think it's just enough pull in an uncalculated direction that there is a little sag in the status quo.

But I could just be projecting myself here. I was feeling pretty guilty today that I'm doing virtually nothing for my Barony right now. I mean I poke a little at the brewers guild, and I'm working on the hunters group, and some chirurgeons, oh! and there's actually a few new people, I know atleast because I'm helping them with garb, a few other bits and pieces, but I know I am directing a tremendous ammount of energy to helping Svava and Thorson, that is simply energy not going to Carolingia directly. I see folks around me doing the same thing. (Don't get me wrong, I'm throughly enjoying it, I'm just offering what I see as a possible explination for your observation.)

Then again it's natural for things to ebb and flow too...

(frozen) (no subject)

[mermaidlady]

Personally, I think a good bit is due to the reign.

I think this "slump" has been going on a bit longer than that. As someone not involved with the upcoming reign, I haven't seen a sudden drop off since May, but a slow decline in energy over the past year or so.

(frozen) (no subject)

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

As a relative newbie to the Barony, here's my view:

There's plenty going on in Towers, as Nataliia said. I've been able to make one meeting thus far (I was working nights and weekends last year), and now that my wedding's over, we want to attend archery practice and so forth.

But as far as going down into the city to go to stuff like Council... well, I don't have any business to conduct at Council, so why would I drive all the way from Lawrence to Boston on a weeknight at rush hour if I have no reason to be there? And there's nothing else going on down your way to incite me to drive there and fight for a parking space -- I don't act, I don't dance, I don't fight, there are no stitch-n-bitches going on that I'm aware of, there are no fiber or string nuts doing dyepots or spinning circles or knitting groups. Yes, I could organize one, but would people be willing to drive up here to attend if I could find space? I do not have room in my house to host anything.

For me, my recent lack of participation in the Barony has been the Wedding That Ate My Brain. Prior to that, it was distance. Since then, and for the foreseeable future, I'll be up here in the Towers, since Boston isn't terribly convenient from up here on the Stonemarche border. (If I can find a place to do it sometime, though, I'd love to do a dyepot workshop one of these days. We can all learn together.)

(frozen) (no subject)

[(Anonymous)]

"And there's nothing else going on down your way to incite me to drive there and fight for a parking space -- I don't act, I don't dance, I don't fight, there are no stitch-n-bitches going on that I'm aware of, there are no fiber or string nuts doing dyepots or spinning circles or knitting groups. Yes, I could organize one, but would people be willing to drive up here to attend if I could find space? I do not have room in my house to host anything."

This type of info is helpful to others, though - even if one individual is unable to organize or host something, even by mentioning an interest in a public forum such as the email list, can find others who are interested as well and who may, in fact, be able to organize and hope. Staying quiet about our interests won't help find others who are into the same things, and it won't help rejuvenate projects, activities and interests in the area -

So anyone interested in these things? Anyone want to organize?

- eleanor

(frozen) (no subject)

[siriel.livejournal.com]

I have been feeling this way personally -- too many other commitments and pressures in my life demanding my time. If I weren't baronial fencing marshal, I'd probably be even more out of touch than I am. Having a weekly SCA activity keeps me somewhat in touch, but I do feel like I've slipped far down from where I was involved in something SCA-related 3-5 days per week.

This is particularly evident in my event attendance, which has suffered greatly in the past year. One factor I can point to is LARPing, which eats my weekends. I can't complain about finding another hobby I enjoy, but I will complain about how there are only so many weekends in a month.

As for the general trend of the barony (and specifically of fencing practice), yes, I've noticed a slump in energy and recruitment. It doesn't seem extreme enough to be more than the usual oscillation, though. Perhaps if once-popular activities started faltering altogether, I would be concerned -- has this happened?

(frozen) (no subject)

[jducoeur]

Having a weekly SCA activity keeps me somewhat in touch, but I do feel like I've slipped far down from where I was involved in something SCA-related 3-5 days per week.

Sympathies. The 3-5 level is pretty hardcore. I agree that I tend to feel kind of GAFIAted when I'm only doing stuff weekly, although I occasionally have to remind myself that that's what many people in the SCA consider fully active.

Perhaps if once-popular activities started faltering altogether, I would be concerned -- has this happened?

I don't believe any of the major activities have done so, although I've noticed one or two stumble a bit. Some of the minor activities have faltered to a greater or lesser degree. (Including Low Company, which puts a personal face on this for me, and is partly responsible for making it difficult for me to separate my personal view from the objective one.)

It's entirely possible that this *is* simply oscillation, but it feels a little deeper to me personally. That's part of why I'm taking this sounding...

(frozen) Generall agreement

[(Anonymous)]

Given my general lack of participation in the SCA in the last 11 months... However, I also have an 11 month old baby. So my energy and focus is elsewhere. I also have a job that sucks up a lot of my time and energy both during the week, and far too often on weekends.

I have to agree about the economy and jobs. If I had lots of money and time, I would be able to be more involved, and would happily do so. I'd audition for plays and hit fencing practice on a regular basis. However, normal life calls. My time for the SCA is rapidly dwindling. I haven't been to a fencing practice in Carolingia in probably 8 months. I don't see it getting better, but I do see it getting worse. I'm likely to go back to school, and have even less time.

See y'all in a few years... :-)

Brokk...

(frozen) re: Seeking opinions on the state of the Barony

[(Anonymous)]

First: I'm sure many folks find this format (blog) fun and/or welcome. I find it awkward.

Second: Despite Justin's stated reason, I can't comprehend why this discussion is here. It's exactly what I'd expect (and enjoy) seeing on the Carolingian list - and participating in there, too. I bet having it on the Carolingian (or EK) list would generate a lot of participation :)

Third: re: the slump: For myself, I've been trying to get back into doing stuff, rather than dropping activities. I have recently found something, and now I'm participating again, hurrah! (Heralds.) As for events - I rarely attend. Conflicts and distance being the major reasons. I really WISH there was more being discussed on the Carolingian email list - it seems to have become a list of announcements - where are the vigorous discussions of yore? While I don't miss the namecalling, I do miss the energy put into the posts :(:( I also miss the pure *variety* there used to be - I think the list has been unintentionally semi-strangled by those whose preference is "just information, please". (I think the same about the East Kingdom list).

Fourth: on this blog I can't tell who's who from the weird nicknames and (on my computer) fuzzy/blurry pics. There are a few, but too few, names that I recognize (not from blogs, though; I don't do blogs). This is why I'm using my SCA name - so I am recognized. :) As a result I am not sure these comments are from Carolingians!

My main complaint - the Barony (and it's lists) are too compartmentalized. If one cannot even find something one is interested in, why remain on the list or in the Barony? Sadly, I'm not surprised by the slump.
I'm personally staying on the lists in the stubborn hope that this compartmentalizing trend will reverse itself - and there are stll some people out there who post interesting stuff that isn't reports or reminders.

I realize I've wandered away from merely answering Justin's questions, but they were a marvelous springboard for my own observations. Thanks, Justin :)

-Eleni of Carolingia

(frozen) Re: Seeking opinions on the state of the Barony

[(Anonymous)]

Bing, bing, bing.

I had also thought quite a bit about the reasoning that it shouldn't or couldn't be on the Carolingian list. I think a hearty discussion would do wonders for people and their decisions regarding being passive, or being more active. Yes, there would be some nonsence that would be deleted by most of us, but I think that the vitality of the barony would show through.

I also find Live Journal awkward, but it is the newest "in" thing that all the popular kids are doing, much like the intenet was so many years ago.

Thanks for saying so Eleni.

Nataliia

(frozen) Baronial state of activity

[(Anonymous)]

Greetings, folks.

While I cannot say for much that is going on outside my personal sphere of activities, I've noticed that many of the more active folks have found other focuses for their energy.

A short time ago I heard someone say "I was told to run an event, so I am."

In years past, we had so many people who wanted to run events, and so many event ideas, that scheduling was quite a bit of a problem, and before that, we would have events that were peoples dreams, ideas, hopes and wishes, not obligations.

I have noticed as well, in mundania, the slacking of interest in activities. I used to be able to wander in to both SIPB and MITSFS on mit campus at just about any time, night or day, and find people interacting, people involved, people getting into discussions with each other. Alas now, MITSFS is mostly a library, with one, and maybe two people around at most. SIPB had to start scheduling people it hadn't scheduled in a while, just to get coverage.

It might be the new crop of children (should we ask the teachers?), it might be GeoPolitical (should we ask the philosophers?), it might be due to some outside psychic force (should we ask the sooth-sayers) but something has effected us. This would have been brought up on the Rialto a while ago, beaten around, people getting on their high-horses, and have the topic (and maybe some of the commentators) dragged through the mud, but it would have been live and lively.

Why did Justan feel it would need to be in this medium first? Perhaps an answer to that question might begin to answer the overall question.

With regards, Daffydd ap Owen de Caledon

(frozen) (no subject)

[tpau]

i seriously think a lot of it has to do with the economic depression. the SCA sucks our time and our money. and in a time of general downturn, people tighten their belts, and spend what time they have with their families, rather then with their hobbies.

our boroughs have also bit the dust, and we are rather un-welcomign of newbies...

(frozen) (no subject)

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Almost every one of my points has already been made by someone or other, so just check me off as saying:

- that's me at an individual level

- no, I hadn't noticed it at the group level (but then I'm notoriously oblivious)

- if it is true at the group level, factors from the real world are likely also involved

- up in the Towers we've had newbies swarming out of the woodwork, though it remains to be seen how many actually stay, settle down, and become really really active

- yes, it's happened before; step back far enough to look, and I'm not sure it's stagnation per se, to wit:

An awful lot of the events over the past year have been very much special-interest focus events: University, two dance-specific balls, King Lear, Academy of the Rapier, something else on the tip of my mind. Within each of those events, there was quite a lot of energy and enthusiasm going on, it's just that to the people outside, it was a whole lot of nuthin'.

A consequence of the desire for quality is specialization; a consequence of specialization is fragmentation; a consequence of fragmentation is loss of energy/involvement at the umbrella level. If this is something worse than a normal cycle, Carolingia is falling victim to its own success.

(frozen) (no subject)

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I'm curious if this maps to age or length-of-time in the SCA. Most of our pals are of similar vintages; do people younger have this feeling?

(frozen) The wind blows that way...

[cristovau.livejournal.com]

Some bullet points from my own musings...

* The NMS has lead some of us to do donation only events which make sites harder to find.

* Site fees have risen and Boston sites are harder to find

* It's harder to charge more given the economy

* The Greenwood Isle influx drew attention from other Burroughs (this often happens)

* Those who have been around a whiel are comfortable doing what they are doing.

* We tend to rely on people to keep doing what they were doing

* There wasn't a really bg even last year that wasn't activity focused and many small ones were as well

* This years event schedule looks better

* We don't have an organized recruitment division, just various people who care deeply

* It may be a general social depression

* Livejournal has sucked away some commentary and personal discussion that would have taken place on e-mail lists

* I've felt a drop in energy

* I Sebastiani (one example) performed less this year than in many previous years. Much less in Fall 03-Winter 04 than in Fall 12-Winter 03.

* A lot of inspiration can come from the leader, an enigmatic figure who picks a group up and carries it. I've seen this in Patri, Sebastian, Catrin, Vis, Jehan, Yevsha and many others.

* Enthusiasm is catchy... so is depression

* There have been several truly committed new folks who joined us these last few years. Oddly, many of them migrated in.

* It seems to me that we are playing more often and better with our neighbors... that might be entirely my bias

* The SCA, by it's nature, is somewhat insular.

* We have had a functional core for years. Perhaps we are gettng complacent, and maybe we just needed a year of downtime

* Our standards and expectations are awfully high

(frozen) email/lj discussions

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

* Livejournal has sucked away some commentary and personal discussion that would have taken place on e-mail lists


If so, it's only one of many different channels that have sprung up since the alleged good old days of the Rialto (now a pale shadow of its former self.) Once egroups/yahoo made it easy to have a special-interest email list, things have gotten mighty fragmented.

(frozen) Hypocritical, but possibly useful

[melissaagray.livejournal.com]

Hypocritical, but possibly useful
I feel like a hypocrite posting about the inactivity of the barony when I myself have been nearly inactive for almost 5 yrs, but I think my comments might be useful & unique and my love of the barony far exceeds my current activity level.

While I think people’s comments about the down economy and fragmentation are certainly true, I think the key underlining issue is a faulty pipeline. It’s an issue I remember raising in debate several times 5 yrs ago before I graduated and scaled down my involvement, and it seems to have finally come to a head. Our old policy of “college only” pipe line development is finally biting us in the you know where. Colleges are great because they provide us with lots of bright people with ample time on their hands, but since a majority of Boston students come here to study and then leave for their hometown or for graduate study, it’s a game of Russian rulet to see who we retain. When I suggested years ago that we start focusing our recruitment on the local suburbs, I was met with the snooty response of “dumb townies will never be interested in medieval history”. In every kingdom but ours, the subjects are made up of as many auto mechanics as they are computer programmers and I believe there is a wealth of untapped people and new found enthusiasm & ideas waiting for us if we drop the attitude…..toward the non college recruited / educated and toward heavy list fighting for that matter. I am from Malden, and until I was recruited at Tufts, never even heard of the SCA, and neither had my parents or any of our friends / neighbors (all from local burbs of Boston). Maybe holding demos in places like the Revere Flea Market / Carnival or the Central Sq art festival might bring some new life in. Also holding some “fun for all” events to give the new people something to do might be in order. An event where there is a play yet other stuff to do will draw far more than just the theater goers, same with an event that has fencing instead of a fencing event. Maybe something with a more festival / party atmosphere that encourages meeting new people (and don’t tell me Falling Leaves!!...when’s the last time Falling Leaves made it past laid back).

(frozen) Re: Hypocritical, but possibly useful

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure it's a matter of "townies" but that colleges are very easy pickings. Recruits-on-the-hoof for effort-invested is high.

The West recruits from colleges also, when it bothers.

(frozen) (no subject)

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who's really relatively new (didn't actively start playing in Carolingia until two-three years ago), I'm still ramping up myself and I feel like I'm getting more involved, not less, although that's still coming slowly. I have yet to meet with someone who's shot down an idea of mine, although I certainly see a lot of "I'll try and squeeze out time."

That makes sense to me, because we've all got full plates to one degree or another. It is interesting to me that I sometimes feel like I'm hearing "the SCA isn't anyone's whole life, ergo it's languishing." I know it can expand to fill all available time if you really want, but I worry a bit that time spent on other pursuits is seen as detrimental - like cheating. If I devote all my time and energy to a single pursuit, no matter how faceted, I'll get crispy-fried, and then I won't do it at all.

People took time to welcome me and continue to take time and express interest and encourage activity. I will continue to believe that that's not wildly unusual.

(frozen) (no subject)

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Okay, I've only started this reply three times.

I've only been in Carolingia for a year (okay, eleven months and 29 days) so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but...

Carolingia is a lot more active in "big picture" stuff than my old barony. While Nordskogen has weekly meetings (that include dance practice, general socializing, and once a month business meetings), they only host two-four events a year (one of those is jointly hosted between the Madison barony). Carolingia hosts events about once every 4-6 weeks. Many of these are small, specific events, but there's one or two large, RP types as well.

In terms of Colleges, Nordskogen has two: Tor Aerie, the Unviersity of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, and Nordliegh, whihc is the Northfield colleges. Northfield is about a half hour/45 minute drive from the Twin Cities, and goes through cycles of "WHINE! No one is paying attention to us!" to "You're smothering us!" Trying to find a balance of How to Handle Nordleigh has been a challange for the past two Baronial couples.

Tor Aerie, on the other hand, is going through it's own revivial... they were pretty small for a while, but throgh demos and the grim determination of a few graduating seniors who said that "Tor Aerie Will Not Die When We Finally Graduate!" And they've had an influx, which is good.

I don't know if that helps any, but demos and stuff would be a place to start in the fall.

(frozen) (no subject)

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

Just as a random data point, the style of your comments page makes it really, really hard to tell which replies go with which other replies in a conversation this big and threaded. I'm not telling you to change it by any means (it's your journal, after all) but I do feel the need to point it out. I'm having a hard time following what's going on here and I'd suspect others are as well (especially those who aren't normally LJ users and thus used to wonky LJ styles).

I will post an actual opinion reply and not just replies to other replies, once I have time to think it through.

(frozen) (no subject)

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I spoke too soon, I finally re-found the little clickybox that makes comment pages show up in the default LJ style if you want them to. So people who are LJ users can change it for themselves if they like.

(frozen) Rip the lid off

[(Anonymous)]

Catrin here.

In my opinion, the Barony has been in or heading towards this state since I was seneschale. No reason to think it was going to go under, but not thriving either. I've put an indecent amount of thought over the years into why this is so and what to do about it. Here's my opinion for what it's worth.

1) We stopped recruiting. Not just college demos but Carolingian University in Harvard Sq and events at sites where we'd get them off the street. College students are wonderful, but if we're going to survive we also need longterm residents with cars and disposable incomes. Most importantly, we need bodies to replace those of us who fade due to other parts of life.
2) We stopped having reasons to get together as a diverse group. There's so darn many things to do now that you can really just head off into your Bavarian ear spoon group and never mix with other people. A group like this thrives on cross-pollination. It used to be Council. If it isn't anymore then something else needs to take its place. Same for events - general events that attract a general crowd are good for the Barony.
3) People should just doooo things in spite of all the gal darned structures and official groups we have. I've heard too many concerns about people feeling that they can't or they aren't. Easy for me to say as an ex-seneschale double peer right? Pleeasse. I've been here for 17 years - I didn't start out this way. In the words of Michael, if you enjoy it and make it fun, people will join in.
4) Dynamiting some of our traditions and structure to make it easier for people coming in would be a kindness. It's gotten to the point that your only way to do theater is full length Shakespeare or Commedia. We used to have regular performance of 45 minute or shorter shows that were great for people - and pretty damn funny as well. Coming into a group as hidebound (sp?) by tradition and ritual as us is not only hard for outsiders, but hampers our growth.
5) We're too darned worried about stuff like the NMS. That's not the fun part. Remember the fun part.
6) We're too parochial. We're part of this larger group, the East Kingdom, as well as the SCA. It's fun out there. Get out and bring them back here. That intermingling is where a lot of the fun is.

Lastly, rip the lid off and move this over to the Carolingian list. We're way too squeemish about having big, messy discussions. Big messy discussions are part of what keep us vibrant.

(frozen) Re: Rip the lid off

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I agree with much of what you say, except...

3) People should just doooo things in spite of all the gal darned structures and official groups we have. I've heard too many concerns about people feeling that they can't or they aren't. Easy for me to say as an ex-seneschale double peer right? Pleeasse. I've been here for 17 years - I didn't start out this way. In the words of Michael, if you enjoy it and make it fun, people will join in.

Reality is, if you're one of the "right" people (whomever they are) doing the "right" fun thing (whatever that is), then you might see Michael's axiom in action. Otherwise, at best you get ignored, at worst you get lynched.

(frozen) (no subject)

[richenza.livejournal.com]

Jack and I are less able to do what we once did in the barony because our real life jobs take up so much time. I *never* get a weekend off, so while I've got lots of pet projects and fun feast ideas I'd like to work on I don't have any time to do it.

Also, cook's guild has suffered the effects of the fact that I don't know my schedule until the Thursday of the previous week. So I can't plan any meeting earlier than that because I won't know if I'll be asked to take a night shift or something else that will conflict. Thus, I don't tell anyone til the last minute and very few people can make it.

As rather a side note, I've personally been feeling less welcome in the barony. Now before the flame war starts, let me make this clear: I am not pointing at anyone in particular and all of my friends have been very happy to see me. But I have increasingly felt less welcome. If you would like the details of why I feel this way you may call me, I don't intend to post them publicly.