[MR] Challenge Met!

[Towey, Brian]

Many thanks to all who contributed (however obliquely) to my quest for ten
ways to make authenticity more desirable and attainable.  

Here are the three ideas I proposed as a start:

1) Nimenfeld had an "adopt-a-fighter" program where the sewers picked one
particular fighter to make tabards, etc. for.

2) What if each new monarch selected a "color guard" to bear the Atlantian
banner?  A Viking king could choose Norse guards; a HYW king could choose
14th C guards, etc.  In exchange for the honor, the color guard would strive
to have an authentic "dress uniform" that was list-legal.

3) When planning for wars, what if one war point were to be awarded in a
period Pas, where the contestants had to meet a high level of authenticity?
Or, to raise the ante, what if that same Pas was closed, except to
spectators who were equally well dressed?

Here are seven more, gleaned from the hundred-odd messages that followed.
(Apologies to any who feel misquoted.)

4) Teach and publish.  Spread knowledge far and wide.  Classes, articles in
The Oak, and Web pages.  Take pictures.  Post patterns on the Web.

5) Encourage people to develop their persona.  The more they settle on a
time and place to portray, the easier it will be to dress and accessorize
well.  Give awards for persona creation and authenticity.

6) Compile a printed or Web-based index to the current state of the art,
whichever art that might be.

7) Invite people to your workshop, as Andras and Vladimir have.  Teach them
the basics, and show them what tools to use.

8) Start newcomers off with plenty of good information, such as the SCA web
site, or Ansteorra's site at
http://www.ansteorra.org/regnum/hospitaler/articles/fip.htm. 

9) Destroy the myth that reasonable looking gear has to be really expensive
or hard to do.  That's a perniciously strong myth and it needs to be
strangled to death.  If you don't want to expose your fancy reproduction
furniture to the elements, make a good fake out of plywood and tell
everybody how you did it.

10) Offer "spiff" items as prizes at tournaments, like the ones at the
upcoming Challenge of the Phoenix.

My hat is off to all those who strove to keep this a positive discussion
instead of a quarrel.

Your servant,

Charles Fleming
"Miror Otium Negotium Multum Requirere"