[MR] Laurel Office Request for Feedback on the Rules for Submissions

[E. L. Wimett]

For those who simply ignored Gisela's email as "one of those heralds'
business things", let me add a few words:

This survey is in part a result of strong representations to Laurel and the
College of Arms that the current standards for "authenticity" particularly
in the area of names are our of synch with the needs and desires of the
membership of the Society at large.  Over the past decade the standards for
names have steadily been raised (e.g., banning "Society-compatible" names
like Rhiannon and Maeve last year) to the distress of many submitters in
Atlantia. 

Many of you have complained to me about the requirements for nsme
registration.  Many of you have been asked by me or by the Laurel Office to
change you submitted name to meet current standards even though the name
might have been perfectly registerable five or ten years ago.  Many of you
have simply said to me that you were not going to register a Society name
since the requirements would make the name too different from the name by
which your Society brethren have known you for years.

If you are in any of those groups, this is your opportunity to give your
feedback to the Laurel Office.  Nay more, if you are one of those who have
been complaining, it is your RESPONSIBILITY to respond to this survey.  If
you do not, in a very real sense you have forfeited your right to complain
about the shape the Society's name and armory rules take in the future!

Alisoun
Golden Dolphin Herald/Metron Ariston Herald

-----Original Message-----
From: atlantia-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:atlantia-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of
scribe0002 at aol.com
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 8:49 PM
To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org; brnsacstone at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MR] Laurel Office Request for Feedback on the Rules for
Submissions

What follows is a request for input from the populace regarding the heraldic
submissions process currently practiced in the SCA. I forward this message
in its entirety. 

You don't have to be a herald or have anything registered to participate.
They don't just want to hear from peers, either. This request for
information will only make things better for everyone if everyone is
represented in the process. Please, I know this time of year is busy, but if
you care about how heraldry is practiced in the SCA now or how it will be
practiced in the future, take this opportunity to speak up.

~gise

To those to whom these words come, greetings from Olwynn niChinneidigh,
Laurel Queen of Arms and Juliana de Luna, PalimpsestHerald.

The Laurel office is starting to review our policies and procedures
forsubmissions.  We expect that the eventual outcome will be a
completerewrite of the Rules for Submissions. 
To start this process, we're asking the populace and heralds to give
usfeedback about the heraldic submissions process and how it should work. A
survey which asks some basic questions can be found at
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GLJZDDZ;we'd appreciate it if interested
people would take time to answer thequestions there.  Anyone can complete
this; we promise to read allanswers.  We expect the survey to take fifteen
to twenty minutes. Additional comments about or ideas for this process can
be sent to rules at heraldry.sca.org. 
We have several goals for this process:
-    to make the Rules for Submissions easier to use for heralds and
submitters alike
-    to reduce discrepancies between the Rules as written and the rules as
applied
-    to reflect on the degree of authenticity we want for the registration
process and how best to codify rules to evaluate it
-    to reconsider the level of difference we should require between names
and devices for registration

In all areas, the Society for Creative Anachronism has moved
towardsprogressively better understandings of what people did in our period.
Given this, we are not interested in discussing rules changes thatwould
substantially lower our standards for registration of names andarmory.  But
we are interested in exploring ways to make it easier forpeople register
items that are in period style, whether or not they fitthe rules as they
currently exist.  We welcome ideas about how to dothat from all sources. 
We look forward to hearing from you!  The deadline for the survey isJanuary
31; we will continue to accept comments by e-mail until thereview of the
rules is completed.  Please forward this message to othermailing lists, so
that as many people as possible can respond.

Juliana and Olwynn Laurel
========================================================================
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