[MR] peerage confusion from newcomers

[Gwyn]

one of the chief complaints I have heard from newcomers is, just how  do you become a peer?  many other groups have clear rules for advancement in title or rank, but ours are rather fuzzy and end up sounding too much like a popularity contest. 
 
way back a million years ago, to be a knight in the SCA you had to be proficient at arms, be willing to teach , have a working knowledge of chess, be able to perform at court, and know three dances well enough to teach them.  I know , it's been extinct for decades  now.  University has clear guidelines for their awards, it would be simple enough for the peers to lay out a basic guideline of what is expected for each order, and still involve polling the orders.  But at least when someone says, how do I become a knight, or a pelican, etc. we can give them something to get them on the path and avoid some of the frustration  of  "I've been in the SCA ten years and so and so has only been in one year....." I have heard it many times.