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Things to do? Not so much, maybe...
Feb. 17th, 2011 07:00 amI've been getting all sorts of advice lately about things I should do. Now, advice is good. I don't mind. But I'm sort of going to respond generally to a number of them here, just so it's clear where I stand on a few things. I'll probably ramble about some general items, too.
1. I have pointed out a number of pretty significant issues within my own Kingdom lately. Y'all know this. I'm not all that quiet about it. However, a lot of the response has been, "Well, contact Curia and offer to fix it."
Ah, my little friends. This presumes that people in charge in any circumstance WANT to be told where there problems are, even if you ARE offering to fix it. The fact of the matter is that frequently the people already in position (whether they're doing their jobs or not) have their territory thoroughly staked out and will immediately start pissing in the corners (or on your shoes) like an angry tom cat if they feel threatened.
And having the sheer temerity to raise an issue and, worse yet, offer to do a job that has not been publicized BY them as needing doing is to bring down all the wrath of Hell on your head. I know this from experience. I am SO not going to do it again. Within my first few years in the Society I "applied" for a position before it was publicly announced to be open and I have never forgotten the verbal beating and subsequent utter "retribution" that rained down as a result. It's why I don't bother much with heraldry beyond the occasional consult.
2. I can't fix everything myself - I don't have that kind of time.
But I don't think it's necessarily wrong to point out what's jacked up.... even if I don't personally have the means to fix it.
And, let's be clear, I'm not pointing things out just to be a saddleburr. It's bad for the whole Kingdom, for instance, when information does not get onto the Kingdom website in a timely manner. The copy of Kingdom Law present is wildly out of date. Curia minutes are missing for most of the last two years. The listing of Seneschals for local groups is also so far out of date to be borderline useless. It's frustrating. And I don't think that pointing it out and asking for it to be fixed should be viewed as trouble making.
3. Kingdom Faire - I'm goint to lay things on the line again, folks. I hate the Faire system. The format is bad, the criteria are screwed up, and then there's the issue of the long term site in freaking BFE. I don't have a need to have my stuff validated by entering. I've done it before. I don't need to "experience" judging. I've done it before. However, I feel like if I'm being asked to be part of the team that is charged with altering the Faire and trying to fix some of the problems, I ought to investigate how things are operating right now, in person. Hence, my thoughts about entering.
Yes, I'm bent that Faire is in KY, has been for 4 of the last 5 years, and will be next year. No, I'm not going to offer to put together a multi-year bid here in Pentamere. That would be hypocritical in the extreme. I think multi year contracts are a BAD idea. Yes, it solves the bid problem for a few years. But it's bad for the Kingdom. And there are better solutions to the problem than this one. I can't fix it. But I will bloody well not perpetuate the problem. That's how we've gotten into a lot of the problems we do have. Not deliberate malice or malfeasance (though there's a little of that sometimes, too - usually in the form of nepotism.), but simply continuing in the path that's been set before even when we know it's wrong.
I'm not playing that game.
Roast me if you will.
Am I wrong in expecting people to actually DO the jobs that they agreed to take on?
1. I have pointed out a number of pretty significant issues within my own Kingdom lately. Y'all know this. I'm not all that quiet about it. However, a lot of the response has been, "Well, contact Curia and offer to fix it."
Ah, my little friends. This presumes that people in charge in any circumstance WANT to be told where there problems are, even if you ARE offering to fix it. The fact of the matter is that frequently the people already in position (whether they're doing their jobs or not) have their territory thoroughly staked out and will immediately start pissing in the corners (or on your shoes) like an angry tom cat if they feel threatened.
And having the sheer temerity to raise an issue and, worse yet, offer to do a job that has not been publicized BY them as needing doing is to bring down all the wrath of Hell on your head. I know this from experience. I am SO not going to do it again. Within my first few years in the Society I "applied" for a position before it was publicly announced to be open and I have never forgotten the verbal beating and subsequent utter "retribution" that rained down as a result. It's why I don't bother much with heraldry beyond the occasional consult.
2. I can't fix everything myself - I don't have that kind of time.
But I don't think it's necessarily wrong to point out what's jacked up.... even if I don't personally have the means to fix it.
And, let's be clear, I'm not pointing things out just to be a saddleburr. It's bad for the whole Kingdom, for instance, when information does not get onto the Kingdom website in a timely manner. The copy of Kingdom Law present is wildly out of date. Curia minutes are missing for most of the last two years. The listing of Seneschals for local groups is also so far out of date to be borderline useless. It's frustrating. And I don't think that pointing it out and asking for it to be fixed should be viewed as trouble making.
3. Kingdom Faire - I'm goint to lay things on the line again, folks. I hate the Faire system. The format is bad, the criteria are screwed up, and then there's the issue of the long term site in freaking BFE. I don't have a need to have my stuff validated by entering. I've done it before. I don't need to "experience" judging. I've done it before. However, I feel like if I'm being asked to be part of the team that is charged with altering the Faire and trying to fix some of the problems, I ought to investigate how things are operating right now, in person. Hence, my thoughts about entering.
Yes, I'm bent that Faire is in KY, has been for 4 of the last 5 years, and will be next year. No, I'm not going to offer to put together a multi-year bid here in Pentamere. That would be hypocritical in the extreme. I think multi year contracts are a BAD idea. Yes, it solves the bid problem for a few years. But it's bad for the Kingdom. And there are better solutions to the problem than this one. I can't fix it. But I will bloody well not perpetuate the problem. That's how we've gotten into a lot of the problems we do have. Not deliberate malice or malfeasance (though there's a little of that sometimes, too - usually in the form of nepotism.), but simply continuing in the path that's been set before even when we know it's wrong.
I'm not playing that game.
Roast me if you will.
Am I wrong in expecting people to actually DO the jobs that they agreed to take on?
