🚀 go-pugleaf

Archive-name: sca-faq/part02
Last-modified: 11/11/1993

                   rec.org.sca and sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu FAQ
                                     or
                  Questions Frequently Asked on the Rialto
                  ---------------------------------------- 

This article is part 2 of the complete Frequently Asked Questions
posting for the Rialto.  An introduction and table of contents are
included in part 1.  The complete Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list
is available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu in directory
/pub/usenet/rec.org.sca.  Those without FTP access should send e-mail to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources"
in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.

For more complete introductions to the SCA, see the recurring postings
"Come on in -- the water's fine" (by Hal Ravn [whheydt@pacbell.com] ) and
"Life in the Current Middle Ages." (by Arval Benicour
[mittle@watson.ibm.com] ).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 2:  Other SCA electronic sources.

2.1  Are there other SCA mailing lists?

    ANTIR       Kingdom of An-Tir
    Subscription:   email to antir-request@kwantlen.bc.ca
    Maintainer: Elizabeth Braidwood <donna@kwantlen.bc.ca>

    BARDIC      Bardic topics
    Subscription:   email to bardic-request@carleton.edu

    CALONTIR    Kingdom of Calontir
    Subscription:   email to listserv@unl.edu with blank subject line and
        message body of:
            SUB CALONTIR Firstname Lastname
        substituting your name for First and Last name.

    CAROLINGIA  Barony of Carolingia (Boston, MA)
    Subscription:   email to carolingia-request@bloom-beacon.mit.edu

    DML     Drachenwald Mailing List - weekly
    Subscription:   email to the maintainer with DML in the subject.
    Maintainer: Jo Jaquinta (jaymin@maths.tcd.ie or jaymin@salmon.maths.tcd.ie)
    Archives:   via anonymous FTP at lanczos.maths.tcd.ie
                directory /jaymin/sca
            via email - send mail containing the single line HELP to
                info-server@lanczos.maths.tcd.ie

    LOUGH DEVANREE  Shire of... (Dublin, Ireland), Ireland, Celts
    Subscription:   contact list maintainer
    Maintainer: Sorcha ui Flahairteaigh (lgrant@lanczos.maths.tcd.ie)

    MAGYAR      Medieval Hungary and things Hungarian in SCA.
    Subscription:   email to magyar-request@bransle.ucs.mun.ca
    Postings:   email to magyar@bransle.ucs.mun.ca
    Maintainer: Miklos Sandorfia (andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca)
    Archives:   via anonymous FTP at bransle.ucs.mun.ca

    NORDMARK    Barony Of Nordmark (Sweden)
    Subscription: nordmark-request@mosh.komunity.se
    Postings:   nordmark@mosh.komunity.se
    Maintainer: christer@sue.komunity.se (Lindorm)
    Archives:   via email from the administrative address.
    Note: You're welcome to post in English, but most of us on the list
    write in Swedish.

    NORTH       East Kingdom Northern Region topics
    Subscription:   email to north-request@bransle.ucs.mun.ca
    Maintainer: Miklos Sandorfia (andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca)
    Archives:   via anonymous FTP at bransle.ucs.mun.ca

    NORTHSHIELD Crown Principality of Northshield, Middle Kingdom
    Subscription: e-mail to northshield-request@stolaf.edu
    Posting:    e-mail to northshield@stolaf.edu
    Maintainer: Wilhelm Dichtermann (waltner@stolaf.edu)
    Archives:   via e-mail from the administrator

    SCAHRLDS    Heraldic discussion
    Subscription:   mail to LISTSERV@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU with blank subject
            line and body of:
                SUB SCAHRLDS Firstname Lastname
            substituting your name for First and Last name.
    Maintainer: Kwellend-Njal Kolskeggsson (vnend@princeton.edu)
    Digest:     sent twice weekly by Alan Fairfax
            (atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu)
            Contact him for details.

    SCA-LOCHAC  Principality of Lochac (Australia)
    Subscription: email to del@DIALix.oz.au (manual list moderator)
    Posting:    email to sca-lochac@DIALix.oz.au
    Maintainer: Delbert von Strasburg (del@DIALix.oz.au)

    SCA-WEST    West Kingdom topics
    Subscription:   mail to sca-west-request@ecst.csuchico.edu with "help"
            in the subject line for more information.
    Maintainer: sca-west-owner@ecst.scuchico.edu.

    SIEGE       Siege engines, pre-black powder fortifications
    Subscription:   mail to siege-request@bransle.ucs.mun.ca with a blank
            subject line and body of:
                SUB SIEGE Firstname Lastname
            substituting your name for First and Last name.
    Maintainer: Sebastian (amlsmith@morgan.ucs.mun.ca)
    Archives: via anonymous FTP at bransle.ucs.mun.ca
                directory /pub/sca/

2.1.1  What other mailing lists of interest are there?

        There are lots of other mailing lists that may be be of interest
    to SCA people.  Here is a listing of some of them.  To subscribe,
    send mail to LISTSERV@<host address>, where <host address> is the
    part of the address for the list you're interested in that comes
    after the @ sign.  The mail should have nothing in the subject line,
    and the body of the message should consist of nothing more than
            SUB <listname> <yourname>
    where <listname> is the name of the mailing list you are subscribing
    to (the part *before* the @ sign) and <yourname> is your name.  Many
    of these lists are places where modern-world scholars communicate,
    and therefore are not places where persona is appropriate -- use
    your modern name.

    ALBION-L@UCSBM.BITNET           British and Irish history
    ANSAX-L@WVNVM.BITNET            Anglo-Saxon and related subjects
    CELTIC-L@IRLEARN.BITNET         Celtic culture
    CHAUCER@UNLINFO.UNL.EDU         Chaucer and Middle English
    EARLYM-L@AEARN.BITNET           Early Music
    EMHIST-L@RUTVM1.BITNET          Early modern history
    FICINO@UTORONTO.BITNET          Renaissance-Reformation studies
    FOLKLORE@TAMVM1.BITNET          folklore
    IRTRAD-L@IRLEARN.BITNET         Irish traditional music
    ISLAM-L@ULKYVM.BITNET           Islamic studies
    MEDEVLIT@SIUCVMB.BITNET         Mediaeval literature
    MEDFEM-L@INDYCMS.BITNET         Medieval feminist studies
    MEDIEV-L@UKANVM.BITNET          Medieval history
    MEDTEXTL@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU       Medieval texts
    PERFORM@IUBVM.BITNET            Performance theory and medieval drama
    REED-L@UTORONTO.BITNET          medieval drama
    RENAIS-L@ULKYVM.louisville.edu  early modern history
    rendance@morgan.ucs.mun.ca      Renaissance & Baroque Dance
    TOLKEIN@JHUVM.BITNET            Tolkein discussion list
    TORAH@MITVMA.BITNET             discussion of the Torah

2.2  Are there archives of SCA information that I can access? 

        Yes.  There are several sites that contain various files of SCA
    information, including this file, Corpora, the Heraldic Rules for
    Submission, the Online Armorial, several kingdom's laws, rules for
    combat, and so on.  Each site has a different collection of
    material, so you may need to investigate more than one to find what
    you need.  Contact your local system administrator to learn how to
    use anonymous FTP to retrieve these files.  Those without FTP access
    should send e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send
    usenet/news.answers/finding-sources" in the body to find out how to
    do FTP by e-mail.


    ftp.nau.edu [134.114.64.24] directory /sca
        maintained by wew@naucse.cse.nau.edu (Bill Wilson)
    bransle.ucs.mun.ca [134.153.2.24] directory /pub/sca
        maintained by andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca (Miklos Sandorfia)
    vela.acs.oakland.edu [141.210.10.2] directory /pub/heralds
        maintained by atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Alan Fairfax Aluricson)
 
2.3  Does anyone have a contact in ...

        The best way to find a contact in a particular area or group is
    to look in the Rolls Ethereal.

2.4  What are the Rolls Ethereal?

        The Rolls Ethereal list people on the Rialto, at least name and
    electronic address, and often interests, location, and awards.  The
    Rolls are maintained by Justin du Coeur (justin@inmet.camb.inmet.com)
    and are distributed at intervals of anywhere from 6 to 12 months.  They
    are available for anonymous FTP access at bransle.ucs.mun.ca.

2.5  What's this alt.sca I found?

        The first SCA newsgroup was named alt.sca.  When the traffic grew
    to a respectable size, we moved to rec.org.sca because the rec
    hierarchy gets better distribution.  alt.sca is currently defunct, but
    still carried at some sites.  We recommend that users of alt.sca move
    over to rec.org.sca, and ask their system administrator to remove
    alt.sca from their system, to avoid future confusion.

2.6  Where can I get songs and lyrics?

        There are a number of sites that archive song sources.  Many of
    these are dial-up sites, requiring the use of a modem.  Please do
    not ask for technical help with this on the Rialto -- there are sure
    to be better sources of this information close to you.

    Herald's Point, Ansteorra   (214) 699-0057
    TIDMADT, Atlantia           (703) 370-7054
    SCRIBE, Ansteorra           (214) 826-8141
    City of London, Trimaris    (407) 895-1335
    Deus Ex Machina, Atenveldt  (602) 439-8070
    Digital Tradition           FTP to FTP.UWP.EDU, /pub/songs/folk
    bransle.ucs.mun.ca          FTP, /pub/lyrics

                  ---------- End of Part 02 ----------

========================================================================
Thanks to all who have contributed to this article.

This article is a work in progress.  If you have other topics you'd like to
see included, send me email with the question(s) and your suggested
answer(s).  If you have comment on the items included, please send me
(polite) email.

          PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE RIALTO! ! !

The whole point of this effort is to reduce traffic.  I will summarize
comments sent to me, if it seems necessary.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman  	         Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman@unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Archive-name: sca-faq/part03
Last-modified: 11/11/1993

                   rec.org.sca and sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu FAQ
                                     or
                  Questions Frequently Asked on the Rialto
                  ---------------------------------------- 

This article is part 3 of the complete Frequently Asked Questions
posting for the Rialto.  An introduction and table of contents are
included in part 1.  The complete Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list
is available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu in directory
/pub/usenet/rec.org.sca.  Those without FTP access should send e-mail to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources"
in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.

For more complete introductions to the SCA, see the recurring postings
"Come on in -- the water's fine" (by Hal Ravn [whheydt@pacbell.com] ) and
"Life in the Current Middle Ages." (by Arval Benicour
[mittle@watson.ibm.com] ).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 3:  Miscellaneous questions.

3.1  What does AS stand for?

        Anno Societatis, or Year of the Society, counted from May 1, 1966
    CE.  (CE = Common Era, used to avoid the religious connotations of AD,
    or Anno Domini)

3.2  Other abbreviations you may run across:

    A&S  -  Arts and Sciences (not to be confused with AS, above)
    BTW  -  By The Way
    CMA  -  Current Middle Ages
    FAQ  -  Frequently Asked Question(s)
    FYI  -  For Your Information
    IMHO -  In My Honest/Humble Opinion
    MKA  -  Modernly (or Mundanely) Known As
    OOP  -  Out Of Period
    :-)  -  not really an abbreviation, the "smiley" informally
            indicates humor.  Turn your head sideways to the left to
            understand it.

3.3  Why don't we have a badge for all the Rialto people to wear?

        We have an informal agreement that a piece of netting worn on your
    person or hanging about your camp indicates you visit the Rialto.
    Remember there are people that have nets around that do *not* visit
    here.

3.4  What is Period?

        The period (and place) of interest to the SCA, as defined in
    Corpora and the By-Laws, is Western Europe and cultures that had
    contact with Western Europe before the 17th Century.


Section 4:  Recurring events:

4.1  What is Pennsic?  When is Pennsic?

        Pennsic is an annual war, with the main contenders being the East
    and Middle Kingdoms.  It is the largest recurring event in the Laurel
    Kingdoms, with attendance in 1992 of about 8000.  It has taken place
    since 1972, and has been held at Coopers Lake Campground near Slippery
    Rock, PA since 1977.  The main battles of the war are held the third
    weekend in August, with other activities taking place the week and
    weekend preceding that. Pennsic was so named from "Pennsylvania" on the
    model of "Punic."

4.2  What is Estrella?  When is Estrella?

        Estrella is an annual war, with the main contenders being Atenveldt
    and Caid.  The West and Outlands often contribute to the mayhem :-)  It
    has taken place since 1985, and is held at Estrella Mountain Park near
    Goodyear, AZ, west of Phoenix.  It is held on President's Day weekend
    (February).

4.3  What is Lilies?  When is Lilies?

        Lilies is an annual war that takes place in Calontir.  Each year
    a new scenario is developed to vary the sides.  Past scenarios
    have included Winter Queens vs. Summer Queens, Laurels vs.
    Pelicans, Baronies vs. Shires, and so on.  It takes place near
    Kansas City.  Attendance in 1992 was 800+.

Section 5:  Difficult topics:

        There are some topics that recur fairly regularly that are
    almost guaranteed to cause heated debate.  These topics generally
    involve matters of opinion, where debate can be entertaining,
    amusing, or informative, but often devolves into name-calling or
    worse.  Below is a listing of some such topics, including a brief
    summary of the major points of view on each.  If you decide to bring
    up one of these topics on the Rialto, be prepared for lengthy, and
    perhaps unfriendly, argument.  If you seriously are interested in
    changing how the SCA as an organization deals with these topics,
    remember you *MUST* *WRITE* the Board of Directors with your
    opinions to effect any change on the organization as a whole.  You
    will *not* change anything simply through discussing it on the
    Rialto.

5.0.5   How do I write the Board of Directors?

    (The following text was written by Ragnar the Bold, known in modern
    life as Keith Cartmell, a former member of the Board of Directors.)

    What sort of a letter is most likely to influence the Board on a
    decision?  Some of this will be plainly obvious, but you should see
    some of the letters the Board has received.  Hope this clears up
    misconceptions.

    Address it to:

    Board of Directors
    P.O. Box 360743
    Milpitas, CA. 95036-0743
 
    Do not send copies to individual directors, or the Society
    Seneschal, since copies will be made and sent out in the Board
    packets.

    Keep your letter to one topic.  If you wish to address several
    different topics, send several letters in the same envelope.  The
    secretary will find it easier to correctly handle your letter if you
    clearly state the topic at the beginning.  Letters that address an
    agenda item will be numbered with it.  If your letter comments on
    several agenda items, it becomes a nightmare to correctly file, and
    find again when wanted.  If it does not comment on any established
    agenda item, it will be placed into VII, Correspondence.  It will be
    assigned to a director for a response.  Every letter should get a
    response.  Your letters are carefully read to see if a new agenda
    item must be created.  This is done at the Committee of the Whole
    meeting, and any letters on the same topic will be moved to the new
    agenda item.

    The Board packets add up to a pile of paper that is never less than
    about 3" thick.  To make the best impression your letter should be
    clear, and to the point.  The letter is photocopied, and the
    original filed, so getting everything on one side of an 8.5 x 11
    page helps.  Multiple pages should be clearly labeled 1 of x, 2 of
    x, ect, and don't staple.  The main consideration in print medium is
    easy to read.  Dark typewritten print is great.  A 9 pin printer in
    draft mode badly needs a fresh ribbon.  Handwritten; if you must,
    use dark ink, double space, and be as neat as possible. For most
    people (especially me) hand printing is neater than handwriting.  It
    must be signed, and if your name is printed underneath it will be
    spelled that way in the minutes.  The Board will not accept
    anonymous correspondence.

    Timing.  Sooner is better.  Sending a letter about 2 to 6 weeks
    *after* the latest meeting is about ideal, or about 2 months *prior*
    to the next.  The packets are smaller and the directors are not
    trying to cope with all the last minute essentials.

    If your letter is a request for the Board to act as the final step
    in the channels for complaint and appeal, please include a summary
    of all the attempts to resolve the situation.  Be meticulous about
    dates, actions, and who you send copies to.  Remember that Board
    action will affect the entire SCA, not just your situation.

5.1     Same-sex consorts.

    Current situation:  According to Corpora the Sovereign and Consort
    must be of opposite gender, i.e. one male and one female by
    plumbing, regardless of affectional preference.

    Pro:  Those people in favor of allowing same-sex consorts feel that
    modern sensibilities are more important than historical practice,
    and that in the spirit of making the SCA as inclusive as possible,
    people should be allowed to fight in Crown Tourney for their
    significant other, regardless of their affectional preference.

    Con:  Those people against allowing same-sex consorts feel that
    historical accuracy is important, and that as there are no
    historical examples of a sovereign having a consort of the same sex,
    the SCA should not permit it.  An additional argument is that the
    majority of the SCA is heterosexual, and that by having two members
    of the same sex on the throne, approximately half the SCA is
    deprived of a role model during that reign.

5.2  Selecting the Crown.

    Current situation:  In all kingdoms, the Sovereign is chosen by a
    regularly recurring, double elimination Crown Tourney.  The
    frequency of this tourney varies by kingdom.  The victor of this
    tourney becomes the Heir to the throne (title varies by kingdom),
    and the person for whom the victor fought becomes the Heir's
    Consort.  After some period of time as Heirs, they are crowned
    Sovereign and Consort.

    Proposals:  We have seen many varied proposals on the Rialto for
    alternative ways of selecting the Sovereign.  Each is treated
    separately below.  In all cases, take as given the opinion (both Pro
    and Con) "We've never done it that way before."

    1.  Allow champions in Crown Tourney.  A person would fight in Crown
    Tourney for a couple.  If they are victorious, the couple would
    become Sovereign and Consort.  The fighter, in most versions of this
    proposal, would be required to serve as Champion throughout the
    reign, and would not be permitted to fight in Crown Tourney while
    they are Champion.
    Pro: allows non-fighters to be Sovereign.
    Con: people express worries about 'kingmakers' and hiring of
    champions.

    2.  Structure Crown Tourney as some combination of single combat and
    melee.
    Pro: better selects the Sovereign for leadership abilities.  Looks
    more like historical 'wars of succession' to some people.
    Con: too much opportunity for ugly politics in deciding who fights
    on which team(s).  Too unwieldy a tournament to finish in one day.

    3.  Select the Sovereign using some methods other than fighting
    tournament.  Various combinations of A&S combination, archery,
    fencing, and so on have all been suggested at one time or another.
    Pro: allows non-fighters to be Sovereign.  Emphasizes something
    other than fighting as the way to get ahead.
    Con: subjective nature of judging leaves too much opportunity for
    ugly politics.  There are no historical examples of rulers being
    chosen by similar means.

Section 6: How do you join the SCA?

        Find your local group and show up.  To attend an event, you must
    wear some attempt at pre-17th century clothing.  If you like it, you
    may want to become a registered member, which among other things
    gets you newsletters.  The Office of the Registry will provide basic
    introductory material, including a copy of your kingdom newsletter,
    on request.  They also have packets of material available for
    teachers.

            The Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
            Office of the Registry
            P.O. Box 360743
            Milpitas, CA   95036-0743
            USA
            408-263-9305
            408-263-0641 fax

    In Australia (The Principality of Lochac), contact:

            Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.
            PO Box 607
            UNLEY  SA  5061
            AUSTRALIA

                  ---------- End of Part 03 ----------

========================================================================
Thanks to all who have contributed to this article.

This article is a work in progress.  If you have other topics you'd like to
see included, send me email with the question(s) and your suggested
answer(s).  If you have comment on the items included, please send me
(polite) email.

          PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE RIALTO! ! !

The whole point of this effort is to reduce traffic.  I will summarize
comments sent to me, if it seems necessary.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman  	         Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman@unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Archive-name: sca-faq/part04
Last-modified: 05/11/1993

                   rec.org.sca and sca@mc.lcs.mit.edu FAQ
                                     or
                  Questions Frequently Asked on the Rialto
                  ---------------------------------------- 

This article is part 4 of the complete Frequently Asked Questions
posting for the Rialto.  An introduction and table of contents are
included in part 1.  The complete Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list
is available via FTP from rtfm.mit.edu in directory
/pub/usenet/rec.org.sca.  Those without FTP access should send e-mail to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/finding-sources"
in the body to find out how to do FTP by e-mail.

For more complete introductions to the SCA, see the recurring postings
"Come on in -- the water's fine" (by Hal Ravn [whheydt@pacbell.com] ) and
"Life in the Current Middle Ages." (by Arval Benicour
[mittle@watson.ibm.com] ).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Guide to Posting Style

    Each line of text posted to the Rialto is stored on thousands of Usenet
machines, and is also processed through the digestifier software and mailed
out to every recipient of the digest.  Many of the readers of the Rialto
must pay for disk space and connect time.  Keeping this in mind, here are
some common-sense guidelines for polite use of the Rialto.  These are just
suggestions: there are no rules.  However, following these guidelines would
be a courtesy to your fellow Rialtans, and to the good and generous
institutions whose machines support our communication.

    Many of these suggestions are adapted from regular postings on
news.announce.newusers, notably "Rules for Posting to Usenet," "What is
Usenet?", "A Primer on How to Work with the Usenet," and "Hints on Writing
Style for Usenet."  If you have access to that newsgroup, please take the
opportunity to read these postings.

* Keep it short.  Say what you have to say, but in the fewest words
    possible that make your meaning clear.  Brevity that obscures
    meaning is not very useful.

* Quote only what you must from previous articles.
    - Don't quote someone's entire signature, or blank space.
    - Don't include an entire article in order to append a single line of
        text.
    - Often a paraphrase will be clearer and more succinct than a quote.

* Use white space as necessary for clarity in your posting, and no more.

* Use a signature, but keep it short.  People appreciate knowing who and
    where you are (SCA and modern).  Include your email address in your
    signature, and enough of your name, titles, location etc. to ensure
    an unambiguous identification.  People do not appreciate paying
    phone bills to transmit over-large signatures, and Usenet etiquette
    frowns very strongly on many-line signatures or signatures with
    graphics.

* Reply by mail, unless your message is going to be of general interest. Of
    course, the Rialto is eclectic enough that a serious discussion of
    almost any relevant topic will interest some people.  Use your best
    judgement to balance the level of general interest against the cost of
    posting your message to the Rialto.  Postings whose content amounts to
    "you're an idiot" or "I demand you apologize for ..." are most
    emphatically *NOT* welcome.

* If you have a problem reaching someone by e-mail contact your system
    administrator, write to postmaster at your correspondent's node, or ask
    someone on the net who seems to know a lot about e-mail. Please avoid
    posting a message about it - you are trying to send something to
    someone on ONE system.  Posting sends it to all the thousands of
    systems throughout the world that make up the Rialto - which is going
    to cost someone, even if not you, a lot of money.

* Please don't post local event announcements. This is another "balance the
    general interest value against the cost" issue.  Local event
    announcements probably will be of interest to only a small fraction of
    the readership of the Rialto.  A brief mention of an event in a
    signature, or a 2 or 3 line summary with "email for more information"
    is perfectly in order.

* Write carefully.  People reading your postings can't hear your tone of
    voice or see your expression, and probably don't know you well
    enough to know whether you are serious or joking.  Sarcasm is
    guaranteed to be misunderstood by someone.  It is better to avoid it
    entirely, or at least clearly mark it with something like <SARCASM
    ON> ...sarcasm... <SARCASM OFF>.

* LOTS of people read the Rialto, and the newsgroup is completely public.
    Don't post anything you wouldn't want to say in a room filled with
    complete strangers, your boss, your parent's relatives, reporters from
    the National Enquirer, the peerage and royalty of your kingdom, etc.
    They might well be reading.  Take the time to re-read your posting, and
    to think whether you *really* want to say that.

* Don't get offended, and don't offend others - most of the people
    reading the Rialto are SCAdians, and would prefer being your friend
    to the alternative.  Treat people well and they will assuredly
    respond in kind.  If someone appears to be offended by a posting of
    yours, especially if the offense is unintended, the best response is
    to apologize via email.  Also, note that "I'm sorry you took it that
    way" is inadequate as an apology -- better is "I'm sorry I offended
    you." The first implicitly shifts the blame to the offended person,
    while the second does not.

* Use the subject line.  If you can describe your topics in the subject
    line of your posting, please do so.  Posting with Subject: Various is
    pretty pointless, isn't it? :-) If you are replying to a previous
    posting, and you have shifted the topic, please correct the subject
    line.  Some people will make note of the previous subject like this:
          Subject: Two-sword technique (Was Re: Pennsic)

                ---------- End of Rialto FAQ ----------

========================================================================
Thanks to all who have contributed to this article.

This article is a work in progress.  If you have other topics you'd like to
see included, send me email with the question(s) and your suggested
answer(s).  If you have comment on the items included, please send me
(polite) email.

          PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE RIALTO! ! !

The whole point of this effort is to reduce traffic.  I will summarize
comments sent to me, if it seems necessary.
--
  Robyyan Torr d'Elandris  Kapellenberg, Windmaster's Hill  Atlantia
  Dennis R. Sherman  	         Triangle Research Libraries Network
  dennis_sherman@unc.edu       Univ. of North Carolina - Chapel Hill