[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index][Search Archives]

Re: Delinquent quarterly reports




Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Landi wrote:
>
>   By the way, apologies to anyone I may have offended.  I make
>no secret of my dislike for the (as I see it) overly bureaucratic, 
>heavy-handed, top-down *system* of the SCA, Inc., but I have only 
>respect for the individuals actually *doing* the jobs...
>
>   (Incidentally, Corun, in my twenty-couple years of hanging around
>the Society, I've come to realize that I have little talent to do,
>less talent to lead others, and (obviously! :-) insufficient patience
>to shuffle paperwork.  So suggestions would be welcome in terms of 
>"...think about what you could have done to help prevent the group 
>from folding.")

Well, if it was your group that was in danger of folding, and you read the
letters of various Kingdom Officers complaining that your group's officers
were two quarters late in their reports and that the group was in danger of
being dismantled, then you, as an active member of the group, could step
forward to offer some assistance, even if it's only to cajol them into
doing the report on time so you and the rest of your group didn't have to
go play someplace else. And if, as you say, you have no talent to do and
less patience to shuffle paperwork, then the best thing you can do is stay
out of the way, up to and including making snide public announcements that
insult and offend. Like the bumper sticker says, "Lead, follow or get out
of the way."

The fact is, Landi, your original post was sarcastic and snide. Fine, you
don't like bureaucracy, you don't want to do paperwork. But when we become
members of any organization we agree to follow the rules, whether we like
them or not. The best we can hope to achieve is a measure of equilibrium
between what we want to do and what we are expected to do, or, what we
promise to do when we take on an office within that organization. If the
rules annoy you, then you should become a kingdom officer and sit on Curia
and attempt to effect some form of change on the rules at the local level.
Barring that you could run for a seat on the BoD and attempt to effect
change to the rules at the Corporate level. Unfortunately, it means you'll
have to file your reports until you do effect that change. But please,
don't be snide and condescending to the rest of us who do follow those
rules and keep our promises. I find your apology above somewhat insincere
since you have managed to offend at least all the Great Officers who have
chosen to reply to your comments and shown them no respect whatsoever with
your original post.

Asking for quarterly reports is not overly bureaucratic. In my mundane job
I have to fill out weekly reports, which means I have to keep daily track
of what I do as it all goes into that report. And this has been pared down
since I no longer have to do a monthly report as well. That's overly
bureaucratic, but then I contract for the Federal Gov't.

Telling a group that they are in default and could be disbanded is not
heavy handed. Kicking people out of the Society would be. But, as has been
explained, since the continuance of the Society's tax-exempt status is
contigent upon its reports to the IRS, and those reports are made up of the
reports that come from the various Kingdoms, and *those* reports come from
the various groups within those Kingdoms......no, disbanding a group
because it can't file reports four times a year is not heavy handed. The
Gov't could effectively disband the SCA by removing the tax-exempt status.
This action could easily have the affect of causing us to increase the
amount of money we charge for membership. Or, worse, to force us to exclude
anyone but paying members from events. At that point the sheer number of
people who would head for the hills would certainly mean the demise of the
SCA as we know it.

So, we deal with the rules. We file our reports. And those who don't
undertake the chore lose nothing in the process, and have no business
exhorting the rest of us or condeming the system by which we chose to
abide. Just ignore it, Landi. No one's going to kick you out or blame you
because you don't like it but have no interest in becoming involved enough
to change it. But there's more to the SCA than just "hanging around" in it.
Much more.

In service,
Corun


     Corun MacAnndra   |   Dark Horde by birth   |   Moritu by choice
     ----------------------------------------------------------------
     I do not understand objections to 'cruel and unusual' punishment.
     While a judge should be benevolent in purpose, his awards should
        cause the criminal to suffer, else there is no punishment.
	  			  R. A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers
=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org