Looking at the SCA
Michael Litchfield
SCA in general and the local group in particular was not really worth the time
and/or effort to bother with.
What I found after more than a year of no involvement;
Politics; Still a MAJOR downer. People who are in group A won't talk to someone
becasue they were once seen in the company of someone who is a part of group B.
People bitching because they did not get the recognition they felt they deserve
(especiually humorous as they really did not deserve the recognition they felt
they should get).
Types; Fubba Wubbas: Gods they are worse than usual, getting more freaquent
and more conservative, even worse there are more people in power who are fubba
wubbas.
party 'dudes': Even LESS interested in being part of the SCA, more
getting drunk and dressing funny, but being forced to refrain from enjoying
themselves by the FWs.
Authenticity Freaks: About the same, maybe a bit ruder than they have
been
Clueless Newbies: Still think they know the entire history of the world
from having played D&D and having seen all the Monty Python Movies
Fighting; Fighters of anystripe still think the SCA is only there for them,
heavier blows and less calling.
general midevialness; still sucks rocks
In all there is hardly any compelling reason why I could understand why someone
would want to play. For a lot of years I used to try and introduce all my
friends to the Society and felt it was one of the neatest things on earth, I
couldn't understand why some of them just were totally cold to the whole thing.
Now I wonder what I liked about it, and what the few people I introduced to the
society that stayed saw in the tottering morass.
The best the scoiety is and has been is a place to meet neat people, and one
still finds them there from time time until they too are driven out. There are
other places to meet the neat and interesting types and those places are
generally MUCH less haslle than playing in the SCA.
-Michael
djh...@garnet.berkeley.edu
>
>Types; Fubba Wubbas: Gods they are worse than usual, getting more freaquent
>and more conservative, even worse there are more people in power who are fubba
>wubbas.
Will somebody for Pete's sake tell me what is a fubba wubba? The term
got used a while back on this newsgroup and I asked then and nobody
would tell me.
Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Dorothy J. Heydt
Province of the Mists djh...@garnet.berkeley.edu
Principality of the Mists University of California,
Kingdom of the West Berkeley
(EH&S doesn't care what I post, and anyway this is MY account.)
Melissa J. Cameron
>Types; Fubba Wubbas: Gods they are worse than usual, getting more freaquent
>and more conservative, even worse there are more people in power who are fubba
>wubbas.
What's a "fubba wubba"?
> Clueless Newbies: Still think they know the entire history of the world
>from having played D&D and having seen all the Monty Python Movies
I take offense to this remark. I have not yet met a newcomer who
thought they knew everything there was to know. One of the points of
the Society, to me, is to learn about a world which has enchanted me
from afar for some time. I do not pretend to know everything. On the
contrary, I am more likely to pretend I know nothing about the
medieval world, as that is probably the more accurate statement of the
two.
>-Michael
It is unfair of you to classify people you do not personally know into
such rigid groups. Using the language you have does not help your
case. Do you know every fighter or every newbie or every... you get
the idea. Why dismiss people so readily when you have never even
bothered to speak with them?
You are no longer involved in SCA. Why do you insult those who are?
It was once an enjoyable activity to you, and while now you say you
'can't understand how you ever could have found enjoyment in SCA' *to
paraphrase* , it is currently an enjoyable activity to a great many
people and you do not happen to share in that opinion.
(must be a soapbox week... THUMP STOMP)
Annbel Carnegie
Michael Litchfield
>What's a "fubba wubba"?
Hmmm a number of people have asked, have so many people become fubba wubbas
they they frowm on its use?
IT is from an acronym, Fat Ugly Bitches With Bad Attitutes, occaisionally
Unbelievably Bad Attitudes. Generally it refers to someone of either sex who
pays great heed to Mrs. Grundy and does not approve of all this singing,
dancing, drinking, and merriment that some people have chosen to inflict upon
thier society.
>> Clueless Newbies: Still think they know the entire history of the world
>>from having played D&D and having seen all the Monty Python Movies
>
>I take offense to this remark. I have not yet met a newcomer who
>thought they knew everything there was to know.
You must be new, stay in a while, in my experience they have been as thick as
fleas.
> One of the points of
>the Society, to me, is to learn about a world which has enchanted me
>from afar for some time. I do not pretend to know everything. On the
>contrary, I am more likely to pretend I know nothing about the
>medieval world, as that is probably the more accurate statement of the
>two.
Congratulations, would you like a cookie? In gneral it is far more common for
newbies to get thier knowledge of what the middle ages was like from a
combination of comic books, fantasy novels, bad movies, FRP Games, and large
mouthed idiots who don't have the semblance of a clue. Newbies willing to do
real research into period things are as rare as honest politicians. If you are
LUCKY they may take a mid. history class or shakespear course, and forget as
much of that as soon as possible.
>It is unfair of you to classify people you do not personally know into
>such rigid groups. Using the language you have does not help your
>case. Do you know every fighter or every newbie or every... you get
>the idea. Why dismiss people so readily when you have never even
>bothered to speak with them?
I shall take this opportunity to introduce you to a great and wonderful thing,
the concept of a SAMPLE. The idea is that if you have a group of a hundred
things and examine ten of them you can make inferences about the other ninety.
The greater the percentage of samples, the more homogenous the group, and the
wider the intervals you take your samples at the greater confidence you can
make in your inference.
>You are no longer involved in SCA. Why do you insult those who are?
>It was once an enjoyable activity to you, and while now you say you
>'can't understand how you ever could have found enjoyment in SCA' *to
>paraphrase* , it is currently an enjoyable activity to a great many
>people and you do not happen to share in that opinion.
Why do you take offense? If what I said was totally without merit or truth than
it would be nothing more than the ravings of an idiot. However there is truth
to what I have said. If you don't like the picture I paint of the SCA show me
where it is unreperesntative, show me that my observations are in error.
Pitiably you can't.
The problem with soapboxes is that when you get on one and start speaking you
rarely listen to what people are saying.
>Annbel Carnegie
-Michael
Charles Parr
>>What's a "fubba wubba"?
>IT is from an acronym, Fat Ugly Bitches With Bad Attitutes, occaisionally
While Michael is rude, and does not speak gently as befits a man of chivalry,
I also feel he is partly right. We do have a fair number of Fubba-Wubbas
(our term where I am is "Poser" or "Posturer"...Which is less intrinsically
rude, but just as offensive to those we apply it to). Many people in our
society get abvious satisfaction from looking down their noses at those they
feel are "non-period" or "partiers" or "stick jocks" or "court weasels".
As for the knowitall newbie...I've run into the species myself. Educate
them out of it is all I have to say. To me, that's what our society is
for: The education of us all.
Michael: I suspect you left because of some sort of nasty politicking, or
at least your attitude suggests it. I've been in some real sinkholes myself
...Why not try starting over? SCA *can* be fun. And please don't post so
rudely here: While I have no control over your behavior, I enjoy the
graciousness (nearly unique in the nets) which is normally exhibited here.
Clanking in Armour, I remain: Carolus Mediocris.
************************************************************
*
* "Oh you fart!!" Anm unnamed knight being one shotted in
* our champions tourney this weekend.
*
*
************************************************************
Dennis Clark
>Was dragged to an event recently by someone after having generally decided the
>SCA in general and the local group in particular was not really worth the time
>and/or effort to bother with.
Ohhhh, bummer dude.
>What I found after more than a year of no involvement;
>
>Politics; Still a MAJOR downer. People who are in group A won't talk to someone
>becasue they were once seen in the company of someone who is a part of group B.
>People bitching because they did not get the recognition they felt they deserve
>(especiually humorous as they really did not deserve the recognition they felt
>they should get).
>
>Types; Fubba Wubbas: Gods they are worse than usual, getting more freaquent
>and more conservative, even worse there are more people in power who are fubba
>wubbas.
means Fat Ugly BroAd(or BAstard) With A Bad Attitude -- or FUBA WUBA
> party 'dudes': Even LESS interested in being part of the SCA, more
>getting drunk and dressing funny, but being forced to refrain from enjoying
>themselves by the FWs.
>
> Authenticity Freaks: About the same, maybe a bit ruder than they have
>been
>
> Clueless Newbies: Still think they know the entire history of the world
>from having played D&D and having seen all the Monty Python Movies
>
>Fighting; Fighters of anystripe still think the SCA is only there for them,
>heavier blows and less calling.
>
>general midevialness; still sucks rocks
Well, we are mostly after all, medieaval hobbiests, not scholars, we try.
>In all there is hardly any compelling reason why I could understand why someone
>would want to play. For a lot of years I used to try and introduce all my
>friends to the Society and felt it was one of the neatest things on earth, I
>couldn't understand why some of them just were totally cold to the whole thing.
>Now I wonder what I liked about it, and what the few people I introduced to the
>society that stayed saw in the tottering morass.
>
>The best the scoiety is and has been is a place to meet neat people, and one
>still finds them there from time time until they too are driven out. There are
>other places to meet the neat and interesting types and those places are
>generally MUCH less haslle than playing in the SCA.
I remember your posts from years back. Sorry to hear that it sucks in
your area. If you still feel that the idea of the SCA has merit, then start
your own group in a nearby area. Do your own thing, you don't need the support
or the permission of the local FUBA WUBA's to play, especially if they snub
you, all the better. Form a college or a canton (just to keep the administriv-
iasts happy) and get the people you want to come. Maybe if you fostered
another type of SCA in the area, you will get converts. Of course, this all
assumes that you still feel that the _ideals_ have merit.
>-Michael
>----------
Kevin
Roadster Racewerks
I got sort of a different "kick" out of the D&D reference. I had never played
until a friend got me involved in an AD&D online game recently. I did find
that my studies of things medieval gave me an edge. (I was the final winner..)
I didn't need to know any of the complicated tables, etc., I just built a very
strong (physically) character and "thought medieval". ;-)
This does NOT constitute an endorsement of the D&D world. I'm quite content to
keep my *real* medieval world quite seperate from any fantasy not inherent in
the process of entering into the "Dream", thank you very much...
NicMaoilan the mercenary...
tri...@agora.rain.com
Rob Derrick
>Congratulations, would you like a cookie? In gneral it is far more common for
>newbies to get thier knowledge of what the middle ages was like from a
>combination of comic books, fantasy novels, bad movies, FRP Games, and large
>mouthed idiots who don't have the semblance of a clue. Newbies willing to do
>
[... and more vituperation deleted]
>Why do you take offense? If what I said was totally without merit or truth than
>it would be nothing more than the ravings of an idiot. However there is truth
>to what I have said. If you don't like the picture I paint of the SCA show me
>where it is unreperesntative, show me that my observations are in error.
>Pitiably you can't.
>
>The problem with soapboxes is that when you get on one and start speaking you
>rarely listen to what people are saying.
>
>-Michael
Wow, Mike, Wow!
But what do people in the SCA call people like you, besides
the obvious? I always find such curmudgeonly behaviour amusing, but if I
were you, I might be worried about ending up on a street corner someday with
a shopping cart full of bags and cans, wearing an old housedress, and shouting
more of the same (as above) at nobody in particular.
If you burned out on it, go away for as long as it takes to get back some
of that youthful innocence that can make you find something worthwhile in
the meanest and silliest of trappings. If you can't get it back, then you
have my heartfelt sympathies, and if it makes you feel any better, you
can take it out on me. I see everything that you have seen in the SCA,
but I can still find enough pleasure to keep it going. Hell of a lot
more fun that a Rotary Club meeting!
Stavros the Oaf -- still trouble after all these years...
PS:
You say:
> ... show me that my observations are in error.
>Pitiably you can't.
Your observations are of the world. And they are not in error. But maybe
if you turn the binoculars around, things won't be so large or important.
Ioseph of Locksley
d>From: djh...@garnet.berkeley.edu
d>
d>In article <17...@helios.TAMU.EDU> rml...@rigel.tamu.edu writes:
d>>
d>>Types; Fubba Wubbas: Gods they are worse than usual, getting
d>more freaquent
d>>and more conservative, even worse there are more people in power
d>who are fubba
d>>wubbas.
d>
d>Will somebody for Pete's sake tell me what is a fubba wubba?
d> The term
d>got used a while back on this newsgroup and I asked then and
d>nobody
d>would tell me.
FUBBA-WUBBA: Anacromym for Fat Ugly Broad With A Bad Attitude........
-Ioseph of Locksley
--
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!29!Ioseph.of.Locksley
Internet: Ioseph.of...@f29.n114.z1.fidonet.org
Roadster Racewerks
>please do not post so rudely here [...]
Ah Dear Carolus, methinks Michael has revealed himself as having descended into
fubba-wubba-dom... the trashing of eager newbies is a fatal symptom! :-)
NicMaoilan the mercenary
tri...@agora.rain.com
Baron Dur, PHYRE Marshal, SCA at large
>
> general midevialness; still sucks rocks
>
>
Hey everybody, he's back!
(Quick, Mr. Sulu! set the filters on KILL!)
Dur T. Nasty (old barron)
--
Dale E. Walter |Dur of Hidden Mountain
d...@ecl.psu.edu |Schloss Zwerg, Eagle's Pass of the War Road, somewhere in
|the East
Rob Derrick
Ah, yes. "We often become the thing we most loathe and fear."
Stavrosian aphorism
Alfgar the Sententious
>In article <1991Jun17....@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>, shu...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Melissa J. Cameron) writes...
>>What's a "fubba wubba"?
>Hmmm a number of people have asked, have so many people become fubba wubbas
>they they frowm on its use?
No, the fact is that the slang
prevalent in your particular group
is NOT universally used or
understood elsewhere.
This is one instance/aspect of
a common phenomenon: people
assuming
that because X is the situation in
their barony/region/kingdom/whatever,
it is true everywhere in the Known
World. As someone will say in a
future
century, it ain't necessarily so.
Alfgar (Call me 'Baron',
jobbernowl!) the Sententious
--
Will Linden MCI: WLINDEN
Internet: wli...@panix.com "On to the castle, to kill the royal
UUCP: ...cmcl2!panix!wlinden family, and claim the throne that
Compuserve: 72737,2150 isn't mine by right!"
djh...@garnet.berkeley.edu
>What's a "fubba wubba"?
>
the acronym, which has been discussed in this space and which I will
delete. They all agreed about the acronym.
The interesting thing was the different _definitions_ the various people
gave me. Some said, "tailkissers." Others said "snobs." Some said,
"Mrs. Grundies." Others said "Superannuated Peers who don't realize
the parade has passed them by." And there were other definitions
offered too, which don't linger in my memory at present.
You'll note several of these definitions contradict each other, or
cancel each other out. Maybe we've got interkindom dialectal variation
here. Maybe. Otherwise, it begins to look as if the true definition
of "fubba wubba" is "Any obese female whom I don't happen to like for
whatever reason I choose."
This could apply to a very large number of people, couldn't it. Perhaps
before we start getting rid of useful terms like "newbie" and "mundane,"
which have real (denotative) meanings and may or may not also have
negative connotations, we should try getting rid of words that have
nothing _but_ a negative connotation and no denotation at all.
(Sitting down on the soap box which I haven't got the energy to climb)
Eliot Moss
person I would never use (and try never to think) of such an expression ....
--
J. Eliot B. Moss, Assistant Professor
Department of Computer and Information Science
Lederle Graduate Research Center
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 545-4206, 545-1249 (fax); Mo...@cs.umass.edu