[Cynnabar] The Campaign to End Name Uniqueness

Wed May 19 14:36:55 EDT 2010

Aaron,
I don't think it would bother me as much, although I might have some reservations about it.  If you're using a name like John, which is incredibly common, I can see that there would be a lot of overlap;  I'd like to think that mine isn't that common, although Andrew is certainly a popular name in the SCA.
Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to think that I have a pretty good rep in the SCA, and I'd hate to think of somone else taking that name and mucking it up! <g>
I've been in the SCA long enough to remember how special it was to get your name registered...but that was back in the Stone Age!!!  LOL!
YIS,
Andrew

 "Capitalization is the difference between 
helping your Uncle Jack off a horse & 
helping your uncle jack off a horse."                                                    

--- On Wed, 5/19/10, Aaron Elkiss <aelkiss at umich.edu> wrote:

From: Aaron Elkiss <aelkiss at umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Cynnabar] The Campaign to End Name Uniqueness
To: "Randy Weiser" <randy_weiser at yahoo.com>
Cc: "Barony of Cynnabar" <barony at cynnabar.org>, "Shoshana Jackson" <shoshigana at yahoo.com>
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 2:24 PM

Don't think anybody is saying you have to if you don't want to... 

But, would if bother you if somebody wanted to be Andrew Faunce of Somewhereelse? Would that even be prohibited under the current rules? If so that seems silly and in need of fixing, but if there can be a John Smith of Somewhere and a Johnne Smythe of Somewhereelse, or a William Black the Baker and Wyllyam Blacke the Cobbler, then what exactly is the issue? Now and then, people find ways to disambiguate between people with the same name; if you have to officially register the disambiguation that seems reasonable. Is the problem that the disambiguation isn't actually registerable, e.g. Johnne Smythe of Somewhere isn't documentable or something?

-Aaron

On Wed, May 19, 2010 at 1:56 PM, Randy Weiser <randy_weiser at yahoo.com> wrote:

Being one of the "old fartes" who has been in the SCA since the 1970's, I find this trend to be bothersome.  To me, it smacks of laziness - the idea of a name in the SCA is something that is YOURS.  Yes, there were other variations of it, and variations of it are fine, but I don't want 400 Andrew Faunces of Sharsted running around!  What happens if someone gets banished and has that name?  Will the other 399 of us who have it have to be banished as well?
I chose my name to reflect my family's heritage - the Faunces can trace their ancestry back to a vassel of William the Conqueror, and I'm VERY proud of that!
I'm going to be one of those curmudgeons who states, VERY LOUDLY AND PROUDLY, thank you very much, that if someone in the SCA is taking the time to research a UNIQUE persona, the name should be also researched carefully!  As someone who has done Name Heraldry at Pennsic, I can guarantee that this WILL give Heralds FITS if that starts happening!
HARRUMPH!
YIS,
Lord Andrew Faunce of Sharsted - the ONE AND ONLY BEARER OF THAT NAME, THANKYOUVERYMUCH!!!!

 "Capitalization is the difference between 
helping your Uncle Jack off a horse & 
helping your uncle jack off a horse."                                                    

--- On Wed, 5/19/10, Shoshana Jackson <shoshigana at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Shoshana Jackson <shoshigana at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Cynnabar] The Campaign to End Name Uniqueness
To: "Barony of Cynnabar" <barony at cynnabar.org>
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 10:59 AM

Greetings, all!

Per the meeting minutes:  Campaign to End Name Uniqueness
Our Herald says that SCA-wide, members are being asked to allow other people with similar persona names to register that similar name.  More discussion to follow.

There is a push with some of the senior Heralds both within (and without?) the College of Arms to get rid of the SCA registration custom that a name must be substantially different (both in sound AND appearance) from any other registered name in order to be "clear of conflict." Example: a person could not register the name "Jehan Smythe" because it would be too similar in pronunciation and spelling to "John Smith," if that were already registered.

While this appeals to our modern sense of individuality and has many supporters who say names OUGHT to be unique to avoid confusion in places like the lists or or at court or on award scrolls, this goes against historic accuracy - there were MANY "John Smith" variations even within one town!  This SCA-imposed uniqueness makes it so people cannot (necessarily) register a name that is both a) the name they want and b) historically accurate.

More information can be found here: http://medievalscotland.org/sca/cenu.shtml

This project is entirely VOLUNTARY.  The SCA at large does not mandate that anyone allow Permission to Conflict with a registered name.  I, personally, very much believe in this project as I think name uniqueness is silly.  To that end, I will be contacting as many people as I can find (realizing that some have moved out of our borders) from the Cynnabar OP and requesting a Blanket Permission to Conflict form be sent in to the College of Heralds.  (It is also attached, if some of you want to get right on this!)

Again, this project is VOLUNTARY and anyone has the right to preserve the uniqueness of your name.  I urge you, however, before you decide, please read the material at the above link.

I am open to any questions, comments or concerns you may have.

Yours, in service to a slightly more historically accurate dream-
  Chaya-Simcha

The pure righteous people do not complain against wickedness but add righteousness. They do not complain against disbelief but add faith. They do not complain against ignorance but add wisdom.

-Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook

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