New Virtual Merits

[Adina al'Mari]

They are on my list of people who need to be added.

For context, to those interested, the Stew Crew had regular meet ups for over 18 months in Phandelver, and have had 10 sessions in Icewind Dale thus far. The Wilders are already up to 16 sessions. D&D games generally run 4ish hours.

Regular one shot leaders are Hal and Alexr, who did this outside of their Game Master duties.

Zazen regulars have attended over 150 sits. Their sits are 3x a week for an hour.

Activities like these take time and commitment to set up and study for, not to mention actively participate during the event itself, and they should be properly recognized.

I applaud our members who show up and do the work. I appreciate the heck out of all of you.

 

[Ananke Ruadh]

Adding my voice in support of Alexr and Morrighan. They made good points, and they should be considered carefully.

 

[Viktara Fen]

I was regular at Zazen for about a year before life ate me temporarily, and I am hoping that new opportunities might let me get back to it. However, many times it was just me and Alexr there when I was sitting regularly.

 

[Ananke Ruadh]

I was regular at Zazen for about a year before life ate me temporarily, and I am hoping that new opportunities might let me get back to it. However, many times it was just me and Alexr there when I was sitting regularly.

Much of the alone this past year with just the two of you was due to my chronic illness. I do hope to get back into it; now that I'm forcibly upright at that time due to the little one.

 

[Morrighan Daghdera]

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but the zazen events took extraordinary commitment, dedication, and effort to consistently execute regardless of the number of attendees.

Even still:

Zazen regulars have attended over 150 sits. Their sits are 3x a week for an hour.

And this says nothing of the D&D events. To create a Virtual Event merit that excludes such monumental and consistent activities is reflective of a very poorly constructed virtual events merit. Viktara, I’m sure you understand better than I do what it takes to host your chats. Imagine scheduling them as frequently as Alexr and not being recognized for your work?

Bring back the focus group. We have the precedent for it. And it’s been almost a decade since the last one before Toral became Archivist.

 

[Viktara Fen]

Much of the alone this past year with just the two of you was due to my chronic illness. I do hope to get back into it; now that I'm forcibly upright at that time due to the little one.

Apologies if my choice of words suggested that others were at any kind of fault for not attending. My intent had been to affirm that I'd been there with Alexr, but that I know there had only been just us for a lot of it, so I'd never particularly thought that it would show up anywhere. I do know that it takes a lot of commitment to plan and put on any kind of event, especially with any regularity, and I certainly was not trying to suggest otherwise. Zazen was amazingly beneficial to me while I was able to do it, and I cannot imagine that it is anything else for those currently doing it.

 

[Ananke Ruadh]

Apologies if my choice of words suggested that others were at any kind of fault for not attending. My intent had been to affirm that I'd been there with Alexr, but that I know there had only been just us for a lot of it, so I'd never particularly thought that it would show up anywhere. I do know that it takes a lot of commitment to plan and put on any kind of event, especially with any regularity, and I certainly was not trying to suggest otherwise. Zazen was amazingly beneficial to me while I was able to do it, and I cannot imagine that it is anything else for those currently doing it.

oh, not at all! Only meant to be reassuring ^.^

 

[Viktara Fen]

As for renewed discussion, I think there is definitely value in talking about the ways in which some of these events might benefit from being redefined. Ongoing serial events like Zazen and like D&D campaigns might not always have the same turnout as one-time events, but the very fact of their persistence over time is something to be recognized. I haven't run D&D for the Tower, but I have run weekly tables for other groups that have persisted for many years (4-7 years on average), and planning and organizing on that scale is no mean task. It can require commitment, regular sacrifices in terms of one's schedule, logistical investment (e.g., equipment, service subscriptions), and prep time away from the event itself (e.g., game session planning, dharma talk planning). Those are all hidden costs to running an event that persists over time, even if only a very few people show up. I do think we will have a much better chance of encouraging more of those events if we recognize them for what they are: High-intensity ongoing service.

 

[Aintza Bisera]

I probably should have been more diligent about reporting my stuff, because I ran watch parties consistently for like 2 years and would now qualify. Especially the WoT ones where I set up two watch parties a Saturday when season 1 came out. 😆 Like I spent my whole Saturdays doing that the whole first season.

 

[Merena Orithana]

Agreed with you all that we need to redefine the virtual merit if these other events - meditations, movie/show nights - are not recognized under the current system.

 

[Raevyn Tsornin]

Congrats all

 

[Nymala Ingasy]

That's awesome!