Time for another wonderful report from the Headmaster. Whether you enjoy it or not is up to you :P

Runons

The biggest thing in the SA right now is the sign ups for the run-ons. As I right this, about 20 people have signed up individually. You have through next Wednesday (the 13th) to sign up if you want to participate. The actual run-ons will start up no later than that Friday, but probably that Thursday. The more people that sign up, the greater the potential rewards. And, of course, even if you don’t place, Clan and house leaders will be counting this as part of your activity, so it can easily play into your next award or promotion.

I have had one battleteam sign up as a team, so that puts the total number of participants closer to 30. Not to bad, but I’d like to see more. There’s still time. Just e-mail me and Dranik ([Log in to view e-mail addresses] and [Log in to view e-mail addresses]) with the subject line “SA Runon Sign Up.” Make certain to include your name and PIN.

ID Lines

The discussion is still going on the message board, and 82 people have voted at the polling center thus far. I encourage you to at least vote, if not get in on the discussion. Now, of those who have voted thus far, we’re seeing a 50/50 split on having degrees versus not having them. The 50% who have voted against the degrees are pretty much evenly split between either eliminating the SA part of the ID line altogether or keeping the current system.

Why is this important? Well, for one, most people only use the “core” ID line (that is, rank/name/order/house/clan/society), and so the SA part of the ID line really isn’t all that vital for identification, which is the primary reason behind the ID lines. Still, so many people seem to just send e-mails without signing their names to it (more on that later). Anyway, some people say awards/SA courses should be a part of the ID lines, as they do show work and honors. Others think that the core ID line is enough and people can always look at your dossier to see what medals you’ve earned, or what courses you’ve passed. I’m running the poll, and the discussion, because I want membership feedback, as this issue affects everyone. Quite frankly, I have my own views on the matter, but as I’m providing you with a service, I figure I need to at least get your input.

I do want to emphasize two final things. First, unless there is an overwhelming majority favoring one of the three proposed courses of action, the ultimate decision will come down to me, Dranik, Sarin, and Jac all talking it out. Secondly, every proposal has its benefits and drawbacks. Elimination is easy, but members may not like it, and it does leave that little {SA: on the front (I think), until that is removed. Keeping the current system leaves a nice long string of things on ID lines, but it is the easiest. Degrees offer a shortened form of recognition, but there are issues as to what makes a degree, what happens when we add new courses, etc.

Course Updates

The core exams are still undergoing their rewrites, though thus far, I’ve only reviewed a draft of the new Sith Core. The others, I have no doubt, are in progress. I have History of the Sith Empire III sitting in my inbox to review, but other things have gotten in the way, not to mention that we just released II not to long ago. Don’t worry, it will get done in the near future. Along with that, there’s one remaining course that made it in after the moratorium went into effect, and it too should be completed soon. After that, I’m hoping to start on clan history courses; the Consuls have already been contacted by this, and every clan seems to be working on its history.

Who are you?

As Headmaster, I often get e-mails from members asking a variety of questions. This is fine; I don’t mind it (I can only imagine that Jac and Sarin get more than me), though if it is a matter internal to one’s house or clan, I’m not going to know the answer. But, if you do e-mail me, please identify yourself! I don’t need a full ID line or anything, just a rank and name: JH Joe-Bob or something like that. I don’t know people by their e-mail addresses/names, unless you’re someone I talk to a lot, and I’m not always logged in to the Brotherhood site, and even if I am, I don’t feel like looking up names all the time.

Conclusion/Summary

The SA is moving along nicely, though a few things are a bit delayed. And, given that it’s this time of year, this can only be expected. I’m wrapping up school for the semester, and then I’m going to work over the break at the grocery store where I always work (if you ever want to see an interesting sight, go into a grocery store on Christmas Eve day). Specifically, I work at Kroger, the largest grocery-retail chain in the USA (not counting Wal-Mart, as it is in their own category); Dranik works at Wal-Mart. Needless to say, we’re both going to be busy this month: busier than normal. So, I promise you we will do our best to get things done, but I do ask for your patience as well. Now, to summarize

• Runon sign ups still going on! See the message board for details.

• ID line voting/discussion still ongoing- get involved.

• All ID line proposals have their ups and downs

• You e-mail me, tell me who you are.

• We work as fast as we can, and no faster.