A lot has recently happened…read away

Course Audit is (mostly) complete

The SA course audit is done, at least the editing of courses. I’ll get a wiki article up soon, but I had 33 volunteers comb through various SA exams and look for spelling, grammar, and outdated or wrong information. Of those 33, 26 completed everything that was assigned to them. The remaining 7 either never returned an audit, or never finished all of their work. Anyway, enough of the negative.

The audit fixed a lot of errors throughout the courses, though I’m sure some things still exist. If you see anything in need of fixing, please e-mail Dranik and me so we can take care of it. I should note that while I assigned two auditors to each course, every course got at least one independent audit. I have listed some courses for removal, but there is a short list of courses that are up in the air. Once those are decided, I will post on the main page the fate of the courses. For now, all courses are currently open unless otherwise noted (hint: keep reading). I will do some menu rearranging once all decisions are made on courses.

A Note on Spelling The course audit revealed an interesting fact: people either don’t know, or forgot, that there are more than one correct spellings for many words in English. The reason for this is simple: there are British spellings and there are American spellings. This is why you see things like “color” and “colour.” Both are the same word and, even if one looks strange to you, they are both acceptable spellings of the word. Other common switches include ‘s’ (British) and ‘z’ (American) in words like “organization” (organisation). A frequent one is the switching of ‘re’ (British) and ‘er’ in words like “saber” (sabre).

With one exception, British and American spellings are accepted equally. However, for the word “lightsaber” you should use the American spelling because that is how Lucas spelled it and how it appears in official Star Wars documents. I suppose if you don’t mind being in disagreement, you can still spell it with the British “re” at the end, but I may call you a heretic, or something like that… :P Anyway, a reminder about spelling has been placed on the main Shadow Academy page.

Photoshop Exam Due to various circumstances, I had to remove the EP of Photoshop. For the time being, DO NOT submit to the Photoshop exam. I have removed the link from the menu, but I’ve not removed the exam, yet. I am making arrangements for the exams currently in queue to be graded. If you are one of the people awaiting results, your continued patience is appreciated.

Open EP Position The position of Eclectic Pedagogue for the Conflict Mediation exam is open. In order to apply, you must:

•Have passed the exam prior to the posting of this notice.

•Must have an e-mail turn around time of no more than 48 hours.

•E-mail an application to Dranik and me with an appropriate subject line.

•Provide an answer key to the exam.

•In your application, identify at least one thing you like about the course, and at least one thing that you think could be improved upon.

•There is no rank or time in the DB requirement.

•You have until Wednesday June 11 to get your applications in, though we reserve the right to make a selection before that date.

•This is currently the only open SA position.

The Envoys With the resignation of Malisane, I’ve made some changes to the way the Envoys are run. In short, the clans now have almost total control over things, though I have reserved certain functions for the KCB position, regardless of who holds the position. Until the kinks are worked out, I will remain as KCB and there will not be a KAB. After that, I will evaluate the need for a separate individual to hold the job. In other words, please don’t ask if the job is open, or if you can apply. Unless you’re Spears… then you can apply for every job, whether its open or not.

Another quasi-LoA This coming week, I will once again be spending Sunday through Thursday in a hotel for work related training. The room has wireless internet, and I’m fairly certain it is free, but if it isn’t, then my internet time will drop to virtually zero. So, if I suddenly disappear, that’s why. But, I don’t think it’ll be a problem.

And finally, how could I forget to mention that the GJW is starting July 15th? Oh, wait, I just did mention it. Well, get ready and I hope to see lots of members participate.