03-15-2016, 12:23 AM
A Council can be a good way to decide things together and disseminate information, and I'll help in any way I can, but we ought be careful - There are several traps which we ought try to guard against.
In any bureaucracy, there can be an unconscious tendency toward becoming tedious and overwrought, with grandiose debates replacing action. I've seen people become so obsessed with building guild structure and hierarchy that it drove potential members far away, and the guild died under it's own weight.
It's important to remember that we're all working toward common ends - We don't fall into cliques.
It's too easy to say "I'm only sharing this information with members of the XXX guild", or "This is only for House so-and-so".. While that gives a sense of control, it makes it very difficult for new people to feel included, and often ends up with information being lost as people leave town.
We ought to be careful about falling into the trap of "assigning" problems - When people start to break up into groups, it's easy to say "The Mages' Guild will solve this - No need for you to be involved."
In addition to the difficulties for new townsfolk, this can also prevent multiple people from coming together to solve a problem - Sometimes, the Mages might think that something a problem is obviously Magical, so they should "own" it, whereas a clever Scout might be able to sneak in and solve the problem another way.
While I'm sure our townsfolk are most clever, and will easily avoid such problems, it's worth keeping our eyes open.
-Durst
In any bureaucracy, there can be an unconscious tendency toward becoming tedious and overwrought, with grandiose debates replacing action. I've seen people become so obsessed with building guild structure and hierarchy that it drove potential members far away, and the guild died under it's own weight.
It's important to remember that we're all working toward common ends - We don't fall into cliques.
It's too easy to say "I'm only sharing this information with members of the XXX guild", or "This is only for House so-and-so".. While that gives a sense of control, it makes it very difficult for new people to feel included, and often ends up with information being lost as people leave town.
We ought to be careful about falling into the trap of "assigning" problems - When people start to break up into groups, it's easy to say "The Mages' Guild will solve this - No need for you to be involved."
In addition to the difficulties for new townsfolk, this can also prevent multiple people from coming together to solve a problem - Sometimes, the Mages might think that something a problem is obviously Magical, so they should "own" it, whereas a clever Scout might be able to sneak in and solve the problem another way.
While I'm sure our townsfolk are most clever, and will easily avoid such problems, it's worth keeping our eyes open.
-Durst