Ýves’ SCA “geek code”
	Updated: 24 Mar 2007

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The goal of my unofficial 'geek code' for the SCA is similar to that of Hayden's.
It's a spiffy way to let others who know the code know more about you.

This was inspired by the Official Geek Code, copyrighted by Robert A. Hayden; except that this is intended for SCA folks to use and amuse, but not abuse.

This version is: YF07a. Released on 24 March 2007.

Previous versions are YF0307c, YF0307b and YF0209. See below.

CONTENTS

What's New in This Version?

Previous Versions and Changes

Example

Activities
Peerage channels: Heavy Fighting, Arts and Sciences, Service
Martial-related activities: Archery, Equestrian, Rapier
Other activities: Cooking, Entourage, Heraldic Display, Heraldic Service, Merchanting, and University

Appearance and Persona
Age, Height and Weight, Garb, Persona

Demographics
Experience, Travel, Encampment, Household, Family, Morning Person, Night Owl,
and Web / email usage

Modifiers, separators, indicators [jump there]

Using the Code [jump there]

Does it seem like a lot? Hayden's version uses 34 categories. Mine has only 23, but it can be more complex – IF you want it to be.

Unlike Hayden's, all of the possible categories are not necessarily used. If you have no experience with something, or don't care to divulge that you do – no problem, just leave it out. In my own block (see Example below), I left out a few categories too.

If you see anything that you feel is missing, please do let me know... (See button at end of page.)

What’s new in this version?

• CE (Entourage): Removed.
• CK (Cooking): Removed +iv rating, changed requirements.
• EN (Encampment): Removed +iv rating.
• EX (Experience): Big changes. Removed +v and +iv ratings, raised requirements.
• HH (Household): Removed +iv rating, added to leader requirements.
• HS (Heraldic Service): Removed +iv rating, tweaked requirements.
• MR (Merchanting): Removed +iv rating, changed requirements.
• NT (Night Owl): Overhauled! Now based on how late we stay up at events.
• RA (Rapier): Removed favorites for Buckler/Baton and Two Rapiers.
• SR (Service): Added favorite for Waterbearing, tweaked requirements.
• WB (Web/email usage): Renamed from "Web", removed +iv rating, tweaked requirements.
• HF/AS/SR: Added definition for high-level and low-level awards.
• Various tweaking, re-arranging, and re-phrasing throughout.

Now, only the three peerage "channels" have a +iv rating. There is no +v rating.

Previous versions and changes

December 2005: Two minor changes. Changed SE (Siege Engineering) from Category to a Favorite under AS. Rapier: changed Sidesword favorite (SS) to Cut and Thrust (CT).

0307c: OVERHAULED! Reorganized sections. More examples. Stylin' tables. "Specialties" are now called "Favorites", otherwise unchanged. Removed "\". Added new modifier: cultures. Many, many tweaks and changes throughout.

0307b: Added "MC" children's activities to SR category. (Kudos to Cynewise.) Changed Chirurgeonry from CH to FA (for "first aid") to distinguish from "children".

0307a: Big change in AS structure. New AS activities. New modifiers. Minor tweaks throughout.

0209: Original version.

Example

Below is my own SCA 'geek code' block.

SCA GEEK CODE. Version YF07a. %
xHF+o AS+i {DA' FL' GM IL PP'~me QL VC} SR+i,xx&=
RA+i {B C SG} HD+o HS+i {C' F' L} UN+ii
A+ii HW+ii/-ii G+i(+ii) P.16c,@/+o EX.xix/+ii(+iii)
TR-i/-i(+o) EN-ii FM+o(-i,-ii) MP+o NT+o(+i) WB+ii(+iii)° %

The block looks good with the lines being about the same length. Notice the line breaks - peerage channels, other activities, appearance, demographics. Your code block might look better with line breaks in different places, depending on what all you include.

Note: the 'x' above before HF is not a starting symbol for the code block. It's a modifier for the HF category in my code block. (Translation: I'm an ex-heavy fighter.)

The % marks the start and end of the code. For consistency, list the categories in the same order as given here.

Here is my code block in a fixed-space font. Note that I made the line breaks a bit different.

SCA GEEK CODE. Version YF07a. %
xHF+o AS+i {DA' FL' GM PP'~me QL VC} SR+i,xx&= 
RA+i {B C SG} HD+o HS+i {C' F' L} UN+ii 
A+ii HW+ii/-ii G+i(+ii) P.16c,@/+o 
EX.xix/+i(+ii) TR-i/-i(+o) EN-ii 
FM+o(-i,-ii) MP+o NT+o(+i) WB+ii(+iii)° %
 

Ready to make your own SCA "geek code" block? Use the information below as a guide.

Activities

Renown is a common feature in the tables below. One who has renown is, as defined for this usage, known and respected for their contributions in the category for that activity.

Not all SCA kingdoms have the same award structure. For these ratings, does your kingdom have a level of awards/orders that comes with a Grant of Arms?

Peerage channels

The Big Three. Heavy Fighting, Arts and Sciences, Service.

Heavy Fighting (armored/chivalric combat)

After the rating, viscounts and counts and earls may add ^, only dukes may add ^^.

Favorites: GL (glaive), GR (greatsword), P (polearm/poleaxe), S (spear)

Note the lack of axe, javelin, mace, and madu. If you truly specialize in one of these, lemme know.

Example: HF+iii { GL GR' S* }

Arts and Sciences

Specific A&S activities and interests and for your amusement 

Like other favorites, these go in curly brackets {}.

AN (animal husbandry)
AE (archery equipment making)
AL (armorer: leather)
AM (armorer: maille)
AP (armorer: plate)
AY (astronomy/astrology)
BG (board games)
BC (bocce)
BH (bone/horn carving)
BR (brewing, not vintning)
QL (calligraphy – "quill")
CG (card games)
CY (carpentry, not woodcarving)
   (ceramics – see pottery)
CH (chirurgeonry, historical STUDY)
CD (commedia dell' arte)
CM (cordial making)
GB (costuming – "garb")
DG (coursing – "dog")
DL (daily life)
DA (dance)
EM (embroidery)
FI (fiber arts – dyeing, spinning, weaving)
FL (flirtation)
GM (gaming, non-specific; also see bocce, 
    board games, card games)
GR (gardening)
GL (glasswork)
HG (headgear)
HB (herbs)
HS (historical science)
HR (horticulture)

IL (illumination, not painting)
JM (jewelry making)
JG (juggling)
LW (leatherwork, non-armor)
MK (make-up, cosmetics)
MS (metalsmith: non-armor, non-weapon)
MW (metalwork: weaponry)
MH (military history)
MC (music composition)
MP (music performance – melody instrument)
NL (nautical lore)
PA (painting, not scroll illumination)
PP (percussion performance)
PO (poetry)
PH (political history)
PT (pottery) 
PS (printing sciences)
   (prose - see story writing)
PU (puppetry)
PY (pysanky)
RL (religion)
SN (sandcasting)
SC (sculpture)
SE (siege engineering/equipment)
VC (singing - "vocalist") 
SP (soapmaking)
ST (story telling)
SW (story writing)
TH (theatre performance/production)
VN (vintning, not brewing)
WC (woodcarving, not carpentry)
WX (chandlery, candle making - "wax")

Use the list above to include your favorite A&S activities and interests that aren't already covered elsewhere by another category.

Reminders

If it's something you used to do, put x before the code.

If it's something you enjoy teaching, put ' after the code.

If it's something you are EAGER to learn more about, list it with ? after the code.

If you have AS+ii or higher, put a < after the rating, then your main areas (being a combination of what you excel at and what you were/are recognized for, which aren't always the same) before your "activity list".

If you want, rank your activity codes in decreasing order of importance.

Or just sort them alphabetically.

Example: AS+iii < EM' GB'~ar,eg,tk DL { BH FI' xLW SP' VN? } >=

If you're an info-maniac and you truly want learn more about EVERYTHING, use @?

If you know of any activities or interests that you feel are missing, please do let me know.

(See button at end of page.)

Service

Specific activities are covered elsewhere. K/P stands for "kingdom or principality". "War" refers to a big inter-kingdom event, including a Society Anniversary celebration, that regularly draws at least a few thousand people. A reign refers to having served as a ruler over a kingdom or principality.

Favorites: CL (clean-up), DC (decor, ambiance), DM (demos), ES (event stewardship / "autocratting"), FA (chirurgeonry, think "first aid"), KW (kitchen worker), MC (children's activities, think "MoC"),
RG (registration / "troll"), WB (waterbearing)

Example: SR+ii { CL DM' KW RG' }

For doing feasts as the head cook/chef or "feastcrat", see Cooking below.

Martial-related activities

Archery, Equestrian, Rapier

Archery

Two ratings: combat, target.

Equestrian

Rapier

For those who study and play at the arte of defence.

Favorites: Actually, these are more favorite forms and activities. C (cape/cloak), CT (cut and thrust), DD (double dagger), RE (research), SG (scenarios and games).

Other activities

Cooking, Entourage, Heraldic Display, Heraldic Service, Merchanting, University

Cooking

This rating has two parts: [1] What you have done with consistent success in an indoor kitchen and [2] outdoors. Average as needed, rounding up.

Favorites: BF (breakfasts), BK (baking), DS (desserts), RD (redaction), SU (subtleties)

Examples: CK+ii/+o { BK DS RD~fr,gr SU? } ..... CK/+ii { BF' }

Heraldic Display

Heraldic Service

Favorites: A (Artist), B (Book: research, conflict-checking), C (Court), F (Field), L (List), S (Sign language), W (War: coordination at large inter-kingdom events)

Example: HS+iii { A B W' }

Merchanting

University

At this writing, September 2002, about 10 kingdoms out of 17 have some sort of University program, and about only half of those have a degree structure – and the requirements vary widely! This category has been expanded to include general teaching.

Remember: for the stuff you like to teach, add ' after the code - especially in AS.

Appearance and Persona

Age, Height and Weight, Garb, Persona

Age

Height and Weight

As you might guess, this rating has two parts. For "average" height, consider ancestry and your locale. To my best understanding, the average White or Black man in the US is about 5'9" (69") tall; the average woman is three inches shorter. People of other cultures are generally a little shorter on average.

Example: I'm a White male, 6'3" who weighs about 175#. I figure I'm six inches taller than average, so that's a +ii rating for the height part. I'm tall. Ignoring portions that resemble a spare tire, I'm also skinny (a -ii rating for the weight part). Just for fun, I'll show you the math using the rules above.

Typical weight for my height is 110 + (7x15) = 110 + 105 = 215.
20% of 215 is 43 pounds, so at 175, I'm about 19% below the typical weight.

So, in my code block, I list HW+ii/-ii

To "deserve" a -iii weight rating, I'd have to weigh 171 most of the time...

Garb

Persona

This rating has two parts. The first is the timeframe for your persona. If you truly focus on multiple timeframes, use a comma between them (9-10c,1490s,1580s). If you're a "time traveler" like the author, use @. With these, you may add a cultural modifier. For the second part of the rating, see below... 

Examples: P.6c~rm/+ii ..... P.1350-1380~wl/+i ..... P.15c,@/+o

Demographics

Experience, Travel, Encampment, Household, Family, Morning Person, Night Owl, and Web / email Usage

Experience

This rating has two parts: duration and activity.

Duration: Put the year you joined in two digit format, such as EX.91 or use the Roman numeral of the Year of the Society: EX.xxiv

If you were "inactive" for more than a year total, put the rating for the number of "active" years in parentheses afterward. EX.69(+i) would apply to someone who started in 1969, but has been active for 15-19 years.

NOTE: The period from May 1, 1966 through April 30, 1967 is Year One of the Society (A.S. 1).

Activity: To be fair and forthright, let the rating for the activity level be scored on an average of the past two years. The highest level, put in parentheses afterward, should have been sustained for at least two years in the past. Round down.

For nitpicks like me: A half-week at a long event (major war, SCA anniversary) counts as one event. If you travel by plane to get to an event, add one to your event total (up to four per year). For simplicity: events, demos, and local celebrations lasting one to three days all count the same. If you really want to, count half-day functions or less as half of one event. Round down.

Example: EX.68(+iii)/-i(+ii) ..... EX.xii/-iii(+o)

Travel

This rating has two parts: [1] The vehicles you have at hand to take to events and [2] How far you'll TYPICALLY drive for a significant weekend event (not a war).

One trailer = one car. One truck/van/SUV = two cars. One RV = two trucks.
Equestrians and merchants tend to rate high on this one.

Encampment
 

Household

If you're in an organized household, how big is it? In this case, round to the closest number or down, whichever makes more sense. If you're a leader of a household with at least 20 active members, or a regional leader with at least 50 active members under you, add ^ afterward. If you're a leader with regional leaders who report to you, add ^^.

Family

You, your relatives and significant others that are in your pack at a typical event.

Morning Person

Night Owl

In previous versions, this WAS about how much sleep you got at events.

How late do you TYPICALLY retire (or think you fell asleep if you didn't make it back to your sleeping place) at a weekend event or war if you're staying on site? Round earlier.  

Web / email Usage

Over the years, the Web has become an important part of the SCA. Meeting notes, contact lists, forms, surveys, award recommendations, newsletters, announcements, persona stories – they're all available online. Before about 1997, SCA-related Web sites and email groups were still uncommon. Let the current rating cover your activity over the past six months. 

Web serfs who have run any one site with a significant SCA focus (such as this one) for at least two years are entitled to add a degree sign after their WB rating.

Web serfs who have run a large site for a kingdom, principality, or inter-kingdom war or have served on the Web staff of SCA.ORG for at least two years are entitled to add (instead of the above) character entity number 8734 [relevant to ISO 8859-1] after their WB rating.

Modifiers, separators, indicators

Using the Code

I think the best option is on your personal Web site.* If you choose to use your SCA "geek code" in an email group message, I wouldn't list it there very often - no more than once a month or two.

Meaning, don't put it in every message, mm'k? Thanks . . .

* Speaking of which, I'd stay with the free services ONLY as long as you absolutely need to. When I started out, I used three different free services over about a year and a half. I didn't want ads on my pages or a tilde [~] in the URL. If you can afford to skip one pizza delivery a month, you can EASILY get your own domain AND a good Web hosting plan!

[end]

Your feedback is most welcome. Would you like to send me email?

Original page posted: March 24, 2007 • Links tested: January 1, 2011 • Last tweaked: May 14, 2009
 
The address for this page is [ www.therotunda.net/sca/geek-code.html ]
 
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