FAQs for Atlantian Laurels

About this web site

This is to serve as our official web page, presenting the order to the populace and the curious public. It is a companion to several other Order pages in a common format that can interface with the Kingdom databases.
It is built on the Atlantian Order of Precedence (OP). All award data that is displayed is gathered from the OP database. Updates to the OP will be reflected on your individual page; people are not displayed on the Laurel site until they are in the OP as a Laurel.
For that reason, there are several OP-related pieces of info you can't change in the Laurel web site: your award listing (including your Laurel), your registered SCA name, blazon, and respective registration dates, and an image of your device. To change these, you need to get the Clerk of Precedence to update the OP.
Once you have updated information for the Laurel page, the same information will be updated on any other Order pages built off this data (such as the Laurel and Pearl pages). No need to do the data-entry more than once!
You need an "account" to make changes. If you already have an account from one of the other Order sites, your existing order account will be updated to include any new orders into which you are inducted as soon as your new status is updated in the OP. If you do not yet have an account on any of the Atlantian Order web sites, click on "request account" and enter the information that will help the Principal know that you're really one of our order members. You create a password - try to remember it! No one else will ever see your password. The principal will get an email that says someone has requested the account. If you're recognizable to the Principal, he/she will give you access to edit your information. You will get an email back when your account is approved.
Information you mark as "private" will not be displayed on the web page. This info will only be visible to you in "edit" mode and available in a report to the Principal.
When you update the information about yourself, there are two pages: one has information about you; the other has information about your Laurel award. The information about you has a free text area where you can list anything you want - perhaps your current interests, artistic endeavors and successes, or your household.

FAQs

1. I updated my email address on the Laurel Discussion List and/or the Yahoo group. Why is this still wrong here?
This web site is not connected to the Discussion List email server or the Yahoo group. If you change your email address, you need to update it in all three places.

These are three different functions. This web site is focused externally: It makes information about the Order and its members available to people OUTSIDE the Order. The Discussion email list is used for private communication WITHIN the Order and the Yahoo group is the secure repository of our Watch List commentary & related files.

So, if you have an account here and would like to be on the email list and/or the Yahoo group, contact the Principal. If you are the email list and/or the Yahoo group and want an account here to update your information, see "request an account."
What is my user name and password?
If you haven't set up an account yet, you need to. Hit the "Request Account" link to the left.

When you set up an account, you enter a username and password. You really need to remember your username, so pick one that is easy to remember. Consider using your SCA name or yahoo user id. If you forget your password, you can hit the "reset password" link and it will email you a replacement. When you really have problems, contact the Principal.
How do I add pictures of myself, my scroll, or my heraldry?
We need to have some safeguards on the files that are actually loaded onto the server, so for pictures of yourself or your scroll, send them to the Laurel principal to upload. For pictures of heraldry, contact the Clerk of Precedence.

About Being a Laurel

I'm a Laurel. Do I have to be on the email list to participate as a Laurel?
No. Without being on the email list, you'll miss out on a lot of our group discussion and the Yahoo group gives you access to the Watch List with the commentary archived by candidate and pictures if available, but you can still receive the watch list and pollings. Just coordinate this with the Principal.
Are Laurel discussions private?
They are supposed to be! It can be very hurtful to candidates to be told some of our words, particularly out of context or in a less-than-constructive way. Even being told they are watched or recommended can cause unfortunate anxiousness.

For the Order to interact successfully, we need to be confident that the words we share - good, bad, profound or stupid - can stay within the context of the discussion and within this Order ONLY.

If we decide a message needs to be communicated to a candidate, it should be done through someone specifically designated by the Order. Anyone else is out of line. If a Laurel needs to communicate with a candidate about their work, attitude, or character, it needs to be done in a way that a specific message is not attributable to the Order or a specific member of the Order. It doesn't matter who said what; stay focused on what change the candidate needs to make.

The Principal has the responsibility to maintain the integrity of the email list and our communications. If he/she finds that any member of this Order has inappropriately shared confidential communications, access to this email list will be removed for a period of time, and information about the issue will be provided to the Queen, to determine if a Court of Courtesy should be convened.