Greetings Sapience,

Let me firstly note that I speak as a Bard, but not for them. My
opinions are my own, gathered through my own personal experiences and
are not in any way swayed by my current affiliation with any
organization. This is my first public post too, so...well, I just
figured I'd point that out.

With regards to a few things you said, Rivanon...You stated "...treat
your Novices like scum (Mhaldor excluded, it's a given)..." and then
followed with "...EVERYONE deserves respect." Personally, I find it
rather ironic that you would combine these two things in the same post,
let alone feel that way at all after bad mouthing an organization.
Whether the point you made was true or not, Mhaldor is still part of
"everyone". Would it not then follow that you should be showing some
respect for them, rather than making negative comments about them on a
public forum?

Moving on to the matter I'm actually posting about.

Each guild has a set of requirements for its novices to follow, a set of
guidelines that are used to determine whether they are "worthy" of being
promoted. Be the system flawed or not, that is the case and it will
always be the case. Some guilds may perhaps have a more rigorous novice
program than others, but is that any reason to post publically about it?
Each guild will use a program that they find selects their candidates
the best, a program that reflects the standards they have for their
novices and members. I was long a member of a particular guild (which I
will not name for propriety sake), and I helped novices out to the best
of my ability. Did I feel that perhaps the program was a little too
much? Yes, I did. However, I also realized that the information the
novices learned and the manner in which we were determined they were
learning it was the best we had at the time. These programs change
sometimes to reflect changes in administration or changes in values, but
always they will be at the standard leadership feels it must hold.

If a novice is dedicated to the profession or life they are choosing,
then they will put forth the effort to meet the requirements. No system
is perfect, and good candidates will occasionally be rejected due to
some circumstance or another, but overall, the system develops so that
it reaches the appropriate equilibrium for the guild, selection the
appropriate candidates more often than not.

In short, I'd appreciate that people who have problems with a guild's
novice system, speak to the head of novices of said guild, and if you
don't get anywhere...maybe you don't really want to be there after all?

And Jack, I couldn't agree more. Drinking is the first step to the
solution of any problem. Hail Lord Phaestus!

Riashain a'Bertal,
Clan Chieftain of the Shattered Stone Dwarves,
Lord a'Bertal,
Heir to the Baron of the Ancient Northern Dwarves

Penned by my hand on the 18th of Sarapin, in the year 356 AF.