For a long time in Carolingia, there was a very strong ethic of "everybody works, everybody pays". In the last 5 or so years, that has shifted, and it has become more socially acceptable for autocrats and head-cooks to decide to "comp" volunteers (e.g. feed the kitchen staff without requiring them to pay on-board). Do you have an opinion about this practice? Do you think it good, bad, in between, neither, both?

That said, I don't think we need to be intransigent about this. There are times when the volunteer time required is so high that a bit of extra incentive is useful. And I'm a firm believer that the autocrat *is* the autocrat. That word means something: the autocrat is in more or less absolute control of their event, and have a lot of leeway when it comes to how the fees work. I think this falls well within their discretion.

So to answer the question more directly: I think the trend is okay, so long as it remains moderate. If it started to happen more commonly, I might begin to get worried about it, because it would probably become a serious problem if it really became the norm. (At the least, we'd have to adjust a lot of other elements around it, and I suspect it would become a serious bone of contention.) So I'd say that autocrats should be able to use this mechanism if they feel it appropriate, but shouldn't be too casual about it.

I have heard events described as participatory theater; we pay for our moments of enjoyment by making sure others have their own moments. I like that model.

Autocrating, organizing the administration and running of events, and setting price points are all things that fall on the administrative side of the fence. I would offer the above as an example of how things can be done rather than an expression of how I think they should do things.

My personal views were formed back when this ethic was so universal, it wasn't even articulated. On the other hand, I recognize that the barony has changed since then, has grown so big that not everyone *could* work at any one event, even if they wanted to, and so it's not completely unreasonable to recognize some distinction between those who are doing a lot of work and those who aren't doing any. But then it can get sticky drawing a hard and exact line at which amount of work is worth the cost of admission. Speaking for myself, I would always pay; speaking for the barony, it is the autocrat's decision - ultimately they can do what they want, that's why we call them autocrats.

I believe that autocrats should have some discretion in this matter. Of course, the bottom line is that they have to cover their expenses and hopefully return a small profit to the barony. Although we are an educational organization, we are not a charity and cannot let ourselves go broke over bad money management (as if the exchequer would allow it!) Within these limits, however, autocrats and head cooks should be able to make some decisions. If the discretion is abused, then we will deal with correcting it.

Unfortunately we run the risk that people will get used to others cooking and cleaning for them. I have cleaned up after Carolingian and out Barony events lately and I was apalled at how much garbage was being left around and how few people were staying to help. Are we just at the stage that through sheer numbers we are leaving more cruft and people just assume that someone else will voulunteer or are they getting used to a cleanup staff...

I am vaguely in favor, particularly for college students or those on a limited budget, but would like to encourage more uncomped volunteer efforts.