[Camarilla] The time has come
I have been a part of the local Camarilla since September 2006. In that time, I have observed the steady, inexorable decline of membership. Simply uttering the word "Camarilla" is enough to convince the vast majority of local gamers to stay home or find something else to do.
When you really look at it, it's easy to see why.
The Camarilla is useful because it connects gamers fro mall over the world and provides a global setting. That is a really neat idea. The thought that something that happens here in Sonoma County could have ripples in Europe or on the Easters Seaboard is an exciting one to me.
However, with a very few exceptions, nobody in our area is at all interested in the global game, or interacting with anyone outside our own little bubble. Nothing wrong with that. However, it does seem to entirely nullify all of the benefits of being a part of the Camarilla, while still leaving us crushed under the weight of the drawbacks that an organization like the Cam come with.
Our storytellers are severely limited in their power to create and control their own games, and can be pressured into running undesired plots by higher-ranking storytellers. Players easily become frustrated by the endless bureaucracy and red tape that necessarily comes with such a large-scale organization.
Additionally, players who do not enjoy memorizing rules have to contend with the hundreds-page long Addendum in addition to the regular books of rules, an addendum which changes several times a year.
The fact of the matter is this: the time for the Domain of the Unconquered Sun to break from the Cam. By maintaining our connection with a club which provides us no benefit and severe drawbacks and limitations, we are effectively condemning the Awakening, Requiem, and Lost venues to a slow death.
That said, I think the bureaucracy that is so ponderous at the Global level can still work for us on the local level. I think the idea of having elected VSTs, a DST to maintain communication between the venues, and a Coordinator to set game schedules and resolve conflicts is extremely useful and should be maintained. Any items which interact with other venues would need DST notification (as opposed to approval), and schedule changes would go through the Coordinator, to ensure a minimum of conflicts.
We don't need the Cam to have great games, the vast majority of us don't want the Cam, and it has become clear through the lack of visitation that the rest of the Cam in California doesn't want us. It is time to walk away.
[EDIT: Please note I have altered my opinion, thanks to the discussion below. As I am no longer a member of the Cam, I have no say in what happens to the local Domain. I am no longer advocating secession from the Cam, I simply would like to see an alternative option. It is not fair that four players get to monopolize every Saturday night while a dozen players stay home.]
EDIT #2: Since this thread has served its purpose and the conversation has spread to the UnSun list, I ask that any continued debate take place elsewhere. That place doesn't necessarily have to be the UnSun list, but it seems as good a place as any. Thank you all for your wonderful and insightful arguments!