I didn't see it necessary to have a thread like this in the past, as our small but mighty community seemed perfectly capable of getting ahold of myself and/or past EMs. That being said, our shard has been growing this past year, largely on the strength of that community (which is awesome, even if there is some tension here and there). So, given that, a few notes:
The Catskills EM Website
Here you will find various information, including event calendars/notices, fiction, past and present story-arc summaries, Royal Britannian Guard rankings, and more.
Catskills EM Forum on Stratics (Here!)
I post somewhat regularly on here, including event schedules and updates.
Contacting EM Barnaby Out of Game
I encourage you to utilize the Feedback Form to contact me with any questions or comments you may have. Thoughtful feedback regarding events is always appreciated. You can also send me a message here on Stratics, but I prefer the Feedback route as it is simply forwarded to my email which is a lot easier for me to access and reply to (and in turn for you to reply back).
Contacting EM Barnaby (or Various Characters) In Game
The 'Center for Community Affairs' is next to the EM Hall in Britain. It has a mailbox where you can leave notes or other items for Barnaby, the King, or reports for the Royal Britannian Guard officers when requested. Please note that if you utilize this form of contact to contact Barnaby (assumed to be non-Role Played) you will not get a reply - you are advised to use Out of Game methods of contact if you need one. If you are sending a letter to the King (or other character), you may get a written reply if you provide the specific coordinates of a mailbox where you would like it delivered.
Events
Event times and days vary so that those with different schedules can participate. That being said, most tend to be in the evenings. An event schedule is posted both on the Catskills EM Website and here on Stratics, and the In-Game Town Criers will also have information. Should you happen to notice a Town Crier repeating old news, or not announcing something you saw on the schedule, please let me know - I admit to sometimes missing these, and it is greatly appreciated. During events the "Official EM Event Channel" chat is used 99% of the time.
Story Arcs
In terms of managing some sort of "canonical" fiction for the shard as it relates to the broader Ultima Online story, EMs must manage three elements - Global, EM driven, and interaction with player driven events/fiction. They are taken into consideration in that order - it is very important to me to try and respect both global lore and shard-specific histories. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND consulting the EVENTS page on the Catskills EM Site to get an idea of current and past story-arcs.
Event Memento Drops
In line with most other shards, there will be at least one "drop" on most months (if there isn't one during a month it is likely because the previous or following month had multiple drops). In most cases, the number of these ranges from 10-15. At times there will be stealable mementos as well - the quantity and type of these varies, but is typically less than the quantity that would be gained from defeating a "boss" monster.
While recognizing that a significant portion of event-goers do so largely to obtain these items for collection or trade, and that this is simply a preferred way to play the game, I strongly maintain that it is not the purpose of EM events to dispense rare items. As such, I will not "break character" during an event in order to discuss the item.
The Catskills EM Website
Here you will find various information, including event calendars/notices, fiction, past and present story-arc summaries, Royal Britannian Guard rankings, and more.
Catskills EM Forum on Stratics (Here!)
I post somewhat regularly on here, including event schedules and updates.
Contacting EM Barnaby Out of Game
I encourage you to utilize the Feedback Form to contact me with any questions or comments you may have. Thoughtful feedback regarding events is always appreciated. You can also send me a message here on Stratics, but I prefer the Feedback route as it is simply forwarded to my email which is a lot easier for me to access and reply to (and in turn for you to reply back).
Contacting EM Barnaby (or Various Characters) In Game
The 'Center for Community Affairs' is next to the EM Hall in Britain. It has a mailbox where you can leave notes or other items for Barnaby, the King, or reports for the Royal Britannian Guard officers when requested. Please note that if you utilize this form of contact to contact Barnaby (assumed to be non-Role Played) you will not get a reply - you are advised to use Out of Game methods of contact if you need one. If you are sending a letter to the King (or other character), you may get a written reply if you provide the specific coordinates of a mailbox where you would like it delivered.
Events
Event times and days vary so that those with different schedules can participate. That being said, most tend to be in the evenings. An event schedule is posted both on the Catskills EM Website and here on Stratics, and the In-Game Town Criers will also have information. Should you happen to notice a Town Crier repeating old news, or not announcing something you saw on the schedule, please let me know - I admit to sometimes missing these, and it is greatly appreciated. During events the "Official EM Event Channel" chat is used 99% of the time.
Story Arcs
In terms of managing some sort of "canonical" fiction for the shard as it relates to the broader Ultima Online story, EMs must manage three elements - Global, EM driven, and interaction with player driven events/fiction. They are taken into consideration in that order - it is very important to me to try and respect both global lore and shard-specific histories. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND consulting the EVENTS page on the Catskills EM Site to get an idea of current and past story-arcs.
Event Memento Drops
In line with most other shards, there will be at least one "drop" on most months (if there isn't one during a month it is likely because the previous or following month had multiple drops). In most cases, the number of these ranges from 10-15. At times there will be stealable mementos as well - the quantity and type of these varies, but is typically less than the quantity that would be gained from defeating a "boss" monster.
While recognizing that a significant portion of event-goers do so largely to obtain these items for collection or trade, and that this is simply a preferred way to play the game, I strongly maintain that it is not the purpose of EM events to dispense rare items. As such, I will not "break character" during an event in order to discuss the item.