Well, I guess I am going to jump ship and play devil’s advocate for the Sire title. A Sire, in vampire society is defined and thought of very closely to how Cancer has defined it in the “status system” section. “Sire” is a form of address to a superior, Lord or Lady, if you will, perhaps on VR not with reference to a “king”. Vampire society is hierarchal; this is why the House structure system went into place, forced inductions and all.
Now when I say superior, with reference to VR, do I mean superior as a being? Would I argue that anyone with the rank of Sire was morally superior to others? No, I would not, because how could I know? The “superiority” comes from achievement; whether it took you 4 months to achieve the level or 5 years, you did it, and the highest percentage of people don’t.
I think the achievement shows a commitment to a space where you feel comfortable; it shows a person’s ability to successfully work within a set of rules (the Prince’s); and frankly, does indeed establish you as a leader amongst the VR community. At minimum, people understand that you know how to “get the job done”. More liberally, Sires generally come off as "real", well-spoken individuals that make intelligent and on-point additions to discussions. Sires are representational of many excellent people on VR, personality “types” aside.
Some may use covens as an emergency escape hatch, but I believe some Sires truly believe they have a unique message to share with others, a philosophy that is comforting to a smaller percentage. If someone has been on VR long enough to learn the rules of treating others well, understand their power is a direct grant from the Prince and not a personal free-for-all, and have something they are really trying to teach or share, I think that’s a beautiful thing.
And sometimes, my friend, the attainment of Sire is about simple strength of character that shines. Whether you were driven for other reasons to attain the rank of Sire, I don’t think it’s any cosmic irony that a person like you rises to the top of a large site as a leading voice. It’s not to say that on any given day people might not disagree with you; but reluctant leader or not, you certainly are a strong voice and an asset to this community.
I used to hear so many strong voices competing for positions in threads; exciting discussions that didn’t just raise questions of interest, but answered them. These days, on any given day, the forums become boiling cauldrons of mediocrity.
One thing I do know about persons who are Sires-if they write a thread- I read it, because it most often an escape from the mundane, regardless of topic. I read the threads of others too, of course, and there are many fine examples of good thread writing; but the point here is the position of “Sire”, and I have yet to come across a thread from a Sire that reads, “wut do you guyz like aboat vampirz”, and so forth. I believe it is a position to be respected on merit alone, and images, I think you are an excellent example of why Sires deserve that respect.
