FAQ: The Pernese Calendar

What Time Is It Anyway?

Though some Pern clubs use indefinite time, setting posts in relationship to Weyr-wide events, at Rocky Crater Weyr, we have chosen to provide a calendar framework. Full posts should be dated by month, day, and turn, with each Pern month being open for two real-life months. Any date within the open month is allowable for post dating, though members should check the weather timelines to assure consistency with other club events. In addition to full posts, major Weyr events will be open for round-robin posting (on a secondary list ), with a pre-set window of time available to join in the role play.

The Pernese Turn

A year on Pern is called a Turn. Each Turn consists of thirteen month of twenty-eight days. These months contain the equivalent of weeks, referred to as sevendays, each containing a rest day. The seventh day of the week, or days 7, 14, 21, and 28 of each month, are designated as rest days. In addition, each Turn contains two additional holidays: Turn's End and Turn's Beginning, together known as Turnover. A leap day is included every six Turns. Months and days are not named, but are indicated by number (month 1, 2, up to 13 and day 1, 2, up to 28). Turns at Rocky Crater are numbered "After Landing" or "AL".

Posts should be labeled with the date on which the action takes place, in month-day form, with Turn optional. For example, for a post occurring on the very first day of club role play, the "when" line in the header could be addressed in any of the following ways: m12 d1, 12.01, or 3294.12.01.

So how do we know which month is open when?

Each Pern month will be open for two real life months. Although any date within the open month can be used, Weyr-wide events each month will be scheduled to appear at times corresponding roughly to the sevenday of the month in which they occur. The following schedule will help you to determine this correspondence, and to plan accordingly: