Formal Dinner House Style (Template)

This is the OpOrder for a shindig we did on a Discord based book club chat.

It is here as a potential template to do again.

Situation
Everyone is cooped up to some degree due to restrictions. Stress is high and opportunities for amusement are limited. People are separated from partners, lovers, toys, pets, and the community at large.

Mission
To have a good time, foster community, dress up, and share in a home style formal dinner environment. The focus is on costume, camaraderie, AND the meal itself or the serving of it. The assumption is that we are simulating a private dinner where D-types are seated and s-types are serving.
There are three main categories:
1. Mix of D & s in the same location
2. In a relationship, but isolated by quarantine.
3. Not in a relationship, currently flying solo.

Execution

• Date / Time TBD. Could be rolling by time zone, or coordinated. Comments solicited. I will decide by Tuesday April 21st, with a tentative date of Friday May 1st starting at 8:00 PM Eastern.
• Home event. Whatever you want. I like formal and covered for people serving food. If you think your server should be wearing a nothing but a little white hat and have a feather duster up their butt (and you can get them to agree) go for it.
• Post identifiable or non-identifiable pics as you feel is appropriate.
• “Cocktail (half) Hour”. Drinks not required, but this is when to start posting costume pictures and d-type chatting. s-types can serve drinks, lay out the table setting, or chat about such things in the s-type channel.
• One seating for all M types. Show the place setting.
• Be as formal as you want / can. If you have the whole 9 yards, bring it out. If you have paper plates, paint them up. Do what you can with what you have. This is fun, not judgy.
• As many courses as you want. As formal a meal as you want. If you want a different wine with each course, starting with the salad, go for it. We want pictures. If what you can do is tuna casserole, go for it. We want pictures.
• If you are in the same place, do the whole thing if you want / can.
• If you are in separate places, work out how to communicate and who is going to set up which pieces and post the pictures. If you have a matching set in both places (I’m impressed) then set the meal in both places and describe the experience to each other. If not, figure out the best way that works for you.
• If you are solo, set the place and simulate as well as you can. If you feel like you want / need direction on costume, DM me and we can work something out.
• Servers may eat, but don’t get a visible seating.
• Chat and have a good time.

Administration / Logistics

• Each location or person is responsible for their own food/beverage/ place setting(s) etc.
• You do not have to show your face (repeated in case I wasn’t clear enough).
• We do want to see a current picture, since the idea is to get dressed up for health reasons. It isn’t required, but you will get more out of it.
• Feel free to coordinate costumes across locations, within your household or with random strangers.
• Feel free to coordinate with no one at all and be flamboyant.

Command and Signal

• Obey Rule #1: Don’t be a dick.The objective is camaraderie, with a little more PE flair than the hotel event.
• No one is in charge per se, but don’t violate any of the channel rules.
• Pictures go in dinner-chatpics.
• D-types will have access to both d-type-discussions and D-type-VC.
• s-types will have access to both s-type-discussions and s-type-VC.
• Voice channel dinner-time will be open. Anarchy will be tested. We may add a moderator if it gets overwhelming.