|
For a text version of this document,
click here.
1. Name, Nature and Purpose
A. Name
This body shall be called, "The alt.starfleet.rpg Round Table", or,
"The ASR Round Table", or "RT".
B. Nature
The ASR Round Table shall be a deliberative body, governed by standard
parliamentary practices, as specified in this document and adapted from
Robert's Rules of Order. It is an autonomous group of people meeting
to determine, in full and free discussion, courses of action to be taken
in the name of the entire group.
C. Purpose
The business and powers of the ASR Round Table shall consist of: selecting
or removing the chief officer of ASR (i.e., the player of the Commander-in-Chief,
Starfleet); of ratifying the appointment of the player of the Chief
of Starfleet Operations, and of its own Secretary; of debating and voting
on proposals for changes in the rules and policies of ASR; and of expressing
the sentiments of ASR as a group.
2. Membership
A. Status
1. ASR RP Unit COs
Every Commanding Officer of a Role Playing Unit in ASR shall be eligible
to sit as a member of the ASR Round Table. A Role Playing Unit shall
be defined, for the purposes of the Round Table, as a group of players,
accountable by and to a Commanding Officer and an Executive Officer,
and accepted as a constituent Unit in one of the ASR Fleets, or as an
irregular Unit at the discretion of the Flag Council. A Unit must have
enjoyed such status for at least one month before the start of a Round
Table session in order for its representative to sit as a member in
that session.
2. Flag Officers
The players of all the administrative characters of the Flag Council
shall sit as members of the ASR Round Table on that basis, regardless
of whether they also serve as Commanding Officers of RP Units.
B. Absence and Substitution
1. Absence
Eligible members of the Round Table are expected to answer the Roll
Call by informing the Secretary either of their intent to attend, or
of their absence. Members who find they will no longer be able to participate
at some time after the session begins are requested to so inform the
Secretary at their earliest convenience. This is a courtesy to the Secretary
and to the Round Table.
2. Substitution
Should the Commanding Officer of an RP Unit be seated in the capacity
of a Flag officer, or decline to be seated, the duty of representing
the Unit will fall in turn to the Executive Officer, and then to the
Unit's members (including the Game Master, if present) in order of seniority
(determined by their time as members of ASR). If no member of a Unit
is eligible or willing to represent the Unit at the ASR Round Table,
the Chair has the right to assign a representative to the Unit, or to
leave that seat vacant, for the duration of the current session. If
absence occurs after the opening of a session, no substitution takes
place.
3. Officers of the Round Table and elected
officers of ASR
A. Roles and duties
1. Chair
The Chair of the ASR Round Table shall be held by the chief officer of ASR, the
player of the Commander-In-Chief, Star Fleet, or the person acting in that
capacity. The duties of the Chair as such shall consist of presiding over the
ASR Round Table while in session and shall not transfer to a newly elected
Commander-In-Chief, Star Fleet until adjournment of the ASR Round Table session.
For issues the Chair cannot preside over him- or herself, the office
can be passed on. In that case, it should be taken on by the (Acting)
CSFO, or, if that player is not available, by a
member of the Flag Council of the Chair's choosing. Once the issue has
been resolved, the Chair goes back to the CINCSF.
2. Secretary
The calling and tallying of the Roll, the presentation of the Agenda,
the tabulation of votes on the items of the Agenda, and the reporting
of the conduct of the Flag Council and the proceedings of the Round
Table shall be the duties of a Secretary of the ASR Round Table, chosen
as such from among the members who are not seated as Flag officers.
B. Limitations
1. Chair
The Chair shall not participate in discussion of Proposals. Neither
shall the Chair vote on motions or on Proposals, except to break ties,
in which case the Chair must do so.
2. Secretary
The fact of being Round Table Secretary does not affect in any way that
player's original status as the representative of a Role Playing Unit;
the player who is Secretary may discuss and vote on Proposals and Motions
without prejudice.
C. Selection
1. CINCSF
The player of CINCSF, and thus the Chair of RT, is chosen, by election,
by the ASR Round Table. If a vacancy occurs, the CSFO will hold the
position in an acting capacity until such an election can take place.
If the CSFO is not available for this, the Flag Council will determine
an Acting CINCSF until the issue can be thus resolved.
The election shall consist of motions to nominate candidates, which
must be seconded, followed by a period of discussion, followed by a
vote. If no candidate receives at least one half of the votes cast,
plus one, not counting abstentions, in the first round of voting, further
rounds shall be held until such majority is achieved.
2. CSFO
When a vacancy exists in the office of CSFO, CINCSF shall nominate a
candidate for that office on an acting basis, and the next regular session
of the Round Table shall vote to ratify said candidate. If the candidate
fails to receive a number of votes equal to at least one half of the
total cast, plus one, not counting abstentions, the Chair must nominate
a new candidate at once and repeat the procedure until a candidate is
ratified.
Upon the election of a new person to the
office of CINCSF, the term of the sitting CSFO shall end.
3. Secretary
The procedure for selecting a Secretary for the RT is the same as for
the CSFO (see 3.C.2., above).
D. Removal
1. CINCSF
If a motion of No Confidence is made and seconded, the office of the
Chair is handed on as per 3.A.1 above, and the new Chair shall preside
until such motion is defeated or fails, or a new CINCSF is elected.
If such a motion receives a number of votes equal to at least half of
the members seated in the present session, plus one, the CINCSF is removed,
and an election for a successor held immediately, as per 3.A., above.
2. CSFO
The CSFO may be removed by a vote of No Confidence from the Round Table,
as per the rules for removal of the Chair (see 3.D.1, above).
3. Secretary
The Round Table Secretary may be removed only by a vote of No Confidence
in the Round Table, as per the rules for removal of the Chair (see 3.D.1.,
above).
4. Sessions, Regular and Special
A. Regular Sessions
1. Procedure for Convening
A Regular Session of the ASR Round Table shall be convened when the
Secretary so informs all those eligible to participate. The Secretary
is required, no later than two weeks before the first day of any session,
to Call the Roll, that is, to inform all eligible members that they
are requested to take part, and to receive their affirmations of intent
or inability to participate in the upcoming session. So long as at least
one half, plus one, of the eligible members reply, affirming their intention
to participate, a quorum is reached, and the session is held. If no
quorum is reached, the session is cancelled.
2. Frequency and Length
A Regular Session shall be convened on the first day of April and of
October of every year. It shall be adjourned no later than the end of
the last day of the month in which it was convened, unless a motion
for extension has been made and passed.
B. Special Sessions
1. Means of Convening
A Special Session shall be convened when the Secretary receives statements
so demanding from a number of eligible members equal to at least one
half of the total, plus one; this shall stand in place of the Roll Call
affirmations of those members. The Secretary then conducts a normal
Roll Call and determination of quorum as in the case of Regular Sessions
(see 4.A.1., above)
2. Frequency and Length
Any number of Special Sessions may be convened in a year, so long as
at least one month has passed between the adjournment of the last session
and the proposed convening of a new Special Session. No Special Session
may continue past the last day of the month in which
it was convened.
5. Rules of Order
A. Order of Business
1. Roll Call and Determination of Quorum
2. Presentation of Agenda
3. Reports of Officers
4. Selection or Removal of Officers
5. Old Business
6. New Business
7. Adjournment
B. Motions
1. Proposals (Main Motions)
Proposals are items on the Agenda that have been submitted to the Secretary
for consideration as business of the Round Table. They are presented
to the Round Table by the Secretary in the order they were received,
and treated as Old or New Business, as appropriate.
2. Procedural Motions
-
Point of Order- Any member may at any time draw
the attention of the Chair to a perceived violation of the Rules of
the Round Table. The format for Point of Order is
Subj: Point of Order
Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following
statement of (title of delegate): (quote of material) *and/or* the
following point of the Rules: (quote of rule, followed by question),
and request a ruling.
-
Point of Information- Any member may at any time
ask a question regarding the rules and their interpretation, and other
matters connected to the subject at hand. The format for Point of
Information is as follows:
Subj: Point of Information
Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following
point (quote) and would like to ask the following question: (question).
-
Motions to Alter Time Limits for Discussion and
for Voting- The initial time limits for discussion of and voting on
Proposals are 48 hours each. These limits may be extended, or, in
the case of discussion, abbreviated, by a motion, followed by a second,
so requesting, at the discretion of the Chair, if no objection is
made within twenty-four hours of the second. The format for such motions
is as follows:
Subj: Motion to Alter Time Limit for Discussion *or* Voting
Text: I move *or* second the current period be extended
by 48 hours *or* closed immediately.
-
Motions to Postpone Consideration or to Send to
Committee- Discussion of a Proposal is usually followed by a vote.
If, however, a motion to postpone consideration or to send to committee
is made and seconded, and no objection is presented within twenty-four
hours, the Chair may delete the Proposal from the agenda of the current
session, and place it on the agenda of the next session as Old Business,
provided a Proposal to do so is submitted to the Secretary before
the start of said session.
-
Motion to Adjourn- When all items of business on
the Agenda of the Round Table have been disposed of, any member may
make a motion to Adjourn; if seconded, and if there are no objections
presented within twenty-four hours, the Chair must declare the session
to be adjourned. The Chair must also declare the session to be adjourned
by the last day of the month in which it was opened, unless a motion
for extension has been passed (see 4.B.2.f), or when any such period
of extension is over.
-
Motion to Extend the Session- If there is business
left on the Agenda of the Round Table which cannot be concluded within
a regular session, any member may make a motion to Extend the Session.
If seconded, the Round Table votes on the issue, and if the motion
passes, the session is extended accordingly. There must not be more
than one extension, and an extension must not last longer than 14
days.
C. Rules of Discussion
Discussion shall be limited to debate of the merits of a Proposal, and
shall not be allowed to digress into irrelevant or tangential issues.
The officers of the Round Table shall be addressed and referred to by
the names of their offices, Flag officers by their Flag titles, members
of the Round Table by their RP Unit, and candidates for office by their
full (given and sur)names.
Violation of these rules can be raised as a Point of Order or of Information,
and, as with all such Points, is ruled upon at the sole discretion of
the Chair, including sanctions ranging from reprimand, to censure, and
expulsion from the current session of the Round Table.
D. Rules of Voting
1. Format of Ballots
Members shall vote on Proposals and Motions in the ASR Round Table by
sending copies of an e-mail message to all members of the Round Table.
If a member will be temporarily absent during the voting period, such
member may submit one or more votes to the Secretary before the beginning
of the voting period; such votes will be reported as per 5.D.3., below.
All voting messages must strictly observe the following format, or be
considered Null and Void at the
discretion of the Secretary:
Subj: RT Vote / Item(s) of business: Proposal(s) or Motion
Text. Yea (or Yes)
*or* Nay (or No)
*or* Abstain
[for each item as designated by the Secretary if more than one]
2. Voting Majorities
A Proposal shall pass when it receives a number of Yea votes greater
than the number of Nay votes cast against it.
3. Report of Voting by the Secretary
The Secretary, whenever the votes received are sufficient to decide
an outcome, or when the time period for voting has passed, shall tabulate
and present a list of the votes cast.
4. Announcement of Result by the Chair
Upon receipt of the Secretary's report as per 5.D.3., above, the Chair
announces the passage, defeat, or failure of the Proposal or Motion.
|