2000 Business meeting Minutes: Preliminary Business Meeting

1 Call to Order

The Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM in the Regent Room of the Fairmont Hotel. An attendance sign-up list was distributed. Similar lists were made available at subsequent meetings and a copy of the final list is attached.

The Chair activated the Secretary. The Secretary responded, "I am the Emergency Holographic Secretary; please state the nature of the Clerical Emergency".

The Chair proceeded to explain that the original Secretary, Mr. McMurray, had been unable to attend Chicon 2000 due to a family emergency and that his replacement, Mr. Sacks, had sadly passed away shortly before the convention. Therefore Ms. Morgan has been acquired to fill the role.

2 Committee Reports

2.1 Mark Protection Committee

Gary Feldbaum, Secretary of the Mark Protection Committee, presented the report of the committee. As the meeting took place late on Thursday no written minutes were available. Mr. Feldbaum promised to supply these in time for the Main Business Meeting on Saturday. The only business reported from the Mark Protection Committee was that a resolution had been passed in memory of Robert Sacks who had been an active member of the Committee.

2.2 Nitpicking & Flyspecking Committee

Tim Illingworth presented the report of the Nitpicking & Flyspecking Committee (attached).

The Committee moved the adoption of the following resolution:

Moved, To continue the WSFS Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee as previously constituted.

The resolution passed by unanimous consent.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following resolution:

Moved, To direct the Secretary, under the authority of Standing Rule 23, to move Section 6.5 of the WSFS Constitution into Section 5.1 to replace the existing Section 5.1.3.

The resolution passed by unanimous consent.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following resolution:

Moved: That the Standing Rules be collected into Groups and numbered as follows:

Group	Old Rules	New Rules
Group 1: Meetings	1, 2, 3, 4, 9	1.1 - 1.5
Group 2: New Business	5, 6, 7, 8	2.1 - 2.4
Group 3: Debate Time Limits	13, 14, 15, 16, 17	3.1 - 3.5
Group 4: Official Papers	21, 22, 23	4.1 - 4.3
Group 5: Variations of Rules	25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33	5.1 - 5.8
Group 6: Mark Protection Committee Elections	11, 12	6.1 and 6.2
Group 7: Miscellaneous	10, 19, 32, 18, 24, 20	7.1 - 7.6

2.2.3.1 Amendment of numbering

Richard Russell moved to amend the numbering of the rules to make them "loosely packed," so that, for example, Group 1 rules would be numbers 1.10 to 1.50. The intention of the amendment was to allow space in the numbering scheme for new items to be inserted. Nobody seconded the motion so it was not considered.

The resolution passed by unanimous consent.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following resolution:

Resolved, that the proper formatting of the WSFS Constitution is as follows:

1. The WSFS Constitution is divided into a number of Articles, which are numbered in Roman numerals, thus: I, II, III, IV….

2. Each Article is divided into a number of Sections, which are numbered with their Article and Section number in Legal format in Arabic numerals, thus: 1.1, 1.2,…. Each Section has a title relevant to its contents.

3. Each Section may be divided into subsections, which are numbered with their Article, Section and subsection number in Legal format in Arabic numerals, thus: 1.5.1, 1.5.2,…. Subsections do not have titles.

4. Enumerated lists of items are numbered with their sequence number in Arabic numerals enclosed in parentheses, thus: (1), (2),….

5. Sections should be arranged in approximately chronological order within articles, as should subsections within sections, and items within lists.

Louis Epstein spoke against.

2.2.4.1 Amendment of numbering: format

Mr. Russell moved to amend item 1 in the motion as follows:

1. The WSFS Constitution is divided into a number of Articles, which are numbered in Roman Arabic numerals, thus: I, II, III, IV 1, 2, 3, 4….

Mr. Russell's amendment passed by unanimous consent.

2.2.4.2 Amendment of numbering: spacing

Mr. Russell moved to amend the numbering scheme to make it loosely packed to allow space for insertion of amendments. Nobody seconded the motion so it was not considered.

The motion passed many to one.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following Constitutional Amendment:

Moved, to amend Section 3.10 of the WSFS Constitution as follows:

3.10.1: Final Award voting shall be by mail, with ballots sent only to WSFS members. Only WSFS members may vote. Final Award ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces to be filled in by the voter.

Perrianne Lurie raised a point of information asking about whether the wording of the segment of the Constitution in question included electronic mail.

Saul Jaffe, who will be running Hugo Administration for the 2001 Worldcon, said that it was his understanding that it did. The Chair confirmed this.

Martin Hoare asked what constituted a "signature". The Chair said that was up to individual Hugo administration committees.

2.2.5.1 Amendment of mail to ballot

Martin Hoare proposed to strike out "mail" and insert "ballot".

Kent Bloom spoke against on the grounds that "ballot" might be assumed to mean that voting could only take place at the convention whereas "mail" clearly implied advance voting.

The motion to amend failed.

Because the motion is a Constitutional Amendment it was passed to the Saturday Business Meeting. The debate time was set at 2 minutes.

Enquires were made as to whether an amendment to clarify the situation regarding electronic mail would be in order at the Saturday Business Meeting. The Chair said that it would and asked anyone with an interest in doing so to talk to Parliamentarian (1).

2.2.5.2 Amendment of mail to advance balloting

Bob Daverin moved to strike "mail" and insert "balloting in advance of the Worldcon". There was no debate because the time limit had expired. After a serpentine count the motion to amend was passed 37-24. The motion therefore reads:

Moved, to amend Section 3.10 of the WSFS Constitution as follows:

3.10.1: Final Award voting shall be by mail balloting in advance of the Worldcon, with ballots sent only to WSFS members. Only WSFS members may vote. Final Award ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces to be filled in by the voter.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following Constitutional Amendment:

Moved, To amend the WSFS Constitution by replacing all occurrences of "Worldcon" in Sections 2.8 and 2.9 by "Worldcon or NASFiC" or effectively similar wording, as follows:

Section 2.8: Financial Openness. Any member of WSFS shall have the right, under reasonable conditions, to examine the financial records and books of account of the current Worldcon or NASFiC Committee, all future selected Worldcon or NASFiC Committees, and the two immediately preceding Worldcon Committees and the Committees of any NASFiCs held in the previous two years.

Section 2.9: Financial Reports.

2.9.1: Each future selected Worldcon or NASFiC Committee shall submit an annual financial report, including a statement of income and expenses, to each WSFS Business Meeting after the Committee's selection.

2.9.2: Each Worldcon or NASFiC Committee shall submit a report on its cumulative surplus/loss at the next Business Meeting after its Worldcon.

2.9.3: Each Worldcon or NASFiC Committee should dispose of surplus funds remaining after accounts are settled for the current Worldcon or NASFiC for the benefit of WSFS as a whole.

2.9.4: In the event of a surplus, the Worldcon or NASFiC Committee, or any alternative organizational entity established to oversee and disburse that surplus, shall file annual financial reports regarding the disbursement of that surplus at each year's Business Meeting, until the surplus is totally expended or an amount equal to the original surplus has been disbursed.

Ben Yalow objected to consideration. There being less than two-thirds opposed to consideration, the objection failed.

The Chair suggested a debate time limit of 6 minutes.

2.2.6.1 Amendment of debate time

Mr. Yalow moved to amend the time limit to 10 minutes on the grounds that any motion mentioning the NASFiC always resulted in substantial debate. This passed.

The motion was passed to the Saturday Business Meeting.

The Committee moved the adoption of the following resolution:

Moved, To renew all Continuing Resolutions included in the Nitpicking & Flyspecking Committee Report.

Mark Olson moved to postpone discussion until the Saturday Business Meeting on the grounds that the motion was very complex and time was needed to study it. This passed by unanimous consent.

2.3 Worldcon Runners' Guide Editorial Committee

Mr. Jaffe presented the report of the Worldcon Runners Guide Editorial Committee (attached).

Mr. Jaffe moved to continue the Committee. This passed by unanimous consent.

2.4 Rest of World Hugo Eligibility Committee

Vincent Docherty presented the report of the Rest of World Hugo Eligibility Committee (attached).

Mr. Docherty, on behalf of the Committee moved a resolution from the report as follows:

Moved, To extend for one year, based on limited availability, as authorized by section 3.4, the eligibility of all works that:

1: Would otherwise qualify for a "specific work" 2000 Hugo Award (sections 3.3.1 through 3.3.6 inclusive);
2: Did not qualify to appear on the Final Ballot for the 2000 Hugo Awards;
3: Have not been published in the USA as of 31 January 2000; and
4: Have not previously had their eligibility extended by resolution of WSFS;

Winton Matthews asked if eligibility could be extended for more than 1 year. The Chair said that the eligibility extension provisions in the Constitution only allowed for a single year extension.

Gary Blog asked if each book would have to be voted on individually. The Chair replied the point of the resolution was that it covered all items.

Mr. Blog spoke against.

Lew Wolkoff pointed out that one of the alternative motions presented in the report would allow eligibility extension for more than one year. The Chair explained that the resolution before the Meeting would not allow this but the constitutional amendment contained in the report would allow >1 year if it were considered and passed.

Mr. Olson and Mr. Yalow spoke in favour. Mr. Olson said that he felt that a Constitutional amendment would be the best solution but that the resolution could be implemented immediately whereas a Constitutional amendment would require ratification.

Louis Epstein spoke against.

Victoria Smith asked what the resolution would do for foreign language books. The Chair said that different provisions already exist to allow for translations.

Mr. Russell asked if anyone on Rest of World Hugo Eligibility Committee was against resolution. Mr. Yalow said that he had originally been against but had changed his mind. Mr. Standlee said that no other opposition had been formally expressed.

Under Section 3.4 the motion needed a ¾ vote to pass. After a serpentine count the motion was passed 53-5.

The Chair asked for unanimous consent to extend the committee.

Rick Katze, the WSFS Business Manager for the 2001 Worldcon, asked to be added to the Committee. The Parliamentarian said that the Business Meeting chair can appoint members.

2.4.2.1 Amendment to scope of committee

Ms. Morgan moved to extend to scope of committee to cover general changes to regulations for the Hugos.

Rick Kovalcik spoke against. Mr. Feldbaum and Mr. Yalow spoke against on the grounds that the scope of the Committee would be too broad.

The motion to amend failed.

2.4.2.2 Amendment concerning appointment of committee chair

Mr. Russell moved to amend so that the new chair of the Committee be appointed by the Presiding Officer of the Business Meeting. This passed by unanimous consent.

The motion to continue the Committee passed by unanimous consent. The Chair said that he would appoint a chair for the Committee at the Saturday Business Meeting.

The Chair raised the subject of the other motions included in the Committee report. No member wanted any of the other motions passed on to the Saturday Business Meeting.

Mr. Yalow asked that the motion on The Sky Road be withdrawn from the agenda as it had been rendered irrelevant by the passage of the Blanket Extension of Eligibility motion. This passed by unanimous consent.

3 Worldcon Reports

3.1 Past Worldcons & NASFiCs

Linda Ross-Mansfield presented the ConAdian report.

Mr. Illingworth asked if this was a final report. Ms. Ross-Mansfield said it was not because ConAdian still has money.

Mike Glyer presented the L.A. Con III report. This was also not final.

John Pomeranz said that no report was available but that they do have money.

Mr. Yalow pointed out that Conucopia, being a NASFiC, was not required to report and objected to item being on the agenda. The Chair said that appearance on agenda did not imply a requirement to submit a report. It was simply a courtesy to Conucopia to allow it to present a report if it wished to do so. No one from Conucopia was available to make a report.

Stephen Boucher said the report would be available at the Main Business Meeting on Saturday.

3.2 Seated Worldcons

The Parliamentarian passed on a message from Tom Veal, Chairman of Chicon 2000, to the effect that a report would be available at the Main Business Meeting on Saturday.

Mr. Feldbaum said that a report would be submitted at the Main Business Meeting on Saturday.

Brenda Daverin presented a preliminary financial report.

3.3 Business Passed on from Aussiecon Three

No business was passed on from Aussiecon Three.

Dr. Lurie moved to commend the A3 Business Meeting for not passing on any business. This passed by unanimous consent.

4 New Business

4.1 Resolutions

This motion, which was for an extension of eligibility for a novel by Ken MacLeod, had been rendered irrelevant by the passing of the Blanket Extension of Eligibility resolution and had been withdrawn.

STET was published in USA and so not covered by the Blanket Extension of Eligibility resolution. Mr. Olson moved as follows:

Moved, To extend the eligibility of issue 9 of the dated periodical STET, based on limited availability, as authorized by Section 3.4.

Johnny Carruthers asked which Hugo category STET qualified for. The Chair replied that it is a fanzine.

Mr. Olson and Mr. Yalow spoke in favour, pointing out that whilst the magazine carried a publication date of 1999 only a few copies had actually been mailed in that year.

Mr. Epstein spoke against, pointing out that cover date (which is given as 2000) already takes precedence over copyright date (1999), per the WSFS Constitution, and that the resolution was therefore redundant.

Rick Katze said that as head of WSFS Division for The Millennium Philcon he would consider STET eligible for nomination in which case motion was not necessary

Mr. Carruthers asked whether the motion was necessary as the fanzine award is for a body of work, not an individual issue. The Chair replied that under the rules for the fanzine award there was a requirement for number of issues to be published in the year in question so the publication year for the issue in question could be important.

Under Section 3.4 the motion required a ¾ vote to pass. Following a serpentine count the motion passed 46-13.

4.2 Standing rules amendments

Mr. Standlee moved the following:

Moved, to amend Standing Rule 4 as follows:

Rule 4: Scheduling of Meetings. The first Main Meeting shall be scheduled no less than eighteen (18) hours after the conclusion of the last Preliminary Meeting. No meeting shall be scheduled to begin before 10:00 or after 15:00 local time.

Mr. Katze said that at The Millennium Philcon Business Meetings would start at 10.00 am.

4.2.1.1 Amendment of last possible start time

Mr. Yalow moved to amend by striking out 15.00 and replacing it with 13.00. His argument was that 15.00 was prime programming time and that the Business Meeting should not conflict with any major program items.

Mr. Feldbaum made a speech that appeared to be against the main motion.

The amendment was passed on a show of hands.

Debate proceeded on the main motion with Mr. Standlee, Kent Bloom, Ms. Smith and Mr. Yalow in favor. Chris Edwards spoke against.

After the expiry of debate time a vote was taken and the motion passed on a show of hands.

4.2.1.2 Postponment of future Chicon meetings

Mr. Olson asked whether the times of later Chicon Business Meetings could be changed to a later hour. The Chair said it was possible.

Mr. Olson moved that podium staff investigate the postponement of Saturday and Sunday meetings to a more civilised hour. Ruth Sachter said that Program Division staff would work with podium staff to facilitate this.

Mr. Illingworth moved as follows:

Moved, to amend Standing Rule 2 as follows:

Rule 2: Preliminary Business Meeting(s). The Preliminary Business Meeting may not directly reject, pass, or ratify amendments to the Constitution; however, all motions adhering to a Constitutional amendment are in order if otherwise allowed. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not refer a Constitutional amendment to a committee unless the committee’s instructions are to report to the Main Business Meeting. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not postpone consideration of a Constitutional amendment beyond the last Preliminary Business Meeting. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not amend a Constitutional amendment pending ratification. The Preliminary Business Meeting may consider any business not expressly forbidden to it by the Standing Rules or expressly reserved to the Main Business Meeting.

Mr. Russell asked whether, if passed, this rule could be changed by suspension of the rules. The Chair replied that it could. Mr. Feldbaum raised a point of order that a previous ruling had said that such a motion could not be changed by suspending the rules because the rule implicitly protects absentees (people not attending the Preliminary Business Meeting), and such rules may never be suspended. The Chair found the point of order well taken.

Debate proceeded on the motion. Mr. Matthews, Mr. Kovalcik, Mr Wolkoff, Mr. Illingworth, Ms. Morgan and Mr. Blog spoke in favor. Mr. Olson and Mr. Yalow (twice) spoke against.

Those in favour were generally of the view that the Preliminary Meeting was advertised as an administrative session and should not be used to make major amendments to the Constitution. Those opposed were of the view that it was incumbent on members who wished to have a say in Constitutional matters to attend all Business Meetings and thus it was irrelevant what was done in individual meetings. Mr. Yalow held that it was wrong to restrict important business to a single meeting as this made it easier to pack a meeting with supporters of a particular motion. Ms. Morgan said that manipulation of voting was also possible by bringing up important business in a seemingly unimportant meeting that members did not understand the need to attend.

Following a serpentine count the motion passed 37-26.

The Parliamentarian called for nominations for the three places on the Mark Protection Committee that were due for re-election. Nomination forms were made available.

Mr. Carruthers asked for unanimous consent to nominate the incumbent members (Ms. Sachter, Scott Dennis and Mr. Eastlake). There being no objection, nomination forms were filed on their behalf.

[See below about the deadline for nominations and acceptance.]

4.3 Constitutional Amendments

Mr. Docherty moved as follows:

Moved, To Amend Section 4.1.1 of the WSFS Constitution to shorten the lead-time for selection of future Worldcons from three years to two years, as follows:

4.1.1. WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held three (3) two (2) years from the date of the current Worldcon.

Provided that this amendment shall not take effect until the conclusion of the 2004 Worldcon; that there shall be no Worldcon site selection election at the 2005 Worldcon; and that the 2006 Worldcon shall select the site of the 2008 Worldcon.

Dr. Lurie objected to consideration of the motion. There being less than two-thirds opposed to consideration, the objection failed.

Being a constitutional amendment the motion would be passed through to the Main Business Meeting on Saturday. The Chair suggested a debate time of 12 minutes.

4.3.1.1 Amendment of debate time

Mr. Yalow asked to amend the debate time to 20 minutes. Mr. Epstein countered with a suggestion of 15 minutes.

The Chair announced the creation of a blank and said that the options would be voted on in descending order of time.

After a serpentine count the option of 20 minutes passed 36-17.

The motion was passed to the Main Business Meeting on Saturday.

Three motions (Best Television Series, The Long and Short of It, and The Not So Long and Short of it) concerning the Dramatic Presentation Hugo were on the agenda. Anticipating reluctance to debate such a complex issue, The Chair began by asking for votes on any objections to consideration. In all three cases there was more than two-thirds opposed to consideration, so the objections were sustained and all three motions killed.

4.3.2.1 Reconsideration

Beth Moursund questioned whether the motions could be reconsidered at the Main Business Meeting on Saturday. The Parliamentarian, at the request of the Chair, explained that only someone who voted against consideration – that is, when asked ‘shall we consider this question?’ voted ‘no’ – could move to reconsider the question.

4.3.2.2 Committee on the Dramatic Presentation Hugo

Chris Edwards asked what had happened to the committee appointed to consider this issue of splitting the Dramatic Presentation Hugo.

Mr. Jaffe, a member of the Extending Dramatic Presentation Eligibility to Entire Seasons Committee, spoke to this question. This committee was formed in 1995 and was last heard from at the 1998 Business Meeting. It never produced a report. This committee was not specifically charged with ‘splitting’ the DP Hugo. No committees charged with studying additional DP Hugos were created at the 1999 Business Meeting.

Mr. Wolkoff moved to create a committee to study the Dramatic Presentation Hugo and make recommendations to the 2001 WSFS Business Meeting.

Doug Friauf asked if new motion on the subject could be introduced at the Main Business Meeting on Saturday. The Chair said no, the deadline for submitting constitutional amendments had passed, so new ones could be introduced only by permission of the Chair or by suspension of the rules.

Debate proceeded on the motion to create a committee. John Lorentz, Mr. Glyer, Mr. Pomeranz, Mr. Russell, Chris Barkley and Tom Sharpe spoke in favor. Mr. Yalow (twice), Mr. Blog and Ms. Labonville spoke against.

After debate time had expired a vote was taken and the motion passed on a show of hands.

4.3.3.1 Provision of coffee

Mary Morman asked if coffee could be provided at future meetings. Mr. Barkley, on behalf of Hotel Liaison, said he would look into it.

4.3.3.2 Robert Sacks

Ben Schilling asked if the meeting could send condolences to Robert Sacks' family. This passed by unanimous consent.

4.3.3.3 Nomination deadline for Mark Protection Committee

Mr. Katze moved to extend the deadline for written nominations to the Mark Protection Committee from the end of the meeting to 3.00pm. The Parliamentarian said that this would be OK provided that nominations were delivered to him in person, or to con office, by the agreed time. There being no objection the motion passed. The Secretary, as authorized by the Standing Rules, set the deadline for accepting nominations to 3:00pm, and asked for acceptance forms to be delivered to the Secretary, the Parliamentarian, or the Chicon Operations Office.

4.3.3.4 Presentations by bidders

Mr. Docherty asked whether, time permitting, bidders for Worldcons after 2004 could give presentation at the Sunday Business Meeting. The Chair said that he should ask at that meeting.

5 Adjournment

Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 11.02 am in memory of Robert Sacks.

Footnotes

"World Science Fiction Society", "WSFS", "World Science Fiction Convention", "Worldcon", "NASFiC", "Hugo Award", and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society. You can contact the WSFS Mark Protection Committee at <mpc@wsfs.org>.