Shmuel Gerber

See https://robertsrules.com/faq.html#10

I don't think it's advisable to welcome new board members before they have been elected as board members. It is somewhat worrisome that you put the word officially in quotation marks, as though the Nominating Committee and the board, rather than the voting members of the society, are in charge of who gets elected.

Well, RONR does say that the body of the minutes should show "all points of order and appeals, whether sustained or lost, together with the reasons given by the chair for his or her ruling." (RONR 11th ed., p. 470, No. 10)

There's no such rule in RONR. Yes.

Tech support says that email has been restored, and it seems to be working for me now.

Thank's for explaining it, because I sure didn't get this inside pocket joke.

I haven't gotten any e-mail notifications from the forum since Friday morning. Has anyone else here had the problem of not receiving the expected e-mail notifications about forums or topics that they are subscribed to?

Actually, I shouldn't say that. It has been updated in various minor ways.

It's been updated in various minor ways, but nothing that would affect rules already developed by anyone based on the CD-ROM version.

RONR does not specifically address this question. It says that members have the right to examine reports received from boards or committees that are placed on file, as well as the record books of the secretary containing the bylaws, special rules of order, standing rules, and minutes.

I think it is abundantly clear from the quoted passages that the chair does not have any special power to make a decision as to what constitutes an emergency, but only to make that decision when the assembly itself has no time to do so because of the emergency. If the members have gathered fully aware of the nature of the emergency, the chair, under the rules in RONR, can't simply decide to adjourn the meeting because he thinks he knows better than the assembly. As has been noted in other threads, there may be times when people find it necessary to break the rules, or to exercise powers that nobody gave them. We can't stop them, and maybe sometimes we should encourage them, but what we should not do is pretend that RONR says something it doesn't say.

But there is no such power given to the chair in RONR. What the book actually says is: “In the event of fire, riot, or other extreme emergency, if the chair believes taking time for a vote on adjourning would be dangerous to those present, he should declare the meeting adjourned—to a suitable time and place for an adjourned meeting (if he is able), or to meet at the call of the chair.” (p. 86, emphasis added) “It is the duty of the presiding officer of an assembly: … To declare the meeting adjourned … at any time in the event of a sudden emergency affecting the safety of those present.” (pp.449-450, emphasis added)

You're welcome. But I thought your idea was that it should be a joint effort, so why don't you join? 🙂 You could add a Q&A with a link to other forum responses, or quoting them, or repeating your own answer. I've seen some good answers in other recent topics, and even some entire topics that are probably worth reading by anyone who has questions on the subject.

See here: Unofficial FAQ: Electronic meetings to replace in-person meetings

Thanks. There's a problem with the website itself. The RRA and website hosting company are aware of it.

Stay tuned.

Well, they should be able to count. 🙂 "The tellers should be chosen for accuracy and dependability, should have the confidence of the membership, and should not have a direct personal involvement in the question or in the result of the vote to an extent that they should refrain from voting under the principle stated on page 407. Often their position with regard to the issue involved is well known, however, and they are frequently chosen to protect the interests of each opposing side." RONR (11th ed ), p.414, lines 10-20.

The chair does not have power to make theoretical rulings. The proper way to get the organization to interpret the meaning of the bylaws on this issue is to act on it by moving to the fill the vacancy — for example, by making a motion "that Mr. Y be hereby elected as vice-president to fill the vacancy in that office caused by President X's resignation", or a motion "to proceed immediately to an election to fill the vacancy in the office of vice-president, with nominations being taken from the floor." If the chair believes that the election is not in order, he can then make a ruling to that effect. From this ruling, any member can take an Appeal which (if seconded) is voted on by the assembly.

Did you mean the passing voice? 🙂

Generally not.

(I guess that's more than one thing, but who's counting.)

For one thing, it could be interpreted as meaning that RONR applies only to the rules for conducting a meeting and not to such things as terms of office, meeting notices, the content of minutes, discipline for misconduct outside meetings, the authority of an executive board, etc.

I posted a link to that more than 24 hours ago.

Thanks for the reminder. Downloads are now disabled.

The words "the society" are supposed to be modified for the particular organization, although it should be modified in both places. The main problem with your wording is that you invented "proceedings of this".