Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 03:37 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 03:37 AM Hello. I am hoping that someone can help me out. Tonight, at a Board meeting, someone made a statement about an absent member that was not true. I tried to clarify what was said, after saying I had her authorization to speak on her behalf (which I did), and I was shut down and told that Robert's Rules prohibits someone from speaking on behalf of another. Is that true? And if so, where does it say that.Thanks ever so much for any help you can give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted February 4, 2011 at 03:59 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 03:59 AM Hello. I am hoping that someone can help me out. Tonight, at a Board meeting, someone made a statement about an absent member that was not true. I tried to clarify what was said, after saying I had her authorization to speak on her behalf (which I did), and I was shut down and told that Robert's Rules prohibits someone from speaking on behalf of another. Is that true? And if so, where does it say that.Thanks ever so much for any help you can give me.Probably not, but it is possible that you violated some other rule. You can use your own time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:00 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:00 AM Hello. I am hoping that someone can help me out. Tonight, at a Board meeting, someone made a statement about an absent member that was not true. I tried to clarify what was said, after saying I had her authorization to speak on her behalf (which I did), and I was shut down and told that Robert's Rules prohibits someone from speaking on behalf of another. Is that true? And if so, where does it say that.Robert's Rules doesn't prohibit someone from speaking on someone else's behalf. However, it might be possible that the statement about the absent member was out of order because it violated decorum in debate. See RONR pp. 379-382 with a focus on p. 380. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Goldsworthy Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:02 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:02 AM Tonight, at a Board meeting, someone made a statement about an absent member that was not true. I tried to clarify what was said, after saying I had her authorization to speak on her behalf (which I did).I was shut down and told that Robert's Rules prohibits someone from speaking on behalf of another. Is that true? Untrue.There is no rule in RONR which implies "You cannot speak for another."• You can speak for me.• You can speak for President Obama.• You can speak for the Pope.You don't need permission from me, from the Pope, or from P.O.T.U.S., to speak in debate during a meeting.You can invoke any name of almost anyone. (Decorum places a modest restriction on the absolute right; but you are pretty much free to speak your mind, or someone else's mind.)***Do not confuse that answer with "yielding time to another speaker." -- You can't do that. You cannot be granted the floor for debate, and unilaterally give your own speaking time to another.*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:02 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:02 AM Tonight, at a Board meeting, someone made a statement about an absent member that was not true.I strongly suspect that the statement was out of order to begin with, whether or not it was true. See RONR, 10th ed., pgs. 379-382 for more information on decorum in debate.I tried to clarify what was said, after saying I had her authorization to speak on her behalf (which I did), and I was shut down and told that Robert's Rules prohibits someone from speaking on behalf of another. Is that true?No. I would note, however, that the right to speak is not transferable. Are you a board member? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:59 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 04:59 AM Wow - ok, thanks to you all. Let me clarify. Yes, I am a full voting member of the Board. The president stated that another Board member had refused to meet with her to resolve an issue from our January meeting. The truth of the matter is that the person in question (who missed tonight's meeting due to the death of her mother) had told the president that she would not meet with her until she reset her status on the Board e-list back to unmoderated, since she had no authority to moderate her. I raised my hand, being privy to all the communications that went back and forth between these two, and said that I was authorized to speak on her behalf, and I wanted to clarify what my friend had said (that she would meet if and only if the moderated status was removed). Someone else with a grudge against me interrupted and said I could not speak on someone else's behalf, and when I asked for proof of that she said it was in Robert's Rules. Stupid me, not having a copy, I just backed down, when I should have ignored her. So, I am now wondering if I have a right to ask for a public apology from the person that shut me down from speaking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:09 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:09 AM Let me add one more thing. The reason we were talking about someone in abstentia was that last month I had moved that her moderated status be removed. That motion got tabled for a month. Thus, it was up for discussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:35 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:35 AM So, I am now wondering if I have a right to ask for a public apology from the person that shut me down from speaking?No, if the chair ruled your comments out of order, you should have appealed at the time. You can request one, but you have no "right" to one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:53 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 05:53 AM No, if the chair ruled your comments out of order, you should have appealed at the time. You can request one, but you have no "right" to one.The chair did not rule me out of order. Another Board member interrupted me, told me I could not speak on behalf of another, and said it was in Robert's Rules. Like I said, I was stupid and did not just ignore her and speak anyway. Is there a rule about not interrupting fellow Board members? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 4, 2011 at 06:57 AM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 06:57 AM So, I am now wondering if I have a right to ask for a public apology from the person that shut me down from speaking?No.Is there a rule about not interrupting fellow Board members?The board member could have interrupted with a Point of Order to the chair that your comments were out of order and the chair could have ruled on the matter. That does not appear to be what happened. If I understand you correctly, the member simply interrupted you (no Point of Order) and addressed you directly rather than addressing his remarks to the chair. Both of these things are improper.What was the chair doing when all this happened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted February 4, 2011 at 12:07 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 12:07 PM Another Board member interrupted me, told me I could not speak on behalf of another, and said it was in Robert's Rules.The next time someone says, "it's in Robert's Rules", ask them to show you. The chair should have a copy on hand (as well as a copy of your bylaws, of course).I trust you'll bring your own copies to all future meetings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 01:50 PM No.The board member could have interrupted with a Point of Order to the chair that your comments were out of order and the chair could have ruled on the matter. That does not appear to be what happened. If I understand you correctly, the member simply interrupted you (no Point of Order) and addressed you directly rather than addressing his remarks to the chair. Both of these things are improper.That is correct, no Point of Order was mentioned. Was I out of order in the context mentioned, when I merely was going to add the full context of what was actually said, rather than the highly abbreviated, and thus misleading version, the president offered?What was the chair doing when all this happened?Hahaha.... frankly, she likely set it up in advance, anticipating I would try to correct a statement she knew to be incomplete and misleading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pat Posted February 4, 2011 at 01:53 PM Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 at 01:53 PM The next time someone says, "it's in Robert's Rules", ask them to show you. The chair should have a copy on hand (as well as a copy of your bylaws, of course).I trust you'll bring your own copies to all future meetings.You have that right. I was certainly outmaneuvered, not being the underhanded type that apparently the officers and their friends are. I very much appreciate your and everyone else's help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 5, 2011 at 08:29 AM Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 at 08:29 AM Was I out of order in the context mentioned, when I merely was going to add the full context of what was actually said, rather than the highly abbreviated, and thus misleading version, the president offered?Based on the facts presented, the statement appears to have been in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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