Personalities

[Guest Posta]

When RONR says “avoid personalities”, does it mean in someway that we should leave our personalities at the door ?

Or does it mean deal with facts only, and not discuss nothing to do with the people conveying them?

Or does it mean both?

[Guest Zev]

Just the merits of the pending motion whether it should be adopted or rejected.

[Transpower]

Here's a useful list of the rules of decorum in RONR:  

R U L E S   O F   D E C O R U M

 

1.  Speakers (except for officers/committee chairs reporting) must address their remarks to the Chair, maintain a courteous tone, and avoid injecting a personal note into debate or attacking others’ motives.

 2.  Officers and committee chairs should come to the front left or front right to present their reports and address the body.

 3.  Speakers should refer to officers only by title and should avoid the mention of other members’ names as much as possible.

 4.  Remarks must be germane to the question before the assembly and should not be about a prior action not pending.

 5.  Stand when wishing to speak and when speaking, otherwise sit.

 6.  Refrain from disturbing the assembly by whispering to one another, walking out, etc.

[Josh Martin]

13 hours ago, Guest Posta said:

When RONR says “avoid personalities”, does it mean in someway that we should leave our personalities at the door ?

Or does it mean deal with facts only, and not discuss nothing to do with the people conveying them?

Or does it mean both?

The latter - or at least, the latter is closer. There is no requirement that debate be limited solely to facts, but it is required that debate be limited to the merits of the proposal before the assembly, not to the person(s) making that proposal.

6 hours ago, Transpower said:

1.  Speakers (except for officers/committee chairs reporting) must address their remarks to the Chair, maintain a courteous tone, and avoid injecting a personal note into debate or attacking others’ motives.

I don’t see why officers or reporting committee chairs would be excluded from any of these requirements. Also, strictly speaking, I do not believe RONR requires members to maintain a courteous tone, although it seems like good advice. I believe RONR concerns itself only with the words used in debate, not the tone in which those words are spoken. Never mind. See Mr. Gerber’s correction below.

6 hours ago, Transpower said:

2.  Officers and committee chairs should come to the front left or front right to present their reports and address the body.

RONR has no such requirement, although an assembly is free to require this if it wishes.

 

Edited May 6, 2019 at 10:18 PM by Josh Martin

[Shmuel Gerber]

1 hour ago, Josh Martin said:

Also, strictly speaking, I do not believe RONR requires members to maintain a courteous tone, although it seems like good advice. I believe RONR concerns itself only with the words used in debate, not the tone in which those words are spoken.

Page 43, line 17.

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Shmuel Gerber said:

Page 43, line 17.

Thank you for the correction.