Guest Andy Sparks Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:44 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:44 PM Our bylaw under Discipline reads"Any person having a complaint of alleged improper conduct of another may report the same , in writing , to any Officer or Member of the Board of Governors .This is word per word of the first sentence , my question is does "may report the same , in writing , mean it must be in writing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:48 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:48 PM Our bylaw under Discipline reads"Any person having a complaint of alleged improper conduct of another may report the same , in writing , to any Officer or Member of the Board of Governors .This is word per word of the first sentence , my question is does "may report the same , in writing , mean it must be in writing ?Bylaws can only be properly interpreted in their entirety, something that's beyond the scope of this forum.That said, "may" is a pretty weak term. It doesn't mean "must" and it doesn't mean "shall" (which means "must"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Elsman Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:49 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 07:49 PM Our bylaw under Discipline reads"Any person having a complaint of alleged improper conduct of another may report the same , in writing , to any Officer or Member of the Board of Governors .This is word per word of the first sentence , my question is does "may report the same , in writing , mean it must be in writing ?The interpretation of a particular organization's bylaws falls outside the scope of this forum, I'm afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:09 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:09 PM I think the trickier part of this bylaw is those danged commas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:14 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:14 PM I think the trickier part of this bylaw is those danged commas.A good point. The "may" seems to refer to the reporting but the reporting would (must? shall?) be in writing.It's a good thing we don't try (pretend?) to interpret bylaws on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:16 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:16 PM A good point. The "may" seems to refer to the reporting but the reporting would (must? shall?) be in writing.It's a good thing we don't try (pretend?) to interpret bylaws on this forum.Grammatical structure, on the other hand, seems TWO be okay. <wink wink> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:42 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:42 PM Bylaws can only be properly interpreted in their entirety, something that's beyond the scope of this forum.That said, "may" is a pretty weak term. It doesn't mean "must" and it doesn't mean "shall" (which means "must").Especially since it "may" have nothing to do with the in writing part, which is his original question....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmtcastle Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:47 PM Report Share Posted November 2, 2010 at 08:47 PM I think the trickier part of this bylaw is those danged commas.A good point. The "may" seems to refer to the reporting but the reporting would (must? shall?) be in writing.Especially since it "may" have nothing to do with the in writing part, which is his original question.......Which is what Mr. Foulkes pointed out at 4:09 and I acknowledged at 4:14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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