ASR Player's Manual Appendix T: ASR Round Table Description
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Name, Nature and Purpose
Name
This body shall be called, "The alt.starfleet.rpg Round Table", or, "The ASR Round Table", or "RT".
Nature
The ASR Round Table shall be a deliberative body, governed by standard parliamentary practices, as specified in this document and adapted from Robert's Rules of Order. It is an autonomous group of people meeting to determine, in full and free discussion, courses of action to be taken in the name of the entire group.
Purpose
The business and powers of the ASR Round Table shall consist of: selecting or removing the chief officer of ASR (i.e., the player of the Commander-in-Chief, Starfleet); of ratifying the appointment of the player of the Chief of Starfleet Operations, and of its own Secretary; of debating and voting on proposals for changes in the rules and policies of ASR; and of expressing the sentiments of ASR as a group.
Membership
Status
ASR RP Unit COs
Every Commanding Officer of a Role Playing Unit in ASR shall be eligible to sit as a member of the ASR Round Table. A Role Playing Unit shall be defined, for the purposes of the Round Table, as a group of players, accountable by and to a Commanding Officer and an Executive Officer, and accepted as a constituent Unit in one of the ASR Fleets, or as an irregular Unit at the discretion of the Flag Council. A Unit must have enjoyed such status for at least one month before the start of a Round Table session in order for its representative to sit as a member in that session.
Flag Officers
The players of all the administrative characters of the Flag Council shall sit as members of the ASR Round Table on that basis, regardless of whether they also serve as Commanding Officers of RP Units.
Absence and Substitution
Absence
Eligible members of the Round Table are expected to answer the Roll Call by informing the Secretary either of their intent to attend, or of their absence. Members who find they will no longer be able to participate at some time after the session begins are requested to so inform the Secretary at their earliest convenience. This is a courtesy to the Secretary and to the Round Table.
Substitution
Should the Commanding Officer of an RP Unit be seated in the capacity of a Flag officer, or decline to be seated, the duty of representing the Unit will fall in turn to the Executive Officer, and then to the Unit's members (including the Game Master, if present) in order of seniority (determined by their time as members of ASR). If no member of a Unit is eligible or willing to represent the Unit at the ASR Round Table, the Chair has the right to assign a representative to the Unit, or to leave that seat vacant, for the duration of the current session. If absence occurs after the opening of a session, no substitution takes place.
Officers of the Round Table and elected officers of ASR
Roles and duties
Chair
The Chair of the ASR Round Table shall be held by the chief officer of ASR, the player of the Commander-In-Chief, Star Fleet, or the person acting in that capacity. The duties of the Chair as such shall consist of presiding over the ASR Round Table while in session and shall not transfer to a newly elected Commander-In-Chief, Star Fleet until adjournment of the ASR Round Table session.
For issues the Chair cannot preside over him- or herself, the office can be passed on. In that case, it should be taken on by the (Acting) CSFO, or, if that player is not available, by a member of the Flag Council of the Chair's choosing. Once the issue has been resolved, the Chair goes back to the CINCSF.
Secretary
The calling and tallying of the Roll, the presentation of the Agenda, the tabulation of votes on the items of the Agenda, and the reporting of the conduct of the Flag Council and the proceedings of the Round Table shall be the duties of a Secretary of the ASR Round Table, chosen as such from among the members.
Limitations
Chair
The Chair shall not participate in discussion of Proposals. Neither shall the Chair vote on motions or on Proposals, except to break ties, in which case the Chair must do so.
Secretary
The fact of being Round Table Secretary does not affect in any way that player's original status as the representative of a Role Playing Unit or as an observer. A RT member who is Secretary may discuss and vote on Proposals and Motions without prejudice. An RT observer who is Secretary may not discuss or vote on Proposals and Motions.
Selection
CINCSF
The player of CINCSF, and thus the Chair of RT, is chosen, by election, by the ASR Round Table. If a vacancy occurs, the CSFO will hold the position in an acting capacity until such an election can take place. If the CSFO is not available for this, the Flag Council will determine an Acting CINCSF until the issue can be thus resolved.
The election shall consist of motions to nominate candidates, which must be seconded, followed by a period of discussion, followed by a vote. If no candidate receives at least one half of the votes cast, plus one, not counting abstentions, in the first round of voting, further rounds shall be held until such majority is achieved.
CSFO
When a vacancy exists in the office of CSFO, CINCSF shall nominate a candidate for that office on an acting basis, and the next regular session of the Round Table shall vote to ratify said candidate. If the candidate fails to receive a number of votes equal to at least one half of the total cast, plus one, not counting abstentions, the Chair must nominate a new candidate at once and repeat the procedure until a candidate is ratified.
Upon the election of a new person to the office of CINCSF, the term of the sitting CSFO shall end.
Secretary
The procedure for selecting a Secretary for the RT is the same as for the CSFO (see 3.C.2., above).
Removal
CINCSF
If a motion of No Confidence is made and seconded, the office of the Chair is handed on as per 3.A.1 above, and the new Chair shall preside until such motion is defeated or fails, or a new CINCSF is elected. If such a motion receives a number of votes equal to at least half of the members seated in the present session, plus one, the CINCSF is removed, and an election for a successor held immediately, as per 3.A., above.
CSFO
The CSFO may be removed by a vote of No Confidence from the Round Table, as per the rules for removal of the Chair (see 3.D.1, above).
Secretary
The Round Table Secretary may be removed only by a vote of No Confidence in the Round Table, as per the rules for removal of the Chair (see 3.D.1., above).
Sessions, Regular and Special
Regular Sessions
Procedure for Convening
A Regular Session of the ASR Round Table shall be convened when the Secretary so informs all those eligible to participate. The Secretary is required, no later than two weeks before the first day of any session, to Call the Roll, that is, to inform all eligible members that they are requested to take part, and to receive their affirmations of intent or inability to participate in the upcoming session. So long as at least one half, plus one, of the eligible members reply, affirming their intention to participate, a quorum is reached, and the session is held. If no quorum is reached, the session is canceled.
Frequency and Length
A Regular Session shall be convened on the first day of April and of October of every year. It shall be adjourned no later than the end of the last day of the month in which it was convened, unless a motion for extension has been made and passed.
Special Sessions
Means of Convening
A Special Session shall be convened when the Secretary receives statements so demanding from a number of eligible members equal to at least one half of the total, plus one; this shall stand in place of the Roll Call affirmations of those members. The Secretary then conducts a normal Roll Call and determination of quorum as in the case of Regular Sessions (see 4.A.1., above)
Frequency and Length
Any number of Special Sessions may be convened in a year, so long as at least one month has passed between the adjournment of the last session and the proposed convening of a new Special Session. No Special Session may continue past the last day of the month in which it was convened.
Rules of Order
Order of Business
- 1. Roll Call and Determination of Quorum
- 2. Presentation of Agenda
- 3. Reports of Officers
- 4. Selection or Removal of Officers
- 5. Old Business
- 6. New Business
- 7. Adjournment
Motions
Proposals (Main Motions)
Proposals are items on the Agenda that have been submitted to the Secretary for consideration as business of the Round Table. They are presented to the Round Table by the Secretary in the order they were received, and treated as Old or New Business, as appropriate.
A proposal is numbered in the format PYY.SS.NNV. The elements of this number scheme are defined as: P stands for proposal, YY is the last two digits of the year in which the RT occurs, SS is the session number in sequential order for the RT sessions that year beginning with 01, NN is the proposal number (01, 02, etc.), and V, as applicable, is a letter beginning at A for an amended version of a proposal. There is no version letter on a first draft of a proposal.
So, the third procedure considered at the first RT of 2005 would be numbered P05.01.03. Were this procedure to be amended during the RT, the first amendment to the procedure would be P05.01.03A.
Procedural Motions
- Point of Order- Any member may at any time draw the attention of the Chair to a perceived violation of the Rules of the Round Table. The format for Point of Order is
- Subj: Point of Order
- Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following statement of (title of delegate): (quote of material) *and/or* the following point of the Rules: (quote of rule, followed by question), and request a ruling.
- Point of Information- Any member may at any time ask a question regarding the rules and their interpretation, and other matters connected to the subject at hand. The format for Point of Information is as follows:
- Subj: Point of Information
- Text: I draw the attention of the Chair to the following point (quote) and would like to ask the following question: (question).
- Motions to Alter Time Limits for Discussion and for Voting- The initial time limits for discussion of and voting on Proposals are 48 hours each. These limits may be extended, or, in the case of discussion, abbreviated, by a motion, followed by a second, so requesting, at the discretion of the Chair, if no objection is made within twenty-four hours of the second. The format for such motions is as follows:
- Subj: Motion to Alter Time Limit for Discussion *or* Voting
- Text: I move *or* second the current period be extended by 48 hours *or* closed immediately.
- Motions to Postpone Consideration or to Send to Committee- Discussion of a Proposal is usually followed by a vote. If, however, a motion to postpone consideration or to send to committee is made and seconded, and no objection is presented within twenty-four hours, the Chair may delete the Proposal from the agenda of the current session, and place it on the agenda of the next session as Old Business, provided a Proposal to do so is submitted to the Secretary before the start of said session.
- Motion to Adjourn- When all items of business on the Agenda of the Round Table have been disposed of, any member may make a motion to Adjourn; if seconded, and if there are no objections presented within twenty-four hours, the Chair must declare the session to be adjourned. The Chair must also declare the session to be adjourned by the last day of the month in which it was opened, unless a motion for extension has been passed (see 4.B.2.f), or when any such period of extension is over.
- Motion to Extend the Session- If there is business left on the Agenda of the Round Table which cannot be concluded within a regular session, any member may make a motion to Extend the Session. If seconded, the Round Table votes on the issue, and if the motion passes, the session is extended accordingly. There must not be more than one extension, and an extension must not last longer than 14 days.
Rules of Discussion
Discussion shall be limited to debate of the merits of a Proposal, and shall not be allowed to digress into irrelevant or tangential issues. The officers of the Round Table shall be addressed and referred to by the names of their offices, Flag officers by their Flag titles, members of the Round Table by their RP Unit, and candidates for office by their full (given and sur)names.
Violation of these rules can be raised as a Point of Order or of Information, and, as with all such Points, is ruled upon at the sole discretion of the Chair, including sanctions ranging from reprimand, to censure, and expulsion from the current session of the Round Table.
Rules of Voting
Format of Ballots
Members shall vote on Proposals and Motions in the ASR Round Table by sending copies of an e-mail message to all members of the Round Table. If a member will be temporarily absent during the voting period, such member may submit one or more votes to the Secretary before the beginning of the voting period; such votes will be reported as per 5.D.3., below. All voting messages must strictly observe the following format, or be considered Null and Void at the discretion of the Secretary:
- Subj: RT Vote / Item(s) of business: Proposal(s) or Motion
- Text. Yea (or Yes) *or* Nay (or No) *or* Abstain
[for each item as designated by the Secretary if more than one]
Voting Majorities
A Proposal shall pass when it receives a number of Yea votes greater than the number of Nay votes cast against it.
Report of Voting by the Secretary
The Secretary, whenever the votes received are sufficient to decide an outcome, or when the time period for voting has passed, shall tabulate and present a list of the votes cast.
Announcement of Result by the Chair
Upon receipt of the Secretary's report as per 5.D.3., above, the Chair announces the passage, defeat, or failure of the Proposal or Motion.
Document History:
Version Date Author/Adaptor - Changes
- 1.0 October 1996 Andrea Schalk, Rosina Bignall, et al
- Created and distributed document (P96.02.01B)
- 1.1 October 1997 Andrea Schalk
- changed wording of rules to clarify succession to the chair (P97.02.01)
- 1.2 October 2001 Chris Mayberry
- moved officer reports before elections (RT 10-01-2)
- 1.3 April 2005
- changed wording of several sections to reflect passed motions of April 2005 RT (SD 170501)
- 1.4 April 2007
- changed wording regarding RT Secretary's eligibility to reflect the passed motion of April 2007 RT (SD 190501)
- 1.5 October 2013
- changed wording regarding those able to be elected as standing RT Secretary to reflect the passed motion of October 2013 RT (P13.02.05)
