Administrative Bylaw Revisions

I propose that OWbN revise the Administrative bylaws using the text found at http://www.eotr.org/bylaws/adminbylaws.html.
Unless Council has a problem the discussion on this proposal will extended to two full weeks, ending on 8/12.

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Administrative Bylaws

1) Chronicles

a) What is a chronicle

i) A chronicle is a geographically localized body of players, including STs and a Council Member. The Council Member is assumed to represent the will of the chronicle to OWbN, however the Council Member is not assumed to have the ownership of the chronicle, which is assumed to belong to the body of players as a whole, including the STs and Council Member. Players may also be members of multiple chronicles.

b) Chronicle Boundaries and Control
i)
Chronicles have full control over the events inside of their boundaries. These boundaries are registered with the archivist, but should be well known to surrounding chronicles. Storytellers wishing to run scenes in another chronicles boundaries must first obtain permission from a Storyteller from that chronicle.

c) Plot

i)
Chronicles may not direct STs or players that events in other chronicles did not happen in their local chronicle continuity. Events in OWbN chronicles are part of the OWbN continuity, and must be accepted as valid IC events for all OWbN, unless redlined by the originating STs or Council. Chronicles may, however, lessen or change any effects that outside events might have on their local chronicle as long as these changes do not fundamentally alter or end the plot. This does not apply to OWBN Council approved plot, which must be run as passed.

d) Denying Entry

i) The storytellers of individual chronicles have the right to ban any player or character from their game if s/he would upset game balance or plot. Alternatively storytellers may ask a player to temporarily alter their sheet or item cards to be allowed entry into the chronicle. If a player accepts the changes to gain entry then they must follow Character Regulations Bylaw Fourteen. Any player or character that is banned from a chronicle must be announced on the OWBN-ST and OWBN-Council lists, included in the chronicle report, and the player should be notified if possible.

e) House Rules

i) Storytellers have the right to craft a set of house rules for their chronicle; these rules should primarily clarify or re-interpret the core rules books of their genre. House rules may also be defined to set the style of play within the game. The core rules books will be used, except when specifically disallowed by these bylaws.

ii) House rules may not contradict the OWBN specific rules as specified in the bylaws or genre packets. House rules may address areas that are not covered in either of these places.
iii) House rules must be easily accessible. They should be placed on the web and/or at the check-in desk of games.

f) Following the Bylaws

i) All members of OWBN are responsible for adhering to the OWBN Bylaws, Genre Guidelines, Rules and Regulations. However when related to chronicles, the Storytellers and Council Members will be responsible for the actions of their Chronicles.
ii) For a bylaw, genre document, rule and regulation to be binding, it must be on the OWBN website. The HC and/or AHC is responsible for ensuring all applicable documents are on the OWBN website.

g) Discipline

i) Chronicle discipline is the province of the Chronicle Staff, however disciplinary actions passed by Council must be enforced by the Chronicle Staff.
ii) Every chronicle must have a written disciplinary policy. These policies must be made available either on the chronicles' website or at the check-in desk.
iii) Reporting
i. The chronicle may submit any chronicle disciplinary actions to the elected Archivist via their bi-monthly chronicle report, who then will compile and maintain a record of all members given chronicle disciplinary actions. This list will be available to any ST, Council Member, or Coordinator within OWBN. They may ask the Archivist for the list of players, or may inquire after a particular member in that regard.
ii. A Storyteller from the chronicle that submitted the disciplinary action may have said action removed from the Archivist's list.

h) Withdrawal

i) A chronicle may always withdraw from OWBN.

ii) When a chronicles is expelled or withdraws from OWBN, players from that chronicle may transfer their characters to other active chronicles, if their transfer is accepted by another active chronicle.

2) Council

a) The Council of One World by Night is considered the governing body of the network and shall consist of:

i) One (1) voting representative from each full member chronicle
ii) The Head Coordinator and Assistant Head Coordinators who shall hold one (1) vote each. They may not hold any other votes on the Council, such as being the Council representative of a chronicle.
iii) Brazil by Night (BBN) shall be treated as an entity having a total of four (4) votes on the Council. They may determine the casting of those votes however they see fit.

b) All administrative and genre Coordinators may be present on the Council list and at Council meetings, should they occur, in order to provide information and input to the Council. They are considered to be non-voting members, unless otherwise stated in the Coordinator bylaws.

3) Proposals & Voting Procedures

a) Proposals

i) Submission
(1) Only voting members may submit proposals to the Council unless otherwise noted in subsequent bylaws.
(2) Include in the subject line of the email [PROPOSAL] and a short description of the proposal.
(3) The email must include the name of the person making the proposal, the chronicle name, chronicle location and an e-mail address where an Assistant Head Coordinator may contact that person for additional information. The message body must contain the detailed proposal and how it should be integrated into existing bylaws, if passed.
ii) Discussion
(1) Discussion on said [PROPOSAL] shall begin immediately and the proposal shall be posted on the voting page for record keeping.
(2) To suggest a formal change to the proposal, in the subject of the message include [AMENDMENT] and in the body of the message include the description of what is suggested.
(3) The original author of the [PROPOSAL] may accept or reject at their own discretion, if a change is accepted it should be sent to an Assistant Head Coordinator to update the [PROPOSAL] on the website.
iii) Second to the Proposal
(1) A [PROPOSAL] may not be seconded until it has been in discussion for at least one (1) week.
(2) A Council member, the HC, or an AHC must second the proposal before it can proceed to a vote.
(a) To second a proposal, post with "[SECOND] [PROPOSAL] Proposal name" in the Subject line of the message, where "Proposal name" is the title of the draft proposal. In the body of the message, include the statement, "I second this proposal."
(b) A proposal that fails to gain a second within one week of the end of the discussion period is considered to have failed and is removed from the voting system.

b) Voting

i) Formatting
(1) A call for voting is posted to the Council with the changes and options to the proposal included.
(2) All options presented in the proposal shall be made available to the Council at time of voting.
(3) All votes must include "Abstain" and an option to reject the proposal.
(4) If it is possible for more than one option to be acceptable this must be stated in the proposal.
(5) Council members are required to use the online Vote Management System found at http://www.OWbN.org when casting votes.
(6) "While it is the duty of every member who has an opinion on the question to express it by his vote, yet he cannot be compelled to do so. He may prefer to abstain from voting, though he knows the effect is the same as if he voted on the prevailing side." Robertbridge mediaadidas