Agenda for Noreascon 4

Including Business Passed On from Torcon 3

Podium Staff:

Chair: Donald E Eastlake III

Secretary in Memoriam: George Flynn

Secretary: Patrick McMurray

Deputy Chair: Tim Illingworth:

Timekeeper: Alexis Layton

1. Committee Reports

Committee reports may include motions. Motions made by committees consisting of more than one person need not be seconded.

1.1. Mark Protection Committee (Including Nominations for MPC)

The Mark Protection Committee will meet at a time to be announced, probably on Thursday evening of the convention. A formal report is unlikely to be available until the Saturday Business Meeting at the earliest.

Nominations for the WSFS Mark Protection Committee are in order at the Preliminary Business Meeting. Nominees must accept nomination and indicate their current residence zone within one hour of the end of the Preliminary Business Meeting.

The members whose terms of office expire at this Worldcon are: Ben Yalow (East), Kevin Standlee (West), Tim Illingworth (RotW). Due to zone residency restrictions, we can elect at most two people from the Western zone, none from the Central zone, two people from the Eastern zone, and 3 people from the Rest of the World. Write-in votes are allowed, but write-in candidates must submit their consent to election by the close of balloting. (See the head table staff for a nomination acceptance form.)

1.2. Nitpicking & Flyspecking Committee

            Attached

1.3. Worldcon Runners' Guide Editorial Committee

1.4. Hugo Eligibility Rest of the World (HEROW) Committee

            Attached

1.5. Formalization of Long List Entries (FOLLE) Committee

2. Worldcon Reports

Currency conversion rates as of 31 August 2004

	CAD	USD	GBP	AUD	EUR	JPY
CAD	—	0.76	0.42	1.08	0.91	83.33
USD	1.32	—	0.56	1.43	1.20	110.03
GBP	2.36	1.79	—	2.57	1.49	197.36
AUD	0.92	0.70	0.39	—	0.84	76.94
EUR	1.59	0.83	0.67	1.72	—	132.49
100 JPY	1.20	0.91	0.51	1.30	0.75	—

2.1 Past Worldcons

2.1.1. ConAdian (1994)

            Attached

2.1.2. L.A.con III (1996)

            Final report attached

2.1.3. LoneStarCon 2 (1997)

            Final report attached

2.1.4. Aussiecon Three (1999)

            Attached

2.1.5. Chicon 2000

            Final report attached

2.1.6. The Millennium Philcon (2001)

2.1.7. ConJosé (2002)

            Attached (along with restatement of 2003 report.)

2.1.8 Torcon 3

            A report is attached, but financial statements have not been provided.

2.2. Seated Worldcons & NASFiC

2.2.1. Noreascon 4 (2004)

            Attached

2.2.2. Interaction (2005)

            Attached

2.2.3 L.A.con IV

            Attached

2.2.4 CascadiaCon

            Attached

3. Business Passed On from Torcon 3

The following Constitutional Amendment was approved at Torcon 3 and passed on to Noreascon 4 for ratification. If ratified, it will become part of the Constitution at the conclusion of Noreascon 4.

3.1 Short Title: Extended Distribution

Debate Time: 4 Minutes

Moved, to amend Section 3.7.2 of the WSFS Constitution to require committees to inform members of eligibility extensions by adding “ and any applicable extensions of eligibility under Sections 3.2.3 or 3.4” at the end.

3.7.2:The Committee shall include with each nomination ballot a copy of Article 3 of the WSFS Constitution and any applicable extensions of eligibility under Sections 3.2.3 or 3.4.

3.2 Short Title: Moving Works

Debate Time: 10 Minutes

Moved, to amend Section 3.8.2 of the WSFS Constitution to restrict the movement of nominees between categories to specific works and to exclude the aggregation of nominations for people by striking out the second occurrence of “nominees” and inserting “works”, as shown:

3.8.2: The Worldcon Committee shall determine the eligibility of nominees and assignment to the proper category of nominees works nominated in more than one category.

3.3 Short Title: Default Rates

Debate Time: 4 Minutes

Moved, to amend Section 4.8.3 of the WSFS Constitution to make general the default supporting membership rate for all site selection elections conducted under WSFS sanction by inserting a new sentence at the end, as follows:

4.8.3:   The proposed NASFiC supporting membership rate can be set by unanimous agreement of the administering Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the default fee shall be the median (middle value) of the US dollar fees used in the previous three (3) Worldcon site selections.

3.4 Short Title: Tied Races

Debate Time: 8 Minutes

Moved, to amend Section 4.5 and Section 2.6 of the WSFS Constitution to explicitly provide for procedures in case of a tied site selection election, as follows:

1. In Section 4.5.5, insert “or if two or more bids are tied for first place at the end of tallying,” after “If 'None of the Above' wins,”

4.5.5:   If "None of the Above" wins, or if two or more bids are tied for first place at the end of tallying, the duty of site selection shall devolve on the Business Meeting of the current Worldcon.  If the Business Meeting is unable to decide by the end of the Worldcon, the Committee for the following Worldcon shall make the selection without undue delay.

2. In Section 4.5.6, insert “following a win by ‘None of the Above’” after “Worldcon Committee”.

4.5.6:   Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a win by ‘None of the Above’, they are not restricted by exclusion zone or other qualifications.

3. Insert new section 4.5.7: “Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a tie in tallying, they must select one of the tied bids.”

4.5.7:   Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee following a tie in tallying, they must select one of the tied bids.

4. Insert a new sentence at the end of Section 2.6, as follows:

Section 2.6: Incapacity of Committees.  With sites being selected three (3) years in advance, there are at least three selected current or future Worldcon Committees at all times.  If one of these should be unable to perform its duties, the other selected current or future Worldcon Committee whose site is closer to the site of the one unable to perform its duties shall determine what action to take, by consulting the Business Meeting or by mail poll of WSFS if there is sufficient time, or by decision of the Committee if there is not sufficient time. Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee pursuant to this section, they are not restricted by exclusion zone or other qualifications.

3.5 Short Title: Back to the Future

Debate Time: 20 Minutes

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution at Subsection 4.1.1 by striking and inserting text as follows:

WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held three (3) two (2) years from the date of the current Worldcon.

Provided that there shall be no Worldcon site selection election at the 2005 Worldcon, Interaction; and that the 2006 Worldcon, L.A.con IV, shall select the site of the 2008 Worldcon. Provided further that Interaction members will be entitled to vote in the 2008 Worldcon site selection, whether or not they are members of L.A.con IV, to prevent the disenfranchisement of a group of voters. Persons may cast only a single vote in the 2008 site selection.

4. New Business

4.1. Resolutions

Items under this heading may be voted upon and final action taken by the Preliminary Business Meeting.

 

4.1.1a Short Title: This Year's Model

Moved, To extend eligibility for all works that are allowed by a resolution under the following sections of the WSFS Constitution:

3.2.3: The Business Meeting may by a 3/4 vote provide that works originally published outside the United States of America and first published in the United States of America in the current year shall also be eligible for Hugo Awards given in the following year.

3.2.4: A work shall not be eligible if in a prior year it received sufficient nominations to appear on the final award ballot.

This motion extends eligibility for the Hugo Award; therefore, it requires a 3/4 vote.

Moved by: Herow Commitee

 

4.1.1b Short Title: Three Blind Mice Models…

If 4.1.1a passes, these three motions can be dropped. These motions extend eligibility for the Hugo Award; therefore, they require a 3/4 vote.

Hugo Eligibility Extension: The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction

Moved, To extend for one year the eligibility of The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, edited by Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, a critical guide to SF published in the UK in 2003 by Cambridge University Press, based on limited availability, as authorised by Section 3.4.

Hugo Eligibility Extension: The True Knowledge of Ken MacLeod

Moved, To extend for one year the eligibility of The True Knowledge of Ken MacLeod, edited by Andrew M. Butler and Farah Mendlesohn, a collection of original essays on the writings of Ken MacLeod published in the UK in 2003 by The Science Fiction Foundation, based on limited availability, as authorised by Section 3.4.

Hugo Eligibility Extension: Up Through an Empty House of Stars

Moved, To extend for one year the eligibility of Up Through an Empty House of Stars, by David Langford, a collection of SF reviews and articles published in the UK in 2003 by Cosmos Books, based on limited availability, as authorised by Section 3.4.

Moved by Henry Balen and Renee Sieber

4.1.2 Short Title: We Need Another HEROW

Moved, To continue the Hugo Eligibility for the Rest of the World (HEROW) Committee as previously charged, with a new Chair and members appointed by the Chair of the Business Meeting, and with the Chair of the HEROW Committee authorized to add additional members to the committee.

Moved by: Herow Commitee

4.2. Standing Rules Amendments

Items under this heading may be voted upon and final action taken by the Preliminary Business Meeting. Standing rules amendments take effect at the conclusion of the 2003 Business Meeting unless given earlier effect by specific provision and a two-thirds vote. In all amendments, new text is shown in underline type and stricken text is shown in strikethru type.

4.3. Constitutional Amendments

Items under this heading have not yet received first passage, and will become part of the constitution only if passed at Noreascon 4 and ratified at Interaction. The Preliminary Business Meeting may amend items under this heading, set debate time limits, refer them to committee, and take other action as permitted under the Standing Rules

4.3.1 Short Title: BDP: Movies and Television

Debate Time: 14 Minutes

Moved, To amend portions of section 3.3 of the WSFS Constitution by adding words to clarify the intention of WSFS regarding the Dramatic Presentation Categories, as follows:

3.3.6:   Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. Any theatrical feature or other production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year, with a complete running time of more than 90 minutes.

3.3.7:   Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. Any television program or other production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects that has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year, with a complete running time of 90 minutes or less.

Moved by: Craig Miller, Kevin Standlee, Seth Breidbart, Linda Deneroff, Grant Kruger, John Lorentz, Cheryl Morgan, Mark Olson, Ruth Sachter, Tom Veal, Dalroy Ward, Ben Yalow

Discussion: The legislative intent of this amendment is to make it clearer that WSFS intends for most theatrical motion pictures to be considered Long Form and most television shows (except extremely long multi-part episodes and mini-series) to be considered Short Form. The running time values have a 20% leeway (section 3.2.10), and past practice in other “borderline” cases has been to defer to the judgment of the voters. A theatrical motion picture that is somewhat less than 90 minutes long should be considered Long Form, particularly if most of its nominations are in that category. A long "two-part" television episode with a running time somewhat over 90 minutes should be considered Short Form, particularly if most of its nominations are in that category. In general, the closer a work is to the boundary, the more reasonable it is to relocate it.

4.3.2 Short Title: Keep Movin', Movin', Movin', Though They're Disapprovin'

Debate Time: 14 Minutes

Moved, to add two new subsections in section 3.8 of the WSFS Constitution to clarify the movement of nominations between categories, as follows:

3.8.x: The Committee shall move a nomination from another category to the work’s default category only if the member has made fewer than five (5) nominations in the default category.

3.8.y: If a work receives a nomination in its default category, and if the Committee relocates the work under its authority under subsection 3.2.9 or 3.2.10, the Committee shall count the nomination even if the member already has made five (5) nominations in the more-appropriate category.

Moved by: Craig Miller, Kevin Standlee, Seth Breidbart, Linda Deneroff, Grant Kruger, Evelyn Leeper, John Lorentz, Cheryl Morgan, Mark Olson, Ruth Sachter, Sharon Sbarsky, Tom Veal, Dalroy Ward, Ben Yalow

Discussion: “Default category,” means that the work is within the category length limit as defined in the various sections of the Constitution. For example, a 7,350-word written fiction work is by default a Short Story even though the Committee is authorized to move the work to Novelette. An 88-minute dramatic motion picture is by default a Short Form work even though the Committee is authorized to move the work to Long Form. The Constitution implicitly recognizes that members might nominate works in an alternative category, and authorizes the Committee to resolve such situations in 3.8.2. The Committee is also authorized under subsections 3.2.9-10 to move a work from this default category to the adjacent category if they believe the work is more appropriately placed in the adjacent category.

This amendment clarifies that the committee may move a member’s nomination made in the wrong category to the correct category, but only if there is room on that member’s ballot in the correct category. If the member has already made five nominations in the correct category, then the nomination made in the wrong category does not count at all.

In addition, this amendment provides that should a committee exercise its right under 3.2.9-10 and move a work to a category it deems more appropriate, it must transfer the nominations made for that work from the default category to the other category. The Committee must count those nominations even if it means a member’s ballot thus has (for example) six novels and four novellas, or six long form and four short form dramatic works. In no case would a member’s nomination be able to count twice for the same work, even under a transfer as described here, per existing 3.8.4.

4.3.3 Short Title: Counting Votes (and Breaking Ties)

Debate Time: 14 Minutes.

Moved, To amend various sections of the WSFS Constitution to add explicit tie-breaking procedures to WSFS elections, moving the general counting rules to Article 6 and detailing the specific differences per election type appropriately.

Moved by Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee.

1. Move most of existing Section 3.11.1 to follow existing Section 6.2, change ‘nominee’ to ‘candidate’ throughout, and add a new sentence to it as shown

3.11.1 Section 6.2A: Tallying of Votes. In each category, Votes shall first be tallied by the voter's first choices. If no majority is then obtained, the nominee candidate who places last in the initial tallying shall be eliminated and the ballots listing it as first choice shall be redistributed on the basis of those ballots' second choices. This process shall be repeated until a majority-vote winner is obtained. If two or more candidates are tied for elimination during this process, the candidate that received fewer first-place votes shall be eliminated. If they are still tied, all the tied candidates shall be eliminated together.

2. Move existing Section 3.11.3 to follow proposed Section 6.2A above, change “No Award” to “the run-off candidate” throughout, and insert text in it as shown.

3.11.3 Section 6.2B: Run-off. After a tentative winner is determined, then unless "No Award" the run-off candidate shall be the sole winner, the following additional test shall be made. If the number of ballots preferring "No Award" the run-off candidate to the tentative winner is greater than the number of ballots preferring the tentative winner to "No Award" the run-off candidate, then "No Award" the run-off candidate shall be declared the winner of the election.

3. In Section 3.11.1, substitute new wording for that moved to Section 6.2A.

3.11.1: In each category, tallying shall be as described in Section 6.2A. ‘No Award’ shall be treated as a nominee. If all remaining nominees are tied, no tie-breaking shall be done and the nominees shall be declared joint winners.

4. In Section 3.11.3 substitute new wording for the existing section.

3.11.3: “No Award" shall be the run-off candidate.

5. In Section 4.1.2, strike out “Section 3.11” and insert “Section 6.2A”.

4.1.2: Voting shall be by written ballot cast either by mail or at the current Worldcon with tallying as described in Section 3.116.2A.

6. In Section 4.5.3, strike out “the equivalent of ‘No Award’ with respect to Section 3.11.” and insert “the run-off candidate.”

4.5.3: "None of the Above" shall be treated as a bid for tallying, and shall be the equivalent of "No Award" with respect to Section 3.11 the run-off candidate.

7. In Section 4.5.4, strike out “normal preferential ballot procedures” and insert “Section 6.2A”.

4.5.4: All ballots shall be initially tallied by their first preferences, even if cast for a bid that the administering Committee has ruled ineligible. If no eligible bid achieves a majority on the first round of tallying, then on the second round all ballots for ineligible bids shall be redistributed to their first eligible choices, and tallying shall proceed according to normal preferential-ballot procedures Section 6.2A.

8. In Standing Rule 6.2, insert, “as defined in Section 6.2A of the WSFS Constitution. There shall be no run-off candidate” after “normal preferential ballot procedures”.

9. In Standing Rule 6.2, insert as the penultimate sentence: “In the event of a first-place tie for any seat, the tie shall be broken unless all tied candidates can be elected simultaneously.”

Rule 6.2: Elections. Elections to the Mark Protection Committee shall be a special order of business at a designated Main Business Meeting. Voting shall be by written preferential ballot with write-in votes allowed. Votes for write-in candidates who do not submit written consent to nomination and region of residence to the Presiding Officer before the close of balloting shall be ignored. The ballot shall list each nominee's name and region of residence. The first seat filled shall be by normal preferential ballot procedures as defined in Section 6.2A of the WSFS Constitution. There shall be no run-off candidate. After a seat is filled, votes for the elected member and for any nominee who is now ineligible due to regional residence restrictions shall be eliminated before conducting the next ballot. This procedure shall continue until all seats are filled. In the event of a first-place tie for any seat, the tie shall be broken unless all tied candidates can be elected simultaneously.Should there be any partial-term vacancies on the committee, the partial-term seat(s) shall be filled after the full-term seats have been filled.

Discussion:This provides explicit tie-breakers for elections, using the method specified in the parliamentary authority. As far as we know, they represent current practice.

There are actually three different tie-breaking rules for the three types of elections WSFS can administer (Hugo Awards, Site Selection and Mark Protection Committee). Hugos permit ties for 1st place, Site Selection does not, and the MPC permits them if there are enough seats left to fill. This moves the general rule into Article 6 from Article 3 and details the differences in each case.

The new sections are taken from the existing Section 3.11, and fresh text is underlined.

5. Site Selection Business

5.1. Report of the 2007 Site Selection & Presentation by Winners

5.2. Reports by seated Worldcons & NASFiC

5.2.2. Interaction (2005)

5.2.3. L.A.con IV (2006)

5.2.4 CascadiaCon (2005 NASFiC)

NASFiC's are not required to report, but space is provided should they choose to do so.

5.3. Presentation by future Worldcon bids

5.3.1. Presentation by bidders for 2008

5.3.2. Presentation by bidders for years after 2008

6. Adjournment

6.1. Adjournment Sine Die