By Laws Rough Draft

[Swordbrother Nova]

I got some by laws here, keep in mind, this is a rough draft, we still get to tailor it to our realm's needs.

Article 1: Name
The name of this organization shall be Maethodoron, henceforth referred to by name.
Article 2: Objectives
2.1. To stimulate greater public interest in and understanding of the game of Dagorhir.
2.2. To disseminate educational information to the public about the purpose and creative ideas behind the organization and realm.
2.3. To emulate battles and ideas set forth by the rules of Dagorhir.
Article 3: Recognition
3.1. Maethodoron shall adhere to all state, local and federal regulations under the laws set forth by the government of Pennsylvania, the county with which they reside in, any and all IUP rules and regulations that are required by the college, in addition any federal government rules or regulations.
Article 4: Membership
4.1. Membership in Maethodoron shall be open to all individuals and institutions that support the objectives of the realm.
4.2. Only a Member shall have the privilege and responsibility of holding office, of nominating and electing the Officers of the organization.
4.3. Members in Maethodoron shall affirm and adhere to the Code of Ethical Guidelines established in the Bylaws of the organization. (I will leave this up to all of you to decide what you want these to be, IE the do’s and don’ts of the realm.)
4.3.1. A Member whose acts are contrary to the objectives of the Maethodoron or the Code of Ethical Guidelines established in the Bylaws of Maethodoron may be expelled or excluded from Membership.
4.3.2. This may take place only after the Member has been given 15 days prior notice of the pending action together with the reasons and has been given the opportunity to be heard, orally or in writing, by the Council at least five days before the effective date of expulsion.
A unanimous vote must be received by the council to expel a person from the realm.
A majority vote to suspend a person.



Article 5: Officers and Their Duties
5.1. The Officers of the Maethodoron shall be:
5.1.1. President
5.1.1.1. Will work with the realm leaders, and unit leaders to insure that all Dagorhir rules are observed at all events. (IE National War Council at Ragnarock and inter realm units)
5.1.1.2. Will select heralds for said events if the hosting unit has not already done so or in case of problems. In this case, the President has the final veto right on heralds.
5.1.1.3. Shall oversee the progress of all Officers and issue any web site changes to the Webmaster should any need to be made.
5.1.1.4. Will ‘Chair” and oversee the running and rulings of the Council. He/she is responsible for calling a vote once the council discussion is complete and will tally the votes. The President may also call for a speaking limit on the representatives of the Council.
5.1.1.5. Will be responsible for the voting on the Council and must be able to tally votes accordingly.
5.1.1.6. Will be a contact person for new units as well as other realms.
5.1.1.7. Will perform all other duties usually associated with this office.
5.1.2. Vice President
5.1.2.1. Will fulfill any obligation that the President is unable to accomplish or any task that the President delegates.
5.1.2.2. The office will be able to assume control of all Presidential powers & responsibilities at a national event should the President not be able to attend.
5.1.2.3. Will work with Dagorhir Realms and National Dagorhir Events concerning Dagorhir Rules. (IE National War Council)
5.1.3. Treasurer
5.1.3.1. Accurately records all financial records for the Realm.
5.1.3.2. Collect all receipts from the persons and events.
5.1.3.3. File any appropriate tax information as needed.
5.1.3.4. Prepare a quarterly financial report for public release.
5.1.3.5. Prepare & publish an annual financial report for the public release.
5.1.3.6. Establish and maintain a corporate checking account (Need the articles of incorporation for this)
5.1.3.7. Review and remit payment for debts accrued by the Realm.

5.1.4. Secretary
5.1.4.1. Will be responsible for keeping the minutes of the Council meetings and all paperwork that needs to be filed.
5.1.4.2. Will be responsible for filing of needed paperwork as well as post the Council minutes..
5.1.4.3. Will be responsible for insuring the corporate paperwork is filed on a timely basis. The secretary may delegate this task as needed.
Article 6: Removal of an individual from Office
6.1. A person may hold a position on the Council only as long as the individual can maintain the job.
6.1.1. If the Council feels that a person is not doing the job according to the criteria set by the Council, then said person might be removed from office by having a vote of no confidence issued by the Council.
6.1.2. The vote will carry only a simple majority of the Council quorum voting yes to the removal of the person.
6.2. Maethodoron Council will do its best to support and represent the Members and Officers Maethodoron.
Article 7: Meetings
7.1. The Council shall hold a Meeting no less than once a month.
7.2 Emergency Meetings may be held as needed and/or online as needed.
7.3. Robert's Rules of Order (revised) shall govern the proceedings of meetings of the Council insofar as such rules are not inconsistent or in conflict with the Bylaws, or with provisions of the law.

Article 8: Amendments
8.1. Any that may arise can be reported to the realm heads and then the Council may take action. Any individual that wishes to be heard may meet with the President and ask to be heard at the council on any topic he/she wishes.
Article 9: Units
9.1. To be considered a unit there must be five members.
9.2. Units must have a defined leader.
9.3. Units must have a standard (IE Flag or Banner)
9.4 Units are encouraged to define themselves, Celts, Romans, Orders or Households. (See the Aratri web site for more information about this www.dagorhir.com this is a prime example of units.)

[Izad]

i think those sound very good so far. I cant wait for more to come.

[Vors Nymphkilla]

i think its a good start too. we need to start drafting up some ideas for the "house rules" so we can incorporate those in. i personally think the red and archery safety courses should be explicitly required by the bylaws so no one can skirt out of it. also, as was brought up on another board, we need something that specifically addresses how we handle anyone who causes too many injuries (for whatever reason). i can't think of anyone this applies to at the moment, but just so we have plans set up if it ever comes up

[Morguinness]

Nov 4, 2009 23:43:46 GMT -5 Swordbrother Nova said:

Article 4: Membership
4.1. Membership in Maethodoron shall be open to all individuals and institutions that support the objectives of the realm.
4.2. Only a Member shall have the privilege and responsibility of holding office, of nominating and electing the Officers of the organization.

I think that we should remove the word "institutions" from 4.1, and I feel this way because according to 4.2 a member, ("institution") can hold office and vote.

An "institution" is a rather broadly defined term and can possibly apply to just about any organization. Therefore, it is possible, however unlikely, that an organization outside of the scope and purpose of Maeth could hold office and cast a vote in an election. This scenario is possible under these bylaws, and has the potential to create big problems inside the realm. so, lets just change it to say that only "individuals" can hold office and cast votes.

[Swordbrother Nova]

I can agree to that. I posted the bylaws the we voted on, but I think that kind of thing can be quickly voted for right here.

I say remove it. Other opinions?

[Morguinness]

Also, could we clearly define what "jury duty" is because that's a new one on me. and, what it means to behave in a manner unbecomming of a member of Maethodoron. unless specifically defined the last one could mean just about anything. not using proper grammar when speaking could be considered "unbecomming behavior" if someone wants to take it that far, and I don't want to see someone pulling a month of herald duty because they said "good" when they should have used "well".

[Vors Nymphkilla]

"jury duty" only comes up when there is a chance that a member will be punished for something or for removing an admin. it is comprised of the admin and 2 vice admins (whoever they are at the time) and a random selection of 3 realm members.

Behavior unbecoming of a member encompasses breaking any local, state, or federal laws, doing something that makes others think badly of the realm or dagorhir as a whole, etc. basically if will piss alot of people off, or if law enforcement must get involved, it probly shouldnt be done. this list includes (but is not limited to) physical altercations (not dag fighting), stealing, terroristic threats, etc.

[Swordbrother Nova]

'Jury duty' is being a member of the counsel when we need one, you'd get out of it because your so far away, Morguinness..
We decided to keep the wording as unbecoming because then it is vague. We didn't want to have to write no fighting, no stealing, no this, no that, because then if we miss something there's nothing we can do. Besides I don't want to actually have to build a counsel just because someone used poor grammar, that would be too much work.

[Vors Nymphkilla]

hopefully we wont have to build a counsel at all

[Swordbrother Nova]

JA!

[Morguinness]

ok, fair enough. I just expect to get a few of those "umbecomming behavior" citations simply by being myself. so, i guess i'll just have to appologize in advance....

or, suggest a new by law- why don't we offer "indulgences" for various infractions? it keeps with the "Medieval" theme, and it was good enough for the Catholic Church until the Reformation, so why shouldn't it be good enough for us?
if i ever get to an event where i can drink, i'm going to need like alot of those things.

[Vors Nymphkilla]

drunken antics typically dont fall under "unbecoming behavior" as so many people are drunk doing dumb shit. its the stuff that actually warrants punishment that will recieve it

[Haze]

The bylaws were voted in, I don't think there is much chance of changing anything now, nor is it fair.

[Mercaine]

Yeah, with the bylaws voted in the only way would be to ammend... and really... eh who wants to go through that.

However, did we do away with the jury duty thing? Because as I've posted on another topic now, and mentioned several times. A realm cannot make any member do anything. They can only suggest or ask that a member attend something, or do a specific task.
Realms can, however, make members not do things, like camp with them, formally attend practices, fight during a battle or post in message boards.

As a realm Maeth could never actually make someone do camp duties, nor could you make someone attend a council meeting/meeting of any kind or a practice. Attendance at practices is usually only taken (in some realms) to decide if a member is "active" enough. However, this was mainly done in the days of old when online groups and message boards were not popular and members couldn't be involved unless they were there in person.

It was a good idea, just the wording needs changed.

Oh and this thread should probably be stickied...