[Shaphron]

As many of you know, there was a committee meeting last Monday. One of the ideas was to start this thread so that people could see the any decisions made by the committee in an official manner. I'm afraid the topic is locked so that only committee members can edit it so that this thread does not get caught up in big conversations. It is for announcements only.

Here are the abbreviated minutes from such meeting:

The Members:
Chair – Ian - present
Vice Chair – Tessa – present
Treasurer – Geoff – not present
Vice Treasurer – Giulia – present
Secretary – Michelle – present
Web Officer - (paz) Matt - not present
3 main topics discussed – money, the forum and organisation.

Money:
*We believe that in any way that the money is spent there is no way to make sure that no-one is missed out. The idea is that hopefully over the 3-4 events we plan on having a year everyone will be able to make at least one.
*By unanimous decision, we will not be putting any money to charity – all money will go on club activities or purchases.
*We are more than happy to offer a 50% ownership scheme for games – if you want to buy a game which will benefit the majority of people in the club, we are willing to pay 50% of the costs, granted that you bring it along regularly to the club. There are a couple of requirements for this: 1) 1 game per person, for now. 2) you have to be a regular club member (we have defined regular as attending 3 out of every 5 sessions).

Forum:
*there has been another moderator made – the secretary's responsibilities will now extend to moderating the forums, this will provide a second opinion where one is asked, and generally help out.
*We agreed that as a whole the forum is pretty much ok – it has only been very recent threads, normally to do with money and/or organisation of the club as a whole which have been “negative”.
*This thread should be started.

Organisation:
*All things to be organised will be done by “the committee” from now on – if you have any suggestions on how something should be dine, suggest it to your favourite/closest committee member. We will not condone personal attacks of any kind, whether on the forum, by personal messages or in person, especially not when resulting from a disagreement over how something “should” be organised.
*Nothing will be organised on the forums – suggestions can be made on the suggestions board, but actual decisions – including on who will be taking on any particular project – will be made on a monday night, in person, so everyone gets a say in it, not just forum regulars.
*There will be a minimum of 2 people involved in any one given project from now on – both to help spread the load and to help in the planning/ideas stage – it's always easier to come up with other ideas with help. Non-committee members are welcome to be part of this – but to save people from being approached personally, we still ask people to give suggestions to the committee for all projects – not to the people involved directly. This will (hopefully) save on mis-understandings.
*If you dislike any of the decisions the committee makes, re-elections will be held once a year, or when a committee member leaves / steps down.

[Shaphron]

General Meeting on Monday Minutes (sorry for the delay - this is literally the first time I've been on the computer since then!)

I will be summarising what we agreed on and what was discussed, not necersarily mentioning who did what, and not necersarily in the exact same order as it was said.

Etiquette & Decorum
Josh put forward rules that we should all discuss a topic, we will not move onto a topic until all have had their say - we put our hands up to indicate we wish to speak, and do not name call or interupt anyone.

This was mostly kept to, with some backsliding, but we managed generally to hear everyone's point.

Role of the Committee
Firstly, it has been said that the previous arguments/misunderstandings about the committee and their power was based off a misunderstanding on what happened in the committee meeting - summerised below. It was thought that the committee made a lot of decisions there which were not voted on by the club as a whole. When it was explained that the decisions which were made were because of personal attacks on people who were organising things for the club, and we were going to make sure that from now on that the committee organises everything, so there can be no personal attacks. It could well have been my bad that people mis-understood what was done, as I am the one who wrote it up...

The question was then put do we need a committee - but it was mostly agreed that we do need someone to be the clubs spokes person, someone to collect money, and someone to write down what happens in meetings like this. It was also agreed that the spokes person and financial person may need a back up, and that this is in fact what constitutes a "committee". The word "committee" was disputed by some people as being both elitist and separatist, but it was considered most expediant to just keep refering to them as a committee. Another point of having them as a committee is that the members of a committee may be removed

The role of the committee as a whole was decided to be to facilitate and organise both the discussions between the club, and to act upon what the club wishes to do - after haveing been duly voted on by the club as a whole. The committee will not be having any scheduled private meetings of itself. It was also suggested that in extraordinary situations - such as someone not paying for a few weeks in a row, or someone abuses a club privavlidge (such as games at 50% or free weeks) this may be cause for a separate committee meeting so personal issues are not bandied about the club as a whole. Due to this fact - not having regualr committee meetings, and the odd meeting therefore likely to have personal information in it, that having a committee meeting in fron of the whole club, as had been suggested, may not be the best idea.

The individual roles were described as below:
Chairman - Speaks for the club, makes decisions in an emergency (such as the venue being closed and locked when we arrive).
Vice Chair - as above, in the chairman's absence. Will listen to any problems people have if they don't want to go to the chair.
Treasurer - Collects money from members, pays for the room, and is a point of contact on money suggestions.
Vice treasurer - as above, when treasurer is not about.
Secretary - keeps a record of all meetings, posts them up on the forums, and is a forum moderator.
Web master - looks after the forums, the website, and the wiki. Is open to suggestions on how to improve the website, and welcomes new content.

Constitution
Do we need a constitution? It was pointed out that the above laying down of rules nearly covers a constitution anyway. We do not need a whole raft of rules written down to cause more arguments  

Bank Account
This was decided against as it is a lot of paperwork, the treasurer needs to have time to goto the bank once a week, and we do not have so much money that it necersarily warents a bank acocunt.

Cash Suggestions
Future meals - This was agreed by vote that we would not be doing this in the future - while everyone enjoyed the xmas meal, we believe that these should not be paid out of by club funds. however, we would still like to organise club social events, just not to pay for them from the club.
Price Match - On a vote of 15 for and 3 against, this was agreed that the club may offer 50% of the price of a game to someone who wishes to buy it and bring it to the club. Further votes (in the new year) will be required to finalise how many people in the club must agree to this, what limit we will have on number of games bought per person, exactly what roleplay supplements come under this and can it be applied retrocatively. It was also suggested that the club help fund replacements should pieces get damaged or lost through being played at the club. If someone buys a game under this rule, and then never brings it to the club, that may be cause for an extraordinary committee meeting.
Payment Holidays - In a unanimous vote, we all agreed that free weeks are a good idea. There still needs to be a final vote on whether they will be known in advance (as some poeple may take advantage on this) or whether we should just go for it when we have enough money in the kitty.
GM's go free - after much arguments on whether GMing was work or not, and some people saying that they never got the chance to GM cos some poeple took all the chances, and others pointing out that GMs spent their money to run a game and maybe this should be rewarded, it was decided by a vote of lots to 1 that we would not impliment this policy.

Board Game Nights
The arguments for this are that we get to break up the groups we fall into, and theres a chance that we will get to play more variety of games, as if it is known to be a board games night we would bring in more games. Against, it could easily break up the flow in a roleplay game and disrupt the suspense. People wanted it to be more regular than current - every bank holiday. On the condition that it is not required to break up a roleplay game if the GM and players do not wish to, we voted 15 to 5 for more regular board games nights - possibly once every 2 months, to be decided how often in a later vote.

Game Length
Generally decided to not regulate game length in any manner, it was suggested that, if at all possible, GMs try to give an approximate length when they start the game to allow players to decide if thy want to be in a game of that length - tho it was recognised that this is not always possible, and no-one would be held to their guesstimate of length if they go over. It was also suggested that in long games, if there is a vacancy it be announced on the monday, not on the forums, as lots of people do not check the forums, but might be interested in joining in if they knew.

Website
Forum Moderation - there are 3 moderators, very few posts have been deleted by the moderators (some have been deleted by the posters). This was brought up as an issue as some accusations had been made that moderators were abusing their power, but this was not upheld at the meeting. It was mentioned that the forums are a way that people find the club, so there should be no angry / personal issues aired on it, and people should be aware that the general public can see the forums, not just the poeple you know, so some things which may seem perfectly fine to the people who know you may be misunderstood by people who don't, so don't be offended if the moderators pull you up on this point. It was suggested that maybe we should have a members only section, but this was not agreed on as a whole, as we have too many subforums, and people like to check the forums before coming along to decide if we're all nuts or not, so we should have something there for them to see. By unanimous vote, it was decided that Giulia not be allowed to talk about her cats on the forum all the time.
Content - We do have a website - www.chestergames.co.uk - and we have a wiki. If anyone wants to offer new content or to update the wiki, please contact the Web Master (or in the case of the wiki just do so).

Secret Santa
This was duly handed out, apart from 3 gifts which were forgotten, and 2 people who were not preasent. Tessa took Josh's preasent, as she was seeing him wednesday, Daz gave Matt G (hairy) his present on the way home. Simon, Michelle and Aaron did not have a preasent, but as Aaron wasn't there, and both Tess and Nurse Matt had forgotten their presents I believe that this is everyone accounted for. Michelle will be bringing Tess's preasent on monday.

PM me if I have forgotten anything and I will add it in!

[metagaia]

The election results were announced last night.  Congratulations to Tess (also known as Tess) and Michelle (also known as Shapron) for being elected as Vice President and Treasurer respectivly.

The committee now stands as follows:
President: Ian (dead)
Vice President: Tess (Tess)
Treasurer: Michelle (Shapron)
Assistant Treasurer: Josh (Jimmy)
Secretary: Chris (metagaia)
Web Officer: Matt (Paz)

Many thanks to Teflon Billy for helping to organise and count the voting, and to all those who voted.

Chris.

[metagaia]

There was a brief meeting held yesterday (16/11/09) to discuss the change of venue from the Deva to the Hangman.

Ian told us that The Deva decided it did not want us (or anybody else) on Monday.  Tess (not Ian) was informed of this on Saturday, and both of them worked diligentlythe following day and discovered that the Hangman was the only viable alternative.

The deal is essentially the same.  Same price, any type of food is ok, but no drinks (including water).  Anyone caught with a drink not purchased from the bar will be banned.  It was stressed that we cannot risk being thrown out of this place, as there is precious little elsewhere to go.

Secret santa was mentioned, and would be discussed in more detail in the near future.

A club night is also in the works for Christmas, but unlike last year, it will not be subsidised by club funds.  Again, this will be discussed in the near future.

'Random game shuffle' is slowly getting underway, and a date will be set soon.  Both RPG and board games are welcome, last time we had 5 GMs, so numbers will probably be similar this year.

Elections and the AGM will be in January.

The exact reasons for the move wil be discussed in another brief meeting next week.  Please PM me if you believe anything in this report is wrong or  you wish something to be brought up next week.

Chris B.
Secretary.

[metagaia]

There was a meeting held on Monday 23rd November at the new Venue (The Hangman).  The following things were discussed:

Tables and Lights
The lighting problem is now no longer the problem that it was.  There were no plans discussed to get new lights for the club.

Tables however remain a problem.  It was decided (by a vote) that 2 tables will be purchased from club funds, and stored by the hangman to use on Mondays.  It is expected to cost in the region of £40 each.  Anyone who knows of a good deal should post on this thread.  Ian and Tess will decide on the final purchase.

Club Rules
The new guidlines are more or less the same but should be re-emphasized.  Glasses should be taken down when you leave.  Taking your own drink will result in an instant ban (no warnings).  Rubbish should be put in the bin behind the bar in the central room.

T-Shirts and hoodies
Gileh has kindly designed T-shirts and hoodies for the conception in January.  These can be purchsed by anyone however (and many have already preordered).  The prices are expected to be £5+VAT for the T-shirts and £16+VAT for the hoodies.  Orders must be made by the forums.  Please see this thread for details.

Secret Santa
Secret Santa will be taking place this year.  A forum thread will be up shortly/is here.  Please post with your real name if you wish to take part.  Please PM myself or sign up in person on Monday if you wish your forum identity to remain private.

Club Night Out
Free tickets have been offered for Rock nights at the Hangman.  It was decided it would probably be best done as a meal, plus aformentioned rock night at the Hangman.  Tentative date is the second Friday of January (the 8th)

Random Game shuffle
Random Game Shuffle is back!  The dates set are the 14th and 21st of December.  We have the required number of GMs, a list of which should shortly be appearing on this thread.

Club Funds
Club funds are "£90+ change" and believed to be appoximately £150.  Subsciption fees will be going back up to £1 next week as a result of the fact that the tables will put a significant drain on the Kitty.

AGM+Elections
The date of the AGM has been set for 11th January.  Please PM myself if you would like anything added to the agenda, or see me at the club (my alter ego is Chris).

Elections will also be held at that date.  It was proposed that President+Vice-President and Treasurer+Assistant-Treasurer be merged into one election with the runner up taking the secong position.  I am not immediately clear if consensus was reached.  (Anyone that does know please PM me). An Election Officer (to count the votes) also needs to be decided.

Once again, please PM me if you believe anything in this report is wrong.

Chris B
Secretary.

[dead]

The elections will take place on the 4th and 11th of January with the AGM to be held on the 18th to give those voted time to get their heads together.

Anyone wishing to stand has until 8pm on the 4th to tell me.  There are 3 catogories, winner get the job and the runner up gets deputy.

I will start accepting votes after 8pm on the 4th.  Votes will be counted after 8pm on the 11th and the result announced that night and on here.  Voting will be secret.  

Chair/deputy
Tess
Teflon Billy


Treasury/deputy
Shell Palmer

Secretary

[dead]

Anyone else standing in the elections?  We still need at least one treasury and one secretary.

[Teflon Billy]

Proposed committee meeting to discuss an age policy (Please see this thread: http://chestergames.myfreeforum.org/sutra12109.php#12109).

Date: 6/12/10

Time: around 7.30?

Purpose: to resolve minimum age to 'join' the club.

Location: downstairs in The Hangman.

If committee members could inform me (by pm or in person) if they are unable to attend on that date/time.

[Teflon Billy]

The committee voted to set an age limit of 18 (until the AGM). This will be on the agenda of the AGM (which is current set for 10th January). Members will then have an opportunity to either overturn or ratify it then.

Points of clarification on the age policy:

Gary the landlord of the Hangman doesn't mind.

CRB checks are apparently not an issue (according to HDimagination, who should know).

So the club needs to vote on the the straight forward agenda item on whether people want an age of 16 or 18 to join the club.

Any other agenda items should be pm'ed to me or Metagaia.



Nominations are now open for all 'committee' posts, I will not be standing for president again, but was nominated by the 'committee' to act as election officer. The closing date for nominations is the AGM (nominations can be made at the meeting).

To stand you need to be a regular club attendee.

Process:

Propose yourself.

Get someone to second you.

I'll start a forum thread or you can PM or just tell me in person.

[metagaia]

The AGM was held on January 10th 2011.

The first item discussed was the matter of age policy.  It was re-iterated that there were no legal barriers to having an age limit of 16.

It was also brought up that some games may have mature content not suitable for those under 18, to which the guidelines are that all players are selected at the GM's discretion.

The motion for an age limit of 16 was passed by overwhelming majority.

For elections, all positions were uncontested except Treasurer, thus the committee has the following current members:

President: Dead
Vice president: Tess
Secretery: Metagaia
Vice Treasurer: Mat
Web Officer: Paz.

An election for Treasurer will be contested between AnnoyingLizardVoice and Tornado Creator.
Current Kitty status is at £86

The motion regarding the migration of the forums and whether to pay for no adverts has been deferred to a later date.  Shaphron and TornadoCreator have offered webspace to migrate the forums to, and the web officer will liase with those to see if there is a viaable solution to either offer.

The 'emergency fund' for the treasury was debated, with regard to whether it should be £50 or £100.  Most people preferred the extra safety margin of £100.  Therefore, it was voted that the emergency fund for the treasury should be maintained at £100.  As a result of which, annoyinglizardvoice announced that the amount charged per member per week will go up to £1 as of the 17th January.

In AOB, Tornado Creator suggested the possibility of running another gaming night at the hangman, possibly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.  The majority were not interested, and it was suggested that if such a thing were to happen, it would be fully independant of the Monday night club.