David Sauter's Review

[David Sauter]

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook.php

* Obviously change the copyrights et all.  Otherwise nothing here of interest.  We can write a generic introduciton.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch1.php

Membership:

This is an advertisement and 'prospective member' information.  Suggest we keep it as is with updates for new names and terms.

Code of Conduct:

Scrap the whole section.  This is the most abused section of the handbook second only to disciplinary actions.  We don't need a code of conduct in the Handbook at all.  We're a fan club not a business and injecting this kind of malarkey into the handbook taints the whole culture.

I prefer a single line of 'Don't be a dick'.

Large Event Honor Policy

This one is actually pretty decent.  I much prefer assuming that people will be decent and then bring the hammer down when they aren't rather than assuming everyone is a dick.

Thus 'Don't be a dick'.

... or Chris Brown.

The Global Chronicle

See Membership.  File off the serial numbers and change a few body lines and we can call it ours.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch2.php

Chapters

Get rid of Chapters.  Come up with a new name like 'ProtoDomain' or 'Pending Domain' to describe a newly formed Domain that isn't all there yet.  Allowing sub-groups within a Domain to form is very bad news and nothing ever good comes from that.  If a Domain becomes truly dysfunctional then RC's should have the tools to deal with that.

Venues

I'm not a fan of elected Storytellers.  I would much rather someone step forward to run a game and if no one plays then it folds.  If more than one person want to run a game then they both run their games and the best game ends up eating the player base of the other game - or you end up with two venues in town.  So long as the DST can ride herd on everything and has explicit veto powers over the VST's then it should all work fine.

Domains

DST's need to be directly voted by the players (not the VST's) and they need to have absolute veto power over the VST's.  Likewise you should be able to recall a DST without DA'ing them.  A petition with signatures from 1/3 of the Domain should be enough to start a recall and if you get signatures from 1/2 + 1 of the Domain it's an immediate removal from office.

Same with DC's but there's no CC's for them to rule over like the DST.  That said it's a political position not a Storytelling one so I'm good with it being elected as is.

Membership defaulting to your local domain is something I am a little leery of but that is due to my own history.  It works as a policy.  I do think that membership should be fairly fluid and mobile so you can be in a Domain with your friends even if you don't live in that city.  Likewise the DC should be able to kick you out if you're being a dick.

Chapter 3 is missing in the google cache

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch4.php

Education:  Scrap the chapter.  Unnecessary.  We'll do something when we're ready.

Prestige

Gah, this is a hornets nest.  I'm opposed to spendable prestige but likewise MES got way too free with it.

I would like to see Global Prestige added.  Likewise a minimum time as a primary officer at the Domain level (VST counts) and minimum time as a secondary officer (AR, AN, AM) for higher tiers.  Things like ICC Venue Lead (if we ever have our version of ICC) would count towards that.  Likewise some of the 'considerable contributions' would give that kind of credit - Jen's character sheets et all.  The intent there is that you can't nickel and dime your way up but you have to put forth sustained effort in the long term to get to the higher tiers.

I think with that kind of caveat in place we could get rid of most of the rest of the prestige system.  It's intent is to reward service to the club - not buying cans by the truckload and donating them to charity.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch5.php

Election Procedures.

These need to be scrapped and retooled from scratch.  There's some major systemic flaws in the way it's set up.  The voting system is good enough (though we could use better) but the four tiers of representation removes the highest level officers from the rank and file of the Club way too much.

The referendum is never used in it's current form (or well almost never).  A simple recall petition that requires some percentage of the Domain or what have you to sign it to kick off a recall vote would be more effective.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch6.php

Conflict Resolution

I can't say enough how bad this chapter is.  It's full of legacy decisions made by people that never should have had the power to make those decisions.  Either that or they were power mad and wanted something to cover themselves.

... or they were just dicks.

... Or Chris Brown.

Anyway scrap the whole chapter and leave it in the hands of the *C.  Maybe a small section on appealing decisions that you think were bogus or even just a single like of 'suck it up and be an adult'.

... no we should have an appeal in there somewhere.  There is the problem of 'who watches the watchmen' though.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.g-i-r.org/handbook_ch7.php

This one is good enough.

OK, that's my high level read.  

David Sauter

GR2002021140

[Jessi Sauter]

> Venues
> I'm not a fan of elected Storytellers. I would much rather someone step
> forward to run a game and if no one plays then it folds. If more than one
> person want to run a game then they both run their games and the best game
> ends up eating the player base of the other game - or you end up with two
> venues in town. So long as the DST can ride herd on everything and has
> explicit veto powers over the VST's then it should all work fine.

As an alternative to voting (and I'm not sure there's anything
actually wrong with voting at the VST level), why not have the DST
select and appoint the VST rather than having multiple venues,
especially if there's not a lot of turf to divvy up in the Domain to
begin with? That's the same thing essentially as having appointed
ADSTs run venues who don't have VSTs for whatever reason. Competing
venues sounds like a good way to brew drama and little else, though.
Kind of like having chapters.

> Anyway scrap the whole chapter and leave it in the hands of the *C. Maybe a
> small section on appealing decisions that you think were bogus or even just
> a single like of 'suck it up and be an adult'.

There's a suggestion that'll end in tears.

Jessi

--
Jessi Sauter
GR2002023219