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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	798
Proposal	Amendment: GPUS Rules and Procedures, Article IXNationalCommittee Listserv Protocols and Policies
Presenter	Iowa Green Party, GPUS Steering Committee
Floor Manager	Jan Martell
Phase	Closed
Discussion	10/05/2015 - 11/01/2015
Voting	11/02/2015 - 11/08/2015
Result	Failed: Quorum Not Met
Presens Quorum	32 0.6666
Consens Quorum	0 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

The National Committee (NC) has passed resolutions that established listserves for NC use and the protocols and policies that govern them. The first resolution was passed in October 2001 http://www.gp.org/committees/nc/votes/listserver_guidelines.htm and the second in November 2005 http://green.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=186.

Proposal #744, http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=744, and proposal #785, http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=785, were proposals to establish a National Committee Delegate's Forum and to reinstate the GPUS Votes List. Article IX was unchanged by those proposals.

Article IX of GPUS Rules and Procedures is being proposed to be amended in response to the need to update the communications guidelines to reflect the use of two email lists and a bulletin board, and to address concerns about improving general netiquette.

The proposal will:
- remove from the title the term “Protocols” as redundant;

- remove the Steering Committee selection and removal procedures for Advisors and Observers (as required of committees under Article III of GPUS Bylaws) for placement in the SC RP&P's.
• http://www.gp.org/bylaws-of-the-green-party-of-the-united-states#03

- update policies to more specifically focus the GPUS Votes List on business before the National Committee, and move general discussion of other GPUS affairs to the GPUS Affairs List;

- provide more clear criteria on what defines unacceptable content;

- add a new section to clarify that the same policies which apply to the Affairs List also apply to the Bulletin Board;

- provide for clearer steps in which advisories and warnings are issued for non-compliance;

- amend the number of advisories that trigger official warnings, cutting the number from 3 to 2, while retaining the 6-month period for cumulative infractions;

- and add a sub-section providing for suspension of repeat offenders, including a right of appeal by their sponsoring state party or caucus.

This proposal also performs the administrative task of re-formatting Article IX to be consistent with the Article/Section/sub-section format that has been the party's practice in its governing rules documents since 2007. In so doing, duplicative language has been eliminated.

Proposal

Resolved, that the existing ARTICLE IX GPUS NATIONAL COMMITTEE LISTSERV PROTOCOLS AND POLICIES of the Party's Rules and Procedures be replaced with the following text:

Article IX. NATIONAL COMMITTEE LISTSERV AND BULLETIN BOARD POLICIES

9-1.1 The National Committee establishes these email lists and bulletin board referred to in this Article for the purposes described herein. Subscription to any of these lists automatically implies acceptance of the posting guidelines, etiquette and procedures described in this Article.

9-1.2 A sponsoring state party or caucus may propose to appoint Advisors to these lists to be approved by the National Committee by a simple majority vote. Upon a proposal by the Steering Committee, a state party or caucus, the National Committee may also remove any Advisor by a simple majority vote.

9-1.3 A sponsoring state party or caucus may appoint Observers to these lists and announce them to the National Committee. Upon a proposal by the Steering Committee, a state party or caucus, the National Committee may also remove any Observer by a simple majority vote.

9-1.4 List membership is limited to:

9-1.4(a) Delegates and Alternates to the National Committee;

9-1.4(b) Steering Committee members;

9-1.4(c) Liaisons from and appointed by GPUS committees (up to two from each, in addition to those otherwise subscribed under 9-1.4);

9-1.4(d) Paid staff of GPUS (as determined by the Steering Committee);

9-1.4(e) Voting page and list administrators;

9-1.4(f) Advisors (as specified in 9-1.2, above), and;

9-1.4(g) Observers (as specified in 9-1.3, above).

9-1.5 The membership list of all GPUS email lists shall be available for review by all subscribers, including those established for GPUS standing and ad-hoc committees. Anonymous subscriptions are not permitted.

9-2 Votes List

9-2.1 The purpose of the Votes List is to facilitate communication for the purposes of National Committee decision-making.

9-2.2 Posting to the Votes List shall be limited to messages relating to:

9-2.2(a) pending proposals before the National Committee as provided for in GPUS Bylaws, Rules and Procedures, and Fiscal Policy; and

9-2.2(b) ongoing operations of GPUS, including committee reports, financial statements, proposed platform amendments, planning for presidential convention, presidential candidate nomination process, coordinated national actions, media outreach, international representation, potential amendments to party rules documents, and Federal Election Committee filings.

9-2.3 Delegates and Alternates are considered the primary persons to post to the Votes List. Posting privileges are limited to Delegates, Alternates, Steering Committee members, committee liaisons, and paid staff; except that voting page, list administrators and Advisors may post in relation to their area of focus. Observers are not permitted to post.

9-3 Affairs List

9-3.1 The purpose of the Affairs List is to facilitate communication to promote the growth and development of the GPUS.

9-3.2 Posting to the Affairs List shall be limited to messages relating to:

9-3.2(a) sharing of party-building information and experiences between state parties, caucuses and Green Party members; and

9-3.2(b) issues directly relating to Green Party organizing and development.

Section 9-4 Bulletin Board/Forum

9-4.1 Membership and posting rules are the same as apply to the Affairs list.

Section 9-5 Posting Guidelines

9-5.1 Posting privileges are available to all subscribers, according to the conditions described in this Article. Posts must be in keeping with the purpose of each list.

9-5.2 All posts shall be signed at the bottom of every message with the first and last name of the author, and their Green Party position as per 9-1.2, including their originating state party, caucus, or committee where applicable.

9-5.3 Subject lines should accurately describe or reference the topic of the post. When quoting other messages, the person quoted should be properly cited, and extraneous text (including headers, footers, irrelevant text to the section being responded to) should be deleted. Short, non-substantive replies and one-on-one discussion belong off-list.

9-5.4 Forwarding private messages without the expressed written permission of the author is prohibited.

9-5.6 Copyrighted material (newspaper articles, website content, etc.) and other items forwarded should be accompanied by, where applicable, a source URL, the name(s) of the author(s), and the originating source (if a publication).

9-5.7 List members retain their personal copyright for their original messages, but through use of these lists grant other members the right to publicly quote portions of their message in any medium, and the right to forward messages in their entirety to others so long as the author's name and web address is cited or linked.

Section 9-6 Etiquette

9-6.1 Participation in these lists and bulletin board is premised upon building the GPUS and advancing the Ten Key Values.

9-6.2 Participants are encouraged to state their views, inform one another and discuss issues in a respectful manner that enables productive work. Good faith disagreement shall be honored as an expected part this process, and not considered a disruption or impediment. At the same time, participants are expected to seek and build upon commonalities.

9-6.3 Participants shall make a good faith effort to be factually correct and shall not misrepresent the work of others.

9-6.4 Discussion shall focus on policies and issues.

9-6.5 Ad Hominem arguments are inappropriate, including:

9-6.5(a) speculations and accusations about others' motives, question of character, thought processes, or beliefs;

9-6.5(b) prejudicial, biased, or offensive language that labels another in regard to race, age, gender, ethnicity, physical ability, spirituality, or sexual and/or gender orientation;

9-6.5(c) insulting, disparaging, degrading, demeaning or hurtfully sarcastic language toward another, including comparison to reviled figures.

Section 9-7. Forum Managers

9-7.1 The Steering Committee shall nominate three individuals (with at least two of differing genders), subject to National Committee approval, to serve coincident two-year terms as Forum Managers and one individual as Alternate Forum Manager. Terms shall run from May 1 to April 30 in odd-numbered years.

9-7.2 All nominees must be Green Party members and be recommended by their state party or caucus to be eligible. A call for Forum Manager applicants shall be sent to the Votes List by the Secretary within the first 15 days of each odd-numbered year. It is recommended that Forum Managers have dispute resolution training.

9-7.3 In the event of a vacancy, the Alternate shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term; and the Steering Committee shall re-nominate for National Committee approval, to fill the Alternate position.

Section 9-8 Compliance and Enforcement

9-8.1 Forum Managers shall carry out their responsibilities in an informative, pro-active manner to promote general compliance with the posting guidelines and etiquette; and shall post periodic reminders of these to each list, citing the relevant text.

9-8.2 Forum Managers shall pro-actively take special notice of, document and respond to examples of egregious and/or multiple violations of the posting guidelines and etiquette.

9-8.3 Other members may file complaints about compliance with the Forum Managers. Such complaints shall be filed privately with the Forum Managers. Complaints shall quote the post(s) of concern and the relevant posting guidelines and/or etiquette being violated.

9-8.4 In response to examples of egregious and/or multiple violations of the posting guidelines and etiquette, Forum Managers may upon a two-thirds vote, based upon their own initiative or in response to complaints filed by members, send privately official advisories to individuals to encourage compliance. Such advisories shall quote the post(s) of concern and the relevant posting guidelines and/or etiquette being violated; and shall suggest ways of compliance with them. The advisory shall also detail the steps described in this Article if non-compliance continues. Forum Managers will respond to complaints in a uniform fashion.

9-8.5 Within a six month period, if at least two of three Forum Managers determine that the guidelines have been violated a second time by the same infringing member, a second advisory will be sent privately to that member by the Forum Managers. The state party or caucus represented by that member will be notified immediately when that member receives a second advisory.

9-8.6 Within a six month period, if at least two of three Forum Managers determine that the guidelines have been violated a third time by the same infringing member, that member will be placed on moderation. The state party or caucus represented by any member placed on moderation will be notified immediately. The Forum Managers will review all proposed submissions from the moderated member and will only forward those posts that do not violate list guidelines. Such a review of posts shall be done in a prompt manner to ensure that compliant posts are not detained unreasonably. Moderation shall be for a term not to exceed 3 months.

9-8.7 Members that receive further advisories after a moderation term has ended shall be subject, if at least two of three Forum Managers agree, to suspension of their list privileges, including removal from the list or bulletin board.

9-8.7(a) The state party or caucus represented by the member shall be notified immediately of that member's suspended status.

9-8.7(b) The suspended member, that member's sponsor, or both may file one appeal of that suspended status to the Steering Committee. The SC must then consider the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The SC may overturn the decision of the Forum Managers by a two-thirds vote.

9-8.8 Forum Managers shall maintain an electronic archive of all complaints filed, all advisories and notices of violations sent and all subsequent communications with the recipient. The Forum Managers shall post quarterly reports to the Votes List detailing their activities, and include the number of advisories, notices of violations and the number and names of those placed upon moderated or suspended status.

...............
PART 2

GPUS Steering Committee RP&P's are hereby amended to include the following Article VI:

"ARTICLE VI SC Appointment and Removal of Advisors and Observers to the National Committee

6-1 Advisors to the National Committee email lists may be appointed by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee. The Steering Committee may remove Advisors so appointed.

6-2 Observers to the National Committee email lists may be appointed by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee. The Steering Committee may remove Observers so appointed."

Resources

To take effect immediately upon passage.

References

Contacts: Holly Hart, Florence Boos, Andrea Merida, Charles Ostdiek

• http://www.gp.org/committees/nc/votes/listserver_guidelines.htm
LIST-SERVER GUIDELINES

• Proposal #186
http://green.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=186
Proposed Listserv Protocol for Delegates Discussion and Votes Lists --
Amended

• Proposal #744
http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=744
NC Forum Transition - Discussion Extended

• Proposal #785
http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=785
Proposal To Restore NC Votes Email List

GPUS BYLAWS, Article III
• http://www.gp.org/bylaws-of-the-green-party-of-the-united-states#03

• GPUS SC RP&P's
http://www.gp.org/committees/steering/Rules-Policies-Procedures.php

• http://gp.org/rules-and-procedures-of-the-green-party#09
ARTICLE IX: GPUS NATIONAL COMMITTEE LISTSERVE PROTOCOLS AND POLICIES

DEFINITIONS

List / Listserv / Forum - These terms are used interchangeably to refer to a group of people (members) who can send emails to a common email address and have those emails disseminated to the other people who are in the group.

I. Natlcomvotes List

A. The purpose of the Natlcomvotes list (also known as the Votes or COOlist) is to facilitate communications for the purpose of decision-making and management of the affairs of GPUS. List content should be limited to messages relating to proposals, formal GPUS business, committee reports, and related formal matters. Personal messages, forwarded articles, petitions, and general discussion not pertinent to formal business before the GPUS National Committee should be posted to the Natlcomaffairs list.

B. Natlcomvotes list membership is limited to:
1. Delegates to the National Committee.
2. Alternates to the National Committee.

3. Steering Committee members.
4. Liaisons from GPUS standing or ad hoc committees (maximum of two individuals above those who may be on the list for additional reasons.)
5. Paid staff of GPUS (as determined by the Steering Committee).

6. Voting page and list administrators.
7. Advisors. Advisors are professionals in their field serving the Green Party in their professional capacity (e.g. legal advisors, fundraising advisors, technology consultants, etc.) Advisors can either be recommended to and approved by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee, or approved by the National Committee by a simple majority vote.
The National Committee may remove an advisor by a simple majority vote.
8. Observers. Observers are vetted by an accredited state party or caucus and announced to the National Committee, recommended to and approved by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee, or approved by the National Committee by a simple majority vote.

C. The membership list of the Natlcomvotes list must be available to all subscribers. Anonymous subscriptions are not permitted.

D. Delegates are the primary persons to post to the Natlcomvotes list.
E. Posting to the Natlcomvotes list is in general limited to delegates, alternates, Steering Committee members, committee liaisons, and paid staff. Voting page and list administrators and advisors may post in relation to their area of focus.
F. Observers are not permitted to post to the Natlcomvotes list. Observers wishing to comment should do so through their state/caucus delegation.

II. Natlcomaffairs List

A. The purpose of the Natlcomaffairs list (also known as the Affairs, Discussion, or DX list) is to facilitate general discussion related to coordinated national actions and current issues.

B. Natlcomaffairs list membership is limited to:
1. Delegates to the National Committee.
2. Alternates to the National Committee.

3. Steering Committee members.
4. Liaisons from GPUS standing or ad hoc committees (maximum of two individuals above those who may be on the list for additional reasons.)
5. Paid staff of GPUS (as determined by the Steering Committee).

6. Voting page and list administrators.
7. Advisors. Advisors are professionals in their field serving the Green Party in their professional capacity (e.g. legal advisors, fundraising advisors, technology consultants, etc.) Advisors can either be recommended to and approved by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee, or approved by the National Committee by a simple majority vote. The National Committee may remove an advisor by a simple majority vote.
8. Observers. Observers are vetted by an accredited state party or caucus and announced to the National Committee, recommended to and approved by the Steering Committee and announced to the National Committee, or approved by the National Committee by a simple majority vote.

C. The membership list of the Natlcomaffairs list must be available to all subscribers. Anonymous subscriptions are not permitted.

D. Except as otherwise stated, all Natlcomaffairs list members are permitted to post.

III. Posting Guidelines

A. Signing Posts. All list posts should be signed at the bottom of every message with the first and last name of the author. Members should also identify their position and the originating state party, caucus, or committee.

B. Relevance. Posts unrelated to formal party business should not be sent to the Natlcomvotes list, and party unrelated to Green Party or general public issues should not be sent to either list. Messages of a personal nature are not considered relevant for NC lists.

C. General Netiquette. In general, when quoting other messages, the person quoted should be properly cited, and extraneous text (including headers, footers, irrelevant messages to the section being responded to when replying to a digest, and the like) should be deleted. Non-substantive one-word replies generally should be sent off-list. Violations of General Netiquette guidelines can result in written informal reminders from the Forum Managers. Repeated off topic posting, over posting and other disregard for the purpose of the lists can be grounds for an official warning.

D. Tone. Insults, name-calling, sexist/sexual, racist, homophobic, or otherwise demeaning or degrading comments will not be tolerated. (Personal, one-on-one arguments are inappropriate and should be taken off list for one-on-one communication.) Hateful, abusive, and threatening language are prohibited. Attacks of a personal, ad hominem nature are prohibited. Making false and defamatory accusations on the listserve against another list member, a Green delegate, candidate, committee, caucus or the Green Party, that can be clearly and objectively disproved, is prohibited. If such accusations are made unintentionally, a retraction is called for. Failure to retract such allegations can result in an action by the Forum Managers.

All lists serve members are strongly encouraged to bear in mind the official nature of the lists and refrain from the use of obscene or otherwise offensive language in keeping with Respect for Diversity.

E. Forwards of Private Messages. Forwarding private messages to either list without the expressed written permission of the original author is prohibited.

F. Forwards of Other Items. Copyrighted material (newspaper articles, website content, etc.) and other items forwarded should be accompanied by, if applicable, a source URL, the name(s) of the author(s), and the originating source (if a publication).

G. Proper Use of Messages. List members retain their personal copyright for their original messages, but through use of these forums grant other members the right to publicly quote portions of their message in any medium, and the right to forward messages in their entirety to others so long as the author's name and web address is cited or linked.

IV. Forum Managers and Enforcement

A. The Steering Committee shall nominate three individuals, subject to National Committee approval, to serve coincident two-year terms as Forum Managers and one individual subject to National Committee approval, to serve as Alternate Forum Manager. Forum Managers may be sitting NC delegates, alternates or others as recommended by their State or Caucus. All nominees must be either recommended or approved by their State or Caucus. All three Forum Managers can not be of the same gender. It is recommended that Forum Managers have dispute resolution training. In the event of a Forum Manager resignation or other vacancy, the Alternate will serve the remainder of the term as a Forum Manager. In addition the SC shall nominate a replacement to fill the role of Alternate, to be approved by the NC via the same method used to nominate and elect the Forum Manager. The replacement Alternate Forum Manager will fill the balance of the term as Alternate.

The Forum Managers shall provide Quarterly Reports to the NC via the Natlcomaffairs listserv. These reports shall include the number of informal advisories, number of official warnings and probations.

B. The three Forum Managers must be in agreement prior to any change in status of a member's access to a list.

C. Forum Managers may at their discretion send informal advisories to posters to encourage protocol compliance. Two of the three Forum Managers must agree on the content of an advisory for it to be sent. Every attempt shall be made by the Forum Managers to address individual complaints regarding offending posts. This may include contacting the author of the offending post and working with/educating them on constructive, neutral, and effective ways to communicate.

D. List members may file a complaint about a specific post directly with a Forum Manager. Complaints will not be publicly posted to the forum. List members are encouraged to send informal complaints privately to the potentially infringing participants to encourage member-to-member accountability. If filing a complaint with a Forum Manager, a list member should include copies of complaints sent directly to the offending member.

E. After at least two informal advisories within a six month period, if at least two of three Forum Managers determine that the guidelines have been violated a third time by the same infringing member, an official private warning will be sent to the member by the Forum Managers. Forum Managers will respond to complaints in a uniform fashion and maintain electronic records of all official warnings. Official warnings remain in effect for six months.

F. List members that receive a second official warning within six months will be placed on probation, including moderation of the messages that the member posts. The State or Caucus represented by any delegate placed on probation will be notified immediately when any delegate is placed on probation. The Forum Managers will review all proposed submissions from the probated member and will only forward those posts that do not violate list guidelines. Probation shall be for a term not to exceed 3 months. Completing the 3-month term of probation will clear the record of official warnings.

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