Thardferr Council

Myth
DM Council
11:08 on Sept 21, 2000
The following document is subject to change, at Thardferr's request. If changed, it will be reposted.

The Thardferr Council - the TC

This Council will decide the major issues and direction of Thardferr. They are responsible for approving and delegation of campaign rules. This includes things like new Classes/Races, the Boards, Guilds, etc. The Thardferr Council will also provide heavy input and feedback to the DM Council. In fact, the Thardferr Council subsumes the DM Council.

The composition of this council (hence forth referred to as the TC) is to be composed of both DMs and Players. There are 5 total members: 3 DMs and 2 Players. Each section (DM and Player) will have one attendant to substitute for the seated member in the cases of unavailability or resignation. This makes a grand total of 7 total members : 3 DMs, 1 DM attendant, 2 Players, and 1 Player attendant.

Members and Requirements to sit on the TC -

DMs -
For a DM to serve on the TC they must be voted on by the DM Body. The people with the three highest numbers of votes will sit on the TC. The DM membership of the TC is also the DM Council (DMC), and they have duties and authorities relating to the DM Body, as well as the TC. These duties and authorities are detailed elsewhere.

Players -
The Players that will sit on the TC will have to be experienced in both Role-Playing and Thardferr. Since they will be privy to sensitive information, they will have to be of the highest caliber to ensure both trustworthiness and ability to separate IC from OOC. The Players will be elected by the Player body and then approved by the DM Body. This is done to insure that the DMs have a say in who they feel will be able to best handle this position. If the DM Body does not approve a Player, they will have to be renominated at the next election; the Player Body cannot overrule a decision of the DM Body. This position is perhaps better akin to a GM as opposed to a DM.

All -
The TC is not a status symbol. It is not something to hold over the head of other Players or DMs. It is a service position, and it includes responsibilities as well as authority to direct Thardferr. One of these responsibilities is humility about the position. This means that if you are bitter because you're not on the TC, you probably shouldn't be there.

Terms and Elections -
Members of the TC will serve for an unlimited term, at least until they feel that they can no longer accept the duties, or a vote of confidence is taken by the other members to see if they fail to faithfully perform or abuse the functions of the position. If a Player or DM is nominated and feels that they will be unable to fulfill the required duties, then they should not accept the position, and call for another candidate to be elected in their stead.

Votes of Confidence -
If the actions of a member of the TC seem to run counter to the goals and ideals of the TC or Thardferr, to the point that the TC feels that they (the offending member) will no longer be able to faithfully perform the functions of the position, the TC may call for a vote of confidence. Such a vote should come after a time of application of social pressures to help reiterate the goals and expectations of the individual's membership in the TC and should be used as a last resort. This vote of confidence is handled as any other issue and is contained in the ballot of the meeting after it is proposed like any other issue, and is subject to the rules of cut-off dates that apply to any other issue (see Cut-Off Dates, below). However since this is such a drastic action, all votes from both standing members and attendants count. A simple 50% vote is needed for the passing and subsequent ejection of a member from the TC. The member of the TC that is in question does not get to voice a vote, though they are allowed to defend themselves. So, only 6 votes can be cast. 50% of the TC must be in favor of the action. If a vote of 3 to 3 or greater occurs, the TC member is removed. After a judgment has been rendered, the offending member is asked to step down, and an election is held to fill the vacancy. If the offending member refuses to step down or causes further distress actions can be taken to eject the offender from Thardferr.

Group Proceeding and Voting -
Due to the fact that we have talent pooled around the globe, there is a potentially serious issue for coordinating meetings to discuss the ideas that the TC will face. The only feasible situation that comes to mind is that of a meeting Board. Real-time online meetings have been tried and have been met with limited success. The process for the TC will hopefully yield better results.

"Meetings" of the TC will be ongoing on the TC Board. Each thread will concern a particular topic. There will also be a "New Topics" thread where anyone can post requests for topics that need to be resolved. A TC member can start a thread with the Topic Name, and discussion will commence. When the discussion is ended, or one week after the thread is started (whichever comes first) a Vote Thread is started. The TC member proposing a vote is NOT to interject personal opinions into the proposal; it is to be worded in an impartial manner.

Cut-Off Dates -
Issues that are to be brought before the TC have a limited time to be voted on. This period is never longer than a period of 14 days, and will ideally conclude within 7 days. Issues will be posted and discussed in a forum setting and be an addition to the Boards. After an issue is taken up for a vote and the voting deadline has been reached, the thread will be closed, archived, and deleted. However, after the issue has been decided upon, if a TC member does not like the decision they can start a new thread to bring the issue to a vote again. This is also the process that will be observed for rewrites and alterations. Once an issue has finished the voting process it will be posted on the Announcements thread, and becomes effective the day after it's posted there.

Only TC members can vote on an issue, unless they are absent, and then the advisor may vote in their stead. A TC member may change their vote at any time before the deadline. The issue may be discussed on the Voting thread, but Votes or Vote changes MUST be posted separately. (This is so that the Vote Counter doesn't miss any votes that are introduced or followed by discussion.)

This schedule is best displayed by an example:
09/13/00 Vote is requested for "Guild Rules."
09/20/00 Vote closes, and votes are tallied. (If there were no strong majority, or many issues with the proposal that required rework, the Vote could be extended an additional week.)
09/21/00 "Guild Rules" results are adopted.

In circumstances where a majority of the TC votes against a proposal, the originator of the proposal may rework it to satisfy the requirements of the majority, and resubmit it.

Authority and Responsibilities -
The TC is responsible to create Rules for Thardferr. These will be OOC rules, such as Board Ettiquette, semi-IC rules, such as Initial Spell Acquisition, and IC rules, such as the Laws of the Lands. These Rules will be posted on the Announcements Board until they can be added to the Thardferr Webpage. They are handled as the rest of Thardferr's rules are handled.

If these rules are bent or broken by Players or PCs, the TC has the authority to handle each infringement as they see fit. If these rules are bent or broken by DMs, the DMC is responsible to deal with the situation.

Final Vote Count:

Myth: Yes.
Helpfyl Elf: Yes.
Greyin: Yes
Couyon: YES
Cholahain: YES
Ranathar: yes
Thragnar: Yes
Dead Jo: Yes
Ivan: Yes
Drenth Devonshire: YES
NightShadow: yes
Sir Gatheian Bluestream: Yes
Meechum: Yes
Aram Raomart: Yea
Melinor: YES
bart39: yes
Bertran: yes
Tekhtarast: YES
Mageblood: Aye.
Seigfreid: YES
Dork the Orc: yes
Bart Quickfinger: Yes
Snorri Flintoff: yes
Dalan: YES
Kaan: yes
Marc: Yes
Loyd Hopper: Yes
Gaiden: Yes
Alyosha McHale: Yes.
Gloth Derfy: Yes.
Randolls Bladestar: YES

Total: 31 YES, 0 No, 0 Abstain.