Minutes of Board Meeting of September 29, 1999

Location: IRC server irc.chatnet.org, channel #asfar

Time: 7:30 P.M. CST

Board Members Present: Eric Anderson, Justin Mallone, Susan Wishnetsky

Members Present: David C., Matthew H., Alex K.P., Daniel M., Brad W.

Visitors Present:

One Note on Rules of Order: Prior to the meeting, Eric Anderson announced the establishment of new rules of order in which members attending would be permitted to speak only after asking and being granted the floor. This change in policy was in response to perceived problems with off topic comments and interruptions at previous meetings. To ensure that the rules of order would be followed, the settings for all members attending were set to disable their comments to the meeting until recognized by the President. The log of this meeting has been placed at http://www.asfar.org/logs/9-29-99.txt in response to requests by members during the meeting. The meeting was called to order at 7:52 pm central time.

Reports of Officers: The President, Eric Anderson, reported that he had updated the web page mechanisms for joining ASFAR and submitting personal stories. He further reported Nickolai Z., the zepa administrator, had received no further information from his service providers as of the date of the current meeting.

The Secretary, Susan Wishnetsky, reported on her initial test of the effect of AOL parental control mechanisms on AOL users' ability to access ASFAR's web site, which indicated that the teenage setting seemed to have no impact. Matthew H. suggested checking the Peacefire site for information on AOL parental control.

Old Business
The subject of issue-based "action groups", proposed at the last meeting by Matthew H. and Alex K.P., was discussed. The board expressed concerns about the structure of the proposed groups, the strategies they would use in pursuing their issues, and the degree of accountability these groups would have to the board and the membership. Justin Mallone suggested that the two members to prepare a formal proposal to submit to the board, which would address these concerns. Alex K.P. responded that such a proposal could be more effectively written in open conference with the board members, without rules of order and the requirement that only one member have the floor at one time. Matthew H. requested that board members remain after the meeting adjourned for such a conference. All board members agreed.

On the issue of the new ballot to be issued, Susan Wishnetsky proposed an amendment to add to the Declaration of Principles a new section on corporal punishment. After the wording was refined by Eric Anderson, Susan Wishnetsky moved that the proposed amendment to the Declaration of Principles be added to the ballot. The motion carried.

Eric Anderson moved to postpone finalizing the ballot until the next board meeting on October 13. The motion carried.

New Business
Susan Wishnetsky proposed to produce 2500 ball point pens to distribute as promotional items, and asked that the board approve wording to appear on them. After some discussion of wording, the issue was tabled until the next meeting. Daniel M. raised the issue of the new rules of order, expressing his extreme displeasure and outrage, and questioning the motives behind the change. The meeting adjourned at 10 pm central time. Respectfully submitted, Susan Wishnetsky ASFAR Secretary