At the Mercy of Rules

After spending the whole of yesterday in bed with one of the damnedest headaches ever, I am up and about again and preparing myself to go shopping inworld and then go to a membership meeting of Second Pride.

I see the need for rules of order within societies and associations, so that every members right to equal participation in orderly meetings are protected and that business can be conducted harmoniously and in a way that protects the interests of the membership.

Since coming to SecondLife I have participated in quiet a few meetings because, as I have told +Guyke Lundquist, I see the need for and the importance of democratic meetings and I also know the game so I might as well suffer for it.

However, the thing that has struck me most is some of the participants eagerness to preoccupy themselves with discussing procedural rules instead of focusing on the substance of the issues at hand. I love order, but it should never get in the way of efficient and democratic decision-making where the participants are allowed to focus on issues. It is especially exasperating when the different factions try to knock each other unconscious with various editions and versions of "The Robert´s Rules of Order".

In short, today I am hoping that an objection on a point of order - whether a motion has been duly "seconded" or not - is not made after 45 minutes of discussion of an issue. If that happens I will most likely start jumping on that stupid avatar if someone doesn't hold me back.