This is a tentative plan from the Development Team Lead, John Herrmann. When
the final release is out, this page will be updated.
>From the Development Team:
Ladies and gentlemen,
After some discussion, the following draft Transition Policy has been put
together. Pleas feel free to release it, and gather the questions that I am sure
will arise. Send those questions to me, and I will create a Q & A type document
to accompany the policy, or adjust the policy to answer the questions. Then the
finalized Transition Policy can be released. Please let me know if anything
seems unclear.
Transition:
Note 1: All elections are to be held where required. Terms of office, as per
the new Constitution, will apply. Example 1: A Chapter Coordinator has been in
office for four months. This is less than the one year term of office specified
by the Constitution, so the Chapter Coordinator is not required to be
re-elected. The CC may call for an election to re-affirm his or her position,
but that is the officer's choice. Example 2: A Regional Coordinator has been in
office for more than two years. This exceeds the term of office for that post
specified in the Constitution, so an election is required.
Note 2: All date listed below are ?not later than? dates- deadlines, rather
than a traditional schedule. If a given Chapter, Domain, of Region is fully
capable of setting up and holding elections earlier, they are welcome to do so.
The requirement is only that the elections be completed by the dates noted;
earlier is okay, later is not. All dates given are ?if required?- if a vote does
not need to be taken, then that's just fine.
Step 1: Choose a Venue for each of your Player Characters
(April 5-30) During this period, each player will choose which Venue Style Sheet
will be the base for each of their characters.
If there are no venues of a given type within the Domain (for example, if you
have a Mage PC and there is no Mage VSS/VST in your Domain), then the Domain
Storyteller or their appointed ADST handles that player character.
If there is only one venue of that type (Cam/Anarch, Sabbat, Garou, Mage,
Changeling, Wraith, Mortal, etc.) within the Domain, then all player characters
of that type are, by default, based in that VSS.
If there is more than one venue of a given type within the Domain, then the
player chooses which VSS best fits each of their player characters. Example: If
there are two Cam/Anarch Venue Style Sheets active in the Domain of Gratuitous
Example, then a player with two Cam/Anarch PC's may choose to base both in Venue
A, both in Venue B, or one in each VSS.
The current DST should notify all members of the Domain of all Venue Style
Sheets currently active within the Domain.
Step 2: Vote on a VST for each VSS
(May 1-31) During this period, every player with one or more characters based in
a given VSS votes for the Venue Storyteller for that venue. A player that has a
Changeling character votes for the Changeling VST, while a player that has no
Changeling character does not. A player that has two characters in the same
venue does not get two votes for the VST.
Step 3: Vote on a CC
(June 1-30) During this period, every member of each Chapter votes for their
Chapter Coordinator, as described in the Constitution.
Step 4: Vote on a DC and DST
(July 1-August 31) During this period, every member of each Domain votes for his
or her Domain Storyteller and Domain Coordinator, as described in the
Constitution. Again, this applies if either a) the officer has met or exceeded
his or her term limit, as per the Constitution, or the officer asks for such a
vote to be held.
Step 5: Vote for the RC and RST
(September 1-30) During this period, each D* votes for their supervising R*, as
described in the Constitution, if that officer is up for election.
Step 6: Vote for NC
(October 1-21) During this period, the RC's will vote for the new National
Coordinator. The new NC will be announced at the International Camarilla
Convention in St. Louis, MO.
Other positions:
Arbitration Board: elections for the Arbitration Board will also be held in the
September 1-30 time frame. The voting will occur then so that all the DC's and
DST's doing the voting will be in place. Voting will be done using the same
proportional system used for election of the RC and RST.
What about the NST?
We're still talking about that. Michelle reaches her two-year mark this
summer, and that would normally mean that she'd be subject to election at that
time. But since some of the RST's who will vote are also just about to come up
for a vote themselves just a bit later, that may make things problematic. We're
looking at it to figure out how we can best address that.
What about the other Camarilla Council positions?
The Technical Administrator, Jerry Spaulding, and Services Administrator,
Stephanie Mayes, are both fairly new to their respective jobs, and they will be
up for election as they reach their term limits. The Finance Administrator is
likewise new. The Conventions Administrator, while an indefinite position, is
planning to step down after the structure is settled, and a new officer in that
post is expected in late 2003 or early 2004.
What about the current officers that aren't elected?
The Constitution provision for a Vote of No Confidence is in place. A Vote of
No Confidence may be held through a Referendum, as described in the referendum
section of the Constitution. If the members care unhappy with an officer, the
Vote of No Confidence is a viable option. If the members are satisfied, then no
vote is required.
Okay, the second part: How does an Independent Chapter become a Domain?
There are five criteria for an Independent Chapter seeking to become a Domain:
1) Member numbers: 15 if within 30 miles of the nearest Domain; 10 if more than
30 miles from the nearest Domain
2) Reporting: Six consecutive months of active reporting
3) Recommendation: Letters of recommendation from both the RC and the RST, or
their appointed ARC/ARST for Independent Chapters
4) Social: Have held at least one Social event within the past six months
5) Charity: Have held at least one Charity event within the past six months
Each of these five criteria is somewhat flexible. Range of options:
1) The Regional Coordinator may waive the required membership down to 10 if
within 30 miles, or 7 if more than 30 miles, from the nearest Domain
2) The Regional Coordinator should take timeliness into account. Even if an
Independent Chapter has reported for the past six months, if all six have been
late, then the Regional Coordinator may recommend against advancing this Chapter
to Domain status.
3) The Camarilla Council may grant a Chapter status as a Domain despite a
negative recommendation by the Regional Coordinator or Regional Storyteller,
though this may not be common.
4) Social events may be formal events, earning Prestige, or informal events.
Chapters should send up a complete description of their most successful social
event within the past six months; the Camarilla Council will make the final
decision whether that event qualifies; even an informal event might qualify.
5) As #4
Probationary Period: As a general policy, all Chapters that are newly come to
Domain status will be on Probationary status. This status means that all
Mid-level approvals will require notification to the Regional level. For
Storyteller items, entry into the approvals database would constitute
notification; for Coordinator items, the Coordinator's monthly reports would
constitute notification.
For this initial changeover period only (through 30 September, 2003), the
Probationary Period will be waived for all Chapters that have the approval of
both their RC and their RST, or the designated ARC/ARST.
Who should receive the application for Domain status?
Applications for Domain status should be sent to Chuck Childers and James
Nester (emails are: us-chapters @ diablerie. net and CamCoordinator @
white-wolf. com, respectively- spaces added to prevent truncation)
Courtesy copies of the application should be sent to your Regional Coordinator
and Regional Storyteller to secure their letters of recommendation. If the
Regional officer wishes to delegate the writing of that letter to their
designated Assistant, then they may do so at this time.
Where does it go from there?
After Receipt by Mr. Childers and Mr. Nester, the applications will be
sorted (those with all the criteria and positive letters of recommendation will
be handled first, to allow those that are easily completed to be handled,
clearing the docket for more time to be spent on more difficult applications).
The sort applications will be provided to the Camarilla Council for unrestricted
approval, approval with a Probationary period, or denial.
What if my Chapter is denied? Can I appeal?
While the decision of the Camarilla Council cannot be appealed, that does
not mean that your Chapter will never be a Domain. Your Chapter will be informed
of the reason(s) for denial, and may re-apply after the problematic factors have
been addressed. For example, if there has been a spotty reporting history over
the past six months, then re-application after a few months of timely reporting
is allowed.
That's the policy thus far, ladies and gentlemen. You and your members will
help us to refine the policy. I'm looking forward to your questions.
Thank you,
Jon Herrmann, US2002021241
Development Team Lead
