Yossi's 05 Policy Workbench

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SKELETON

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• Basic Introduction
  • Preamble
    • Goals of Post
  • Historical Context
    • Origins of Staff
    • Conflicts in Staff
    • Development of Accountability
  • Present/Recent Issues in Staff
    • Nepotism
    • Transparency Issues
    • Accountability
    • Bureaucracy
      • Long wait times to implement policy (~2 weeks minimum).
      • Mandatory participation from non-stakeholders.
      • Role confusion (e.g. admins, vice-captains, reserve, etc).
      • Lack of institutional memory.
• Overall Structure
  • Moderators and Administrators
    • Roles would be given out on a need-to-use basis.
    • No formal "Moderator" or "Administrator" role outside Wikidot.
  • Captains
    • Vote-appointed position.
      • Likely elected once yearly by team members.
      • Recalls can be performed.
    • Not responsible for drafting policy; responsible for implementing policies and coordinating the team.
    • First among equals, not "in-charge"; is responsible for ensuring the team achieves its goals, but not given much executive power.
      • Has the ability to prevent the team from overextending itself past its purview.
      • Responsible to coordinate the wishes and necessities of the team to the board (see below).
      • Has the ability to remove members from the team if necessary, though should only be performed when necessary; all forced removals reviewed by the board.
    • Captains would need a semantic shift; likely "Coordinator".
  • Administration Team
    • Anyone who wishes to participate in policy-creation joins the administration team.
      • Individuals who are a member of the administration team must also be an active member of another team.
      • Any staff member who wishes to join the administration team is allowed to do so if they fulfill this requirement with no further restrictions.
    • Only team to not have a coordinator; is instead lead by a board.
  • Admin Board
    • Each board member represents one team, whom they work with to formulate policy.
      • Board member works directly with corresponding team and represents its needs on the board.
    • Board members cannot be coordinators.
    • Board members cannot represent more than one team.
    • Board members replacements are selected by the board; would be voted on by [policy-involved/all] team members. Requires [50/66]% approval from the team to appoint.
  • Policy Creation
    • Policy can be proposed by any member of the administration team.
    • All policy must first be presented to the board for twenty-four hours to determine the following:
      • If it is related to prior policy and not addressed how the two would relate/interact.
      • Which teams are affected (directly or indirectly) by the policy.
      • If any parts of the policy are incapable of being executed, whether due to lack of reasonable resources, technical limitations, previously unknown critical information, etc.
    • Assuming policy is not overruled by board motion (see below), it is posted to 05command as a discussion for 3–5 days. After, it is voted on for 5 days.
      • The discussion length can be expedited by a board member after three days if no further discussion will be believed to take place.
      • If the vote has at least 75% approval and has reached quorum, a board member can conclude the vote early.
    • Quorum is different depending on the policy needed to be passed:
      • For policy changes that are within a team's purview (explained further below), quorum is 33% of the admin team.
      • For policy changes that are not within a policy purview, quorum is 50% of the admin team.
      • For policy changes that either change the Charter, team purview, create or destroy a team, or otherwise make large changes to the staff structure, a quorum of 66% is required.
    • Despite quorum, an approval of at least 66% of voting members must be present for a policy to pass.
      • Non-administrative team staff members who are not Junior Staff may also vote on any policy, although they do not count for quorum.
  • Fiat
    • Still exists, but is modified; renamed to "board motion"
    • Board motions would exist as a way for the board to expedite staff processes or block heavily damaging policies if necessary.
    • Any board member can propose a motion; at least 50% [?] of the board must approve for it to be implemented.
    • Motion voting must take place in view of the administration team, and publicized on 05command afterwards along with the following information for transparency/accountability purposes:
      • The details of the motion itself.
      • The reasoning for the motion.
      • The board member which proposed the motion.
      • The board members which approved, disapproved, or abstained on the motion.
    • Board motion threads also serve as a voting thread in of themselves to overturn them. This vote lasts five days, and requires 50% of votes to overturn with 50% quorum.
      • If a board motions do not need to be voted on; if the overturn vote fails to reach quorum, the board motion remains unchallenged.
  • Advisors & Reserve
    • Board members who retire can choose to become Advisors.
      • Advisors do not have the ability to vote on board motions, but can be voting members of the administration team (even if they are not on other teams) and can comment in board spaces.
      • Advisors can be forcefully removed by board motion.
    • Individuals who are partially suspending participation in staff for extended periods become Reserve.
      • Reserve can be entered/exited at will by any staff member.
      • Individuals who are reserve on the admin team still have the ability to vote, but do not count towards quorum.
      • Purely informative role for non-admin team staff members.
• Implementation