1. Preliminary Business Meeting, Friday, August 30, 1996
   • Business Passed On from Intersection
   • Committee Reports
   • New Business Submitted to L.A.con III
2. First Main Business Meeting, Saturday, August 31, 1996
   • Business Passed On from Intersection
   • Committee Reports
   • New Business Submitted to L.A.con III
   • Committee Reports (redux)
3. Second Main Business Meeting, Sunday, September 1, 1996
   • Site-Selection Business
   • Committee Reports
   • New Business Submitted to L.A.con III
   • Committee Reports (redux)
4. Disposition of Business
5. Agenda for Next Year
6. Attendance List

[References to page A3 and SRWG 3 or the like refer to an appendix and to the Standing Rules Working Group report which are not included with or linked to this HTML copy.]

• Business Passed On from Intersection
• Committee Reports
• New Business Submitted to L.A.con III

7. Report of Worldcon Runners Guide Editorial Committee -- Mr. Pavlac (who said he was dressed as a "shy con") asked that Item 7 on the agenda be considered out of order, as he had to leave. There being no objection, he submitted the following report:

Work accomplished since Intersection:

The 1996 edition of the Worldcon Runners Guide now runs more than 150 pages.

New material includes:

1. Kees van Toorn has written a chapter on running nonNorth American Worldcons. With this chapter, the document truly becomes a Worldcon Runners Guide.
2. My cousin, Peggy Rae Pavlat, provided a lot of detailed feedback to last years Guide. As a result, a number of sections have been rewritten or clarified, and several of the Guides checklists have been expanded.
3. The Guide enters the electronic age with the introduction of a chapter that begins to address the subject of how Worldcons can make use of the Internet,
4. The other computer-related sections have been modified. Due to the rapid change of technology, recommendations that were sound and reasonable only a couple of years ago are now hopelessly outdated.

Again, my concept of adding a bit more each year (rather than trying to do it all at one time) continues to work reasonably well.

Distribution:

I have printed 20 copies of the manual at my personal expense.

Copies are hereby distributed to the podium staff. In addition, I will be giving copies to the chairs of the 1997, 1998, and (on Sunday) the 1999 Worldcons. Perhaps I can even interest the 2000 bidders in a copy.

The remainder are available for US $15. If I run out, additional copies are available for this cost plus $3 postage.

With this edition, the Guide enters the late 1990s by being available on the Internet. A self-extracting .EXE of the manual in WordPerfect for Windows 6.1 format is available for downloading on my World Wide Web site. Size of the download is approximately 200K. The address of my web page is:

<http://www.enteract.com/~rpavlac/home.htm>

Recommendations:

I feel there is still much work to do and I am interested in taking on the responsibility for another year. I therefore request that the Business Meeting re-appoint me as Editor for another year, to report back again in San Antonio.

If I am re-appointed, my goals for next year include:

1. I have recently purchased a scanner. With a scanner in-house, I intend to scan in a lot more of the forms that are in use at Worldcons.
2. Chaz Baden and Bruce Farr have offered to write chapters for next years edition.
3. With permission, add relevant material from George Scithers Worldcon guide (from 1965).
4. Continue to solicit contributions on the various aspects of running a Worldcon. Several people volunteered last year to submit material, but were not able to; I would encourage them to try again.

Ross Pavlac
PO Box 816, Evanston, IL 60204-0816. (312) 764-4583. Internet: <76636.1343@compuserve.com>.

Without objection, the committee was continued.

Business Passed On from Intersection

1. Elimination of a Hugo

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Section 2.2.9, "Best Original Artwork".

This motion would eliminate the Best Original Artwork Hugo.

The default debate time was 6 minutes; 4, 2, and 3 minutes were also proposed; 6 minutes was voted.

2. Clarification of Fanzine and Semiprozine Eligibility

MOVED, to amend Sections 2.2.10 and 2.2.11 of the WSFS Constitution by in both cases inserting "by the close of the previous calendar year" after the first "which", so as to make the clauses in question read

which by the close of the previous calendar year has published four (4) or more issues, at least one (1) of which appeared in the previous calendar year,

The current Fanzine and Semiprozine rules specify that at least one issue must appear in the previous year, but do not give a deadline for satisfying the four-issue-total requirement; this motion would correct the omission.

3. Now Just What Rules Take Precedence?

MOVED, to replace the third sentence of Section 4.1 of the WSFS Constitution with the following:

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of (in descending order of precedence) the WSFS Constitution; the Standing Rules; such other rules as may be published in advance by the current Committee (which rules may be suspended by the Business Meeting by the same procedure as a Standing Rule); and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

This motion would clarify the order of precedence among the governing documents, and would make it possible for nonNorth American Worldcon Committees to adopt a parliamentary manual other than Roberts. (The new Standing Rule 25 was designed to regulate this authority.)

4. Extending Dramatic Presentation Eligibility to Related Subjects

MOVED, to amend Section 2.2.6 of the WSFS Constitution by changing "science fiction or fantasy" to "science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects".

There is currently a dispute (triggered by the film Apollo 13) as to just which works are eligible for the Dramatic Presentation Hugo: must such works be themselves science fiction or fantasy, and if so, how does one define "science fiction or fantasy"? This motion would make the argument moot, by specifying the eligibility of works that are merely "related" to science fiction or fantasy.

A motion was passed that unless the Business Meeting objects, the Mark Protection Committee will proceed with the investigation of the Hugo rocket as a logo to designate an award.

A motion was introduced in writing by Robert Sacks on behalf of L.A.con III as follows:

The Mark Protection Committee will defer to the administrating committee on all decisions on licensing the Worldcon and WSFS marks for merchandise relating to that Worldcon.

Examples: With respect to 1996, 1996 Worldcon t-shirts, paraphernalia & book, & 1996 WSFS t-shirts would be covered; left over 1995 Worldcon paraphernalia, 1998 & 1999 bid paraphernalia, & the Past Hugos or Best of the Hugo book would not be covered.

Donald Eastlake introduced a motion by substitution, which was the subject of debate and amendment. The following motion was adopted in lieu of Mr. Sacks motion:

The Mark Protection Committee shall not license any of the marks of the World Science Fiction Society, for merchandise relating to a particular Worldcon, in violation of the wishes of that Worldcon committee, provided that those wishes have been communicated in writing to the Mark Protection Committee at its designated address.

(The current designated address of the Mark Protection Committee is PO Box 1270, Kendall Square Station, Cambridge, MA 02142.)

Submitted (but not yet approved by the MPC)
Gary Keith Feldbaum
Secretary, Mark Protection Committee

Nominations for Elected Members of Mark Protection Committee -- Nominations were called for, and received for the following: Stephen Boucher (outside North America), Gary Keith Feldbaum (Eastern region), Sue Francis (Central), Linda Ross-Mansfield (Central), Glen Boettcher (Central), and Mark Olson (who declined). The Secretary announced a deadline of 6 PM for the receipt of acceptances [and in fact received all five acceptances before the end of the meeting].

6. Report of Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee -- Mr. Eastlake asked to postpone his report until Sunday; no objection.

8. Report of Standing Rules Working Group -- Mr. Standlee submitted the SRWG report (which is appended to these minutes, along with the minority report of Robert Sacks on p. A1), consisting of a base document (a complete new set of Standing Rules) with a number of separate amendments. He then moved adoption of the base document. Mr. Standlee suggested, and the Chair recommended, the following procedure: consider the base document as a whole, then consider the amendments separately. -- Mr. Sacks made the point of order that the proposed Standing Rules 5 and 30 were invalid (on grounds explicated in the minority report). On SR5, the Chair ruled that the proper time to raise a point of order would be if there were an attempt to suspend it. On SR 30, the Chair asked Mr. Standlee whether the names of the Hugo categories and site-selection regions were "titles" or part of the substance of the respective sections; Mr. Standlee felt that the Business Meeting officers would do the right thing. The Chair then ruled that the names in question were not titles in the sense of SR30. -- There was no objection to considering a motion on the floor to adopt the special procedure as described above. Ms. Dashoff asked when the new rules would take effect if adopted: At the end of this years Business Meeting. Mr. Yalow moved to close debate and immediately vote on adopting the proposed procedure and adopting the base document. Debate was closed (by a vote greater than 2/3). The base document was then passed overwhelmingly. -- Mr. Standlee announced a planned open meeting of the SRWG immediately following this session of the Business Meeting. Mr. Olson suggested proceeding with the rest of the agenda; there was no objection.

After nudging by the Secretary, Mr. Standlee moved to suspend the rules to waive the requirement (in SR20) for publication of the complete old Standing Rules: Passed unanimously.

[Note: Numerical references to the new Standing Rules, here and elsewhere in these minutes, refer to the numbering as given in the attached SRWG report. After the subsequent passage of amendments, the numbering is somewhat different in the text later submitted to LoneStarCon and others for publication.]

9. Report of Special Committee on Extending Dramatic Presentation Eligibility to Entire Seasons -- Ms. Sbarsky reported that she had been too busy to carry out the committees duties, and asked that it be continued for another year: No objection.

10. Worldcon Reports -- Financial reports had been received from ConFrancisco (see p. A3), ConAdian (see p. A3), and Bucconeer (see p. A5); later in the meeting, one was received from LoneStarCon 2 (see p. A4).

New Business Submitted to L.A.con III

11. Calling a Spade a Spade and Not a Shovel

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

In Section 3.1, delete the sentence starting "The minimum voting fee".
In Section 3.2, delete the first sentence.
Insert a new section between Secs. 3.1 and 3.2 as follows:
Voting shall be limited to WSFS members who have purchased at least a supporting membership in the Worldcon whose site is being selected. The supporting membership rate shall be set by agreement of the current Worldcon Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the supporting membership rate shall be twenty U.S. dollars ($20.00) or the equivalent.

In Section 1.5.2, replace "voting fee" by "site-selection fee" (twice).
In Section 3.3, replace "minimum fee in force" by "supporting membership rate".
In Section 3.8.3, replace "voting fee" by "supporting membership rate".
In Section 3.8.4, replace "voting fees" by "supporting memberships".

This motion is intended to clarify the voting fee system by calling it "a supporting membership in the selected Worldcon" throughout the Constitution. It does not make any substantive change to current practice. Section 1.5.1 winds up a bit clumsy, however.

All the substantial changes are in the first part, which takes the current wording out of Sections 3.1 and 3.2 and combines them into a new section. The amendments in Secs. 1.5, 3.3, and 3.8 are merely wording changes.

The proposed revised wording of Sections 3.1 & 3.2 is:
3.1: WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held three (3) years from the date of the current Worldcon. Voting shall be by mail or ballot cast at the current Worldcon with run-off ballot as described in Section 2.9. The current Worldcon Committee shall administer the mail balloting, collect the advance membership fees, and turn over those funds to the winning Committee before the end of the current Worldcon. The site-selection voting totals shall be announced at the Business Meeting and published in the first or second Progress Report of the winning Committee, with the by-mail and at-convention votes distinguished.
3.2: Voting shall be limited to WSFS members who have purchased at least a supporting membership in the Worldcon whose site is being selected. The supporting membership rate shall be set by agreement of the current Worldcon Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the supporting membership rate shall be twenty U.S. dollars ($20.00) or the equivalent.
3.3: "No Preference" ballots may be cast by corporations, associations, and other non-human or artificial entities. "Guest of" memberships must be transferred to individual natural persons before being cast for other than "No Preference", with such transfers accepted by the administering convention.

12. Let the NASFiC Administrator Administrate

MOVED, to amend Section 3.8.3 of the WSFS Constitution by replacing "the prospective candidates that file with the administering Committee" by "the administering Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline".
[submitted by Tim Illingworth and Mark Olson]

The NASFiC voting fee/membership rate is set by the bids only, without the involvement of the administering convention. I presume that there is no real reason why the administering committee is included in Section 3.1 but excluded in Section 3.8.

This fixes that problem.

[Secretarys Note: The original wording of Item 12 called for simply inserting "the administering Committee and" before "the prospective candidates"; at my suggestion, the sponsors agreed to substitute language matching that in Sec. 3.1.]

(This would be a substantive change.) Mr. Beach asked whether Items 12 and 20 were independent: Yes. Default debate time 6 minutes; 10 and 3 minutes also proposed; 6 minutes voted.

13. Tally-Ho!

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

In Section 3.1, replace "Section 2.9" by "Section 3.4".
In Section 3.4.3, delete "and shall be the equivalent of No Award with respect to Section 2.9".
In Section 3.4.4, replace ", and tallying shall proceed according to normal preferential-ballot procedures." by ". If no majority is then obtained, the bid which places last in the tallying shall be eliminated and the ballots listing it as highest remaining preference shall be redistributed on the basis of those ballots highest remaining preference. This process shall be repeated until a majority-vote winner is obtained."
[submitted by Tim Illingworth and Mark Olson]

In Article 3, there is more text explaining how the Site Selection count is different from the Hugo count than would be used in defining the Site Selection count separately. This amendment defines the site-selection voting system separately.

This motion would have the effect of eliminating the run-off between the winner and "None of the Above" from the site-selection count. Since we usually get a first-ballot winner in Site Selection, this is of little practical importance, but it will reduce the number of nightmare outcomes by one.

Actually, the first two parts of this motion will do the trick perfectly well by themselves, but I've included the amendment to Section 3.4.4 as its easier to strike wording from a motion at the Business Meeting than it is to insert it.

The Chair expressed the opinion that the explanation was correct. Mr. Sacks objected to consideration; the objection failed few to many. Default debate time 20 minutes; 5, 2, 10, and 12 minutes also proposed; 10 minutes voted.

14. An Alligator Sandwich

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

Move Section 1.5.5 to become Section 1.8.2. Replace the remainder of Section 1.5 with the following new sections:

1.5.1: Each Worldcon shall offer supporting and attending memberships.
1.5.2: The rights of supporting members of a Worldcon include the right to receive all of its generally distributed publications.
1.5.3: The rights of attending members of a Worldcon include the rights of supporting members plus the right of general attendance at said Worldcon and at the WSFS Business Meeting held thereat.
1.5.4: Members of WSFS who cast a site-selection ballot with the required fee shall be supporting members of the selected Worldcon.
1.5.5: Voters have the right to convert to attending membership in the selected Worldcon within ninety (90) days of its selection, for an additional fee set by its committee. This fee must not exceed two (2) times the site-selection fee and must not exceed the difference between the site-selection fee and the fee for new attending members.
1.5.6: The Worldcon Committee shall make provision for persons to become supporting members for no more than 125% of the site-selection fee, or such higher amount as has been approved by the Business Meeting, until a cutoff date no earlier than ninety (90) days before their Worldcon.
1.5.7: Other memberships and fees shall be at the discretion of the Worldcon Committee.

[submitted by Tim Illingworth and Mark Olson]

I believe that this makes no change to existing practice but is a lot easier to follow.

This incorporates the changes of "voting fee" to "site-selection fee" that are in "Calling a Spade a Spade..." Section 1.5.1 is new text, but has no effect.

15. Its a Worldcon, Dammit

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

Delete Section 3.7 and insert a new section before 3.6 as follows:

3.x: A site outside North America is eligible for selection in any year. A site within North America is eligible for selection if it is within the appropriate region, as defined below. The North American regions shall rotate in the order Western, Central, Eastern region. An site shall be ineligible if it is within sixty (60) miles of the site at which selection occurs.

In Section 3.6, replace "sites, North America" by "sites within North America, it".
In Section 3.8: Delete the first sentence. Replace the second sentence by "If the selected Worldcon site is not in North America, there shall be a NASFiC in the North American region eligible that year."

[submitted by Tim Illingworth and Ben Yalow]

This amendment makes no change to current practice. It changes the Constitutional view of the Worldcon from being a North American convention which occasionally happens elsewhere to being a worldwide convention with special provisions for North America.

16. Best Related Book

MOVED, to replace Section 2.2.5 of the WSFS Constitution ("Best Non-Fiction Book") by the following:

Best Related Book. Any work whose subject is related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time in book form during the previous calendar year, and which is either non-fiction or, if fictional, is noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text.

[submitted by George Flynn and Mark Olson]

The Non-Fiction Book category was originally intended as a means of honoring "miscellaneous" books, i.e., any book that was not a novel or a story collection. The imprudent choice of the term "non-fiction" has led to repeated arguments over whether particular works are fictional or not, and books with much voter support have sometimes been ruled ineligible. This motion would replace "non-fiction" by "related", in an attempt to make the categorys definition match the kinds of works that people have actually tended to nominate. (Note that the term "related" is already included in the Best Fanzine definition, and its inclusion in Best Dramatic Presentation is up for ratification.)

The "noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text" clause is intended to embrace art books like Dinotopia, in which the fictional text is primarily a vehicle to support the art (and which would otherwise be orphaned if the Best Original Artwork category is abolished). Here and elsewhere, the intent is for the voters, not the administrators, to decide which works are appropriate.

22. Revised Best Non-Fiction Hugo

[MOVED, to] amend Section 2.2.5 of the WSFS Constitution by substituting the phrase "history, biography, autobiography, or critical study" for "non-fictional work", as follows:

Best Non-Fiction Book. Any history, biography, autobiography, or critical study whose subject is the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom appearing for the first time in book form during the previous calendar year.

[submitted by Lew Wolkoff, Sara Paul, Rebecca Kaplowitz, and Ira A. Kaplowitz]

Ms. Dashoff moved to amend Item 16 by striking the word "non-fiction" and substituting "history, biography, autobiography, or critical study" [from Item 22]. In response to an inquiry, the Chair ruled that this wording would make many art books ineligible, and at least some general encyclopedias.

Mr. Feldbaum moved to postpone the whole stack of motions to Saturday. Mr. Wolkoff expressed the wish to postpone the matter to next year. Mr. Feldbaum made the point of order that the Standing Rules prohibited this [old SR 13]; the Chair agreed that Mr. Wolkoffs amendment was out of order. Mr. Illingworth asked whether it would be in order to move to refer both motions to a committee to report Saturday: Yes. Mr. Yalow moved to suspend the rules to permit postponement until next year (pointing out that such an action could be reconsidered on Saturday); the Chair ruled that such a suspension was out of order, since the rule in question protects absentees. Ms. Hertel moved the previous question: Passed. The motion to postpone to Saturday was then passed.

The matter to be considered Saturday was thus the choice between Items 16 and 22, with an amendment pending on Item 16 (5 minutes debate time on the latter). Since no debate time had been set for the main motion, the 20-minute default time would remain in effect.

17. Which Deadline?

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

In Sec. 3.8.4, replace "deadline" by "deadline for the printed ballot"; and replace "all voting fees collected" by "any voting fees collected".
In Sec. 3.1, replace "deadline" by "ballot deadline".

[submitted by George Flynn and Mark Olson]

The Constitution (in Sec. 3.5) now mentions two site-selection "deadlines": the 180-days-out deadline to file for the printed ballot, and the close-of-the-voting deadline to file as a write-in bid. This clarification would eliminate a possible source of misinterpretation. In particular, it would make clear that no NASFiC election is to be held if no bidders file in time for the printed ballot. Thanks to Covert Beach for suggesting the change from "all" to "any", making clear that voting fees don't have to be collected. (The change in Sec. 3.1 here is also included in Tim Illingworths "Calling a Spade a Spade . . ." motion.)

18. [New Article III]

MOVED, to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution by deleting the entire present text and substituting the following:

Section 1: Manner of Selection. WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held three (3) years from the date of the current Worldcon. Voting shall be by {by} ballots cast by mail or at the current Worldcon by those individual WSFS members who have paid at least twenty-five U.S. dollars ($25.00) or equivalent, or such other minimum voting fee as may be unanimously agreed by the current Worldcon Committee and all bidding committees filing before the deadline, towards membership in the Worldcon whose site is being selected. Tallying shall be as described in Section 2.9. The current Worldcon Committee shall administer the mail balloting, collect the advance membership fees, and turn over those funds to the winning Committee before the end of the current Worldcon. The site-selection voting totals shall be announced at the Business Meeting and published within a year by the winning Committee, with by-mail and at-convention votes distinguished.

Section 2: Ballots. Site-selection ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership- number spaces to be filled in by the voter. Each site-selection ballot shall list the options "None of the Above" and "No Preference" and provide for write-in votes, after the bidders and with equal prominence, and indicate the minimum voting fee.

Section 3: Counting of Ballots. The name and address information shall be separated from the ballots and ballots counted only at the Worldcon with two (2) witnesses from each bidding committee allowed to observe. Each bidding committee may make a record of the name and address of every voter.

A ballot voted with first or only choice for "No Preference" shall be ignored for site selection, and a ballot with lower than first choice for "No Preference" shall be ignored if all higher choices on it have been eliminated in preferential tallying; however, in the event of a tie between two nominees other than "No Preference", the next choices ranked after "No Preference" on ballots may be used to break the tie.

"None of the Above" shall be treated as a bid for tallying and shall be the equivalent of "No Award" with respect for Section 2.9. If it wins, the duty of site selection shall devolve upon the Business Meeting of the current Worldcon. If the Business Meeting is unable to decide by the end of the Worldcon, the Committee for the following Worldcon shall make the selection without undue delay.

All ballots shall be initially tallied by their first preferences, even if cast for a bid that the administering Committee has ruled ineligible. If no eligible bid receives a majority on the first round of tallying, then on the second round all ballots for ineligible bids shall be redistributed to their first eligible choices, and tallying shall proceed according to normal preferential-ballot procedures.

Section 4: Bidding Committee Eligibility. To be eligible for site selection, a bidding committee must present adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed facilities, such as a conditional contract or letter of agreement; and must state the rules under which the World[con] Committee will operate, including a specification of the means of selection and replacement of their chief executive officer or officers. Written copies of these rules must be made available to any member of WSFS on request. For a bid to be allowed on the printed ballot, the aforementioned rules and agreements, along with an announcement of intent to bid, must be filed with the Committee that will be administering the voting no later than 180 days prior to the opening of the administering convention; to be eligible as a write-in, a bid must file these documents by the close of the voting. If no bids meet these qualifications, the sel[e]ction shall proceed as though "None of the Above" had won.

Section 5: Site Eligibility. To ensure equitable distribution of sites, no site shall be eligible for selection if it is within three hundred (300) miles of the site at which selection occurs, or of that then planned for any subsequently selected Worldcon; or if it is in the same metropolitan area, in the opinion of the administering Committee, as more than one of the preceding ten (10) Worldcons. A Committee decision against a bid's eligibility under this section may be appealed to the Business Meeting of the administering Worldcon.

Section 6: NASFiC Selection. In the event of a Worldcon site outside North America being selected, a NASFiC shall be held, and its site shall be selected by the identical procedure to the Worldcon selection except as provided below or elsewhere in this Constitution:

(a) Voting shall be by written ballot administered by the following year's Worldcon, with ballots cast thereat or by mail, and with only its members allowed to vote.

(b) If "None of the Above" wins, or no eligible bid files by the deadline, then no NASFiC shall be held and all voting fees collected for NASFiC site selection shall be refunded by the administering Worldcon without undue delay.

Section 7: Future Bidder Presentations. Each Worldcon Committee shall provide a reasonable opportunity for bona fide bidding committees for the Worldcon to be selected at the following Worldcon to make presentations.

Section 8: Contingency on Collapse of Committees. With sites being selected three (3) years in advance, there are at least three selected current or future Worldcon Committees at any time. If one of these should be unable to perform its duties, the other selected current or future Worldcon Committee whose site is closest to the site of the one unable to perform its duties shall determine what action to take, by consulting the Business Meeting or by mail poll of the WSFS if there is sufficient time, or by decision of the Committee if otherwise.

[submitted by Louis Epstein and Linda Fitzpatrick]

Mr. Illingworth objected to consideration; the objection was approved many to 1, so item 18 was killed.

19. Obit or Dictum

WHEREAS (1) The Science Fiction Field, begun approximately in the 1930s, is demonstrably aging; and

WHEREAS (2) The founding members of the Science Fiction Field are dying in ever-increasing numbers; and

WHEREAS (3) The subsets of the Science Fiction Field Science Fiction films, comics, tv shows, etc. aren't doing any better; and

WHEREAS (4) The Memorial List in the Worldcon Program Book/Souvenir Book/Whatever Its Called is getting longer and extending deeper [The Chair will please rule out of order any allegedly jocular side remarks involving Six Feet of Depth!] into the Field year by year; and

WHEREAS (5) The cut-off date for inclusion in such a list is usually no later than 1 July of the Worldcon year; and

WHEREAS (6) Persons who would otherwise be included on the Memorial List, who die after July 1 but before September 10, are very easily missed for inclusion on the list for either the World[c]on of their Death Year or that of the succeeding year; and

WHEREAS (7) The Omission of Important People from the ML reflects badly on the Worldcon Committees of both years; and

WHEREAS (8) People keep doing it anyway, no matter HOW inconsiderate it is;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The World Science Fiction Convention, its Society[,] and its Business Meeting{,} do hereby Strongly Urge and Admonish all persons connected in any way, past or present (or future), to the Science Fiction Field or its subfields, NOT to die between July 1 and September 10, NOR permit the notice of their passing to be first publicized to the Science Fiction Field and/or its subfields during that ten-week period

[submitted by Bruce E. Pelz, Seth Breidbart, Tim Illingworth, Mark Olson, Ed Green, and Richard H. E. Smith]

Numerous objections to consideration were made; the vote being about even (less than two-thirds), the objection failed. Mr. Sacks made the point of order that the motion was beyond the competence of the assembly. The Chair ruled that the point was well taken, in that the matter was outside the purposes of the Society; but added that the motion could be considered if two-thirds wished to do so. Mr. Olson appealed the ruling of the Chair (with the intent of allowing consideration by a majority vote): The Chair was overruled. Mr. Dashoff moved to divide the question at the "NOR"; the motion failed. Mr. Olson moved to recommit the motion to a committee consisting of Mr. Pelz, to report back at his earliest convenience with a version including a penalty clause. Ms. Kaplowitz moved the previous question, which was passed. The motion to refer to a committee then passed.

20. Median of the Track

MOVED, to replace the last sentence of Section 3.2 of the WSFS Constitution with

If agreement is not reached, the default fee for WSFS Site Selections shall be the Median (Middle Value) of the US$ fees used in the previous three Worldcon Site Selections.

[submitted by Covert Beach and Judith E. Kindell]

This would have the effect of placing the decision in the hands of the bidders for the previous three years. By their nature, the bids tend to do a lot of analysis on what they want the fee to be in light of their estimated costs, so are probably better judges of what is currently reasonable than ad-hoc arguments in the Business Meeting.

By using the Median, rather than the mean, it avoids problems with the mean coming up with odd values. By using the Median of three, any unusually high or low values pass through unnoticed. It also means that an[y?] change takes about the same amount of time as a constitutional amendment.

In my opinion, this would almost eliminate the threat of voting fee terrorism by a bidder, because the default in force is much more likely to be reasonable.

21. Date Restrictions for the NASFiC

MOVED, to amend Sec. 3.8.2 of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following:

A NASFiC shall not be held on any of the dates that the Worldcon for that year is being held, based upon the dates specified in the Worldcon filing papers.

[submitted by Rick Katze and Gary Feldbaum]

Note added in agenda: [The Secretary wonders if this would have the intended effect if the overseas Worldcon were to change its dates during the period between its filing and the start of the NASFiC selection.]

Default debate time 6 minutes; 10 minutes also proposed; 6 minutes voted.

[MOVED, to add] the following paragraph {should be added} after Section 2.14 [of the WSFS Constitution]:

The title of "Grand Master" shall be given to any individual who has received five or more Hugos for professional work in science fiction (as writer, artist, and/or editor). This shall apply to {both} current recipients of five or more Hugos as well as to all future recipients. Recipients of the Gandalf (Grand Master) Award, which was awarded between 1974 and 1980 by the Hugo voters in those years, are also included. Special Category Hugos awarded by a Worldcon Committee in accordance with Section 2.2.14 (or predecessor or successor language) and the Retrospective Hugos shall also be included in an individuals total count. Future Worldcon Committees shall include a list of current Grand Masters in the Program Book or other materials distributed to all WSFS members in attendance at the Worldcon. If an individual is receiving his or her fifth Hugo for professional work, and thus attaining Grand Master status, the Worldcon Committee presenting that award shall note this fact by such actions as including it on the Hugo Award or by any other means that it deems proper.

[submitted by Lew Wolkoff, Rebecca Kaplowitz, Ira A. Kaplowitz, Todd Dashoff, Catherine Olanich, Judith C. Bemis, and Robert E. Sacks]

[A page of "Background Information," listing those who would already qualify for Grand Master status or were close to doing so, is omitted here. G.F.]

Mr. Illingworth objected to consideration; there being more than two thirds against consideration, Item 23 was killed.

Under Item 10, a financial report was received from LoneStarCon 2 (see p. A4).

The only remaining matter on the agenda was Item 8.

Mr. Yalow moved to adjourn; so voted, at 11:55 A.M.

• Business Passed On from Intersection
• Committee Reports
• New Business Submitted to L.A.con III
• Committee Reports (redux)

The meeting was called to order at 10:16 A.M. In response to the Chairs introductory remarks, Mr. Sacks asked whether one could raise a point of order over whom the Chair recognized: Yes.

Business Passed On from Intersection

2. Clarification of Fanzine and Semiprozine Eligibility -- Item 2 was ratified unanimously.

3. Now Just What Rules Take Precedence? -- Item 3 was ratified unanimously.

4. Extending Dramatic Presentation Eligibility to Related Subjects -- Item 4 was ratified.

Mr. Sacks gave notice of two motions for next year: (1) to recognize Apa:WSFS and other WSFS-sponsored publications; (2) to add a clause on "the customs and usages of WSFS" to the new text of Sec. 4.1. [These motions were later formally submitted: see Agenda for Next Year]

Committee Reports

		First Seat:				Second Seat:				Third Seat:
Feldbaum		19	22	43
Francis		16	17			28	29	42
Boucher		17	17			21	24	32		42
Ross-Mansfield		14	18	27		17	21			22
Boettcher		8				8				9
total votes	74					74				73

Thus Mr. Feldbaum, Ms. Francis, and Mr. Boucher were elected for three-year terms.

8. Report of Standing Rules Working Group -- Mr. Standlee asked that this be postponed to the end of the agenda: No objection.

10. Worldcon Reports -- No additional reports had been received. It was noted that a report was still owed by MagiCon.

New Business Submitted to L.A.con III

12. Let the NASFiC Administrator Administrate -- Item 12 was passed, many to about 2.

13. Tally-Ho! -- Mr. Sacks moved to amend by inserting ", except that None of the Above shall never be eliminated" after "preference" at the end of the next-to-last sentence. The amendment was passed, by a vote of about 35 to 20. Item 13 was passed as amended, many-few.

14. An Alligator Sandwich Item 14 was passed, many-1.

15. Its a Worldcon, Dammit -- Item 15 was passed, many-2.

16. Best Related Book and 22. Revised Best Non-Fiction Hugo (see p. 6) -- The question was still on the choice between Items 16 and 22. Mr. Sacks moved to refer the entire matter to a committee to report next year, to report either one or two motions. Mr. Russell moved to amend to have the committee report on Sunday: Passed. The motion to refer to a committee then passed. [By default, the committee consisted of Mr. Flynn and Mr. Wolkoff.]

17. Which Deadline? -- Item 17 was passed, many-1.

[The tellers for the Mark Protection Committee election delivered their report (see above) at this time.]

19. Obit or Dictum -- The following written report was received from Mr. Pelz:

In response to the recommendation of the Business Meeting on 20 [sic] August that the above Resolution be committed to this committee, I/We hereby submit:

Codacil to: Obit or Dictum
Persons not following this recommendation shall be penalized as follows: "Transportation for life and then to be fined forty pounds."
PROVIDING THAT: Such penalty shall be applied only after the defendant has been haled (and heartied) into court to answer the charge.
Bruce Pelz

The report having been read, it was treated as an amendment. -- Mr. Sacks moved to refer Item 19 to a committee to report next year: The motion failed by a vote of 29-32. -- Mr. Sacks then moved to postpone until Sunday. Mr. Bloom wished to amend by postponing until after adjournment, but was ruled out of order. By a vote of 35-24, Item 19 was postponed to Sunday.

20. Median of the Track -- The Secretary, who had been authorized to redraft the original motion, submitted the following text:

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows: Delete the sentence in Sec. 3.1 beginning "The minimum voting fee", and replace the first sentence of Sec. 3.2 by

Voting shall be limited to WSFS members who have purchased a supporting membership in the Worldcon whose site is being selected. The cost of the supporting membership shall be set by unanimous agreement of the current Worldcon Committee and all bidding committees who have filed before the ballot deadline. If agreement is not reached, the default fee shall be the median (middle value) of the US dollar fees used in the previous three Worldcon site selections.

[Note that this version, at Mr. Beach's request, incorporates some language from Item 11 ("supporting membership" rather than "voting fee"). Should Item 11 be defeated, Item 20 can easily enough be modified to reflect the current language.]

21. Date Restrictions for the NASFiC -- Item 21 was passed, many-few.

Committee Reports (redux)

SR Amendment A (SRWG report, p. 7; revision, Appendix, p. A2) -- Mr. Standlee asked unanimous consent to delete "or withdraw" in both versions of the motion: No objection. -- The amendment by substitution failed, few to many. -- The original motion (as amended) then failed, 11-18.

SR Amendment B (SRWG report, p. 8; revision, p. A2) -- There was no objection to the change on p. A2. -- The motion passed as amended, many-2.

Mr. Epstein moved to adjourn: Failed.

SR Amendment C (SRWG report, p. 8) -- There was no objection to accepting the amendment by substitution. On the motion as amended, Mr. Yalow moved to suspend the rules and postpone indefinitely: Passed by more than two-thirds.

SR Amendment D (SRWG report, p. 8) -- Passed, many-few.

SR Amendment E (SRWG report, p. 8) -- Mr. Standlee moved to suspend the rules and postpone indefinitely: The vote was 17-12, which failed of two-thirds. In response to an inquiry, the Chair ruled that defeat of this motion would have no effect on whether the rules in question were suspendable or not. The Chair suggested replacing the current text by the more general "Rules protecting the rights of absentees may not be suspended." At the suggestion of someone else, the words ", including this rule," were inserted. Without objection, the substitution was accepted, and the motion was passed as amended.

On the SRWGs recommendation, Mr. Sacks's amendment to SR 5 (p. A1) was considered next. -- Mr. Epstein moved to replace unanimous consent by a four-fifths vote: Failed 10-13. -- The original amendment was corrected by changing "may only be suspended by" to "may be suspended only by". The previous question was voted, and the amendment failed overwhelmingly.

The meeting proceeded to set debate times for the Constitutional amendments:

Constitutional Amendment A (SRWG report, p. 9) -- Default debate time 6 minutes; 2 minutes also proposed; 2 minutes voted.

Constitutional Amendment B (SRWG report, p. 9) -- Default debate time 20 minutes; 10, 4, and 6 minutes also proposed; 6 minutes voted.

Constitutional Amendment C (SRWG report, pp. 910) -- Default debate time 20 minutes; 13, 8, 10, and 6 minutes also proposed; 10 minutes voted.

Proposed Resolution (SRWG report, p. 10; revision, p. A2) -- Default debate time 20 minutes; 15, 10, 30, and 6 minutes also proposed; 15 minutes voted.

Mr. Russell gave notice that he would introduce the resolution "A Sense of Number" on Sunday. -- The meeting adjourned at 12:24 P.M.

• Site-Selection Business
• Committee Reports
• New Business Submitted to L.A.con III
• Committee Reports (redux)

The meeting was called to order at 10:15 A.M.

Site-Selection Business

Mr. Matthews moved to consider the remaining new business before committee reports. Mr. Yalow suggested dealing with the Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee first; there was no objection to dealing with both the latter and the Mark Protection Committee at this time.

Committee Reports

6. Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee -- Mr. Standlee took the chair, and Mr. Eastlake delivered the report:

1 September 1996

The machine readable form of the committees compilations from before 1994 (which extended back to 1976) appear to be lost but hard copy is available and the data is being re-entered. The committee intends to make its full cumulative report available through the web page.

Moved: to continue the Nit Picking and Fly Specking Committee (informally known as the Committee to Compile Resolutions and Rules of Continuing Effect) with its current membership to report to the next WSFS Business Meeting at San Antonio.

Donald E. Eastlake 3rd

Glasgow, Scotland, 1995.

Presiding Officer: Kevin Standlee
Deputy Presiding Officer: Tim Illingworth
Secretary: George Flynn
Timekeeper: Gary Feldbaum

1995-M-1: It is the sense of the WSFS that it is inappropriate for a Worldcon Committee to gather additional demographic data on the site-selection and/or the Hugo Award ballots beyond that which is required by the WSFS Constitution, or useful for the efficient administration of the balloting.

1995-R-1: Balloting is necessary, unless the rules are suspended, even if the number of Mark Protection Committee nominees is the same as the number of seats to fill, since write-ins are allowed.

1995-R-2: It is out of order, unless the rules are suspended, to change an existing working group to a committee.

1995-R-3: It is out of order to amend a motion so as to simply undo an amendment previous[ly] adopted at the same session; however, the motion to Reconsider may be available.

1995-R-4: In response to an inquiry as to the meaning of "published in advance" in rules related to the Business Meeting published in advance by the Worldcon Committee, the Chair ruled that such rules would have to be printed with the official documents, and not included by reference, although a reference could be made to an existing parliamentary manual.

1995-R-5: The Chair ruled that the Standing Rules do bind the Worldcon Committee.

1995-R-6: Persons casting site-selection ballots by mail may change their vote as long as practical until the tallying begins.

It was pointed out that 1995-R-6 meant it was appropriate to allow a change, not that it was required. Mr. Eastlake moved the above motion to continue the committee: Passed without objection. Mr. Eastlake resumed the chair.

New Business Submitted to L.A.con III

19. Obit or Dictum -- Mr. Bloom moved to transfer Item 19 to the end of the current agenda: Failed. -- Mr. Ruh moved to suspend the rules to postpone Item 19 indefinitely, and to expunge all mention of it from the minutes. The Chair ruled that expunging from the minutes was not in order, since it would require a majority of the entire Society. The vote to suspend the rules was less than two-thirds, so the motion failed. -- Mr. Olson movedto refer Item 19 to Bruce Pelz, to decide where the transportation shall be to. Mr. Yalow moved the previous question on the entire stack: Passed. The motion to refer to committee then passed overwhelmingly.

Mr. Russell was allowed to introduce the following motion:
24. Resolution: A Sense of Number

It is the sense of the Business Meeting that the Standing Rules would be easier to use, now and in the future, if:

(1) related items were grouped together under meaningful headings.
(2) rule numbers were loosely packed.

[submitted by Richard S. Russell, Tom Veal, T.J.P. Illingworth, Seth Breidbart, Sharon Sbarsky, John Pomeranz, and Lynn C. Anderson]

Explanation: This resolution does not, in and of itself, accomplish anything. It is intended as a gentle go-ahead to the Business Meeting Secretary to use his technical-amendment authority to provide a user-friendly numbering system for the newly adopted Standing Rules.

Paragraph 1 of the resolution suggests that the Standing Rules would be easier to use if the rules were grouped together in the manner of the articles and sections of the Constitution. For example, the report of the Standing Rules Working Group (SRWG) noted after "SR 23" that Rules 24 to 29 ". . . are mainly in the nature of special rules of order . . ." (that is, deviations from Roberts); they might logically be grouped together.

That same note also suggests that ". . . future maintainers of the Standing Rules [should] insert new rules in places where they would fall logically, rather than simply tacking them onto the end of the [existing] document." But the current numbering system uses tightly packed sequential integers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .), which do not lend themselves to future insertions without requiring annoying renumbering and correction of cross-references. Paragraph 2 contemplates the use of loosely packed decimal numbers (such as 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 4.25, 4.30 . . .), as in many state statutes.

[A page with an "Example of a Possible Restructuring" is omitted here. -- G.F.]

On a point of personal privilege, Mr. Olson asked that anything on colors like this [bright orange and shocking pink] not be distributed early in the meeting. -- The Secretary indicated that he had no intention of implementing this resolution if it were passed. -- Mr. Beach moved the previous question, which passed. Item 24 then failed.

10. Worldcon Reports -- An Intersection report was delivered by Vince Docherty, along with a financial report.

8. Report of Standing Rules Working Group -- The remaining motions in the SRWG report were considered:

Constitutional Amendment A (SRWG report, p. 9) -- Passed by unanimous consent.

Mr. Standlee announced that the SRWG had reconsidered Constitutional Amendment C, and asked permission to withdraw it. A motion to allow this passed overwhelmingly.

Constitutional Amendment B (SRWG report, p. 9) -- Mr. Sacks moved his amendment (Appendix, p. A1): Failed for lack of a second. -- Amendment B was passed, many-1.

Mr. Russell made an inquiry on Constitutional Amendment C (SRWG report, pp. 9-10): Since this motion was referred to the SRWG at ConAdian, was it not true that they didn't own it and could not deny the assembly the opportunity to consider it? The Chair ruled that this point was well taken, so Amendment C was before the meeting again. -- Mr. Olson moved that the rules be suspended and Amendment C postponed indefinitely: Passed (greater than two-thirds).

Proposed Resolution (SRWG report, p. 10; revision, p. A2) -- On amendment A to create a blank, the Chair interpreted this as whether to appoint a specific committee. Amendment A failed overwhelmingly. -- Amendment B, to allow a flexible schedule, passed unanimously.

In debate on the resolution as amended, Mr. Sacks argued that the SRWG had been improperly run; Mr. Yalow made the point of order that any other committee was irrelevant to the present motion, and the Chair admonished Mr. Sacks to be careful. -- In response to an inquiry by Mr. Beach, Mr. Standlee stated that he intended to submit a base document without substantive changes, plus possible separate amendments. -- The resolution as amended was passed overwhelmingly.

Presentations by 2000 Bidders -- The only bidder present was Chicago (presentation by Tom Veal).

Mr. Bloom moved to thank the podium staff for its courtesy and competence: Passed.

It was moved to adjourn sine die: Passed at 12:18 P.M.

Proposed constitutional amendments given first passage, and to be considered for ratification at LoneStarCon 2: Items 11, 12, 13 (as amended), 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 (as amended), 21, and Constitutional Amendments A and B in the SRWG report.. (These will be items 1-11 on next year's agenda -- in the order above, except that Item 20 has been placed immediately after Item 11 because of their overlap.)

Proposed constitutional amendments defeated: Items 18, 22, 23, and SRWG Constitutional Amendment C.

Proposed Standing Rules adopted: The complete base document recommended by the SRWG, plus their SR Amendments B (as amended), D, E (as amended). Amendments B and D respectively have been inserted as Standing Rules 17 and 32, and the base document's SR30 has been renumbered as SR 23; the other rules have been renumbered accordingly.

Proposed Standing Rules defeated: SR Amendments A, C (postponed indefinitely), and all of Mr. Sacks's proposals.

Other motions on agenda: Item 19 referred to committee. Item 24 defeated. Motions were also passed to continue three committees (cf. Items 6, 7, 9), and to create a Constitutional Revision Working Group (cf. SRWG report).

18. WSFS-Sponsored Publications

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following section to Article IV:

4.x: The Business Meeting may create or recognize sponsored publications that further the purposes of the Business Meeting or the Society. Status as a WSFS-sponsored publication shall continue until revoked. These publications may report to the Business Meeting, accept corporate aegis, and provide for their own organization and continuation, provided that changes to the organization of publications created by the Business Meeting must be reported. The Business Meeting may instruct and reorganize created publications, alter created publications into recognized publications, or appoint an officer or committee to restart a sponsored publication that has died.

PROVIDED THAT initially the created publications are "Resolutions of Continuing Effect" and "The Worldcon Runner's Guide" (formerly committees of the Business Meeting) and the recognized publications are "W.O.O.F." and "Apa:WSFS".
[submitted by Robert E. Sacks, Covert Beach, Robert J. MacIntosh, Samuel C. Pierce, B. Shirley Avery, A. Martin Gear, Michael Mason, Tim Illingworth, Linda Ross-Mansfield, Glen A. Boettcher, Mike VandeBunt, David A. Cantor, Martin Hoare, Ann A. Broomhead, Oz Fontecchio, Judith C. Bemis, Lew Wolkoff, Sara Paul, Larry Ruh, Richard S. Russell, and Victoria A. Smith]
[The Secretary notes that the use of italics for emphasis (as with "created" above) appears nowhere in the present text of the Constitution.]
The temporary committee structure does not adequately provide for continuing work; it also does not provide for not-for-profit tax-exempt funding. At the same time, the independent apas do not have access to the Business Meeting.

19. Master in Our Own House

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by inserting in the third sentence of Section 4.1, before the words "and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised", the words

the customs and usages of WSFS (including the resolutions and rulings of continuing effect);

[submitted by Robert E. Sacks, Bob Matthews, Covert Beach, Robert J. MacIntosh, Samuel C. Pierce, A. Martin Gear, Michael Mason, Robert L. Hillis, Brian L. Burley, Elizabeth L. Gross, Ross Pavlac, Martin Hoare, Ann A. Broomhead, Lew Wolkoff, Richard S. Russell, and Victoria A. Smith]

It has been asserted that Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised takes precedence over the customs of the Society. The Standing Rules Working Group has debated whether the Society usages on friendly amendment, objection to consideration, the taking and correcting of minutes, and the independence of Worldcon Committees are correct under the parliamentary authority. It is time to decide who is to be the Master and who the Servant.

Sue Ellen Adkins (2), Gary P. Agin (3), Lynn Anderson (1), B. Shirley Avery (123), Covert Beach (123), Beaman Theodore Bear (123), Judith Bemis (123), Leroy F. Berven (123), Kent Bloom (123), Glen A. Boettcher (123), Stephen Boucher (123), David Bratman (2), Seth Breidbart (123), Stephen R. Burroughs (23), Johnny Carruthers (123), Dennis Caswell (1), Cokie Cavin (2), John Chapman (3), Judith Chapman (3), David Clark (2), Nancy L. Cobb (3), Joni Brill Dashoff (1), Todd Dashoff (1), James Daugherty (123), Avery Davis (3), Steven desJardins (12), Martin E. Deutsch (123), Tom Digby (2), Vince Docherty (3), Holly Doebler (2), Paul Dormer (123), Fred Duarte (3), Chris E. Duval (2), Andrew Dyer (3), Donald E. Eastlake III (123), Chris Logan Edwards (23), Louis Epstein (123), Gary Keith Feldbaum (1), Gary Feldman (2), Linda Fitzpatrick (1), George Flynn (123), Janis Fontecchio (1), Oz Fontecchio (1), Crickett Fox (1), David Francis (2), Steve Francis (2), Sue Francis (12), Rosemarie R. Freeman (1), Pam Fremon (23), Douglas Friauf (123), Steven Gold (3), Robert Greene (13), Stephen J. Grosko (2), Liz Gross (1), B[illegible] Haddad (1), Dale Hales (3), Marsha Hamel (1), Lisa Hertel (13), Michael Higashi (1), Bob Hillis (12), Martin Hoare (1), David M. Hungerford III (2), Tim Illingworth (123), Saul Jaffe (123), Mary Jane Jewell (1), Becky Kaplowitz (1), Ira A. Kaplowitz (1), Rick Katze (2), Morris Keesan (1), Rick Kovalcik (3), Tom Kunsman (23), 'Zanne Labonville (123), Eric Larson (3), Steve Larue (3), Danny Lieberman (123), John Lorentz (1), Perrianne Lurie (23), Robert J. MacIntosh (123), John Mansfield (2), Michael Mason (123), Charles Matheny (1), Winton E. Matthews Jr. (23), Lori Meltzer (1), Karen Meschke (23), Ben Miller (1), G. Patrick Molloy (2), Cheryl Morgan (23), Mary Morman (1), Beth Moursund (123), Anne Norton (1), Catherine Olanich (1), Mark L. Olson (123), Chris O'Shea (1), Jim Overmyer (2), Tony Parker (123), Sara Paul (123), Maria Gavelis Pavlac (123), Ross Pavlac (123), Peggy Rae Pavlat (3), Angela Philley (1), Sam Pierce (12), Michael T. Pins (23), Gary Plumlee (2), John Pomeranz (123), Pat Porter (13), David Ratti (123), Mark E. Richards (123), Linda Ross-Mansfield (123), Larry Ruh (123), Richard S. Russell (123), Ruth Sachter (3), Robert E. Sacks (123), Sharon Sbarsky (1), Ben Schilling (123), Joyce Scrivner (13), Randall L. Shepherd (3), Pat Sims (3), Roger Sims (3), Dick Smith (3), Hank Smith (23), Leah Smith (3), Victoria A. Smith (12), Joyce Sperling (3), Kevin Standlee (123), Keith Stokes (3), Igor Tabak (2), Matthew B. Tepper (12), Don A. Timm (123), Bertie van Asseldonk (3), Mike Vande Bunt (123), Tom Veal (3), Lew Wolkoff (123), Richard Wright (3), Ben Yalow (123).

Funding for the production of these minutes was furnished by L.A.con III, the 1996 Worldcon, and assistance in printing and collating was provided by NESFA. For additional copies, write to Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc., P.O. Box 1010, Framingham, MA 01701; please include $1.00 each for copying and postage costs. An online version should eventually be available in various places, probably including wsfs.org and sflovers.rutgers.edu. (Given the number of font variations used in this version up to Mr. Standlee's bold italic double underline I am not attempting to produce an ASCII or HTML version. Anyone who wishes to do so has my blessing, but I take no responsibility for the results.) The minutes were completed on November 20, 1996.

-- George Flynn, Secretary, L.A.con III WSFS Business Meeting