[These minutes are essentially those prepared by the officers of the ConStellation WSFS Business Meeting (Kent Bloom, Presiding Officer; Mary Morman, Secretary), and used in editing the WSFS Constitution and related documents for L.A.con II's Progress Report 3 and Program Book, They have been edited to correct minor errors in spelling and punctuation, but otherwise appear verbatim. Added comments appear in brackets, like this paragraph.]
[This edition is being prepared for distribution at the L.A.con II WSFS Business Meeting by Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc., using surplus funds from Noreascon II (the 1980 Worldcon). Copyright 1984 by Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc.; all rights assigned to Baltimore '83 Inc. Edited by George Flynn,]
[[The electronic version was scanned by Pat McMurray in June 1998. Proof-reading and expansion by Tim Illingworth. I have moved the text of some of these motions around in the body, so that they occur when the motion first came before the Business Meeting rather than at the point of substantive debate. TI]]
The meeting was called to order at 10:03 a.m. with Kent Bloom presiding.
George Flynn, Secretary of the Chicon IV Business Meeting, asked that the following be inserted in the minutes of this meeting. There being no objection, it was so ordered:
On p3 of the published minutes, the final sentence of motion 3A (defining the Standing Committee of the Society) was inadvertently omitted:
"The Standing Committee shall determine and elect its own officers."
This sentence remained part of the motion as finally passed (Item 6A, p. 15 of the published minutes), and should appear as the final sentence of Section A in the corresponding item of business passed on to ConStellation (printed as Item 1 in Progress Report 3, and I believe as Item 2 in the copy submitted for the Program Book).
The Chair recognized Don Eastlake, who gave the WSFS Mark Registration Committee report. A copy of the report is attached.
The Chair asked that items be considered in the order listed in the Program Book (pp, 148 and 150); hearing no objection, the items were so ordered.
(This would divide the present "Best Fanzine" Hugo Award category into separate "Fanzine" and "Semiprozine" categories, with the intent that the Fanzine category be limited to truly amateur publications. It would also establish a criterion for "professional" publications based on the size of the press run.)
-- 6- and 12-minute [debate] limits were suggested and seconded, and the 12-minute limit passed by a minority vote.
(This would set up a continuing mechanism for protecting and renewing the registration of the WSFS service marks (listed in Article I, Section 6. If this and the following item are passed, they should probably be inserted after Article IV, Section 4.)
-- 5- and 12-minute limits were suggested and seconded, and the 12-minute limit passed by a plurality.
(This is a codification of current practice)
-- A 3-minute limit was suggested, seconded, and passed by majority vote.
(This would replace by nonsexist language the only occurences of "he" and "his" in the Constitution.)
-- A 3-minute limit was suggested, seconded, and passed by majority
(Under both the current Constitution and this amendment, works of fiction originally appearing in foreign languages may be eligible for Hugos twice: whenoriginally published, and in the year when an English translation is published. This amendment purports to clarify the language of this rule, but makes no substantive change.)
-- 5- and 10-minute limits were suggested and seconded, and the 10-minute passed by a majority of the hall.
The purpose of this order of business was to set debate time for the following proposed amendments to the WSFS Constitution:
A debate limit of 10 minutes was moved, seconded, and passed by a majority vote.
"Voting for the site of such Continental Convention shall be by ballots cast at the current Convention as described in Article II, Section 18, and shall be limited to Society members who have paid at least ten dollars ($10.00) towards membership in the Convention whose site is being selected. The current Convention Committee shall administer the balloting, collect the advance membership fees, and turn over those funds to the winning Committee before the end of the current Convention. The minimum voting fee can be modified for a particular year by unanimous agreement of the current Convention Committee and all bidding committees who have filed a notice of their intent to bid with the current Convention Committee prior to January first of the year in which the balloting is to take place. The site-selection voting totals shall be announced at the Business Meeting and be published in the first or second progress report of the winning Committee."
Proposed by Candice Massey and Mark L. Evans
The Chair ruled this motion out of order. Massey objected. Hillis appealed the ruling. The motion was read by the Chair. Katze asked the Chair, as a point of information, why there was a conflict with Worldcon site-selection procedure. Chair answered that the motion required that activities in support of a NASFIC bid be required before an official decision was reached that a NASFIC would be held. Massey contended that the motion does not invalidate the site-selection procedure, but works hand in hand with it. Yalow maintained that the motion is contradictory. Veal stated that there was not sufficient reason for ruling the motion out of order even if it was contradictory. Sacks made a motion to permit a committee to revise the motion by Sunday morning. This was passed by a majority. Hillis asked, as a point of order, whether or not the motion was appropriate since there was an appeal on the floor. The point of order was ruled to be not well taken, as the motion had now been referred to committee.
Proposed by Candice Massey and Mark L. Evans
A 12-minute limit was proposed, but not seconded. The default, a 6-minute limit, applied.
This motion was not properly filed. The Chair asked for unanimous consent of the meeting to accept the motion for consideration. There were several objections. The motion was not accepted for consideration. Blair moved to form a committee to discuss the motion. There was no second. Hillis moved that Blair be allowed 2 minutes to explain his motion. This was seconded and passed. Blair discussed his proposed balloting procedure for 2 minutes; he suggested that there were several new ways to do the balloting.
[Motion by Robert L. Hillis, Robert E. Sacks, Judith E. Bemis.] Hillis spoke in favor of the motion. He suggested a time period of 1 to 3 in the afternoon, implied that there would be better attendance for a later meeting, and stated that too few people were making important decisions. Katze spoke against the motion, stating that he did not feel that future cons should be limited against what might be future preference. Sacks supported the motion, stating that Worldcon is a party con and that no one is awake in the early morning. Yalow spoke against the motion, stating that if one wanted to party one could simply stay up for the meeting and then sleep. He stated that many of those desiring to attend were part of the con administration and that the meeting needed to be scheduled for their convenience when few other activities were occurring. The motion failed by a majority vote.
[Motion by Hillis, Sacks, and Bemis] Hillis stated that he felt the current rule has been abused and used to get rid of personally offensive motions. St. Onge stated that the current rule is a way to get rid of trivial items and that he wants to keep it. Sacks, speaking for the motion, stated that he felt 2 minutes an appropriate time limit. Eastlake, speaking against, stated that the motion would lengthen meetings unnecessarily, and that he felt it would not be effective. Epstein, speaking for, stated that the current system does not really consider the content of the motion. The motion failed by a majority vote.
[Motion by Donald E. Eastlake, III, and Mike Glyer]
The following persons were nominated and accepted nomination: Don Eastlake, Jim Gilpatrick, Brian Burley, William Siros, Yale Edeiken, Gary Farber, Rick Katze, George Flynn, Kent Bloom, Craig Miller, Ben Yalow, Gail Kaufman, Robert Sacks, Mark Owings, Lise Eisenberg, Robert Hillis, Devra Langsam, Candice Massey, Moshe Feder, Leslie Turek, Dick Smith, and Gary Feldbaum.
The meeting was then adjourned.
The meeting was called to order at 10:03 a.m. with Kent Bloom presiding. The Chair asked that members stand to be recognized and to state their names to the Secretary before speaking.
Part A: Business Passed On from Chicon IV. (The items were taken according to the order that they were published in the Program Book. The time limit for debate on each item is given in parentheses immediately after the item number.) [See above for the texts of these items.]
The Chair was overruled by the majority of the meeting, Yalow's amendment was [thus] ruled out of order. There was no further debate. The amendment [Item 1] was passed by a majority and adopted.
[In Art. II, Sec, 2.] This amendment was passed by the majority. Epstein called a point of order, and was informed that this does not mean that the original amendment would need to be re-ratified. The question was called. The amendment as amended passed by a majority vote and was adopted.
Part B: Amendments Proposed for Primary Passage at ConStellation. [see above; texts are given at appropriate places below.]
Eastlake spoke for, stating that more time would allow people to get proper facilities, although there is a problem with keeping committees together that long. Miller spoke against, stating that he is in favor but pointing out that the vote for the con three years away will be held in the same region [as that] to be voted on, providing an opportunity to cram the ballot box with walk-ins: he wants to amend the rotation plan to deal with this problem. Yalow stated that no one will try to run a con right after running one, and that most people vote by mail anyway, and that walk-ins would not front the extra money needed to vote.
J. Eastlake made a motion to amend; Katze seconded. Sacks objected and was ruled out of order. The wording of the Eastlake motion, to be added to Article 111. Section 6:
"A site shall be ineligible if it is within 60 miles of the site at which selection occurs. New York in ’89 is exempted from this rule."
Ruh made a friendly amendment that was not accepted. Sacks opposed the motion, stating that it is a personal slur since his bid and J. Eastlake's bid are in competition; he called it a dangerous and fractious motion. Zellich stated that it works for other organizations. Katze moved to extend time for debate by 1 minute; so moved [i.e., so voted]. Rico offered a friendly amendment that the motion not include New York in ’89; this was accepted by J. Eastlake. The new motion to read:
A site shall be ineligible if it is within 60 miles of the site at which selection occurs. [[Sic]]
A vote on the amendment was called: ayes 26, nays 21. The amendment was so amended.
[There is much confusion on this point. It is claimed by a significant number of people who were present at the meeting that the proviso exempting the New York in '89 bid remained in the motion upon its passage. It was felt that the minutes had to be followed in certifying the text of the amendment for L.A.con II publications; however, it is anticipated that there may be a motion at the 1984 Business meeting to alter the record.]
Debate returned to the main amendment; 4 minutes of debate time remaining. Flynn stated that there would be local advantages. Eastlake stated that most voting is done by mail. Sacks spoke against; stating that he is upset about the effect on closely located groups of fandom; he stated again that he was upset. Skene spoke for, stating that she feels the rotation will have to be changed later but that the benefits outweigh the problems. Dazzo spoke against, saying that local cons can and will influence the vote. Sacks moved to extend the debate time 6 minutes; Hellinger seconded. So moved [voted]. Hellinger spoke for, stating that a committee could be formed to look into the problems of 1) rotation/selection change and 2) whether or not three years was long enough or if four would be better; he was ruled not in order at this time.
Hilton spoke to amend the term "3 years" to "4 years" in the entire amendment; this was seconded and debated. Sacks spoke against saying that bidding committees are not ready for this so soon. Katze stated that this was not germane. Hawkins felt that no city should be excluded by a rule and that there was a problem of voting in the same district, giving the current discussion as an example of that problem; he feels that this amendment to the amendment will avoid the problem. Turek spoke against, stating 4 years is too long; no one wants to make commitments so far in advance. Carmody moved to table the amendment; he was ruled out of order. Owings called for a vote on the motion. The vote failed, and the amendment was not amended.
The debate returned to the main amendment. A vote was called. The ayes were a majority, and the amendment was adopted for ratification at L.A. con. The amendment to read as follows:[The underlined language was not in the original text:]
[The text as distributed actually had "Worldcon" rather than 'Worldcons" in the proviso.]
Hellinger moved that a committee be formed as he had stated earlier, to report to L.A.con II. The motion was seconded and passed by a majority.
The revised text recommended by the drafting committee was as follows:
Flynn spoke to amend the word "Convention" [in clause(1)] to "Worldcon". No second.
[I believe that the minutes are in error here, and that the change was in fact accepted without objection, just as a similar change in Item C (for uniformity of style with the rest of the Constitution) later was.]
Sacks spoke to amend the date "January 1" to "March 1" [i.e., to insert "March 1 of" after "before" in clause (3)]; seconded. Yalow spoke [against], saying the longer deadline might be necessary to meet PR deadlines. A vote was called on the motion to amend, and the motion was defeated.
The vote was called on the amendment. The amendment was carried, and adopted for ratification at L.A.con II. The text of the amendment is as follows: [see above].
Evans, the original author, accepted substitutions from the committee [that redrafted Item B] This is now before the floor instead of the old amendment. Eastlake spoke to explain the changes.
The text recommended by the drafting committee, for consistency with Item B, was as follows:
Evans spoke in favor, stating that the original idea was that there were no rulings on the deadline, it was set by the publications and by the chair. This lets everyone know the deadlines in advance.
Miller spoke, questioning the term "no later than the previous Worldcon"; he suggested this read "the close of the previous Worldcon". This was accepted as a friendly amendment.
Sacks spoke against, stating that [th]is is a move to close out bidders; it is anti-democratic; hotels do not like to commit without money, most require a year-long binder with no promises made. Kaufman spoke for, stating that earlier voting lets fans budget their own money and make plans.
Flynn offered a friendly amendment to change "Convention Committee" to "Worldcon Committee", and [the amendment] was accepted.
Ferree spoke, stating hotels will commit because they can always sell the space again. The question was called, and the ayes carried a majority. The amendment was adopted, and will be carried over to L.A.con II for ratification. The exact text of the amendment is as follows:
[The words "the close of" do not appear at this point in the minutes, but the text above leaves no doubt that this amendment was in fact made. These words were therefore included in the text certified to L.A.con II and published.]
The meeting was adjourned.
The meeting was called to order at 10:06 a.m. with Kent Bloom presiding.
Balloting was as follows:
| Australia in '85 | None of the Above | No Preference | Other | Spoiled | Total | |
| 285 | 14 | 32 | 11 | 4 | 342 | |
| On-Site | 357 | 3 | 14 | 9 | - | 383 |
| Total | 642 | 17 | 46 | 20 | 4 | 725 |
Australia in ’85 was declared the winner, and made a presentation
There were three written nominations. Eastlake moved (seconded) to close nominations. Nominations were closed. The three nominees were Detroit, Columbus, and Austin. The three bidders agreed in advance on a method of site selection, which was announced at this time to be by written ballot. Ben Yalow was appointed by the Presiding Officer to monitor the ballot counting. [See Appendix for the results]
Philadelphia, New York, and Atlanta made presentations.
Balloting was done [see earlier for the nominees], and Lalor, Ruh, and J. Eastlake volunteered and were accepted to act as tellers to count ballots. [see Appendix for results]
Stuart Hellinger was appointed to chair the committee. Mark Evans, Ben Yalow, Craig Miller, and Mary Morman were appointed to serve on the committee.
The meeting was adjourned at l0:25a.m.
To: Kent Bloom
From: Ben Yalow
The final vote count for the NASFIC balloting is
| Austin | Detroit | Columbus | Highmore, SD. | No Preference | Total(includes spoiled) |
| 393 | 132 | 69 | 1 | 7 | 602 |
This is agreed to by all the bidders.
The report of the tellers for the election of WSFS Standing Committee members is as follows:
Elected to 3-year terms: Don Eastlake, Leslie Turek, and George Flynn
Elected to 2-year terms: Ben Yalow, Jim Gilpatrick, and Kent Bloom
Elected to 1-year terms: Craig Miller, William Siros, and Rick Katze
To: ConStellation Business Meeting
From: Donald E. Eastlake, III, Chairman
Date: 31 August 1983
This committee was continued by a motion at the Chicon IV Business Meeting. Its purpose is to take action to protect the names in use by the Society, such as Worldcon and Hugo Award. All actions by the committee were taken by its chairman, who drafted this report.
Major Activities
Recommendations
MOVED, if the Constitutional amendment creating the Standing Committee of WSFS is ratified, to transfer all responsibilities, authority, funds, and records relating to WSFS marks and held by the Mark Registration Committee or by Donald E. Eastlake, III, to the Standing Committee; if said amendment is not ratified, to continue the WSFS Mark Registration Committee to report to the L.A.con II Business Meeting with the membership listed below, and to continue the authorization of Donald E. Eastlake, III, as an Officer of WSFS, to act to register and protect the marks in use by the Society.
Committee: Donald Eastlake; George Flynn; Rick Katze, Esq.; Craig Miller; Kent Bloom, Esq.; and a member appointed by the 1985 Worldcon.
Respectfully submitted, (s) Donald E. Eastlake, III
[The motion above is that referred to in the minutes]
To: ConStellation Business Meeting
From: Donald E. Eastlake, III
Date: 31 August 1981.
| Balance as of Chicon IV | -33.05 |
| Donation from Denvention II | 250.00 |
| Donation from Chicon IV | 250.00 |
| Donation from L.A.con II | 250.00 |
| ------ | |
| 712.95 | |
| 712.95 | |
| Legal Fees and Expenses | -467.04 |
| ------ | |
| 245.91 | |
| Postage | -3.09 |
| ------ | |
| Balance 31 August 1983 | 242.82 |
| [[All figures in US Dollars]] | |
(S) Donald E Eastlake, III
[The following was not part of the minutes produced by the Business Meeting officers, but might as well be included here anyway.]
The WSFS Standing Committee elected at ConStellation held an organizational meeting at 10:01 A.M. on Monday, Sept. 5, 1983, in room 321 of the Baltimore Convention center. Present were Donald Eastlake, George Flynn, Willie Siros, Leslie Turek, and Ben Yalow (a majority of the elected members), with Craig Miller arriving a few minutes later.
Mr. Eastlake called the meeting to order, with Mr. Flynn acting as secretary. Nominations were solicited for Chairman: only Mr. Eastlake was nominated and the nominations were closed. Mr. Eastlake reported that a balance of $242 was being turned over to the Standing Committee by the WSFS Mark Registration Committee, and that all Worldcon committees asked to contribute had done so (except, of course, for Aussiecon).
The committee engaged in general discussion of its future activities and problems, including such matters as likely expenses, how to deal with violators of WSFS service marks, the possibility of registration in other countries, and whether "NASFIC" should also be registered; however, no action was taken on these matters. It was the consensus that no additional committee officers are needed at this time, with the Chairman handling all correspondence and finances. It was voted to acquire a post office box in the Boston area as a mailing address.
The meeting adjourned at 10:26 A.M.
George Flynn, Meeting Secretary
[As of 22 August 1984, the Standing Committee has held no further formal meetings. The mailing address mentioned in the minutes has been acquired: World Science Fiction Society, P.O. Box 12709 Kendall Square Station, Cambridge, MA 02142.]
[This edition [[the paper edition on which this electronic version is based]] of the 1983 WSFS Business Meeting minutes was completed on 22 August 1984. For additional copies, or copies of the minutes for 1980 through 1982, write to Noreascon II, Box 46. MIT P0, Cambridge, MA 02139.]