Agenda Discussion

In the SBAY Networked Meeting Procedures, the meeting begins in Agenda Discussion mode and returns at least briefly to this mode between each agenda item and at the end of the meeting. This is a phase of the meeting where the meeting body determines the overall flow of the meeting, what will be discussed. The only decisions which are made in Agenda Discussion mode are what is on the agenda, nominating or electing an individual to a position, or those issues for which there is already consensus and therefore the meeting does not need to go into consensus building discussion to consider them.

During the Agenda Discussion mode, the meeting is conducted in plain English discussion. Meeting attendees may request what they would like to change on the agenda. The meeting chair maintains order as needed, but should guide the discussion in the direction the meeting attendees would like to go, if a clear direction is evident.

There is no need to learn an arcane language of what "motions" to make. However, there is still structure to how the decisions are made during the Agenda Discussion mode. The meeting chair and anyone entering actions and discussion into the meeting chat must take what the attendees say they want and, while confirming via discussion that their wording has correctly captured the intent of the speaker, record the request being made from the list in this procedure. We call these "agenda requests", usually just shortened to requests.

In most cases, these requests are descended from motions in University of British Columbia's "Simplified Rules of Order" which in turn were descended from Robert's Rules of Order. They are not called motions because the meeting format is not so formal as to explicitly state them at every step. However, if a member of the meeting body uses the word "motion" in making a request, such as out of habit from other meetings they attend, there is no need to correct them. It should just be taken as any statement of their intent as it would be if spoken in plain English.

There is a similarity between agenda requests and the original concept of motions. The various requests are considered to have levels of precedence relative to each other, so that we know which ones may be made during another, possibly even allowed as an interruption. When the discussion has difficulty flowing in an orderly manner on its own, the meeting chair is authorized to refer more formally to the requests and their precedences if necessary, such as to maintain order, move the discussion along or establish agreement on the exact topic under discussion. Otherwise the formality of the request is mainly just in how it is recorded in the meeting chat.

The following table summarizes the requests that are recognized in an Agenda Discussion.

Requests marked "second required" indicate they must represent more than one person. A "second" or other explicit form of agreement is only required in meetings where the attendees come as individuals. In meetings where the attendees are elected or in any other way have a constituency, such as a board or committee meeting, then this step is not required and not used. If in effect, requirement for a second applies to everyone at the meeting, without giving special status to anyone. So at a meeting of the membership of an organization, a member who is also on the Board of Directors of that organization must still have their requests seconded because it is a membership meeting, not a board meeting.

Generally requests higher on the list are higher precedence and may be made during discussion of a lower-precedence request. Topic requests are equal at the lowest precedence. Immediate requests are equal at the highest precedence. The table below lists requests from highest to lowest precedence, which is generally the inverse of the importance to the whole meeting.

Notes:

• A = may be amended
• D = may be discussed (or is "debatable")
• I = may interrupt discussion of another request
• I* = may interrupt discussion of another request, if no new requests have been made
• P = prior to approval of agenda, accepted without a vote
• R = may be reconsidered
• S = must be seconded unless the attendees at the meeting represent constituencies
• V = requires supermajority vote to approve

The following sub-sections consider each of the requests by type in order from highest to lowest importance to the meeting, which is reverse order from the table above.