Meeting Decisions (3/31/99)

First off, the decision policy: There were a number of decisions made at the meeting. I don't want to have to run a ballot off of each, so this is the system off of which we will operate. If you read the log and have strong objections to the way things were decided, and have new input to add, beyond what was stated there, @send *hcou with that new information and create a ballot using @issue. We will vote on the issue then. If no ballots are opened within a week (the normal voting period), I will assume there are no objections, and the decision will be final.

Now, a description of the issues and the decisions that were made. A log will be posted shortly of as much of the meeting as I can find. :P

First: probationary apprentices. Several people brought up valid points in favor of them and opposed to them, and in the end we determined that the problem is less one with the system and more one with the interviewers. We need to interview more. If you aren't posted at Ista, you're invited to @emit a journeyman for the interview.
The final decision? No probationary apprentices

Second: staff positions. Doria was accepted as staff, and there may be others. We discussed how to determine which positions are needed in the Hall, and how to create new positions.
The final decision? Three people are necessary to create a position, only one person is required to interview and accept a candidate for that position. And whoever accepts the person should post a brief explanatory note to *harp about their responsibilities, IC and OOC.

Third: mentees. There are a number of unmentored apprentices, and with the number of posted journeymen, it's creating a burden for those council members still at the Hall. Also, it was suggested that journeymen should have mentors, to show them the ropes. Someone recommended that senior apprentices be permitted to mentor apprentices.
The final decision? Senior apprentices will be invited to take apprentices under their wing, and we must be especially certain that senior apprentices all have mentors. Unless the new journeyman requests otherwise, their mentor from apprenticeship will continue OOCly into their journeymanship, showing them the ropes of the council.

Fourth: Shinnai suggested that we need to do more for ourselves, holding advanced lessons for journeymen and masters, and allowing ourselves to rest and recover a bit with good RP among cool people, without the burdens of being a teacher. The idea was met with enthusiasm.
The final decision? Sounds cool; if you're in the mood, teach one already. ;) And just try to RP some and let yourself rest.

Fifth: a skills list. We're going to maintain an OOC skills list for all council members on the Harper page, so that people will know who does what, and we'll know to whom we can send people with specific problems. We were idea-generating for stuff to include.
The final decision? We got a list. I'll post it later tonight in the form of a questionaire to fill out. Shinnai offered to maintain it, so get your answers to her.

Sixth: The voting process for jman promotions. When should the OOC voting be done?
The final decision? The exam is useful for decisions; post a log of the exam on the web and vote the week after it. We can then do the promotion as a walking-the-tables ceremony. We'd also like to recruit an apprentice to ICly take the exam and purposely fail it, to make it clear that taking the exam is not synonymous with passing the exam. We should also make an effort to keep the exam private, so that only those told by the apprentice will know. Success will be public, failure as private as the apprentice wishes.

Seventh: Jerran suggested that the CM be allowed a vote in some or all issues.
The final decision? Not necessary or sensible. We need a tie-breaker.

Eighth: The apprentices feel isolated from the council. They want a more responsive, available council. They can be afraid to talk with us because they're afraid we'll get upset. This is, in part, do to the amount of red tape we need to wade through; things can get lost in the shuffle.
The final decision? We need to react more quickly when things are posted to *hcou. If you see something that you can deal with, deal with it.

Ninth: There are concerns that bad things are leaking out to the apprentices. People are becoming disillusioned with the craft. They have complaints and don't know who to talk to.
The final decision? We are going to convert the harper staff mailer into an anonymous harper-gripes mailer, for people to send any problems. Only council members will be allowed to subscribe. Council members are all asked to think twice before subscribing; if you think you're likely to get upset, stay away. *hcou will be given the old *hsta aliases.

Tenth.... Well, tenth was really just going around and talking about the council, with everyone reciting their homework answers. Please read the log for more detail here; no real decisions were reached other than that we have to cooperate and communicate more, and everyone has to make an effort to do things and to delegate things so they don't do everything.

Eleventh: Council membership. It was suggested that we should have stricter guidelines for council membership, related to council activity. Activity would be measured not in hours, but in things that are done and harper-related. Those people that are not participating would not be permitted to vote. Participation would include a number of things, including lessons, RP, interviews, posting comments on *hcou, helping appy-wannabes... Any of those things which fall under the category of craft-related and council responsibilities.
The final decision? People liked the idea, but weren't sure how to measure it. MAk will post about a verb on VP that could be adapted to this task.

Twelve (and this one's tiny): Who gets to be a staff member?
The final decision? All council members after a month of being a jman and feeling their way around things.

Thirteen: meetings. How often do we have harper meetings? Council meetings?
The final decision? Monthly, for each, with a meeting every other week. The council meetings will be arranged to best suit the members, the harper meetings will be moved around so that people with all kinds of schedules can make them. The CM will decide, since he/she should always be present to run the meeting.

Fourteen (tiny again): Everyone needs to @send stuff to Katja for the harper webpage.

Woo! And with that, I conclude this painfully spammy mail.

Teraille