Convention Business Meeting

A Convention Business Meeting is a gathering of fans at a fan-run science fiction con to discuss the actual mechanics of running the convention and policies for future conventions. Since these conventions depend on the unpaid work and cooperation of their members it's important to maintain transparency, to ensure that the members know and approve of any changes. For example, a business meeting might discuss financial matters related to the convention, the wording of rules related to an award (such as the Hugos), the constitution of the organization that operates the convention, sexual harassment policy, and so forth. Generally the length of these meetings rises steeply with the size of the convention.
* In the case of small conventions the business meeting might cover selection of the site and date for a later convention (usually by vote), problems that have arisen during the convention, and so forth.
*The largest conventions often have several hours of business to discuss, with meetings held over several days; since much of this business is of limited interest to the majority of fans, the most interesting and important decisions (such as choosing between rival bids for the next convention) tend to be run as separate program items distinct from the main business meeting, or by write in / on-line ballot before the convention.
** The World Science Fiction Society (Worldcon) business meeting is based on the concept of the US town meeting, a form of Athenian democracy. Any member of the convention is entitled to speak at the meeting. To avoid degenerating into a free-for-all, rules are imposed to ensure that anyone who wants to speak gets a chance, and time limits are imposed to prevent filibustering. The podium staff at the meeting have a function similar to the Speaker in a debate in the House of Commons. The rules of the meeting are designed, on purpose, to make it difficult to change things. If a motion is introduced that many people consider frivolous, or downright undesirable, a call of "Object to Consideration" followed by a vote in which three quarters are opposed to considering the motion leads to the motion being dropped without debate. Similarly, any amendment to the WSFS constitution needs to be ratified at the following year's convention before it becomes official. As consecutive Worldcons are usually held thousands of miles apart this prevents local groups flooding the meeting to change the constitution.  Most of the motions presented to the meeting are amendments to the constitution. As the constitution covers things like the rules for the Hugos and for site selection, this is how you change them. So, if you wanted to introduce a Hugo award for the best musical item, you'd introduce a motion to amend section 3.3 in article 3 of the constitution.  Site selection is officially part of the WSFS business meeting. Voting closes on the third night of the convention and the first order of business of the session of the meeting the following morning is a report by the tellers, followed by a presentation by the winning bid.  While most participants see these meetings as a necessary part of running a big convention, it's hard to avoid the impression that some regard them as an end in themselves, a complex game of rules modification akin to Nomic.
* Media conventions often refer to their business meetings as the Dead Dog Panel, since they are run as the last item of the program. They should not be confused with Dead Dog Parties, informal post-convention parties run at many conventions.
An unusual variant is an annual one-day mini-convention built around the British Science Fiction Association and Science Fiction Foundation Annual General Meetings. Since the BSFA is a registered company and the SFF is a charity both are legally required to allow free public access to these meetings. Originally both organisations ran them at the annual Eastercon SF convention, which was attended by some of their members, but it was pointed out that this caused problems and expense for anyone who wanted to take part in the AGMs but not the convention as a whole, and therefore was not genuine free public access. There were also legal problems in years when the convention was held in the Channel Islands, where different laws applied. To avoid these problems the meetings are now run jointly by the two organizations as a separate free convention, usually in London, with talks and panel discussions related to BSFA and SFF activities before and after the business meetings.
Commercially run conventions generally do not include a public business meeting, since decisions are made by the company that runs the convention.
==Examples==
* 2014 Worldcon business meeting minutes (Accessed 5th August 2015)
* BSFA 2015 AGM agenda and 2014 minutes (accessed 7th August 2015)
* Program for the 2015 Joint BSFA/SFF Mini-Convention and AGMs (accessed 7th August 2015)
==A 1984 British Star Trek Example==
The The British Star Trek Convention Business Meetings were on the Sunday after the con. The purpose of the meeting was for fans to put forth proposals for another con in the series, the one two years later. 
===1984 British Star Trek Rules===
File:Britconrules1.jpg|from 1984, click to read
File:Britconrules2.jpg|from 1984, click to read
File:Britconrules3.jpg|from 1984, click to read
===Fans' Comments on Some 1984 British Star Trek Examples===
==References==
Category:Convention Glossary