Subject

Year Key

Text

Current Reference

Disposition

Site Selection: Ballots

1978-01

MOVED, to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following:
Site selection ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership number spaces to be filled in by the voter. The name and address information shall be separated from the ballot and the ballots counted only at the convention with two witnesses from each bidding committee allowed to observe. Each bidding committee may make a record of the name and address of every voter.

S4.5.1

Ratified in 1979

Membership

1978-02

MOVED, to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following:
Members of the Society paying the minimum fee towards membership with their site selection ballots shall be members of the selected convention, with the right to receive all generally distributed publications. Those who have voted may convert to members with the right of general attendance at the selected convention and its Business Meeting by paying, within 90 days of site selection, an additional fee, set by the selected convention committee, of not more than the minimum voting fee and not more than the difference between the voting fee and the attending fee for new members.

S1.5.5

Changed "Those who have voted" to "Such members" and ratified in 1979

Constitution: Standing Rules

1978-03

MOVED, to amend Article IV of the WSFS Constitution by adding Standing Rules to those rules in accordance with which the Business Meeting is to be conducted, adding Standing Rules to the items to be printed by the Convention Committee, and substitute the following for Section 3:
The conduct of all the affairs of the Society shall be determined by this Constitution together with all ratified amendments hereto and such Standing Rules as the Business Meeting may adopt for its own governance.

Ratified in 1979

Site Selection: Tallying

1978-04

Each site selection ballot shall list the options "None of the above" and "No preference" after the bidders and with equal prominence. A ballot voted with first or only choice for "No preference" shall be ignored for site selection. A ballot voted with lower than first choice for "No preference" shall be ignored if all higher choices on the ballot have been eliminated in preferential tallying. "None of the above" shall be treated as a bid for tallying. If it wins, the duty of site selection shall devolve on the Business Meeting of the Current Convention. If the Business Meeting is unable to decide by the end of the Convention, the Committee for the following Convention shall make the selection without undue delay. When a site and committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Convention Committee, they are not restricted by region or other qualifications and the choice of an out of rotation site shall not affect the regional rotation for subsequent years. If no bids qualify to be on the ballot, the selection shall proceed as though "None of the above" had won.

S4.5

Ratified in 1979

Committees: Financial

1978-05

B. by striking the words "and should publish or have published by the following Convention Committee a final financial report" and appending the following:
Each Convention Committee shall retain an independent certified public accountant at least a year before their convention and shall publish a financial statement compiled and reviewed by said accountant within 90 days after their convention and a final financial statement within a year.

S2.9.2

The 1979 MBM amended "compiled and reviewed" to "prepared"and ratified amendment.

Site Selection: Rotation

1979-01

C. Replace Article III, Section 5, with the following:
When a convention site in the region "Outside North America" is selected, there shall be an interim Continental Convention in one of the North American Regions. Selection of the site of such Continental Convention may be by vote of the Business Meeting or by such other method as the competing bidders might agree upon.

Defeated in 1979

Site Selection: Tallying

1979-02

S4.1.4

Ratified in 1980

Site Selection: NASFiC

1979-03

(This would abolish the so-called NASFIC or Continental Convention. Basically there is no good reason for the WSFS to sponsor a convention to compete with the WORLDCON)

Defeated in 1979

Standing Rules: Meetings

1980-01

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules by adding the following to Rule 1: One Business Meeting session shall also be designated the Site-Selection Meeting where site-selection business shall be the special order of business.
(This clarifies what the Site-Selection Meeting is. In the current Standing Rules it is mentioned only in passing in Rule 17.)

R1.3

Passed in 1980

Standing Rules: Meetings

1980-02

MOVED, to amend Rule 2 of the Standing Rules by striking "and to ‘refer to committee’ " and inserting the following in its place:
to "divide the question", to "postpone" to a later part of the Preliminary Business Meeting, and to "refer" to a committee to report later in the Business Meeting.
(This motion makes more specific and complete the list of actions customarily taken at Preliminary Business Meetings. It clarifies the deferring to the main Business Meeting of final disposition of business, unless its consideration is objected to.)

R1.2

Passed in 1980

Standing Rules: New Business

1980-03

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules by inserting in Rule 4, after the word "attendees", the following:
unless it has actually been distributed to the attendees at the convention by the Convention Committee.
(This eliminates the requirement for the submitter to print up many copies of a motion if it is included in the Program Book or otherwise distributed by and at the convention.)

R2.2

Passed in 1980

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1980-04

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules by replacing Rule 7 with the following:
Unless it is an amendment by substitution, an amendment to a main motion may be changed only under those provisions allowing modification through the consent of the maker of the amendment, i.e., second-order amendments are not allowed except in the case of a substitute as the first-order amendment.
(This changes the rules to reflect a unchallenged precedent set several years ago by Robert L Hillis acting as presiding officer.)

R5.4

Passed in 1980

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1980-05

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules by deleting from Rule 16 the words "at any time".
(This motion is intended to eliminate any confusion over the fact that the motion to adjourn has traditionally been treated as non-privileged during the last session of the Business Meeting, as specified in "Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised".)

R5.7

Passed in 1980

Hugo Awards: Ballots

1980-06

MOVED, to amend Article II, Section 15 of the WSFS Constitution by inserting the following:
Nominations shall be solicited for, and the final ballot shall list, only the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best New Writer.

S3.10.2

Ratified in 1981

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1980-07

The complete numerical voting totals, including all preliminary tallies for first, second, ... places, shall be made public by the Convention Committee within ninety (90) days after the Convention.

S3.11.4

Ratified in 1981

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-08

Moved, to amend Article II of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following new section:
Best Non-Fiction Book: Any non-fictional work relating to the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time in book form during the previous calendar year.

S3.3.5

Ratified in 1981

Site Selection: NASFiC

1980-09

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 6 of the WSFS Constitution by deleting all of Section 6 after the first sentence.
(It would have the effect of abolishing the interim Continental Convention (NASFIC) currently held in North America when the Worldcon is outside of North America.)

OTC in 1980

Site Selection: NASFiC

1980-10

MOVED, to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following:
In the event of a Convention site being selected within North America, there shall be an interim Non-North American Convention to be held outside North America in the same year as the North American World Science Fiction Convention. Selection of the site of such a Non-North American Convention may be by vote of the Business Meeting or by such other method as the competing bidders might agree upon.
(It sets up a new convention to be held outside of North America when the Worldcon is in North America.)

OTC in 1980

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-11

Moved, to amend Article II, Section 9 of the WSFS Constitution by inserting after "additional criteria" the following:
except that publications shall not be considered if a financial remuneration is paid to any contributors or staff thereof.

Committed to committee in 1980 (with 1980-13); new motions reported (1980-25 - 1980-27).

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-12

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Article II, Section 6. (It eliminates the Dramatic Presentation Hugo.)

OTC in 1980

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-13

Moved, to amend Article II of the WSFS Constitution by deleting Sections 8 and 9, and inserting the following in place thereof:
Section 7: Best Professional Magazine. Any periodical devoted to science fiction and/or fantasy published during the previous year, produced primarily by persons for whom it is the main source of income.
Section 8: Best Amateur Magazine. Any periodical devoted to science fiction and/or fantasy published during the previous year, produced primarily by persons for whom it is not the main source of income.
Section 9: Best Non-Periodical Editor. Any person engaged in the editing of science fiction for non-periodical publication (editors of annual anthologies shall be eligible).
(It renames and redefines the Best Fanzine Hugo category, eliminates the Best Professional Editor Hugo category, and in its place creates two new Hugos: Best Professional magazine and Best Non-Periodical Editor.)

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1980-14

Moved, to amend Article II of the WSFS Constitution by inserting the words "independent accountants engaged by" between the words "of" and "the" in the first sentence of Section 16, and by deleting Section 17. (It requires accountants to be used to count the Hugo votes, and eliminates the present exclusion of Convention Committee members from Hugo consideration.)

OTC in 1980

Site Selection: Tallying

1980-15

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 5, of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following:
Bids from sites located out of rotation may be considered only if the rule is suspended by mail ballot distributed with the Hugo nomination ballots and passed by a two-thirds majority.

OTC in 1980

Site Selection: Ballots

1980-16

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 1, of the WSFS Constitution by striking "five dollars ($5.00)" and inserting in its place "ten dollars ($10.00)". (It increases the default site-selection voting fee.)

S4.2.2

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-17

MOVED, to amend Article II of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following new section:
Best Game: Any game or simulation relating to the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year.

OTC in 1980

Hugo Awards: Ballots

1980-18

MOVED, to amend Article II of the WSFS Constitution by deleting the first and sixth sentences of Section 15 (to be renamed "Voting"), and inserting the following new section before it:
Nominations: Selection of nominees for the final Award voting shall be done by a poll, conducted by the Convention Committee, in which each Society member shall be allowed to make five (5) equally weighted nominations in every category. Assignment to the proper category of nominees nominated in more than one category, and eligibility of nominees, shall be determined by the Convention Committee.
(It standardizes the Hugo nominations procedure to what has actually been done most in recent years.)

S3.8.2

Hugo Awards: Ballots

1980-19

MOVED, to amend Article II, Section 15, of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following: No nominee shall appear on the Final Award ballot if it received fewer nominations than the lesser of either five percent (5%) of the number of nomination ballots cast, or the number of nominations received by the third-place nominee in that category.

S3.8.5

Ratified in 1981

Committees

1980-20

It is proposed that the organization which, by vote of the WSFS members of a Worldcon, is awarded the privilege of producing the very next Worldcon, be required to apply a significant amount of time, effort, and money to the generation and timely promulgation of publicity (e.g., advertisements in major urban newspapers and national news-oriented or family-oriented magazines, posting of fliers in local business establishments and schools/colleges/state and local government facilities by volunteers recruited worldwide, etc.) designed to inform the very many members of the general public, who read science fiction books but do not subscribe to the magazines in the field, of the existence of that Worldcon. It is requested that the above proposal, if approved, be incorporated as a standing rule for all Worldcon committees to adhere to.

OTC in 1980

Committees

1980-21

It is proposed that an evaluation form be included in all future Worldcon program books for the purpose of rating the hotel(s) at which Worldcons are held. Various categories (e.g., comfortability of rooms, luxuriousness of appointments, demeanor/responsiveness of the hotel management and staff, degree of harassment of convention members by hotel detectives, etc.) will be printed on the form. Attending members would then rate the hotel in each category on a scale of one to ten and drop the completed forms into a container assigned by the Worldcon committee for this purpose. At the end of the Worldcon, these category ratings would be totaled and averaged by the number of forms actually received. The totals and averages would then be printed and forwarded to: (1) the hotel itself for purposes of feedback and (2) to the bidding organization chosen by the WSFS membership to sponsor the very next Worldcon, along with any ratings received from prior Worldcon committees for hotels located both inside and outside the region of the organization so chosen. This organization, when it came time to mail ballots to pre-registrants for choosing the site of the succeeding Worldcon, would perpetuate the ratings results received for hotels designated by the committees named on the ballot. This will encourage hotels to provide the best possible service to Worldcon attendees (in the hopes of being chosen again as the Worldcon site in three more years) as the current ratings will replace older ones.

OTC in 1980

Site Selection

1980-22

MOVED, to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution by adding the following new section:
Each bidding committee will be restricted to a bidding expense limit, exclusive of facility deposits, of twenty-five hundred US dollars($2500.00). The current Convention Committees will have the right to increase or decrease the current limit by no more than ten percent (10%) during the year they host the World Science Fiction Convention. The expense limit for a particular bidding committee will be determined by the calendar year in which it first makes public its intention to participate in site selection. once an initial bidding committee has received an expense limit, all subsequent committees bidding for the same year must abide by the same limit. All bidding committees must present an annual budget report to the current Convention Committee and make available written copies of their budgets to any member of the Society on request. Any bidding committee exceeding their limit shall be disqualified from participating in site selection. Bidding committees having announced their intention to bid for the World Science Fiction Convention at the time this amendment is ratified shall not be subject to the aforementioned limits.

OTC in 1980

Site Selection: Ballots

1980-23

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by striking all of Article III, Section 1, except for the last sentence, by inserting the material below in place thereof, and by replacing all references to site-selection "mail" ballots elsewhere in the Constitution with references to site-selection "proxy" ballots:
The Society shall choose the location and Committee of the Convention to be held two (2) years from the current Convention at the Business Meeting of the current Convention. Voting shall be by secret ballot cast at the current Convention with run-off as described in Article II, Section 16, and shall be restricted to those who have paid at least eight dollars ($8.00) toward membership in the Convention whose site is being selected and who are either (a) attending members of the Society present in person or represented by proxy or (b) members of the Society enrolled as supporters of a bona fide bidding committee represented by proxy. The Convention Committee may adopt additional rules respecting site-selection proxy balloting, and such rules shall be printed in the Program Book of the current Convention. The current Convention Committee shall administer the balloting, collect the advance membership fees other than pre-support enrollment, and turn over those funds to the winning Committee before the end of the current Convention.

OTC in 1980

Committees

1980-24

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following provision: every Committee shall at least twice send copies of their membership list, including name, number, and address information, to all future Committees that have been selected at the time of sending. One such copy shall be sent shortly before the convention of the sending Committee, and one including any members joining at the convention shall be sent as soon as practicable after the convention of the sending Committee.

Defeated in 1980

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-25

2. Best Non-Periodical Editor: Any person engaged in the editing of science fiction for non-periodical publication (editors of annual anthologies shall be eligible).

Defeated in 1980

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-26

MOVED, to amend Article II, Section 9, by deleting all of the first sentence after "which has published" and replacing with the words "two (2) or more issues which appeared in the previous calendar year."

Defeated in 1981

Hugo Awards: Categories

1980-27

OR MOVED, to amend Article II, Section 9, by adding at the end of the section the words "except that publications shall not be considered unless they are edited primarily by persons for whom it is not the main source of income".

Both defeated in 1980

Standing Rules: Meetings

1981-01

The Preliminary Business Meetings may not pass, reject, or ratify amendments to the Constitution, but the motions to ‘object to consideration’, to ‘table’, to ‘divide the question’. to ‘postpone’ to a later part of the Preliminary Business Meetings, and to ‘refer’ to a committee to report later in the same Annual Business Meeting are in order when allowed by Robert's Rules. The Preliminary Business Meetings may alter or suspend any of the rules of debate included in these Standing Rules. Motions may be amended or consolidated at these Meetings with the consent of the original maker. Absence from these Meetings of the original maker shall constitute consent to amendment and to such interpretations of the intent of the maker as the Presiding Officer or the Parliamentarian may in good faith attempt.

R1.2

Passed in 1981

Constitution

1981-02

C) Insert "(known as the Worldcon)" after the first occurrence of "World Science Fiction Convention" and substitute "Worldcon" for "World Science Fiction Convention" where appropriate thereafter.

S2.2

Ratified in 1982

Committees: Financial

1981-03

A change of ‘in existence’ to ‘selected’ was suggested, and accepted by the maker of the motion.

S6.4

Hugo Awards

1981-04

(This amendment would clarify the definition of the Dramatic Presentation Hugo, the current text of which was written at a time before the proliferation of ‘miniseries’. It would confirm the eligibility of serialized dramas such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978) or The Martian Chronicles. (1980), or the current year’s radio production of Star Wars, while maintaining the ineligibility of ‘series’ whose individual programs are separate stories.)

S3.2.4

Site Selection: Eligibility

1981-05

(The intent of this motion is to prevent a recurrence of the situation which occurred in 1981, wherein lack of information prevented a late bid from appearing on the ballot.)

S4.6.3

Ratified in 1982

Site Selection: Eligibility

1981-06

(The intent of this motion is twofold: to remove the possibility that the Constitution may be interpreted to give the current Convention Committee the right to declare an agreement inadequate; and to treat NASFiC bids equal to Worldcon bids if an agreement for either is submitted.)

OTC in 1981

Site Selection: Eligibility

1981-07

No bidding committee, nor the officers or counsel thereof, shall have standing to challenge the qualifications of a rival bidding committee. Any bidding committee which shall enter into or threaten to enter into legal action to prevent a rival bid from appearing on the site-selection ballot shall be disqualified.

OTC in 1981

Hugo Awards

1981-08

Extended Eligibility: In the event that a potential Hugo nominee receives extremely limited distribution in the year of its first publication or presentation, its eligibility may be extended for an additional year by a three-fourths vote of the intervening Business Meeting of the Society.

S3.4

Ratified in 1982

Committees

1981-09

REWRITTEN AGAIN: : MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following new section: The Convention Committee shall charge persons who are under eighteen years of age, or who are full-time college students, reduced fees for attending membership in the Convention and for attendance at such other functions as may require charges, with the exception of banquets; however, no such reduction shall be applied to the site-selection voting fee, nor to the cost of conversion to attending membership within ninety days by persons who became members by casting site-selection ballots.

Withdrawn in 1981

Committees

1981-10

MOVED, that each World Convention Committee shall be required to reduce the cost of the Convention to attendees as much as possible.

OTC in 1981

Standing Rules: Meetings

1982-01

MOVED, to amend Rule 2 of the Standing Rules for the Governance of the WSFS Business Meeting by inserting the words "(for procedural reasons, as opposed to simple dislike of the motion in question)" after the words "object to consideration".

OTC in 1982

Standing Rules

1982-02

The winning bid will be allowed five(5) minutes for a presentation.

S4.8

Passed in 1982

Mark Protection

1982-03

C) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, any committee or other position created by a Business Meeting shall lapse at the end of the next following Business Meeting that does not vote to continue it.

S5.2

Site Selection: Rotation

1982-04

Southern: Central America, Mexico (except as above), Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and all states southward; and Northern: all states and provinces east of the Western region and north of the Southern region. Convention sites shall rotate in the order Western, Southern, Northern region.

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-05

If this amendment is accepted it will necessitate minor revisions in the wording of the "Best Fan Writer" and "Best Fan Artist" categories.

Rejected in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-06

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Article II, Section 10 "Best Fanzine", and in Sections 11 and 12 replacing the phrase "magazines of the type defined in Section 10 above" with "any generally available fannish publication devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects".

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1982-07

Awards Subcommittee: The Convention Committee shall select three persons who have not engaged in activities eligible for awards as defined in this Article to serve as an Awards Subcommittee. The Awards Subcommittee shall have sole authority to solicit and count nominations and votes for awards as defined in this Article and to decide questions of eligibility.

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-08

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Article II, Section 6. (to eliminate the Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo)

Defeated in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-09

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Article II, Section 7. (to eliminate the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo.)

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-10

Best Non-Periodical Editor: Any person engaged in the editing of science fiction and/or fantasy for non-periodical publication (editors of anthology series shall be eligible).

OTC in 1982

Site Selection: Ballots

1982-11

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by inserting the words "with the right of general attendance at the current convention" between the words "members" and "who" in the second sentence of Article III, Section 1.

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-12

(9) Amend Article II, Section 12, to read:
Best Fan Artist: An artist or cartoonist whose work has appeared through publication in semiprozines or fanzines or through other public display. Any person whose name appears on the final Hugo Awards ballot ... eligible in the Fan Artist category for that year.

See below for texts passed on (1982-18, 1982-19 and 1982-20)

Site Selection: Eligibility

1982-13

The contract or letter of agreement with the principal hotel shall provide that there be no restrictions or fees on bringing in food, beverages, or supplies into hotel rooms for parties and no prohibition against holding parties in hotel rooms.

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-14

and inserting in Section 10 (Best Fanzine) at the end of the first sentence "whose highest. circulation for the year is under 1000" and striking the second sentence.

Rejected in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-15

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by deleting Article II, Sections 10, 11 and 12. [I.e. to eliminate the Fanzine, Fan Writer and Fan Artist categories.]

Rejected in 1982

Membership

1982-16

(The intent of this motion is to: 1. Reduce the cost for bringing children to a convention, but also, 2. Ensure they are present only with responsible adults.)

OTC in 1982

Site Selection: Rotation

1982-17

and deleting Article II [sic] Section 6.

OTC in 1982

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-18

B. In Sections 11 and 12 of Article II, change "in magazines of the type defined in Section 10 above" to "in semiprozines or fanzines". In Section 12, also change "final Awards ballot" to "final Hugo Awards ballot" and change "for the Fan Artist Award" to "in the Fan Artist category".

S3.3.12

Ratified in 1983

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-19

An author may withdraw a version of her or his work from consideration if she or he feels that that version is not representative of what she or he wrote.

S3.2.5

Ratified in 1983

Hugo Awards: Categories

1982-20

Best Novel: A story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year in English.. A work originally appearing in a language other than English shall also be eligible in the year it was first issued in that language, provided such publication precedes the English-language publication.

Defeated in 1983

Site Selection: Rotation

1983-01

"With sites being selected three (3) years in advance, there are at least three selected current or future Worldcon committees in existence at all times. If one of these should be unable to perform its duties, the other selected current or future Worldcon Committee whose site is closet 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 WSFS if there is sufficient time, or by decision of the Committee if there is not sufficient time."
PROVIDED THAT the three-year advance selection shall not take effect until the 1986 Worldcon, at which both the 1988 and 1989 Worldcons shall be selected.

S4.7

Ratified in 1984

Site Selection: NASFiC

1983-02

Selection of the Continental Convention shall be by the identical procedure to the Worldcon selection except as provided below or elsewhere in this Constitution: (1) voting shall be only by written ballot at the current Convention taken after the Worldcon selection is complete; (2) bids are restricted to sites in the appropriate zone; and (3) the prospective Continental Convention voting fee can be set by unanimous consent of the prospective candidates that file with the current Worldcon Committee before the calendar year in which selection will occur."

S4.8

Site Selection: Eligibility

1983-03

The aforementioned rules and documentation of agreements, along with an announcement of intent to bid, must be filed with the Worldcon Committee that will administer the voting no later than [the close of] the previous Worldcon for a Worldcon bid and no later than the end of the calendar year before the voting for a prospective Continental Convention bid.

S4.6.3

Ratified in 1984

Hugo Awards: Ballots

1983-04

The nominee with the smallest number of points shall be eliminated. Each of the remaining nominees shall start with zero points for a repetition of the process where the top two non-eliminated nominees from each ballot shall be used. This process shall be repeated until all but two of the nominees are eliminated. At that point, only those ballots that have both nominees rated shall be examined and divided into two groups based on which nominee is rated higher on each ballot. The nominee with the larger group of supporters shall be the winner of the award. The complete numerical vote totals shall be made public by the Worldcon Committee within ninety (90) days after the convention.

Ruled out of order in 1983

Standing Rules: Meetings

1983-05

"The Business Meeting sessions shall not be scheduled for before 11 a.m. on any day except on the last day of the convention."

Defeated in 1983

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1983-06

"On any objection to consideration, the Presiding Officer will recognize one person raising the objection and the maker of the motion objected to ( or an alternate)for two minutes each to explain why the motion should or should not be considered."

Defeated in 1983

Standing Rules: Mark Protection

1983-07

Nominations from the floor for election to the Standing Committee shall be allowed at each Preliminary Business Meeting. All nominees must be members of the Society and give their consent in writing, which consent shall be submitted to the Presiding Officer. Elections to the Standing Committee shall be a special order of business at a Main Business Meeting. Voting shall be by written preferential ballot with write-ins allowed. The winning candidate shall be elected to the longest-term remaining vacancy and the ballots shall be recounted, with the winning candidate eliminated, if there are further vacancies. This process of selection and elimination shall be repeated until all vacancies are filled. Tied candidates shall all be considered elected if there are enough vacancies of the same length to accommodate them. Other ties shall be settled by drawing lots.

R6.2

Passed in 1983

Site Selection: Rotation

1984-01

MOVED, to amend to read that the rotation plan shall be changed dividing the world into 2 zones with the Western Zone defined as Manitoba, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mexico, Central America, and all territories west to 60 degrees E of Greenwich. The Eastern Zone is defined as Ontario, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, South America, and all territories east to 60 degrees E of Greenwich. This plan, if adopted, will take effect with the 1987 selection of the 1990 Worldcon site.

Referred to committee in 1984 to report at 1985. Recommitted in 1985.

Site Selection: Ballots

1984-02

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 2 of the WSFS Constitution to add the words "and provide for write-in votes" before the word "after", and to insert a new third sentence "For votes for a write-in to be counted, the prospective committee must present the documents required in Section 5."

S4.6.4

Site Selection: Ballots

1984-03

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 1 of the WSFS Constitution by substituting $20.00 for the current default rate of $10.00

S4.2.2

changed "$20" to "20 U.S. dollars or the equivalent": passed in 1984. Ratified in 1985.

Site Selection: Rotation

1984-04

MOVED, to delete Article III, Section 6 of the WSFS Constitution and replace it with:
A site shall be ineligible if it is within sixty (60) miles of the site at which selection occurs. (This would abolish all bidding zones)

Withdrawn in 1984

Site Selection: NASFiC

1984-05

MOVED, to delete Article III, Section 7 of the WSFS Constitution. (This would remove mention of the NASFiC from the Constitution.)

Defeated in 1984

Constitution

1984-06

[Text as revised by the Secretary:
MOVED, to amend Article IV, Section 4 of the WSFS Constitution by adding, after the words "...Newly Revised": (or the equivalent meeting rules authority in the country of the current Worldcon, provided that such authority must be specified when a site-selection bid is filed).]

Not Ratified in 1985.

Constitution

1984-07

3) Insert "and NASFiC" after the second word in Article I, Section 6, and insert "NASFiC" into the list of marks in the notice whose publication is required by the same section.

S2.2

Mark Protection

1984-08

MOVED, to amend Article III, Section 1 of the WSFS Constitution by inserting the following at the end of the second sentence:
except for ____ which shall be turned over to the Standing Committee.

Not Ratified in 1985.

Constitution

1984-09

(b) This shall not preclude an individual who is a member of a Worldcon Committee from offering their services, funds, or supplies to a prospective Worldcon Committee.
(c) This shall not preclude a current Worldcon Committee from accepting the services of a prospective Worldcon Committee or its members, nor shall it preclude a prospective Worldcon Committee from offering services or merchandise to the members of a Worldcon.

Converted to resolution and passed in 1984

Site Selection: NASFiC

1984-10

PROVIDED THAT if passed this motion would take effect at the same time as the 3-years-in-advance Worldcon site selection, i.e. it would first apply to a possible 1989 NASFiC.

S4.8.1

"in the following year" deleted in 1985. "following the Worldcon" added after "if there is one" in 1985. Ratified as amended in 1985.

Standing Rules: New Business

1984-11

The text of any main motion presented to a Business Meeting shall contain a short title.

R2.4

Passed in 1984

Constitution

1985-01

Amend, by adding the following to Article I, Section 7: ‘The net income from running a Worldcon and earnings derived from such income shall not be used to bid for a different Worldcon except that equal grants may be given to all of the bidders who have filed by the deadline for a particular year.’

Not Ratified in 1986

Constitution: Financial

1985-02

Moved, "to delete Article I, Section 7 and replace it with the following three sections.
VII. All surplus funds remaining after accounts are settled for the current Worldcon should be used for the benefit of Science Fiction and WSFS as a whole. Each Worldcon Committee shall have the option of designating up to twenty-five (25) percent of said surplus funds to be used to benefit Science Fiction in the local area where the Worldcon was held.
VIII. All surplus funds (except for funds designated to benefit Science Fiction in the local area) shall be controlled and administrated by the Standing Committee. Such surplus funds shall be transferred to the Standing Committee no later than six months after the close of the current convention.
IX. The Standing Committee shall appoint an independent accountant for each Worldcon at least 3 years before that Worldcon. The Worldcon Committee shall provide said accountant with full access to all financial records, and shall publish preliminary financial statements prepared by said accountant no later than ninety (90) days before the current Worldcon and with[in] ninety (90) days after the current Worldcon. The Worldcon committee shall publish a final financial statement prepared by said accountant no later than one (1) year after the close of the current Worldcon. The Worldcon committee shall be responsible for the coverage of reasonable expenses incurred for the services of said accountant.

OTC in 1985

Mark Protection

1985-03

Moved "To amend Article IV, Section 5 by:
Changing the number of members appointed to the Standing Committee by the Worldcon Committees to two (2) each.
Changing the number of elected members of the Standing Committee to two (2) each year."
Should this amendment pass and be ratified, all current members of the Standing Committee will be allowed to serve out their terms regardless of the new limits imposed on Standing Committee size by this motion.

Withdrawn in 1985

Hugo Awards: Categories

1985-04

Moved: "That the Science Fiction Achievement Awards known as the Hugo Awards be extended to include an award for Best Children’s Novella and an award for Best Dramatic Presentation for Children."

substituted by a resolution: "It is the sense of the business meeting that a Con committee (1986 or 1987) should strongly consider as their Special Hugo a Children's Hugo": passed in 1985

Site Selection: Eligibility

1985-05

Redundant Notice Elimination. "Moved, to amend the World Science Fiction Society Constitution by deleting Article III, Section 4. (see 1981-05)

S4.6.3

Ratified in 1986.

Constitution

1985-06

MOVED. To amend the WSFS Constitution by striking Article IV, Section 1 and inserting the following in its place:
‘Any amendment to the WSFS Constitution must be adopted by majority vote at a Business Meeting and ratified by majority vote at the Business Meeting of the following Worldcon, except as follows: (A) one or more Worldcon Business Meetings may occur between the initial adoption and the ratification if each postpones ratification to the following Business Meeting; and (B) the version of the amendment up for ratification may be divided into severable and independent sections which may be considered separately or amended such that it is a change of lesser quantity or degree than that initially adopted provided there is no change in its nature and quality. Should any Business Meeting neither postpone nor ratify a constitutional amendment up for ratification or should the Business Meeting amend it in a way inconsistent with the restrictions above, the constitutional amendment process is thereby voided but may be restarted by a new adoption by majority vote.’

OTC in 1985

Mark Protection

1985-07

Moved: to amend Article IV, Section 5, by adding the following between the second and third sentences: ‘Of the nine elected members, no more than three may be residing at the time of election in any single North American region as defined in Article III, Section 6.’ PROVIDED THAT current members of the Standing Committee shall serve until the end of their terms with all new members elected under the above provision.

S1.8.2

Ratified in 1986

Mark Protection

1985-08

Moved: That all references to "The Standing Committee" be changed to "the Trademark Registration and Protection Committee" wherever they occur.

S1.8

"Trademark" changed to "Mark" and passed in 1985. Ratified in 1986.

Mark Protection

1985-09

MOVED, to Amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following to Article IV:
'The Standing Committee shall submit to the Business Meeting at each Worldcon a Financial report of its activities since the previous Worldcon, including a statement of income and expense.

S1.7.2

Ratified in 1986.

Constitution

1985-10

MOVED, to Amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following to Article I:
‘No part of the Society’s net earnings shall be paid to its members, officers, or other private persons except in furtherance of the Society's purposes. The Society shall not attempt to influence legislation or any political campaign for public office. Should the Society dissolve, its assets shall be distributed by the Standing Committee or the appropriate court having jurisdiction, exclusively for charitable purposes. In this section, references to the Society include the Standing Committee and all other agencies of the Society but not convention bidding or operating committees.’

S1.3

Ratified in 1986.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1986-01

Section 22: Special Exclusion: Except for those categories which recognize a single titled work, an individual or publication may not be nominated for any category for which that individual or publication received the Hugo the previous year

OTC in 1986

Hugo Awards: Categories

1986-02

Section 10: Best Interior Illustration: Any illustration appearing within the pages of a book or magazine dealing with science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time within the previous calendar year.

OTC in 1986

Site Selection: Tallying

1986-03

An out-of-rotation site in North America may be selected by a three quarters (3/4) vote of all voters except those voting "No preference."

OTC in 1986

Site Selection: Rotation

1986-04

North America shall consist of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, the continental United States, Mexico, all countries in Central America between Mexico and Panama inclusive, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and all islands of the Caribbean. A cruise ship or other moving site in port in North America shall be considered part of North America, and part of the region or regions it is in port in.

S1.8.5

OTC in 1986

Standing Rules: New Business

1986-05

Moved, to amend Rule 5 of the Standing Rules for the Governance of the WSFS Business Meeting by (1) striking the words "requiring a vote" and inserting in their place the words "for non-privileged new business" and (2) moving the last two sentences of Rule 5 to the end of Rule 4.

R2.2

Passed in 1986

Mark Protection

1986-06

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following to the end of the first sentence of Article IV, Section 5:
"One (1) voting member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future NASFIC Committee and for each Committee of a NASFIC held in the previous two years."

S1.8.1

Ratified in 1987.

Site Selection: Rotation

1986-07

and to add this following proviso to the section:
"Provided that this begins with the NASFIC to be selected at the 1991 Worldcon."

Defeated in 1986

Site Selection: Rotation

1986-08

CENTRAL: Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and St. Pierre, Mexico (except as above), and all states and provinces between Western and Eastern regions; and EASTERN. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Quebec, and all states and provinces eastward, including the District of Columbia, Bermuda and the Bahamas."

S1.8.5

Committees: Financial

1986-09

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by striking the second sentence of Article I, Section 7, and inserting the following in its place:
"Each Worldcon Committee shall submit an annual financial report, including a statement of income and expenses, to each WSFS Business Meeting after the Committee's selection through the first or second Business Meeting after its Worldcon, at its option, to which it will also submit a cumulative financial report."

S2.9.4

Ratified in 1987.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1986-10

MOVED, to amend Article II, Section 6 of the WSFS Constitution by striking out "relating to" and substituting "whose subject is", and by inserting "or fandom" after fantasy. The Section would now read:
"Best Non-Fiction Book: Any non-fictional work whose subject is the field of science fiction or fantasy or fandom appearing for the first time in book form during the previous calendar year."

S3.3.5

Ratified in 1987

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1986-11

MOVED, to add to Article II a new Section, between current Sections 18 and 19, as follows:
"Notification and Acceptance: Worldcon Committees shall use reasonable efforts to notify the nominees, or in the case of a deceased or incapacitated person, their heirs, assigns or legal guardians, in each category prior to the release of such information. Each nominee shall be asked at that time to either accept or decline the nomination."

S3.9

Constitution

1986-12

MOVED, to amend Article IV, Section 8, of the WSFS Constitution, by striking the words "printed in the Worldcon Program Book, if there is one" and inserting in their place the words "distributed to all WSFS members in attendance at the Worldcon upon registration."

S2.4

Standing Rules: Official Papers

1987-01

a housekeeping measure to allow consequential amendments to be made to the Standing Rules

R4.3

Passed in 1987

Constitution

1987-02

1. Add the following to Article IV, Section 4:
"The quorum for the Business Meeting shall be twelve members of the Society physically present."
2. At the time the above amendment to the Constitution takes effect, delete the first two sentences of Standing Rule 18.

S5.1.5

Committees

1987-03

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution and the Standing Rules for the Governance of the WSFS Business Meeting as follows:
1. Insert the following new Section in Article IV of the Constitution:
"Each future selected Worldcon Committee shall send an official representative to the Business Meeting to answer questions about their Worldcon."
2. At the time the above amendment to the Constitution takes effect, add the following to Standing Rule 19:
"At the Site Selection Meeting fifteen(15) minutes shall be allotted to each of the three future selected Worldcons. During the first five (5) minutes their representative may make such presentations as they may wish. The remaining time shall be available for questions to be asked about the representative's Worldcon. Questions may be submitted in writing at any previous session of the Business Meeting and if so submitted shall have priority (if the submitter is present at Question Time and still wishes to ask the question) except that under no circumstances may a person ask a second question as long as any person wishes to ask their first question. Questions are limited to fifteen seconds and answers to two minutes. Any of these time limits may be adjusted for any presentation or question by majority vote."

R7.1

Constitution

1987-04

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
Replace the words "Worldcon Committee" with "Mark Registration and Protection Committee" in the following Sections:-
II.2, II.17, II.18, II.20, II.21, II.21, III.1, III.4 (first occurrence only).
Replace Article III, Section 6(1), with
"Voting shall be by written ballot administered by the Mark Registration and Protection Committee at the then current Worldcon, if there is no NASFiC following the Worldcon that year, or at the NASFiC, if there is one following the Worldcon, with ballots cast either by mail or at the appropriate convention, and with only members of the appropriate convention allowed to vote."
Add the following to Article IV as a new Section after Section 7:
The Business Meeting shall by resolution provide for the funding of these processes. It shall require a 3/4 (three-quarters) vote of the Business Meeting to provide more than two US dollars ($2) per member for these processes.

OTC in 1987

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1987-05

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
1. In Article II, Section 18, strike "WSFS Member" and insert in place thereof "member of either the administering or immediately preceding Worldcon".
2. Add to Article I, Section 4, the following: "Within ninety (90) days after a Worldcon, the administering committee shall forward its best information as to the names and postal addresses of all its members to the committee of the next Worldcon."

S3.7.1

Site Selection: NASFiC

1987-06

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
1. In Article III, Section 4, strike "no later than the end of the calendar year before voting" and insert in place thereof "as set by the administering convention but no earlier than the close of the corresponding Worldcon voting".
2. In Article III, Section 6, strike the words "either by mail or" and the words "before the calendar year in which selection occurs".

S4.6.3

Membership

1987-07

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by substituting the following for Article I, Section 5:
Members of WSFS who cast a site-selection ballot with the required fee shall be supporting members of the selected Worldcon. The rights of supporting members of a Worldcon include the right to receive all of its generally distributed publications. 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 the minimum voting fee and not exceed the difference between the voting fee and the attending fee for new members. Attending members of a Worldcon have the rights of supporting members plus the right of general attendance at said Worldcon and at the WSFS Business Meeting held thereat. Other memberships and fees shall be at the discretion of the Worldcon committee except that they 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 cut-off date no earlier than ninety (90) days before their Worldcon.
PROVIDED, that the requirement to provide supporting memberships shall only affect Worldcons selected after it goes into effect.

S1.5.7

Membership

1988-01

MOVED, to substitute "member of the administering Worldcon" and "members of the administering Worldcon" for "WSFS member" and "WSFS members" in Articles II and III.

Not Ratified in 1989

Site Selection: NASFiC

1988-02

There shall be a NASFiC Separation and Drafting Committee which shall propose a set of governing documents for the NASFiC, together with any other necessary plans to implement the separation of the NASFiC from the WSFS. The Committee shall consist of one (1) member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future selected NASFiC or Worldcon Committee in North America and each of the Worldcon Committees in North America for the preceding three (3) years, and between three (3) and six (6) members selected from time to time by the Business Meeting of Worldcons in North America. Of the three to six selected members, at least one and at most two may be residing, at the time of selection, in any single North American region, as defined in Article III, Section 5, and at least one shall be a citizen or resident of Canada. If vacancies occur in selected memberships in the committee, the Committee may temporarily fill the vacancies. The Committee shall determine and elect its own officers.

Site Selection: Rotation

1988-03

MOVED to add the following to Article III, Section 6, Sentence 1: unless the North American region which would be skipped was skipped in its last turn in the rotation.

Not Ratified in 1989

Mark Protection

1988-04

MOVED to insert in Article IV, Sect ion 5: Newly appointed members take their seats, and the term of office ends for elected and appointed members whose terms expire that year, at the end of the Business Meeting.

S1.8.3

Ratified in 1989

Standing Rules: Mark Protection

1988-05

MOVED to replace Standing Rule 3 with: The first seat filled will be filled by normal preferential ballot procedures. That person's votes, as well as votes for any other nominee who has now become ineligible (because a zone's quota is filled) will be eliminated, and the procedures will be restarted from the beginning. This continues until all places are filled.

R6.2

Passed in 1988

Hugo Awards: Categories

1989-01

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a new section after Fan Hugos in Article II as follows:
Outstanding Service. Any person, of small group of four people or less, whose efforts or activities in the previous calendar year materially benefited the enjoyment or appreciation of science fiction, fantasy or related subjects.
This award shall not be given for any work eligible for a literary, dramatic or artistic Hugo (Sections 2 through 13), for the contribution, granting or raising of funds, or for service as the Chair or Co-Chair of the Worldcon or NASFiC in that year. However, it may be given for work in a lesser position at the Worldcon or NASFiC.

Defeated in 1989

Site Selection: NASFiC

1989-02

Whereas the presence of the North American Science Fiction Convention or NASFiC in the WSFS Constitution is a source of controversy, and
Whereas no other local, regional, national or continental convention is regulated in the WSFS Constitution,
Therefore, be it resolved, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a new section to Article IV:
Upon the adoption and ratification of a separate set of governing documents for the NASFiC, all references to the North American Science Fiction Convention or NASFiC shall be removed from the WSFS Constitution and the NASFiC mark shall be transferred to the new organization. The governing documents shall be adopted by any Business Meeting for a NASFiC or Worldcon in North America, and ratified by a Business Meeting for the next NASFiC or the next Worldcon in North America.

Defeated in 1989

Hugo Awards: Categories

1989-03

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a new section in Article II as follows:
Ineligible Materials. A book, story, dramatic presentation, or anything else that is otherwise ineligible for a Hugo in that year.

OTC in 1989

Committees: Financial

1989-04

Change Section 8 of Article 1 to require:
- submission of a financial report on the last year’s Worldcon profit/loss at the next year’s business meeting (vice the ‘one or two year’ language currently in the constitution.)
- submission of subsequent annual financial reports dealing with the disbursement of said Worldcon’s profits at each year’s business meeting by the Worldcon committee, or any alternative organizational entity established to oversee and disburse those profits, until the profits are totally expended or an amount equal to the original profit has been disbursed.

S2.9.4

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1989-05

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding the following to Article II, Section 18, sentence 1, following the words "each member of either the administering or the immediately preceding Worldcon": as of December 31 of the previous calendar year.

S3.7.1

Changed "December 31st of the previous calendar year" to "January 31st of the same calendar year". Ratified in 1990

Hugo Awards: Categories

1989-06

To amend Article II, Section 6 of the WSFS Constitution by adding the words "science or natural philosophy or" before the words "science fiction".

Defeated in 1989

Hugo Awards: Categories

1989-07

Moved: Delete Article II, Section 9 and replace with the following sections:
Section 9: Best Book Cover: An illustration used as a cover on a Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, anthology, or collection.
Section 10: Best Magazine Cover: An illustration used as a cover of a professional magazine as defined in Article II, Section 8.
Section 11: Best Interior Illustration: An illustration from the interior of any Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, anthology, or collection, or a professional magazine as defined in Article II, Section 8.

Amended by substituting a category "Best Science Fiction Art Work". Changed to a resolution requesting a future Worldcon choose to do this as a special Hugo; adopted in 1989

Hugo Awards: Categories

1989-08

Moved, To amend Article II, Section Two (Hugo Awards) Best Novel, to split the novel category into a) Best Science Fiction Novel and b) Best Fantasy Novel.

OTC in 1989

Site Selection: Rotation

1989-09

Moved: to amend Article III of the WSFS Constitution as follows:
In Section 1, change "three(3)" to "four(4)".
In Section 6, change "the then-current Worldcon" to "the Worldcon following the one at which the overseas Worldcon was selected", and add (4) "If ‘None of the Above’ shall win on the first ballot, then no NASFiC shall be held and all voting fees shall be refunded."
In Section 8, change "three(3)" to "four(4)".

Motion divided: only the portion relating to the NASFiC (1989-13) was passed in 1989 .

Site Selection: Rotation

1989-10

Since the voters seem to be voting in a con outside North America about a quarter of the time (mostly in Britain or America), it makes sense to codify it to make the constitution match established voting practice.

OTC in 1989

Membership

1989-11

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
In Article III, Section 1, substitute "fifteen US dollars ($15.00)" for the current "twenty US dollars ($20.00)" in sentence number two (2).
In Article I, Section 5, strike the words "This fee must not exceed the minimum voting fee" at the beginning of sentence number 4 and insert in place thereof "This fee must not exceed three (3) times the voting fee".

S1.5.5

Ratified in 1990

Membership

1989-12

In Article I, Section 5, sentence number 6, following "…become supporting members for no more than…" strike the words "125% of the site selection fee, or such higher amount as has been approved by the Business Meeting" and insert in place thereof "the site selection fee".

Defeated in 1989

Site Selection: NASFiC

1989-13

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution, Article III, Section 6, to add
(4) "If ‘None of the Above’ shall win on the first ballot, then no NASFiC shall be held and all voting fees shall be refunded."

S4.8.4

Site Selection: Rotation

1990-01

b) Insofar as is logically possible, the amendments contained in this motion are severable and may be ratified independently of one another.

Defeated in 1990

Hugo Awards: Categories

1990-02

MOVED, to amend the WSFS constitution by replacing Article II by the following:
Each Worldcon shall arrange for the award and presentation of one or more Science Fiction Achievement Awards (Hugos), in a manner consistent with the tradition and dignity of the award.

OTC in 1990

Hugo Awards: Categories

1990-03

MOVED to amend Article II, by adding a new section:
Any original piece of artwork first published during the previous calendar year. It may have been published as a book cover or interior illustration, or in a prozine, semiprozine or fanzine which would be eligible for a Hugo. The artist may be either an amateur or a professional.

S3.3

Ratified in 1991

Hugo Awards: Categories

1990-04

Secret Master of Fandom: An individual or closely associated team of individuals, for recognition of lifetime non-professional achievement in the field of science fiction or fantasy. No person shall be eligible for nomination in this category if they have won this award in any of the previous twenty (20) years or if they are being specially honored by the Worldcon administering the awards.

Motion divided. Both parts defeated in 1990.

Committees: Financial

1990-05

MOVED, to amend the Constitution of the World Science Fiction Society by adding the following to Article I:
"Any member of the Society shall have the right, under reasonable conditions, to examine the financial records and books of account of all future selected Worldcon Committees and the two immediately preceding Worldcon Committees."

S2.8

Ratified in 1991

Site Selection: Ballots

1990-06

Only human beings shall be allowed to cast site-selection ballots for other than "No Preference", and no individual shall cast more than one such ballot. (this shall not be interpreted to delivery of ballots cast by other eligible voters.) "No Preference" ballots may be cast by corporations, associations, and other non-human or artificial entities. "Guest of" memberships must be transferred to individual human beings before being cast for other than "No Preference", with such transfers accepted by the administering convention

S4.3

Ratified in 1991

Mark Protection

1990-07

Replace all occurrences of "Mark Registration and Protection Committee" with "Mark Protection Committee".

S1.8

Ratified in 1991

Constitution

1990-08

2. In Article I, Section 4, delete "except where prohibited by local law".

Defeated in 1990

Hugo Awards

1990-09

3. Delete Article II, Section 1.

Defeated in 1990

Constitution

1990-10

4. Replace Article IV, Section 1, with the following: "The WSFS Constitution may be amended by a motion passed at any Business Meeting but only to the extent that such motion is ratified at the Business Meeting of the subsequent Worldcon."

S6.3

Inserted "by a simple majority" after the words "passed" and "ratified"; and passed in 1990. Ratified in 1991

Standing Rules: Meetings

1990-11

Moved to amend Standing Rule 1 by changing "meeting" to "session" and "Annual Meeting" to "Annual Session".

OTC in 1990

Hugo Awards: Categories

1991-01

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a section to Article 2:
"Life Hugo for Non-English Language Writing: An individual for recognition of lifetime achievement in the field of science fiction or fantasy as a writer in one or more languages other than English. No person shall be eligible for nomination in this category who has previously won this award. (It is intended that fiction, non-fiction, and fan writing all be eligible areas of achievement.)"

OTC in 1991

Site Selection: Rotation

1991-02

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
(1) In Articles Section 1 and in Article 3 Section 8, strike out "three (3)" and insert "four (4)".
(2) In Article 3 Section 6, replace subsection (1) with "(1) Voting shall be by written ballot administered by the Worldcon following the one which selected the non-North American site, or the NASFiC held that year, if there is one. Ballots shall be cast at the administering convention or by mail. Only members of the administering convention shall be eligible to vote."
(3) In Article 3 Section 4, strike out "and as set by the administering convention but no earlier than the close of the corresponding Worldcon voting for a prospective NASFiC bid." And insert "and, for a prospective NASFiC bid, no later than the last day of the calendar year preceding the year in which the administering convention will take place."
Provided that:
(A) Section (1) of this amendment may be adopted or ratified independently of the other sections
(B) If ratified, this amendment shall take effect with the site selection elections of 1994. The 1994 Worldcon shall select the sites of the 1997 and 1998 Worldcons, and prospective bids for both of these years must be filed with the administering convention prior to the close of the 1993 Worldcon. If a non-North American site is chosen for 1997, the 1994 Worldcon shall select the site of the 1997 NASFiC. If a non-North American site is chosen for 1998, the normal NASFiC selection rules shall apply.

Hugo Awards

1991-03

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by changing Article 2 throughout to provide that the year of eligibility be the calendar year 2 (two) before the year of the voting.
With the proviso that the Worldcon selected the year after this amendment is ratified shall not award any Hugos for the preceding year but may conduct the Hugo selection omitted in 1954.

OTC in 1991

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1991-04

MOVED: To amend Article 2 Section 21 by adding the following paragraph:
"After a tentative winner is determined, then unless ‘No Award’ shall be the winner, the following additional test shall be made. If the number of ballots containing votes listing ‘No Award’ higher than the tentative winner plus the number of ballots listing ‘No Award’ but not the winner is greater than the number of ballots listing the tentative winner higher than ‘No Award’ plus the number of ballots listing the tentative winner but not ‘No Award’, then ‘No Award’ shall be declared the winner of the election."
and to amend Article 3 Section 3 by adding the following to the end of the 5th sentence:
"and shall be the equivalent of ‘No Award’ with respect to the last paragraph of Article 2 Section 21".

S4.5.3

Ratified in 1992

Constitution: Business Meeting

1991-05

MOVED, to add to Section 4 of Article 4 of the WSFS Constitution the following sentence:
"The Business Meetings shall not be held before noon nor after 8 PM local time."

OTC in 1991

Standing Rules: New Business

1991-06

That the word and numeral "Six (6)" in Rule 5 of the Standing Rules be replaced by "Two hundred (200)", that the period at the end of the 1st sentence of that Rule be stricken, and that all text in the 2nd sentence of the rule, up to and including the words "Meeting attendees" be stricken.

R2.2

Passed in 1991 (as amended)

Standing Rules: Meetings

1991-07

Rule 20: Procedure for Standing Rule Changes
These Standing Rules shall continue in effect until altered, suspended or rescinded by the action of any Business Meeting. Amendment, suspension or rescission of these Standing Rules may be done in the form of a motion from the floor of any Business Meeting made by any WSFS member of the Business Meeting, and such action will become effective immediately after the end of the Business Meeting at which it was passed.

OTC in 1991

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1991-08

Standing Rule 20 is amended to read:
"These Standing Rules shall continue in effect until altered, suspended, or rescinded by the action of any Business Meeting. Amendment, suspension, or rescission of these Standing Rules may be done in the form of a motion from the floor of any Business Meeting made by any WSFS member of and adopted by majority vote of the Business Meeting, and such action will become. An amendment to the Standing Rules shall be effective immediately after the end of the Business Meeting at which it was passed.

S5.1.3

Passed in 1991

Standing Rules: Official Papers

1991-09

Standing Rule 16 is amended to read:
"Citations to Articles, Sections or specific sentences of Titles and cross-references within the Society Constitution or and Standing Rules are for the sake of easy reference only. They do not form a substantive part of the substantive area those documents nor of a any motion to amend those documents. Correct enumeration of Articles, Sections and Rules and correct insertions and deletions and consistent, appropriate titles, numbers, cross-references, punctuation, grammar and capitalization will be provided by the Secretary of the Business Meeting when the Constitution and Standing Rules are certified to the next Worldcon. Therefore, motions from the floor to renumber or correct citations perform such editorial changes will not be in order. Unless otherwise ordered by the Business Meeting, the Secretary will adjust any other Section provision of the Constitution and Standing Rules equally affected by an amendment to the Constitution, and will adjust any other section provision of the Standing Rules equally affected by an amendment to the Standing Rules…"

OTC in 1991

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1991-10

Proposed amendment to the Standing Rules:
"The amount of time any one individual may speak in debate at the Worldcon Business Meeting (including any preliminary meetings) will be limited to the lesser of 1 hour in any given year or ten hours cumulative lifetime total. This lifetime maximum will apply retroactively, the Business Meeting to decide when the limit has been reached."

OTC in 1991

Committees

1991-11

MOVED, to replace Article 4 Section 10 of the WSFS Constitution by:
"The Constitution of WSFS, together with an explanation of proposed changes approved but not yet ratified, and the Standing Rules shall be printed by the current Worldcon Committee, distributed to all WSFS members at a point between nine and three months prior to the Worldcon, and distributed to all WSFS members in attendance at the Worldcon upon registration"
and also MOVED, to add after the first sentence in Article 2 Section 18, the following:
"The Committee shall include with each nomination ballot a copy of Article 2 of the WSFS Constitution."

S3.7.2

Hugo Awards

1991-12

and also MOVED, to direct the Mark Registration and Protection Committee to cease protecting the mark "Science Fiction Achievement Award"

S3.3.13

Ratified in 1992

Hugo Awards: Categories

1991-13

MOVED, to amend Article 2 Section 12 by adding the words "or in generally available electronic media" at the end of the section.

S3.3.11

Ratified in 1992

Hugo Awards: Categories

1991-14

MOVED to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
(1) Replace Article 2 Section 11 with:
"Best Fanzine: Any generally available non-professional publication in any medium or form or any combination of media or forms devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects which meets the following criteria shall be considered for an award: (1) has published at least 4 or more issues, at least 1 of which appeared in the previous calendar year, (2) has continuity as to title, (3) has each issue contain a volume number or issue number, assigned by the publisher where said numbering continues in regular sequence, (4) does not, either singly or when successive issues are put together, constitute a work which would be eligible for an award under Article 2 Sections 2-5 or Section 10, (5) has some editorial control over content and format, and (6) provides a postal address, telephone number, or alternative method of contact for requesting of information or subscriptions."
(2) Replace the words "non-professional publication" in Article 2 Section 10 with "non-professional publication in any medium or form or any combination of media or forms that meets the criteria in Article 2 Section 11".
(3) Replace the words "press run" in Section 10 with "circulation".
(4) Replace the last line of Article 2 Section 8 with:
"A professional publication is any publication in the science fiction or fantasy genres, in any medium or form or combination of media or forms, which appeared in the previous calendar year, has a circulation of at least 10,000 copies, and paid its contributors and/or staff in other than copies of the publication."

OTC in 1991

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1991-15

MOVED, To amend Article 2 Section 17 of the WSFS Constitution as follows:
In any event, No Award shall be given whenever the total number of valid ballots cast for a specific category (excluding those cast for No Award in first place) is less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total number of final Award ballots (excluding those cast for No Award) received

S3.11.2

Constitution

1991-16

A committee shall be appointed and shall be charged with the incorporation of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) as a non-profit, literary society for the promotion of science fiction and the oversight of the annual World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon). Such a corporation shall have a board of directors elected by the paid membership of WSFS and shall be empowered to hire, lease, contract for, purchase such personnel, equipment, and services necessary to the administration of the society.

OTC in 1991

Constitution

1991-17

MOVED, to amend Article 4 Section 10 by adding the following sentence:
"Within two (2) months after the end of each Worldcon, the Committee shall send a copy of all changes to the Constitution and the Standing Rules, and all items awaiting ratification, to the next Worldcon Committee."

S5.3

Ratified in 1992

Mark Protection

1991-18

MOVED, To amend Article 4 Section 6 of the WSFS Constitution by inserting the words "after the end of the Business Meeting" after the word "Worldcon" in the sentence "There will be a meeting of the Mark Registration and Protection Committee at each worldcon, at a time and place announced at the Business Meeting."

S1.7.3

Constitution

1991-19

(1) Amend the section newly inserted in Article 3 as follows:
Only natural persons shall be allowed to cast site-selection ballots for other than "No Preference", and no individual shall cast more than one such ballot. (This shall not be interpreted to prohibit delivery of ballots cast by other eligible voters.) "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.
(2) Add the following section to Article 4:
In all matters arising under this Constitution, only natural persons may introduce business, nominate, or vote, except as specifically provided otherwise in this Constitution. No person may cast more than one vote on any issue or more than one ballot in any election. This shall not be interpreted to prohibit delivery of ballots cast by other eligible voters.

Site Selection: Rotation

1991-20

Moved: To amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
(1) Change "three years" to "two years" wherever it appears in Article 3.
(2) Change "the close of the previous Worldcon" to "six months prior to the official opening of the administering Worldcon" in Article 3 Section 4.
effective for 1998 and subsequent Worldcons and NASFiCs.

S4.6.3

Part 2 ratified in 1992

Site Selection: Rotation

1992-01

"For purposes of the site selection for 2001, the Eastern region shall be defined to include the entire world." "There will be no NASFiC in 2001." added later.

Not Ratified in 1993.

Site Selection: Rotation

1992-02

replace "all states and provinces" by "all states, provinces, and territories" in all three subsections of Sec. 3.6.

S1.8.5

Ratified in 1993.

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1992-03

Let it be resolved that no attendee at the WSFS Business Meeting shall be allowed to speak unless displaying a volunteer chit that he or she has worked for the convention at which the meeting is held.

OTC in 1992

Committees

1992-04

MOVED, to add the following section to Article III of the WSFS Constitution:
No Worldcon Committee shall reimburse its members or supporters for expenses incurred or donations made in support of the Committee when it was a bidding committee, nor shall any Worldcon memberships be sold at a discount by virtue of the member's having supported a bidding committee.
PROVIDED THAT this rule shall first apply to the Committee of the ____ Worldcon.

The blank in the proviso was filled with "2525", and the motion was defeated in 1992.

Site Selection: Rotation

1992-05

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
Change three years to two years wherever it appears in Article III;
change "the close of the previous Worldcon" to "six months prior to the official opening of the administering Worldcon" in Section 4 of Article III;
effective for 1998 and subsequent Worldcons and NASFiCs.

OTC in 1992

Hugo Awards: Categories

1992-06

MOVED, to add to Section 2.2.12 of the WSFS Constitution (Best Fan Writer) the words "during the previous calendar year".

S3.3.11

Ratified in 1993.

Site Selection: NASFiC

1992-07

[MOVED, to] amend the WSFS Constitution as follows (deletions in strike-through, additions in underline):
3.8.1: Voting shall be by written ballot administered by the following then-current Worldcon, if there is no NASFiC held the following year following the Worldcon that year, or by the NASFiC, if there is one held in the following year following the Worldcon, with ballots cast at the administering convention or by mail and only members of the administering convention allowed to vote.
3.5: . . . The aforementioned rules and agreements, along with an announcement of intent to bid, must be filed with the committee that will administer the voting . . . , and as set by the administering convention but no earlier than the close of the corresponding Worldcon voting no later than one hundred eighty (180) days prior to the opening of the administering convention for a prospective NASFiC bid.

S4.8.1

Site Selection: NASFiC

1992-08

MOVED, to delete all references to the NASFiC from the WSFS Constitution.

Committee did not produce a report (deadlocked 4-4).

Standing Rules: Mark Protection

1993-01

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules by inserting "or such later deadline as the Secretary may specify" after "Preliminary Business Meeting" in section 3.1.

R6.1

Passed in 1993 (although the minutes do not record this).

Standing Rules: Official Papers

1993-02

"Citations to Articles, Sections, or other parts of the Constitution or Standing Rules, in amendments thereto, are for the sake of easy reference only. Changes in the enumeration of Articles, Sections, Rules, and parts thereof and correct insertions, deletions, renumbering, and changes to internal cross references, when required by adopted amendments, will be provided by the Secretary of the Business Meeting in the Constitution, Standing Rules, and Business Passed On certified to the next Worldcon. Therefore, motions from the floor to renumber or correct citations, because of an adopted amendment, shall not be in order."

R4.3

Passed in 1993

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1993-03

MOVED, to amend Standing Rule 2 by changing "table" to "to lay on the table".

R5.6

Passed in 1993

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1993-04

All committees are authorized to organize themselves in any lawful manner and to adopt rules for the conduct of their business, which may include mail ballots, subject to any contrary provisions of the Constitution, the Standing Rules, or the instructions of the Society.

R7.6

Site Selection: Rotation

1993-05

MOVED: To amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:
(1) Amend Paragraph 3.6 to read: "To ensure equitable distribution of sites, the planet is divided into four (4) regions as follows:
(2) To add the following language as Paragraph 3.6.4: "Overseas. Any part of the world not mentioned in 3.6.1, 3.6.2, or 3.6.3.
(3) To replace Paragraph 3.7 with the following: "Worldcon sites shall rotate in the following order: Western, Central, Eastern, and Overseas in Gregorian Calendar years which, after being divided by four (4), yield remainders of zero (0), one (1), two (2), and three (3) respectively. A site shall be ineligible if it is within one hundred (100) kilometers of the site at which selection occurs."
(4) To replace Paragraph 3.8 with the following: "In Gregorian Calendar years in which, after division by four (4), leave a remainder of three (3) there shall be a NASFiC in a location described in Paragraph 3.6.1, 3.6.2, or 3.6.3. Selection of the NASFiC shall be by the identical procedure to the Worldcon selection except as provided below or elsewhere in this Constitution.
(5) Should the motion short-titled "Open The Site, Hal" be ratified by ConFrancisco, the word "Eastern" in it shall be replaced by the word "Central."
(6) The phrase in Paragraphs 3.1 and 3.10 of the WSFS Constitution, "three (3) years" shall be replaced with the phrase "four (4) years", and the following sentence shall be added to the WSFS Constitution as Paragraph 3.1.1: "The 1995 WorldCon shall have the responsibility for seating both the 1998 and 1999 WorldCon."

OTC in 1993

Constitution

1993-06

1.9.8: Any member of WSFS may bring charges against any other member of WSFS for violating any provision in Section 1.9 by bringing a motion before the WSFS Business Meeting, and presenting evidence in support of said motion. The motion shall be argued in the same manner as any motion of 50 words or more. Should the motion carry by a simple majority vote, the accused shall have his or her money refunded by the WorldCon Committee and be banned from that particular WorldCon, and the motion shall be part of the business passed on to the next WorldCon. Should the motion be ratified at the following WorldCon, that WorldCon shall also refund the admission fee to the accused, as well as any committee for a future WorldCon for whom the accused has purchased membership, and the accused shall be banned from WorldCon permanently, or until such time as a majority vote at a future WSFS Business Meeting not less than three years later sees fit to un-ban such person.

OTC in 1993

Site Selection: Rotation

1993-07

MOVED, to add the following language to the WSFS Constitution as Section 3.11: No future WorldCon shall be held within a radius of one hundred (100) kilometers from the residence of Robert Sacks. Should Robert Sacks establish permanent residence within one hundred (100) kilometers of the site of a future WorldCon, the WorldCon Committee governing that WorldCon shall relocate the con to another site within the same region; and if the WorldCon Committee does not do so, it shall be declared "unable to perform its duties" and appropriate action shall be taken, as defined in Section 3.10 of the WSFS Constitution.

OTC in 1993

Hugo Awards: Retro-Hugos

1993-08

Section 2.11: Retrospective Hugos. A Worldcon held 50 or 100 years after a Worldcon at which no Hugos were presented may conduct nominations and elections for Hugos which would have been presented at that previous Worldcon. Procedures shall be as for the current Hugos. Categories receiving insignificant numbers of nominations may be dropped. Once Hugos have been awarded for a Worldcon by the Worldcon 50 years later, no other Worldcon (e.g., that of 100 years later) shall present Hugos for that Worldcon.

S3.13

75 years added to list, and passed in 1993. Ratified in 1994.

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1993-09

Moved--to amend the Standing Rules by adding the following:
Before voting on a motion to call the question, the presiding officer shall, without debate, ask for a show of hands of those persons still wishing to speak on the matter under consideration.

R5.5

"still" deleted; motion passed in 1993.

Hugo Awards: Ballots

1993-10

Moved, To amend section 2.6 of the WSFS Constitution by striking out "John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best New Writer" and inserting "John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer".

S3.10.2

"Science Fiction" deleted in 1994. Ratified in 1994

Site Selection: Rotation

1993-11

Moved: To replace the current rotation with a no-zone rotation, prohibiting the Worldcon from being held within 500 miles of the site selection location. Provided That for the first 3 years after ratification, sites are eligible for selection if they would be eligible under the current rotation or the original one.

Defeated in 1993.

Site Selection: NASFiC

1993-12

Whereas the organization and operation of the North American Regional Science Fiction Conventions is not within the purposes of WSFS; Move to eliminate all references to NASFiC from the WSFS Constitution.

OTC in 1993

Site Selection: NASFiC

1993-13

3.8.4: If "None of the Above" wins on the first ballot, or if no eligible bid files by the deadline, then no NASFiC shall be held and all any voting fees collected for the NASFiC site selection shall be refunded by the administering convention without undue delay.

S4.8.4

Ratified in 1994

Standing Rules: Debate Time Limits

1993-14

Substitution: "any positive whole number of minutes".

R3.1

Passed in 1993

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1993-15

Moved: To amend the Standing Rules by adding the following.
The motion "To object to consideration of the question" shall not be in order until the motion it refers to is read in full.

OTC in 1993 (!)

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-01

2.2.15: Lifetime Achievement. Should a person or publication receive a Hugo Award in the same category in five (5) consecutive years, the fifth Hugo shall be considered a Lifetime Achievement Hugo Award in that category and that person or publication shall thereafter be ineligible to receive an award in that category for the next five (5) years.

Hugo Awards: Tallying

1994-02

MOVED, to add the following to the end of Section 2.9.4 of the WSFS Constitution:
During the same period the nomination voting totals shall also be published, including in each category the vote counts for at least the 15 highest vote-getters and any other candidates receiving a number of votes equal to at least 5% of the nomination ballots cast in that category.

S3.11.4

Ratified in 1995.

Site Selection: Eligibility

1994-03

To be eligible for site selection, a bidding committee must present adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed site's facilities, such as a conditional contract or a letter of agreement; and must state the rules under which the Worldcon Committee will operate, including a specification of the term of office of their chief executive officer or officers and the conditions and procedures for the selection and replacement of such officer or officers. Written copies of these rules must be made available by the bidding committee 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 administer the voting no later than 180 days prior to the official 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 selection shall proceed as though "None of the Above" had won.

S4.6

Ratified in 1995.

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1994-04

MOVED, to amend Section 2.6 of the WSFS Constitution by replacing the last sentence with:
No nominee shall appear on the final ballot if it received fewer than 10 nominations.

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1994-05

MOVED, to amend Section 2.6 of the WSFS Constitution in the following manner: the words five percent (5%) of the number of nomination ballots cast in that category shall be stricken, and replaced by the words two percent (2%) of the number of nomination ballots cast in that category

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Nominations

1994-06

MOVED, to amend Section 2.2.1 of the WSFS Constitution in the following manner: the words "The Worldcon Committee may relocate a story into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the story is within five thousand (5000) words of the new category limits." shall be stricken, and replaced by the words "The Worldcon Committee may relocate a story into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the story is within ten percent (10%) of the new category limits."

S3.2.6

Ratified as amended in 1995.

Site Selection: Tallying

1994-07

The Secretary has further modified the new text:
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.

S4.5.4

Site Selection: Rotation

1994-08

MOVED, to amend Article III [of the WSFS Constitution] as follows:
1. Amend Section 3.4 by replacing the next to last sentence with "When a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee, they are not restricted by the requirements of Sections 3.5 or 3.7."
2. Amend Section 3.7 by deleting the first sentence, and replacing "sixty (60)" with "five hundred (500)" in the remaining sentence.
3. Amend Section 3.8 by deleting all words between "NASFiC" and the next comma, and all words from the last comma to the end of the second sentence.
4. Amend Section 3.8.2 by replacing the words "the appropriate region" with "North America".
PROVIDED THAT for votes held in 1996-1999, a site will be eligible if it would have been eligible under either the old or the new rules.

OTC in 1994

Site Selection: Rotation

1994-09

MOVED, to delete the first sentence of Section 3.7 of the WSFS Constitution. To replace "sixty (60) miles" with "one hundred (100) kilometers" in the same section.
To make such other changes to the WSFS Constitution as are necessary to removing all references to regions in the Worldcon site-selection process.

OTC in 1994

Site Selection: NASFiC

1994-10

MOVED, to remove all references to the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) from the WSFS Constitution.
To authorize the WSFS Mark Protection Committee to dispose of the NASFiC service mark(s) to a responsible organization in their discretion, and to protect the mark until such time as a responsible organization can be found or created.

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-11

[MOVED, to] add to the end of Section 5.3 [of the WSFS Constitution]:
No amendment shall be in order which increases the total number of Hugo Awards.

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-12

MOVED, to delete Section 2.2 of the WSFS Constitution and replace it with:
Section 2.2: Number of Awards. Each Worldcon Committee shall award eight Hugos in categories related to the genre of Science Fiction.
and [to] append to Section 2.6:
The Worldcon Committee may place more than the maximum number of categories [on the nomination ballot]; however[,] only the categories that received the most nominations shall be on the final ballot.

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-13

MOVED, to replace Section 2.1 of the WSFS Constitution with:
Section 2.1: Introduction. Each Worldcon shall award ten (10) Hugos in categories related to Science Fiction as provided in this article.
[to] delete Sections 2.2.5 through 2.2.14[, and to] add:
2.2.5: Additional Categories. Additional categories shall be placed in nomination by the current Worldcon Committee to bring the number of awards up to at least {to} the number of Hugos to be awarded. If more than the maximum number of {the} awards are proposed on the nominating ballot, only those additional categories receiving the most nominations shall be placed on the final ballot.

OTC in 1994

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1994-14

MOVED, to add [the] following Standing Rule:
The Business Meeting may, at its discretion, refer a motion to an extended debate of up to two hours to be held during the current Worldcon by a simple majority vote. In this case the Chair shall appoint a moderator, one or more affirmative advocates, and one or more negative advocates. The committee members and other interested members of the current Worldcon shall convene sometime before the Sunday session of the Business Meeting. The committee shall debate the issue and report back to the Sunday session with any revisions to the motion agreed to by the committee.

OTC in 1994

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-15

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a new subsection to Section 2.2, as follows:
2.2.x: Best Musical Work. Any musical work incorporating or associated with a science, science fiction, fantasy, or fannish theme or story, and incorporating significant original content, such as lyrics, tunes, or arrangement. A musical work may be a song, an album, or a soundtrack. A work shall be eligible in the year following the calendar year of first professional distribution, defined as commercial or public radio or television airplay, use in a theatrically released movie or rentable video, or release of a recording or songbook with at least five thousand (5,000) copies. Any musical work {being} first distributed through amateur channels{,} shall be eligible in the second calendar year following its first appearance. A work can thus be eligible at most twice, once in amateur distribution and once professionally, but only if amateur eligibility occurs in an earlier year than professional eligibility. Appearance refers to performance in its eligible form, printing in a songbook or fanzine, or release of a recording, whichever shall occur first. If the first appearance or airplay occurs outside the English-speaking world, then the first appearance or airplay in the English-speaking world shall apply. An author may withdraw a version of the work from consideration, if that work is performed or edited by someone else, and the author feels that it does not convey their original intent, without prejudice to future eligibility of another version.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1994-16

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by adding a new subsection to Section 2.2 as follows:
2.2.x: Best Amateur or Semi-Professional Music. Any original piece of music {that is} related to science, science fiction, fantasy, or fandom{,} [that] is public{al}ly presented, released, published, or performed for the first time in its present form during the previous two calendar years. Published or released works of music with a circulation of ten thousand (10,000) copies or less are considered amateur or semi-professional in nature.

OTC in 1994

Standing Rules: Official Papers

1994-17

[MOVED, to] add the following language to the Standing Rules:
In the version of the Constitution and Standing Rules provided by the Business Meeting staff for publication prior to the following Worldcon, all changes shall be indicated by underlines for added material and strikeouts for deleted material.

R4.1

"and deletions" added after "changes"; "clearly" added before "indicated"; "by underlines" to end struck; Passed in 1994.

Standing Rules: Debate Time Limits

1994-18

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules for the Governance of the WSFS Business Meeting by adding the following:
The setting, for any item of business, of a specific time limit after which debate will not be in order does not prohibit the consideration, without debate, of subsidiary motions after that time.

R3.4

Passed in 1994

Constitution

1994-19

[MOVED, to] add the following language to the Constitution:
Numbers and titles of the various parts of the Constitution and Standing Rules are for the sake of easy reference only. They do not form a substantive part of those documents nor of any motion to amend those documents. The Business Meeting staff shall incorporate into those documents correct insertions and deletions when required by adopted amendments. For amendments to the Constitution, the staff shall change any other provision of the Constitution and Standing Rules equally affected. For amendments to the Standing Rules, the staff shall change any other provision of the Standing Rules equally affected. For any such changes, the staff shall change part numbers, titles, and internal cross-references as necessary to maintain a consistent, parallel structure.

Committed to the Standing Rules Working Group in 1994.

Constitution

1994-20

[MOVED, to] add the following language to the Constitution:
Following each Worldcon, the Business Meeting staff may change unamended part numbers, titles, cross-references, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization in the Constitution and Standing Rules to enhance consistency and clarity.

Committed to the Standing Rules Working Group in 1994.

Site Selection: Eligibility

1994-21

MOVED, to append to Section 3.7 of the WSFS Constitution:
or [the site of] any NASFiC held during the same year that the site is selected.

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1994-22

Add the following new Standing Rule:
People unable to stand to vote should be provided [with] brightly colored cards to indicate when they wish to vote.

Committed to the Standing Rules Working Group in 1994.

Standing Rules: Debate Time Limits

1994-23

MOVED, to amend the Standing Rules as follows:
The time spent on procedural motions shall not reduce the amount of time for substantive debate below the lesser of the time set by the assembly for debate or four minutes.

Committed to the Standing Rules Working Group in 1994.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1995-01

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

S3.3

Ratified in 1996.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1995-02

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,

S3.3.10

Ratified in 1996.

Constitution

1995-03

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 may be suspended by the Business Meeting by the same procedure as a Standing Rule), and Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

S5.1.4

Ratified in 1996.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1995-04

The following paragraph shall be added as Section 2.12:
Any individual who has received five or more Hugos for professional work in science fiction (as writer, artist, and/or editor) shall be considered to have been awarded the title of Grand Master. 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) given between 1974 and 1980 are also included. Special Committee awards and retrospective Hugos shall be included in an individual's total count. Future Worldcon Committees should consider including a list of current Grand Masters in the Program Book or other materials distributed 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 should also consider noting this fact by such actions as including it on the Hugo Award or by other means it deems proper.

OTC in 1995

Hugo Awards: Categories

1995-05

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

S3.3.6

Ratified in 1996.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1995-06

In the case of individual programs presented as a series, any of the following may be eligible: (a) a single program; (b) a sequence of installments constituting a single dramatic unit; (c) an entire season considered as a whole. In cases (b) and (c), eligibility shall be in the year of the final installment or program. Once a sequence of programs (including an entire season) has appeared on a final Hugo ballot as a collective nominee, no collective nominee including that sequence or any part thereof shall be eligible in any subsequent year. If two or more overlapping sequences are nominated in the same year, only the one with the most votes shall appear on the final ballot.

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1995-07

Rule 25: If a Worldcon Committee adopts a parliamentary authority for the Business Meeting other than that specified in the Constitution, it must in timely fashion publish information about how to obtain copies of the manual in question.

R5.1

Passed in 1995.

Standing Rules

1996-01

Adopt new base document

Passed in 1996

Site Selection: Ballots

1996-02

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".

S4.8.4

Ratified in 1997.

Site Selection: NASFiC

1996-03

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".

S4.8.3

Site Selection: Tallying

1996-04

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."

Membership

1996-05

1.5.7: Other memberships and fees shall be at the discretion of the Worldcon Committee.

S1.5

Site Selection: Eligibility

1996-06

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. A 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."

S4.8

Hugo Awards: Categories

1996-07

* a fictional work noteworthy primarily for aspects other than fiction.

S3.3.5

Site Selection: Eligibility

1996-08

In Sec. 3.1, replace "deadline" by "ballot deadline".

S4.8.4

Site Selection

1996-09

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.

OTC in 1996

Site Selection: Ballots

1996-10

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.

S4.2

Site Selection: NASFiC

1996-11

NASFiC Committees shall make all reasonable efforts to avoid conflicts with Worldcon dates.

S4.8.2

Hugo Awards

1996-12

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.

OTC in 1996

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

Amend; Friendly Amendments. A member may modify or withdraw a motion made by the member until substantive debate has begun. Such modifications shall be limited to minor changes or to those which the maker deems acceptable to the assembly, and may be amended by vote of the meeting as if the modification had been part of the original motion.

Defeated in 1996

Standing Rules: Debate Time Limits

Debate Time Limits; Minimum Substantive Debate. If the debate time expires before either or both sides of the question have had an opportunity for substantive debate, any side that has not had such an opportunity shall have the lesser of two (2) minutes or half of the total debate time set by the meeting for the motion, such time to be used solely for the purpose of substantive debate.

R3.5

Passed in 1996

Standing Rules: Miscellaneous

1996-15

Accommodating Disabilities. The Business Meeting Staff shall provide a practical alternative for people unable to rise (or raise hands) to seek recognition or vote.

Defeated in 1996

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1996-16

SR 26: Previous Question. A person speaking to a motion may not immediately offer a motion to close debate or refer to a committee.

R5.5

Passed in 1996

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1996-17

New Rule: Rules protecting the rights of absentees, including this rule, may not be suspended.

R5.8

Passed in 1996

Mark Protection

1996-18

Provided That upon ratification of this amendment, Standing Rule 13 shall be repealed.

S1.8.2

Ratified in 1997.

Constitution: Standing Rules

1996-19

Provided That upon ratification of this amendment, Standing Rule 32 shall be repealed.

S5.1.3

Constitution

1996-20

Provided That upon ratification of this amendment, Standing Rule 30 shall be repealed.

Withdrawn in 1996.

Standing Rules: New Business

1996-21

To make Standing Rule 5 (introduction of new business after deadline) suspendable only by unanimous consent.

Defeated in 1996.

Site Selection: NASFiC

1997-01

FURTHER PROVIDED THAT the NASFiC service mark be transferred to the Continental Science Fiction Association of MFW&SFA, Inc., under reasonable terms to be negotiated by the Mark Protection committee.

OTC in 1997

Constitution

1997-02

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 Runners" Guide" (formerly committees of the Business Meeting) and the recognized publications are "W.O.O.F." and "APA: WSFS".

OTC in 1997

Constitution

1997-03

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution as follows:

4.1: …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); the customs and usages of WSFS (including the resolutions and rulings of continuing effect); and Robert"s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.…

S5.1.4

Committees

1997-04

MOVED, to amend the WSFS Constitution by striking out Sections 1.4 (second sentence), 1.5.5, 1.7, 1.8, 3.9, 3.10, 4.2 and 5.6, and inserting the following new Article between Articles 1 and 2: [Text in brackets, including this text, is explanatory and not substantive.]

Article A - Powers and Duties of Worldcon Committees

Section A.9: Financial Reports.

A.9.4: In the event of a surplus, the Worldcon Committee, or any alternative organizational entity established to oversee and disburse that surplus, shall file annual financial reports regarding the disbursement of that surplus at each year's Business Meeting, until the surplus is totally expended or an amount equal to the original surplus has been disbursed.

S2.1-2.9

Mark Protection

1997-05

Section 1.9: The Mark Protection Committee.

1.9.1: There shall be a Mark Protection Committee of WSFS, which shall be responsible for registration and protection of the marks used by or under the authority of WSFS.

1.9.2: The Mark Protection Committee shall submit to the Business Meeting at each Worldcon a report of its activities since the previous Worldcon, including a statement of income and expense.

1.9.3: The Mark Protection Committee shall hold a meeting at each Worldcon after the end of the Business Meeting, at a time and place announced at the Business Meeting.

1.9.4: The Mark Protection Committee shall determine and elect its own officers.

Section 1.10: Membership of the Mark Protection Committee.

1.10.1: The Mark Protection Committee shall consist of:

1: one (1) member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future selected Worldcon Committee and each of the two (2) immediately preceding Worldcon Committees,

2: one (1) non-voting member appointed to serve at the pleasure of each future selected NASFiC Committee and for each Committee of a NASFiC held in the previous two years, and

3: nine (9) members elected three (3) each year to staggered three-year terms by the Business Meeting.

1.10.2: No more than three elected members may represent any single North American region, as defined in Section 3.6. Each elected member shall represent the region (if any) in which the member resided at the time they were elected.

1.10.3: Newly elected members take their seats, and the term of office ends for elected and appointed members whose terms expire that year, at the end of the Business Meeting.

1.10.4: If vacancies occur in elected memberships in the Committee, the remainder of the position's term may be filled by the Business Meeting, and until then temporarily filled by the Committee.

S1.8

Hugo Awards

1997-06

Article II - Hugo Awards

Section 2.1: Introduction. Selection of the Hugo Awards shall be made as provided in this Article.

Section 2.2: General.

2.2.1: Unless otherwise specified, Hugo Awards are given in the various categories for work in the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year.

2.2.2: A work originally appearing in a language other than English shall also be eligible for the year in which it is first issued in English translation. A work, once it has appeared in English, may thus be eligible only once.

2.2.3: Publication date, or cover date in the case of a dated periodical, takes precedence over copyright date.

2.2.4: Works appearing in a series are eligible as individual works, but the series as a whole is not eligible. However, a work appearing in a number of parts shall be eligible for the year of the final part.

2.2.5: An author may withdraw a version of a work from consideration if the author feels that the version is not representative of what that author wrote.

2.2.6: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a story into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the story is within the lesser of five thousand (5,000) words or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.

2.2.7: The Worldcon Committee is responsible for all matters concerning the Awards.

Section 2.3: Categories.

2.3.1: Best Novel. A science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.

2.3.2: Best Novella. A science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.

2.3.3: Best Novelette. A science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.

2.3.4: Best Short Story. A science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.

2.3.5: 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.

2.3.6: Best Dramatic Presentation. Any production in any medium of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects which has been publicly presented for the first time in its present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.

2.3.7: Best Professional Editor. The editor of any professional publication devoted primarily to science fiction or fantasy during the previous calendar year. A professional publication is one which had an average press run of at least ten thousand (10,000) copies per issue.

2.3.8: Best Professional Artist. An illustrator whose work has appeared in a professional publication in the field of science fiction or fantasy during the previous calendar year.

2.3.9: Best Semiprozine. Any generally available non-professional publication devoted to science fiction or fantasy 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, and which in the previous calendar year met at least two (2) of the following criteria:

1: had an average press run of at least one thousand (1000) copies per issue,
2: paid its contributors and/or staff in other than copies of the publication,
3: provided at least half the income of any one person,
4: had at least fifteen percent (15%) of its total space occupied by advertising,
5: announced itself to be a semiprozine.

2.3.10: Best Fanzine. Any generally available non-professional publication devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects 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, and which does not qualify as a semiprozine.

2.3.11: Best Fan Writer. Any person whose writing has appeared in semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electronic media during the previous calendar year.

2.3.12: Best Fan Artist. An artist or cartoonist whose work has appeared through publication in semiprozines or fanzines or through other public display during the previous calendar year. Any person whose name appears on the final Hugo Awards ballot for a given year under the Professional Artist category shall not be eligible in the Fan Artist category for that year.

2.3.13: Additional Category. Not more than one special category may be created by the current Worldcon Committee with nomination and voting to be the same as for the permanent categories. The Worldcon Committee is not required to create any such category; such action by a Worldcon Committee should be under exceptional circumstances only; and the special category created by one Worldcon Committee shall not be binding on following Committees. Awards created under this paragraph shall be considered to be Hugo Awards.

Section 2.4: Extended Eligibility. In the event that a potential Hugo Award nominee receives extremely limited distribution in the year of its first publication or presentation, its eligibility may be extended for an additional year by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the intervening Business Meeting of WSFS.

Section 2.5: Name and Design. The Hugo Award shall continue to be standardized on the rocket ship design of Jack McKnight and Ben Jason. Each Worldcon Committee may select its own choice of base design. The name (Hugo Award) and the design shall not be extended to any other award.

Section 2.6: "No Award". At the discretion of an individual Worldcon Committee, if the lack of nominations or final votes in a specific category shows a marked lack of interest in that category on the part of the voters, the Award in that category shall be canceled for that year.

Section 2.7: Nominations.

2.7.1: The Worldcon Committee shall conduct a poll to select the nominees for the final Award voting. Each member of either the administering or the immediately preceding Worldcon as of January 31 of the current calendar year shall be allowed to make up to five (5) equally weighted nominations in every category.

2.7.2: The Committee shall include with each nomination ballot a copy of Article II of the WSFS Constitution.

2.7.3: Nominations shall be solicited only for the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Section 2.8: Tallying of Nominations.

2.8.1: Except as provided below, the final Award ballots shall list in each category the five eligible nominees receiving the most nominations. If there is a tie including fifth place, all the tied eligible nominees shall be listed.

2.8.2: The Worldcon Committee shall determine the eligibility of nominees and assignment to the proper category of nominees nominated in more than one category.

2.8.3: Any nominations for "No Award" shall be disregarded.

2.8.4: If a nominee appears on a nomination ballot more than once in any one category, only one nomination shall be counted in that category.

2.8.5: No nominee shall appear on the final Award ballot if it received fewer nominations than five percent (5%) of the number of ballots listing one or more nominations in that category, except that the first three eligible nominees, including any ties, shall always be listed.

Section 2.9: Notification and Acceptance. Worldcon Committees shall use reasonable efforts to notify the nominees, or in the case of deceased or incapacitated persons, their heirs, assigns, or legal guardians, in each category prior to the release of such information. Each nominee shall be asked at that time to either accept or decline the nomination. If the nominee declines nomination, that nominee shall not appear on the final ballot.

Section 2.10: Voting.

2.10.1: Final Award voting shall be by mail, with ballots sent only to WSFS members. Final Award ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces to be filled in by the voter.

2.10.2: Final Award ballots shall list only the Hugo Awards and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

2.10.3: "No Award" shall be listed in each category of Hugo Award on the final ballot.

2.10.4: The Committee shall, on or with the final ballot, designate, for each nominee in the printed fiction categories, one or more books, anthologies, or magazines in which the nominee appeared (including the book publisher or magazine issue date(s)).

2.10.5: Voters shall indicate the order of their preference for the nominees in each category.

Section 2.11: Tallying of Votes.

2.11.1: In each category, votes shall first be tallied by the voter's first choices. If no majority is then obtained, the nominee who places last in the initial tallying shall be eliminated and the ballots listing it as first choice shall be redistributed on the basis of those ballots' second choices. This process shall be repeated until a majority-vote winner is obtained.

2.11.2: No Award shall be given whenever the total number of valid ballots cast for a specific category (excluding those cast for "No Award" in first place) is less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total number of final Award ballots received.

2.11.3: After a tentative winner is determined, then unless "No Award" shall be the winner, the following additional test shall be made. If the number of ballots preferring "No Award" to the tentative winner is greater than the number of ballots preferring the tentative winner to "No Award", then "No Award" shall be declared the winner of the election.

2.11.4: The complete numerical vote totals, including all preliminary tallies for first, second, ... places, shall be made public by the Worldcon Committee within ninety (90) days after the Worldcon. During the same period the nomination voting totals shall also be published, including in each category the vote counts for at least the fifteen highest vote-getters and any other candidate receiving a number of votes equal to at least five percent (5%) of the nomination ballots cast in that category.

Section 2.12: Exclusions. No member of the current Worldcon Committee nor any publications closely connected with a member of the Committee shall be eligible for an Award. However, should the Committee delegate all authority under this Article to a Subcommittee whose decisions are irrevocable by the Worldcon Committee, then this exclusion shall apply to members of the Subcommittee only.

Section 2.13: Retrospective Hugos. A Worldcon held 50, 75, or 100 years after a Worldcon at which no Hugos were presented may conduct nominations and elections for Hugos which would have been presented at that previous Worldcon. Procedures shall be as for the current Hugos. Categories receiving insufficient numbers of nominations may be dropped. Once retrospective Hugos have been awarded for a Worldcon, no other Worldcon shall present retrospective Hugos for that Worldcon.

Article 3

Site Selection: Eligibility

1997-07

Section 3.5: Bid Eligibility.

3.5.1: To be eligible for site selection, a bidding committee must file the following documents with the Committee that will administer the voting: (1) an announcement of intent to bid; (2) adequate evidence of an agreement with its proposed site's facilities, such as a conditional contract or a letter of agreement; (3) the rules under which the Worldcon Committee will operate, including a specification of the term of office of their chief executive officer or officers and the conditions and procedures for the selection and replacement of such officer or officers.

3.5.2: The bidding committee must supply written copies of these documents to any member of WSFS on request.

3.5.3: For a bid to be allowed on the printed ballot, the bidding committee must file the documents specified above no later than 180 days prior to the official opening of the administering convention.

3.5.4: To be eligible as a write-in, the bidding committee must file the documents specified above by the close of the voting.

3.5.5: If no bids meet these qualifications, the selection shall proceed as though "None of the Above" had won.

S4.6

Constitution: Business Meeting

1997-08

Article IV - Powers of the Business Meeting

Section 4.1: WSFS Business Meetings.

4.1.1: Business Meetings of WSFS shall be held at advertised times at each Worldcon.

4.1.2: The current Worldcon Committee shall provide the Presiding Officer and Staff for each Meeting.

4.1.3: The Business Meeting may adopt Standing Rules for its own governance.

4.1.4: 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 the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

4.1.5: The quorum for the Business Meeting shall be twelve members of the Society physically present.

Section 4.2: Continuation of Committees. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, any committee or other position created by a Business Meeting shall lapse at the end of the next following Business Meeting that does not vote to continue it.

Section 4.3: Constitutional Pass-along. Within two (2) months after the end of each Worldcon, the Business Meeting staff shall send a copy of all changes to the Constitution and Standing Rules, and all items awaiting ratification, to the next Worldcon Committee.

S5.1-5.3

Hugo Awards: Categories

1997-09

2.2.5: Best Related Book Work. 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 content.

Standing Rules: Debate Time Limits

1997-10

Rule 14: Debate Time Limits; Main Motions. Debate on all motions of less than fifty (50) words shall be limited to six (6) minutes. Debate on all other motions shall be limited to twenty (20) minutes. The Presiding Officer shall designate the default debate time for agendized motions.…

R3.1

Hugo Awards: Categories

1997-11

2.2.7: Best Professional Editor. The editor of any professional publication devoted primarily to science fiction or fantasy during the previous calendar year. A professional publication is one which had an met at least one of the following criteria during the previous calendar year: (1) average press run of at least ten thousand (10,000) copies per issue, or (2) a distribution of at least 100,000 copies during the previous calendar year.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1997-12

2.2.x: Best E-zine. Any generally available publication devoted to science fiction or fantasy published electronically which by the close of the previous calendar year as met either of the following criteria: (1) has been available on the Internet for at least one (1) month, or (2) has been distributed on portable media (floppy disk, CD-ROM or other) with more than one hundred (100) copies.

OTC in 1997

Constitution

1998-01

[4] These sections are unnecessary if "Yet More Business" is ratified.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1998-02

Change Article II, Section 2.2.12 "Best Fan Artist" to "Most Popular Fan Artist".

OTC in 1998

Site Selection

1998-03

3.5.6: Where a site and Committee are chosen by a Business Meeting or Worldcon Committee, they are not restricted by region or other qualifications, and the choice of an out-of-rotation site shall not affect the regional rotation for subsequent years.

S4.5.6

Site Selection: Rotation

1998-04

Provided that any site which would have been eligible under the old rules will also be eligible in the first three races conducted under these eligibility rules.

S4.7

Standing Rules: Variations of Rules

1999-01

SR xx: Constitutional and Standing Rule Amendments. Motions to Amend the Constitution, to Ratify a Constitutional Amendment, and to Amend the Standing Rules shall be considered ordinary main motions, except as otherwise provided in the Standing Rules or Constitution.

R5.2

Passed in 1999

Hugo Awards: Categories

1999-02

3.2.x: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.

Hugo Awards: Categories

1999-03

3.2.6: [...] The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary.

Defeated in 1999

Site Selection: Rotation

1999-04

In Section 4.1: replace "WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held three (3) years from the date of the current worldcon" with "WSFS shall choose the location and Committee of the Worldcon to be held two (2) years from the date of the current worldcon".

Defeated in 1999

Hugo Awards

1999-05

Add Section 3.8.x: "No nominee shall be eligible which has already appeared on a final ballot."

Committee continued to report in 2001

Hugo Awards: Categories

1999-06

3.2.x: Previews, promotional trailers, commercials, public service announcements and similar extraneous material shall not be considered to be all or part of a dramatic presentation.

Site Selection: Rotation

1999-07

Moved: To amend the altered 4.7 by replacing "five hundred (500) miles or eight hundred (800) kilometers" with "three hundred (300) miles or four hundred and eighty (480) kilometers".

Constitution: Standing Rules

2000-01

Moved, To direct the Secretary, under the authority of Standing Rule 23, to move Section 6.5 of the WSFS Constitution into Section 5.1 to replace the existing Section 5.1.3.

S5.1.3

Passed by unanimous consent in 2000

Standing Rules

2000-02

Group 7: Miscellaneous: 10, 19, 32, 18, 24, 20 become 7.1 - 7.6

Passed by unanimous consent in 2000

Hugo Awards: Ballots

2000-03

3.10.1: Final Award voting shall be by mail, with ballots sent only to WSFS members. Only WSFS members may vote. Final Award ballots shall include name, signature, address, and membership-number spaces to be filled in by the voter.

S3.10.1

"Postal mail shall always be acceptable." inserted in 2001 and ratified.

Committees

2000-04

2.9.4: In the event of a surplus, the Worldcon or NASFiC Committee, or any alternative organizational entity established to oversee and disburse that surplus, shall file annual financial reports regarding the disbursement of that surplus at each year's Business Meeting, until the surplus is totally expended or an amount equal to the original surplus has been disbursed.

S2.9

Hugo Awards: Extension

2000-05

1: Would otherwise qualify for a "specific work" 2000 Hugo Award (sections 3.3.1 through 3.3.6 inclusive);
2: Did not qualify to appear on the Final Ballot for the 2000 Hugo Awards;
3: Have not been published in the USA as of 31 January 2000; and
4: Have not previously had their eligibility extended by resolution of WSFS.

Passed 53-5 in 2000

Hugo Awards: Extension

2000-06

Moved, To extend the eligibility of issue 9 of the dated periodical STET, based on limited availability, as authorized by Section 3.4.

Passed 46-13 in 2000

Standing Rules: Meetings

2000-07

Rule 4: Scheduling of Meetings. The first Main Meeting shall be scheduled no less than eighteen (18) hours after the conclusion of the last Preliminary Meeting. No meeting shall be scheduled to begin before 10:00 or after 15:00 local time.

R1.4

15:00 replaced with 13:00 - passed in 2000

Standing Rules: Meetings

2000-08

Rule 2: Preliminary Business Meeting(s). The Preliminary Business Meeting may not directly reject, pass, or ratify amendments to the Constitution; however, all motions adhering to a Constitutional amendment are in order if otherwise allowed. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not refer a Constitutional amendment to a committee unless the committee’s instructions are to report to the Main Business Meeting. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not postpone consideration of a Constitutional amendment beyond the last Preliminary Business Meeting. The Preliminary Business Meeting may not amend a Constitutional amendment pending ratification. The Preliminary Business Meeting may consider any business not expressly forbidden to it by the Standing Rules or expressly reserved to the Main Business Meeting.

R1.2

Passed in 2000

Site Selection

2000-09

Provided that this amendment shall not take effect until the conclusion of the 2004 Worldcon; that there shall be no Worldcon site selection election at the 2005 Worldcon; and that the 2006 Worldcon shall select the site of the 2008 Worldcon.

Defeated in 2000

Hugo Awards: Categories

2000-10

3.3.X: Best Television Series. A series of programs of dramatized science fiction, fantasy or related subjects that have been publicly presented on television for the first time in their present dramatic form during the previous calendar year.

OTC in 2000

Hugo Awards: Categories

2000-11

3.2.x: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.

OTC in 2000

Hugo Awards: Categories

2000-12

The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary.

OTC in 2000

2001-01

Rule 7.y: Worldcon Runners’ Guide Editorial Committee. The Business Meeting shall appoint a Worldcon Runners’ Guide Editorial Committee. The Committee shall maintain the Worldcon Runners’ Guide, which shall contain a compilation of the best practices in use among those who run Worldcons.

R7.7, R7.8

Hugo Awards: Extension

2001-02

4: Have not previously had their eligibility extended by resolution of WSFS;

Passed in 2001 by unanimous consent.

Hugo Awards: Extension

2001-03

3.2.y: A work shall not be eligible if in a prior year it received sufficient nominations to appear on the final Award ballot.

S3.2.2-S3.2.4

2001-04

3.2.x: The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits.

S3.2.8, S3.2.10, S3.3.6-7

Hugo Awards: Extension

2001-05

Moved, To extend for one year the eligibility of The Man on the Ceiling, by Steve Rasnic and Melanie Tem, a novelette published as a chapbook in 2000 by American Fantasy, based on limited availability, as authorized by Section 3.4.

Defeated in 2001

Committees

2001-06

Section 2.10: Membership Badges. Each Worldcon shall provide each attending member with a name badge containing at least the member’s name and membership number. Pre-registered members’ names shall be printed on the badge in no less than 24-point bold type.

"pre-" and "bold" struck. Replaced by resolution 2001-07

Committees

2001-07

Resolved, The NP&FS is directed to remind each future Worldcon, early and often, that the WSFS Business Meeting believes that membership badges be readable, with members’ names printed in no less than 24 point type.

Passed in 2001.

Committee

2001-08

Moved, to establish a committee to study the history of Worldcons and to produce a standard list of Worldcon historical information, with Bruce Pelz as chair, and the chair authorized to appoint additional members.

"Worldcon historical information" amended to "Worldcon and Hugo Award historical information." and passed in 2001

Hugo Awards: Extension

2002-01

4: Have not previously had their eligibility extended by resolution of WSFS;

Passed in 2002.

Hugo Awards: Categories

2002-02

The Worldcon Committee may relocate a dramatic presentation work into a more appropriate category if it feels that it is necessary, provided that the length of the work is within the lesser of twenty (20) minutes or twenty percent (20%) of the new category limits boundary.

Passed in 2002

Hugo Awards: Categories

2002-03

Moved, to amend the WSFS Constitution at Subsections 3.3.6A: Best Dramatic presentation, Long From and 3.3.6B: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (both ratified yesterday) by changing "90 minutes" to "80 minutes" wherever it occurs.

OTC in 2002