18-01-2003 11:24									#1
	Constitutional Convention on Polling Rules Inflate your Upload Space

current CtP2 article on polling rules

Article IV: Polling Rules


1. Definition and validity:

(a) All official decision making will be done through polls, in which Citizens can express their opinion on issues. A poll is the standard vBB poll feature in which people can anonymously vote for one of a list of options.
(b) Any Poll that is not Unofficial (see section 3) and that violates any of the rules specified in this Article will be declared invalid.
(c) Any polls started by non-citizens will be declared Unofficial.
(d) The Court has the right to rule over the validity of polls. Invalid polls should be considered Unofficial and may be closed if the Court requests this.

2. Poll Organization:

(a) The first post of all polls must contain the following elements:
* A clear and unbiased explanation of the question and the answers, if needed;
* Expiration date, if applicable;
* Links to related threads or other information sources, if any;
* Type (see section 4) and nature of the poll: information gathering or decision making.
(b) Two types of poll organization are allowed: Yes/No polls and multiple choice polls.
(c) Yes/No polls must have three options of which only one can be chosen. The three options must be:
* Yes, meaning that the voter agrees with what was stated in the poll;
* No, meaning that the voter does not agree with what was stated in the poll;
* Abstain, meaning that the voter does not have a specific opinion on what was stated in the poll or does not wish to express it. Abstain votes may not be considered to say anything about what was stated in the poll.
(d) Alternative terms for 'Yes' and 'No' may be used in a Yes/No poll, as long as their meaning is along the same lines as 'Yes' and 'No' (examples: 'I agree'/'I don't agree' or 'In favour'/'Against'). Terms are along the same lines as 'Yes' and 'No' when the question in the poll can be rephrased so that it can be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'.
(e) Multiple choice polls must have at least three options of which only one can be chosen. Such polls must at least have an Abstain option as defined in section 3(c). All other options are open for the poll creator to fill in as he wishes, as long as they are clear and unbiased.

3. Poll Types:

There are 5 types of polls: Election polls, Official polls, Resolutions, Amendments and Unofficial polls.

I. Election polls:
(a) These polls must be started by the Court. They serve to elect the persons who will fulfill the official positions of the executive and judicial branches of the government, as defined in Article II and Article III of this Constitution.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'ELECTION', written in capital letters, and the name of the office for which the election is held.
(c) They have to be multiple choice polls with only the names of the candidates as options. They can only be decision-making polls, they cannot be used for not information gathering.
(e) They must follow the rules as defined in Article V of this Constitution.
(f) Election polls in accordance with section 1-f of Article V shall expire in five days and the Court must include the expiring day in the first post of the poll.

II. Official polls:
(a) These polls must be started by members of the executive branch of the government, as defined in Article II of this Constitution, and relate to the game.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'OFFICIAL', written in capital letters.
(c) They can be either Yes/No or multiple choice polls and can be used for either information gathering or decision making.
(d) The government official who started the poll may or may not follow the opinion of the majority of the voters. In case (s)he does not follow what was decided, (s)he must make this decision public. Failure to do so will be regarded withholding of information, as defined in Article I section 5, and can serve as grounds for Impeachment (see Article V).
(e) Official polls shall only expire in a day chosen by the officer who opened the poll. And if the poll has an expiring day the same officer who started it must include this information in the first post.

III. Resolutions:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the governement, and must be used to propose resolutions. resolutions, if passed, modify the rules that clearly affect the course of the game or the policy of the executive branch of the government (as defined in Article II of this Constitution). Except in case of impeachments which shall be decide according to Chapter 2 of Article V.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'RESOLUTION', written in capital letters.
(c) They have to be Yes/No polls. Multiple choice polls are not allowed as resolutions.
(d) resolutions may not violate or change the Constitution. Resolutions may change, amend or remove any existing resolutions or judicial decisions regarding resolutions.
(e) If more than 1/2 of the voters votes in favour of the resolution, at least 1/3 of all Citizens vote in the poll and the Court does not declare the poll invalid, the resolution is considered passed. All Citizens must from that time on obey it.
(f) Resolutions of the Constitution must be recorded by the Court. The person who proposed the Resolution that has been passed must inform the Court of this as soon as possible.
(g) The Court will resolve all conflicts of resolutions. The Court’s ruling on an interpretation of a resolution is of the same power and authority as that resolution.
(h) Resolution polls shall expire in three days and the citzen who started the poll must include the expiring day in its first post.

IV. Amendments:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the governement, and must be used to propose Amendments to this Constitution.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'AMENDMENT', written in capital letters.
(c) They have to be Yes/No polls. Multiple choice polls are not allowed as Ammendments.
(d) Amendments may change/append/override any existing Laws, judicial decisions regarding Laws or any number of existing sections of the Constitution.
(e) If more than 1/2 of the voters votes in favour of the Law, at least 1/3 of all Citizens vote in the poll and the Court does not declare the poll invalid, the Ammendent is considered passed. All Citizens must from that time on obey it.
(f) Amendments of the Constitution must be recorded by the Court. The person who proposed an Amendment that has been passed must inform the Court of this as soon as possible.
(f) Amendment polls shall expire in five days and the citzen who started the poll must include the expiring day in its first post.

V. Unofficial polls:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the government.
(b) They may only exist to debate or gather information. Their outcome should not affect the course of the game or the policy of the government.
(c) Unofficial polls are the only polls in which more than one option may be chosen from the list of options.
(d) They do not have to follow all the rules specified in this Article. However, rules specified in Article I of this Constitution must still be obeyed.

	18-01-2003 11:25									#2
	HTower revision Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

My personal revision of the CtP2 article on polling

Article IV: Polling Rules


1. Definition and validity:

(a) All official decision making will be done through polls, in which Citizens can express their opinion on issues. A poll is the standard vBB poll feature in which people can anonymously vote for one of a list of options.
(b) Any Poll that is not Unofficial (see section 3) and that violates any of the rules specified in this Article will be declared invalid.
(c) Any polls not declared ELECTION, RESOLUTION, AMENDMENT, or OFFICIAL will be considered Unofficial.
(d) The Court has the right to rule over the validity of polls. Invalid polls should be considered Unofficial and may be closed if the Court requests this.

2. Poll Organization:

(a) The first post of all polls must contain the following elements:
* A clear and unbiased explanation of the question and the answers, if needed;
* Expiration date, if applicable;
* Links to related threads or other information sources, if any;
* Type (see section 4) and nature of the poll: information gathering or decision making.
(b) Two types of poll organization are allowed: Yes/No polls and multiple choice polls.
(c) Yes/No polls must have three options of which only one can be chosen. The three options must be:
* Yes, meaning that the voter agrees with what was stated in the poll;
* No, meaning that the voter does not agree with what was stated in the poll;
* Abstain, meaning that the voter does not have a specific opinion on what was stated in the poll or does not wish to express it. Abstain votes may not be considered to say anything about what was stated in the poll.
(d) Alternative terms for 'Yes' and 'No' may be used in a Yes/No poll, as long as their meaning is along the same lines as 'Yes' and 'No' (examples: 'I agree'/'I don't agree' or 'In favour'/'Against'). Terms are along the same lines as 'Yes' and 'No' when the question in the poll can be rephrased so that it can be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'.
(e) Multiple choice polls must have at least three options and cannot be multiple selection. Such polls must at least have an Abstain option as defined in section 3(c). All other options are open for the poll creator to fill in as he wishes, as long as they are clear and unbiased.

3. Poll Types:

There are 5 types of polls: Election polls, Official polls, Resolutions, Amendments and Unofficial polls.

I. Election polls:
(a) These polls must be started by the Court. They serve to elect the persons who will fulfill the official positions of the executive and judicial branches of the government, as defined in Article II and Article III of this Constitution.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'ELECTION', written in capital letters, and the name of the office for which the election is held.
(c) They have to be multiple choice polls with only the names of the candidates as options. They can only be decision-making polls, they cannot be used for not information gathering.
(e) They must follow the rules as defined in Article V of this Constitution.
(f) Election polls in accordance with section 1-f of Article V shall expire in five days and the Court must include the expiring day in the first post of the poll.

II. Official polls:
(a) These polls must be started by members of the executive branch of the government, as defined in Article II of this Constitution, and relate to the game.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'OFFICIAL', written in capital letters.
(c) They can be either Yes/No or multiple choice polls and can be used for either information gathering or decision making.
(d) The government official who started the poll may or may not follow the opinion of the majority of the voters. In case (s)he does not follow what was decided, (s)he must make this decision public. Failure to do so will be regarded withholding of information, as defined in Article I section 5, and can serve as grounds for Impeachment (see Article V).
(e) Official polls shall only expire in a day chosen by the officer who opened the poll. And if the poll has an expiring day the same officer who started it must include this information in the first post.

III. Resolutions:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the governement, and must be used to propose resolutions. resolutions, if passed, modify the rules that clearly affect the course of the game or the policy of the executive branch of the government (as defined in Article II of this Constitution). Except in case of impeachments which shall be decide according to Chapter 2 of Article V.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'RESOLUTION', written in capital letters.
(c) They have to be Yes/No polls. Multiple choice polls are not allowed as resolutions.
(d) resolutions may not violate or change the Constitution. Resolutions may change, amend or remove any existing resolutions or judicial decisions regarding resolutions.
(e) If more than 1/2 of the voters votes in favour of the resolution, at least 1/3 of all Citizens vote in the poll and the Court does not declare the poll invalid, the resolution is considered passed. All Citizens must from that time on obey it.
(f) Resolutions of the Constitution must be recorded by the Court. The person who proposed the Resolution that has been passed must inform the Court of this as soon as possible.
(g) The Court will resolve all conflicts of resolutions. The Court’s ruling on an interpretation of a resolution is of the same power and authority as that resolution.
(h) Resolution polls shall expire in three days and the citzen who started the poll must include the expiring day in its first post.

IV. Amendments:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the governement, and must be used to propose Amendments to this Constitution.
(b) The subject line must contain the word 'AMENDMENT', written in capital letters.
(c) They have to be Yes/No polls. Multiple choice polls are not allowed as Ammendments.
(d) Amendments may change/append/override any existing Laws, judicial decisions regarding Laws or any number of existing sections of the Constitution.
(e) If more than 1/2 of the voters votes in favour of the Law, at least 1/3 of all Citizens vote in the poll and the Court does not declare the poll invalid, the Ammendent is considered passed. All Citizens must from that time on obey it.
(f) Amendments of the Constitution must be recorded by the Court. The person who proposed an Amendment that has been passed must inform the Court of this as soon as possible.
(f) Amendment polls shall expire in five days and the citzen who started the poll must include the expiring day in its first post.

V. Unofficial polls:
(a) These polls can be started by any Citizen, including members of the government.
(b) They may only exist to debate or gather information. Their outcome should not affect the course of the game or the policy of the government.
(c) Unofficial polls are the only polls in which more than one option may be chosen from the list of options.
(d) They do not have to follow all the rules specified in this Article. However, rules specified in Article I of this Constitution must still be obeyed.


WHAT WAS CHANGED
-section 1(c) was changed so that all polls not specifically given titles of election, amendment, resolution or official are to be considered unofficial instead of polls started by non-citizens are to be declared unofficial. by law non-citizens cannot start any of the all capitalized type polls.
-tried to clear up the ambiguity of the word "can" in section 2(e)

	19-01-2003 00:39									#3
	Inflate your Upload Space

Merge the amendment and the resolution type of polls into one. And call it "LAW" poll with 3 days to expire.

All other things i do believe are perfect.

	19-01-2003 00:57									#4
	Inflate your Upload Space

We've had this discussion before.

There's a big difference between a regular resolution which e.g. determines what to build in a certain city and an amendment which determines what government positions we'll have... There should be more time for the latter, so there's more time for discussion and more people will have time to vote for it. There's also a conceptual difference that should be maintained.

The only possible change needed here IMHO is to somehow allow multiple-choice (not multiple selection) polls by Citizens, but I'll await developments in the CtP2DG before commenting on that here...

	20-01-2003 01:08									#6
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

i think merging the two is a bad idea

	20-01-2003 10:35									#7
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

What about resolution poll having the power to impeach officers?