OBC Advisory Committee

VERSION 3/31/12

OBC Advisory Committee

Rules of Conduct

Organization

Membership

Organization

Purpose

The OBC Advisory committee (hereinafter referred to as the OBCAC) shall act on matters concerning the whole of OBC and its future direction. It shall make decisions pertaining to membership, both current and new, and resolve any conflicts or issues that arise among individual members that can not be resolved between the parties involved.

Term

Members shall serve on the OBCAC for one year from March 1 to the end of February of the following year. The first vacancy that occurs will be filled by the alternate member. Any additional vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the remaining OBCAC members. The appointee shall have been a current member of OBC in good standing for at least 3 years.

Election

Election Commissioner - One OBC member will be appointed by the OBCAC Facilitator as "Election Commissioner" (Commissioner). That person will keep track of nominations, balloting and announcing the results of OBC elections.
Nominations - Each year from February 1 thru February 14, the Commissioner will accept nominations to be a candidate in simultaneous elections for (a) "OBC AC Facilitator" and (b) "OBC AC member". A member may be nominated and appear on the ballot for both positions, however the successful candidate for the position of OBC AC Facilitator will not be allowed to serve as an OBC AC member. In this circumstance, a seat on the OBC AC will fall to the eighth placed nominee on the OBC AC members ballot. Self nominations are not allowed. Inactive members are not allowed to be nominated nor serve on the OBCAC. .
It is the Commissioner's responsibility to obtain AC nominee's acceptance of nomination prior to Feb 15. If nomination is not accepted by Feb 15, the nominee will not appear on the ballot.
Candidate qualifications - Anyone who has been in OBC for at least three years is considered qualified to be nominated and elected.
Acceptance of nomination - All nominations must be approved of by the nominee.
Election - From February 15 through the end of the month, it is the responsibilty for each member of OBC to send in a ballot to the Commissioner listing their choices for seven voting members and one non-voting Facilitator. Inactive members are allowed to vote. The Commissioner will keep track of all ballots.
OBCAC Voting Member Election - The seven candidates with the highest number of votes in the election for OBCAC Voting Member will serve as OBC AC Voting members. The candidate with the next highest total will be an Alternate Voting Member, who will serve if there is a vacancy in the OBCAC.
OBCAC Facilitator Election - The member with the highest number of votes in the election for OBC AC Facilitator will serve as OBC AC Facilitator.
Election results - The Commissioner shall release the voting results (but not vote totals) to the general membership on March 1. Actual vote totals shall be available privately for 30 days after the election.

(revised OBCAC 4/24/06)

Meeting Conduct

OBCAC facilitator

The non-voting member shall act as the facilitator for the OBCAC. The facilitator’s role is to set the agenda for the voting members and report on the OBCAC activities to the group on a monthly basis. The report is not necessarily OBCAC minutes, but a synopsis of the previous month's business and a call for agenda items for the current month. The facilitator will take into account these proposed items in setting the agenda for each month, allowing the voting members to set the policy. A vacancy in the facilitator position may be filled by a majority vote of the OBCAC. (revised OBCAC 12/20/03)

OBCAC business may be conducted via chat rooms, email, or other means as determined by the OBCAC. (revised OBCAC 7/17/00)

OBC Treasurer
After the new OBCAC is elected each year, their first act will be to select an OBC member to serve as treasurer during their one year term. The treasurer must have been a member of OBC for at least 3 years. The Facilitator for the current term will serve as the backup to the Treasurer. The OBC treasurer collects dues, and reports to the OBCAC any member who fails to pay dues. The OBC treasurer distributes funds only as directed by the OBCAC, and will provide the OBCAC with all account information when requested.
(Added AC Meeting of 10/23/00; revised OBCAC 3/28/10 )

OBCAC New Member Contact
A member of the OBC should be appointed as the new member contact person. The main duties of the new member contact person is are to assist applicants in submitting a complete application, confirming sponsors, and expediting the application process. Requirements for new applicants are listed in the FAQ and OBC Rules of Conduct.

New Member Contact Checklist
1. Check applications page at least once a week.
2. Ensure application is complete.
a) Name address phone number etc
b) 3 sponsors must be listed (ALL sponsors must be an OBC member for at least TWO years).
3. Email potential member if application is incomplete and state which requirements have not been met.
4. Email the listed sponsors to ensure recommendation.
5. Post potential members name on the announcements server and request that all OBC members review the completed application. Also seek feedback from all OBC members on the potential member for one week.
6. Assign potential member a mentor.
7. Submit name of potential member, name of mentor, and a summary of received comments to OBCAC Facilitator for vote.
(Added AC Meeting of 12/26/00)

(Revised OBCAC 8/27/2008)

OBC Directory

The OBC directory is a password protected page which is linked to the Directory page of the OBC web-site. This information is available at any time to any member of OBC. It is the responsibility of the individual members to keep directory information and their collecting goals current. This can be done by accessing the update link on the Directory page. New members to OBC will be instructed by the OBCAC appointed new member coordinator how to establish and maintain their directory information. The new member coordinator will also contact the e-group server moderator to add the new member to the appropriate e-mail groups.

The OBCAC shall appoint an OBC member to conduct the membership poll. Once a year, in January/February, this appointee will send to the active membership an email that must be responded to in order to maintain active membership status. Any member who does not respond to the membership poll after 3 email notifications will be moved to inactive status, removed from the active OBC Directory and placed on a separate Non-active / Alumni Roster which will also be accessible from the main Directory page. Inactive members are not required to respond to the membership poll. Any inactive member who wishes to return to active status can do so by simply making a request of the OBCAC for reinstatement. (Revised OBCAC 3/31/2012 )

Members can take the opportunity at any time to check and update their directory information At no time should members share any directory information with non-members as this is private information.

(Revised OBCAC 3/31/2012)

Membership

New Members

All OBCAC members will review current applicants here and vote on admission. Upon receipt of an application the membership will be notified that an applicant has applied for membership. The membership would then have one week from the posting to notify the OBCAC of any necessary information regarding that person's qualifications for membership. The facilitator will receive all votes and the keeper of the OBC Directory will announce to the general membership the incoming member. If an applicant is refused he may resubmit his application at a later date to be determined by the OBCAC.

All new members will be assigned an OBC Mentor. For new member introduction to the group, we have devised a mentoring, or coaching system. This is meant so as to provide each new member with a "buddy" who can give some helpful advice on the protocol, swapping and communications of our group. We suggest that new members contact their mentor, by e-mail or by phone to get a dialog going in the first week. Then, have contact with their mentor frequently. There are no "rules", but sometimes hurt feelings, misunderstood communications, or disordered trades leave bad tastes that can be avoided by discussing with the mentor before leaping head first! We trust this "coach" will help you move quickly into the fun world of OBC.

Current Members

Any member may submit a member of OBC for removal from membership. The OBC member must write to the OBCAC detailing his problem. The OBCAC will review and discuss the merits of the complaint and on a majority vote that a substantive issue exists, the accused member will be asked to respond. After review of the response the committee can remove the offending member on a vote of 5 OBCAC members for removal. (Revised AC 7/16/98 5.2.1)

Anyone wishing to be removed from the directory before the semi-annual roll call should contact the OBCAC and express their desire for removal. (Revised AC 7/16/98 5.2.3)

(Revised OBCAC 9/25/2008)

Conflict Resolution

Should the AC be made aware of a complaint of failure to deliver cards in a sale or trade against an OBC member, every attempt will be made by the AC to obtain testimony from both sides on the allegation, to arbitrate, and to resolve the situation amicably. If, however, no resolution can be found and the complaint is upheld, the AC may warn, censure, suspend, or expel the offending member as deemed appropriate to the offense. With regard to other conduct and/or behavior complaints within the group, they will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
(Added by AC 1/29/2012)

Former Members

Any former member, who was in good standing at the time of his resignation, may reapply for membership by simply emailing to the advisory committee his desire to be returned to active membership. The request will then be announced to the general membership and considered at the next meeting of the committee. (Amended by AC meeting of 1997)

OBC Inactive Membership

Your doubles box was emptied months ago. Your local card shop has either closed its doors, or you have located and purchased every off grade card he had in stock. When was the last time you found a bargain on eBay? Maybe you just can’t keep up anymore? But you treasure your OBC Membership. An OBC Inactive Membership might be for you.

OBC Inactive Members Procedures:

1. An inactive member’s entry in the directory will be labeled “inactive member.” Entries will include the inactive member’s name and email link only. A link to the inactive member’s wantlist or homepage is not permitted.

2. Inactive members are granted access to all the OBC mailservers.

3. Inactive members may keep their entry in the OBC Bios page.

4. Inactive members are not required to respond to OBC Membership Polls. The OBC Membership Poll is for the current active membership.

5. Inactive members may not serve on the OBCAC (Advisory Committee).

Current OBC members may move to the inactive membership list by contacting any OBCAC member. The OBCAC member will then notify both the webmaster (to move the member to the INACTIVE page and kill the link to their wantlist) and the OBC directory manager (to place the word "INACTIVE" next to the members name in the directory).

B: IF the inactive member desires no more e-mail as well and can't figure out how to take their names off the servers themselves, then that should be indicated to the AC member who will also notify the e-mail server moderator to take care of that for them. (However, at no time should the member's name be unsubscribed from the 'Announcements' server, as important information for both ACTIVE and INACTIVE members will be shared on this server.)

When the member is ready to become active again, they notify an OBCAC member to that fact and they in turn notify the same people as above to replace the link to their wantlist and remove the word "INACTIVE" from above their listing in the directory. (If their wantlist URL has changed during the time they were inactive or they can't resubscribe to the e-mail servers themselves, then they should let the AC member know.)

(Revised OBCAC 9/25/2008)

E-mail

E-mail Servers

Most OBC communication occurs via Email. In order to control the volume of Email, five mail servers have been established.

- Announcements: for official OBC-wide announcements. Membership on this list is mandatory. Only OBCAC members and others approved by the facilitator may post messages to this list.

- Thanks: For posting messages thanking members for items received.

- Ramblings: For general conversation, observations, and communication.

- Wantlist: For the distribution of your wantlist.

- UV: For detailed references to post-1980 cards. (Revised OBCAC 10/31/11)

Please remember that all other OBC servers are intended for pre-1981 cards. As a convenience the Thanks server can be used for both vintage and UV cards, however, detailed description of UV cards received should be reserved for the UV server. Discussions about newer cards should be restricted to a short thank you for unmentionables. (Revised OBCAC 10/31/11)

Directions on how to subscribe to the OBC mail servers, along with the available options, will be provided to all new members. (Changed AC Meeting of 4/16/98, 4.2, 6-0)

Additional mail servers may be established by the OBCAC. One OBC member will be appointed to administer the mail servers.

Email Etiquette

Combine posts when possible.

When posting wantlists via Email make sure it is dated and post the wantlist only. Name your wantlist in the subject line with some form of your screen name. Try not to list every card you received. Give us the flavor of the package. Always thank or acknowledge the person who sent cards, at least privately, so they know they got there and were appreciated. It would be helpful for you to include in your thanks the full name of the person you are thanking as well as your full name so that we can better identify the cardboard donors and recipients. Some of us belong to other groups and, as a courtesy, please refrain from using the server to thank non-OBC members. Also as a courtesy, please combine your posts rather than issuing several thanks in succession. (Revised OBCAC 10/31/11) Send outgoings privately so guys know things are coming their way. Always tell us what is happening in your life. These are the things that make OBC what it is.

Want Lists

It is the responsibility of each member to maintain a current wantlist. The OBC website provides a link to each member’s homepage or OBC wantlist. Directions on maintaining your OBC wantlist will be provided to all new members. Wantlists may also be sent to the OBC wantlist mail server. Want lists are sent to the server monthly, or whenever significant changes occur. (Added AC Meeting of 4/16/98, 4.2, 6-0)

Every member is placed on the directory page with a link to their wantlist. The page linked to the directory must contain a wantlist of exclusively pre-1981 cards. All primary want lists links will point to a page that contains only pre 1981 cards. Any member who sees a violation of the guideline can report the violation to the OBCAC. A letter is then sent to the member whose page is in violation asking them to comply within 30 days. If they do not comply by then, their link can be inactivated by a majority vote of the AC. Once the wantlist fits the guidelines, the member may petition the OBCAC to reactivate the link. (Amended AC Meeting of 5/6/99, 10, 6-0)

For the safety of the individual members wantlists should not include personal information such as addresses and phone numbers. To maintain the integrity of the OBC website under no circumstance is advertising to be placed on individual sites that are maintained thru the OBC site. Since OBC is more than just the cardboard we trade, under certain circumstances a member may refrain from keeping an online wantlist. The OBCAC should have an accounting from any member who does not wish to keep or have a link to their online webpage. (Revised OBCAC 8/27/2009)

Web Site

Webmaster Position

The OBC Webmaster is a volunteer position appointed by the OBCAC. The purpose of the OBC Webmaster is to review, evaluate, and implement website suggestions and maintain website content on his/her own initiative while under the general guidance of the OBCAC. The OBC Webmaster serves as the OBCAC technical focal point for the issues that effect OBC, and provides guidance and input on these matters. The OBC Webmaster may appoint capable volunteers from the membership to assist as needed.

Dealer Requirements

For a dealer to be listed on the “OBC Friendly Dealer” section of the OBC web site requires a recommendation of 5 different OBC members. Any OBC member can petition the OBCAC with the name of an "OBC Friendly Dealer" accompanied by at least 4 additional recommendations for that dealer from the membership. The OBCAC will then decide on the inclusion of the recommended dealer. "OBC Friendly Dealers" can be removed from the list; if an OBC member complains to the OBCAC about a dealer listed, the OBCAC will approach the membership to gather enough information to either retain or remove said dealer. (added OBCAC 7/24/2008)

O B C : A T r a d i t i o n o f E x c e l l e n c e S i n c e 1 9 9 1

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