== Revising the Rules Committee charter ==
	by John Eure

* Why I want to do this *

The current RC charter is a small paragraph that doesn't provide much in
the way of detail or guidance.  It has been my impression that the Quest
community in general would like some better idea of what they can expect
from the RC.  It has also been my impression that some of them have
opinions on what the RC should be doing.  :)  Well, I hope they asked to 
be on the list, because that's what we're doing now...


* What I want to get from this *

I'd like the charter to be a clear statement of what the RC does, and why
it does it.  This should be enough to allow anyone who looks at the
charter to grasp the basic reasons for anything we do.  I'd also like the
charter to contain "safeguards", to help reassure the Quest community that
the RC will do the right things in the future.  And I'd like for us to
come to some sort of consensus about how often major changes should occur,
which will hopefully be reflected in the charter.

As I don't think similar problems will happen again, I don't think this is
strictly necessary.  But a) I could be wrong (so we should do it just in
case), and b) I think it'll make people feel better.  It certainly can't
hurt to review the "whats" and "whys" of the RC.


* The current charter *

Rules Committee:
	"The Rules Committee is responsible for maintaining consistency of
rules interpretation both during and between games, and will handle all
rules proposals except those which the Game World Committee is empowered
to deal with.  (Most Rules Committee business will be conducted over
email).  During games, members of the committee will act as Rules
Marshals."


* What I'm personally trying to fit into the new charter *

It's probably going to be a bit longer and more detailed than the current
charter (or the GWC charter).  I think the situation warrants this, but if
you disagree, just say so.

Issues that we should clarify in the charter:
	- what types of things the RC can do, and why it does them
	- what types of things the RC cannot do (if it's not obvious)
	- how often we should make major rules changes
	- when should we skip years in implementing rules changes

Problems from last year that we can address in the charter:
	- get "grassroots" support before implementing major changes
	- don't make too many changes at once

Other stuff we can think about adding to the charter:
	- explicit details about the "whys"
	- allowing some player proposal discussions to be closed
	- switching rules change proposal votes (and maybe player proposal
		votes) to a 2/3rds majority, instead of a simple majority


* What we should do *

Discuss!  Brainstorm ideas, put forward suggestions.  Talk about what we
think the RC's role in Quest should be.  We're trying to figure out what
the big picture should look like, so everyone's opinion matters.  After a
week or two of this, if no one else puts forth a rough draft, I'll try to
come up with one that will (hopefully) reflect the (hopeful) consensus...