AGM: 2020 Edition (Nominate yourself and suggest motions here!)

Avatar for finnbar Finnbar ( finnbar )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

2020 AGM: Wednesday 26th February, 6-8pm B2.02 (during Week 8 Board Games)

Please RSVP to the Facebook event if you're okay using Facebook - it really helps us make sure we know how many people are attending!

AGM 2020 Poster: running on Wednesday 26th February, 6-8pm B2.02

Whether you like it or not, the society's most important event of the year is back! Woooooooo get hyped. The AGM is your chance to have your say about the running of the society via motions and the election of the new exec. Without this AGM, the society cannot exist, and therefore all of the events we run will disappear. So please, please, turn up!

Requirements for the AGM to run

To avoid repeating what has been said in past AGM posts, I implore you to read the AGM FAQs written by Ares for last year's AGM. Very little has changed since last year (thank goodness) so they are an excellent resource for answering any questions you might have! Take a look at them here, I promise it's not that long a read. Also significant parts of this document are based on Ares' previous writings so expect déjà vu or something.

The main restriction we have on the AGM is that we need enough people present to actually be able to run it (quorum). As of 03/02/2020, we have 224 members, so must reach ~9.3% [1] of our membership to get quorum. Furthermore, for constitution changing motions we actually need 1.5 times that number (rounded up), so to run the meeting in the manner we'd like, we need 32 standard society members to be present. EDIT: This number has been finalised, and as such we now need 33 standard society members to be present.

Running for an exec role, suggesting motions and voting

If you want to run for a position, suggest a motion and/or vote, you must be a member of the society 2 weeks (14 days) prior to the AGM. That would be by 6pm, February 12th.

Motions are things that you want to change about the society. These can be constitution-changing (such as adding new elected exec roles, changing the name of the society and so on) or non constitution-changing (such as suggesting the introduction of a timetable for society drafts, suggestions on new large events to run, and giving the exec silly names). Here is an example motion from the AGM FAQs:

On Hats
The Society Notes:
1. That very few members routinely wear hats to games meetings

The Society Believes:
1. That hats are easily and cheaply obtained from many retailers
2. That hats add a jaunty air to proceedings, and encourage good cheer.

The Society Resolves:
1. To require each of our members to wear at least one hat during the boardgames.

Wow, what an insightful motion. It is very important to note that any motions to change the constitution must be made no later than 8 days before the AGM. This is due to the requirement to give members at least 7 days notice of the AGM, which should include proposed changes to the constitution.

There are a number of exec positions you can run for, which are detailed in this document. If you have any questions about a particular role, ask the current exec member - I'm sure they'll be happy to help! Please note that the exec positions available can change based on motions passed.

Furthermore, we have a detailed handover document explaining each of the roles. You can find it along with the Constitution on our Society Documents page here.

AGM Order of Business

  • Introduction
  • Society Update (ooh are we gonna be Windows ME or Windows 1997)
  • Voting rules and procedures (aka The Returning Officer Explains STV)
  • Motions
  • Comfort break
  • Exec elections
  • Any other business?
  • Summary of results
  • Mascot elections
  • Wrap-up

To nominate yourself for an exec position or to propose a motion, please reply to this forum thread below.


Current Nominations:


President:
Finnbar (finnbar)
Secretary: Anakin (Anakin)
Treasurer: Benjamin (Benji)

Wargames: Jon C (Nahjo_Che)
Draft: Sebastian (SebastianWoodward), Henry (hoph19)
Board games: Alex (Wraithguard), Isaac (Isaac)
CCGs: Sebastian (SebastianWoodward), Jared (JayRed)
RPGs: Oli (EndeDoge5), Sol (minijester1)
LARP: James (Blickster53), Ed (PoorQualityArbiter), Nathan (Chilloutnitro)
Quartermaster: Nathan (Chilloutnitro)

Web Admin: Thomas (TB)
Comms Officer: Alex (BaconOverlord), Ares (morrowkei)


i'm free

Avatar for Benji Benjamin ( Benji )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

I'ma run for Treasurer again probably.

cya there, kids

zoop

Avatar for Anna Anna ( Anna )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hi, I'm Thomas, a 3rd year CompSci student, and I intend to re-run for Web Admin. I am the current web admin and through my current tenure the website has seen a significant redesign and the implementation of several time saving features on the request of the other execs. This coming year I intend to lean on the base work created this past year and continue refining the website as much as possible. I would also like to implement features that all of you want.

Therefore, if you are reading this and saying to yourself "Gosh, I wish they would stop wasting time on those exec focused features and finally fix/implement/improve x..." I would love you to let me know what that x is, so I can do exactly that. I know that you are out there...


Anna
ex-Web Admin
All quake at my local omnipotence! Sigh in relief at my imposed impotence.

Avatar for BaconOverlord Alexandre ( BaconOverlord )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hi, I'm Alex, a 1st-year Creative Writing Student and I'm hoping to run for the position of Communications Officer! Obviously (considering my degree), I have some experience in writing and creative work of that nature and I also happen to have some experience in writing newsletters and social media posts from my time working in NYC's Belgium Consulate for a couple of summers in a row. Though I have only a little experience in web design and somewhat fairly recent experience in the use of Discord, these are things I am more then willing to learn about and to improve upon. My degree affords me a lot of free time to write and read and that is free time I am more then willing to spend working for this society, as tabletop games are my passion (especially TTRPGS)!

I am willing to answer any further questions and look forward to seeing folks at the AGM!

Avatar for SebastianWoodward Sebastian ( SebastianWoodward )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hi, I'm Sebastian, a 1st year Mathematics student and I'm hoping to run for the draft of CCG roles.

Avatar for Blickster53 James ( Blickster53 )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hello, I'm James, First year Discrete Maths student (a computer scientist in a mathematician costume) and I'm hoping to run for LARP Rep. This term I got the chance to run my own LARP and I found the experience exciting from preparing the story and monsters, to seeing how the players reacted. From running this, I received helpful feedback on how to improve for future sessions. I'm also willing to spend my time helping out the society in whatever ways I can.
See you at the AGM.

Avatar for Jon_Bell Jon ( Jon_Bell )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

On Discord Emotes
The Society Notes:
1. Much hilarity has ensued from Benjamin's adding of emotes to the Discord server (included, but not limited to; rats, and boreworms)
2. Their ability to add such emotes has been revoked

The Society Believes:
1. Fun Emotes are good

The Society Resolves:
1. Benjamin's ability to add emotes to the Discord server should be reinstated.

Avatar for hoph19 Henry ( hoph19 )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Greetings fellow members, my name is Henry, I am a first-year mathematics student and I would like to run for the Magic the Gathering Draft Rep.

Why I want the job: Honestly, gathering friends together to draft weekly has been one of the highlights of university, acting as relief from all the assignments. Although I have only spent 2 years playing, whether it’s cracking of packs or the top decking for the win, I want to proliferate the immense joy I get from it. Why vote for me: My passion for the game and my organisational skills. My other skills include baking and Java programming. I have organised events such as Model United Nations conferences, Charity Art auctions and a hackathon. I founded the MTG club at my high school and I have lots of experience purchasing cards (if not too much :/)

Keep playing, Thanks for reading, looking forward to the AGM!

Avatar for finnbar Finnbar ( finnbar )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Two Motions about the Secretary Role

We discussed these among exec, and have two Constitution-changing motions (gasp) to propose about the Secretary position. These were written with the help of other exec members!

On Renaming Secretary to Vice President

The Society Notes:
1. That in addition to performing secretarial duties, the Secretary frequently gets involved in all other aspects of the society due to needing to know what is going on.
2. Internally, the Secretary has historically been considered second in command.

The Society Believes:
1. That the title Secretary doesn't fully encompass the tasks the role performs in the society as it stands.
2. A title that carries more weight will improve the respect that the Secretary is awarded for their diligence.

The Society Resolves:
1. To make the changes to the constitution as below (parts changed are in bold). This will be a purely aesthetic/terminological change, and the requirements of the role will remain otherwise unchanged. Furthermore, any other modifications to the Secretary section during this AGM will be appropriately renamed to Vice President.
2. We will endeavour to backdate this to previous Secretaries.

Change 4.4.2 to read:
4.4.2 There are three core officers: President, Vice President and Treasurer.

Change 4.4.4 as follows:
4.4.4 Vice President
4.4.4.a The Vice President acts in the same capacity as the SU-mandated Secretary role.
4.4.4.b The Vice President shall book rooms.
4.4.4.c The Vice President shall organise, run and minute exec meetings.
4.4.4.d The Vice President shall complete Society paperwork.
4.4.4.e The Vice President shall run the Society Facebook page and assist reps in running associated Facebook groups.
4.4.4.f The Vice President shall assist the Web Admin in running the Society website.
4.4.4.g The Vice President shall post the minutes of each exec meeting to the Society’s website in a timely manner.

Change 4.5.2.c to refer to the Vice President instead of the Secretary.

On Removing Website Roles from Secretary

The Society Notes:
1. Currently, the Secretary is expected to assist the Web Admin in the running of the website.
2. The Comms Officer and Web Admin are also expected to assist in the running of the website.

The Society Believes:
1. Not all future Secretaries may be as tech-savvy as previous Secretaries have tended to be.
2. Being able to use the management features of the website should not be a requirement of the Secretary position.

The Society Resolves:
1. To remove section 4.4.4.e of the current Constitution ("The Secretary shall assist the Web Admin in running the Society Website.")


i'm free

Avatar for Techgecko Luke ( Techgecko )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Motion on the Position of Communications Officer

The society notes that:
1. The role of communications officer is lighter than that of other exec positions.
2. Other roles within the society have an extremely high workload when special events are taking place.
3. The communications officer currently has a limited role in the advertising of general society events.

The society believes that:
1. The ‘big three’ (President, Secretary and Treasurer) would benefit in the future from a dedicated support exec.
2. The addition of new exec roles entirely is generally to be avoided.
3. The communications officer could take on this supportive operations role.

The society resolves that:
1. The role of ‘Communications Officer’ is renamed to ‘Communication and Operations Officer’ (Co-Op Officer).
2. This role now offer a supportive role in the operation and development of inter-faction events (such as the megagame) in addition to previous responsibility.
3. The change detailed below to the Constitution shall be made, and relevant changes to the Handover Document will be made by the current Communications Officer.

4.5.2 Communications and Operations Officer
4.5.2.a The Communications and Operations Officer shall write the weekly newsletter during term time.
4.5.2.b The Communications and Operations Officer shall ensure that these newsletters are published through accepted means in a timely manner.
4.5.2.c The Communications and Operations Officer shall help the Secretary run the Society Facebook page and assist reps in running the Facebook groups.
4.5.2.d The Communications and Operations Officer shall help the Web Admin write content for the Society website.
4.5.2.e The Communications and Operations Officer will assist in the running and management of special events where needed.

Avatar for Anakin Anakin ( Anakin )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

It’s me. Ya boi. Anakin. Back at it again running for exec. For those of you who don’t know I’m your resident assistant RPG rep. So of course, the natural progression is to step up and run for RPG rep Secretary Vice president Secretary. Yes, believe it or not, I’m going against the grain and taking a big step up. I love my RPGs to bits but I’m keen to help guide the Society to its best place as one of the top 3. Of course, it’ll be hard for me to fill the shoes of Finnbar and the unique sense of humour they embellish the society with. However, I’m sure I can bring my own prequel memes philosophies to the role.

As for who I am, I’m a second-year Physics student and an avid fan of RPGs, usually seen playing/GMing multiple a week. When I get free time, I love to spend it at our boardgames events and occasionally representing the clank at our LARP events. If time and my bank account permitted me, card games and wargames would be less alien to me, though I have made time to learn X-Wing.

Over my time as assistant RPG, I’ve certainly made my own contributions to the society, helping out to run several larger events including our quiz, the megagame, RPG intros, and recently our new big RPG event. As secretary, it would be excellent to become the organiser of some of these events, and potentially add to the list with new events of my own… maybe… or maybe not. (We do too many events lol.) I like to think that my fairly small role has given me the knowledge of the society I need to take on such a role, and I hope that my course and lifestyle gives me the organisational skills needed to pull together such a large society into the organised chaos you see today.

As for my plans with the society, I’d like to see that over the year I’m secretary the society gets more recognition for the work we do. Especially with the new SocMark being put in place, I’d like to literally “go for gold” because we deserve it. Furthermore, I’d like to make sure that we don’t get hip hop’d at the socs awards. (That’s a technical term now.) Not to mention above all else that our membership continues to rise.

Wow, this is long, thanks for reading and may the force be with you.


You underestimate my power

Avatar for morrowkei Ares ( morrowkei )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Heyo all, for those who don't know me: I'm Ares (they/them), a 1st year astrophysics PhD, and I've been on the exec for a couple of years (secretary, graphic design, mtg draft).

While I sadly won't be rerunning for draft rep, I will be hopefully reinstating my role as graphic design, and I'm putting myself forward for comms officer! I've already had a lot of experience on the exec working behind the scenes, doing a metric tonne of organisation, planning and running big events, labouring over my graphics tablet... And I also have quite a bit of writing experience to boot. I'm looking to carry forward Luke's efforts in adjusting the style and form of the newsletter in response to his survey (especially in making it more aesthetically pleasing), and of course I'll continue aiding the exec in numerous other ways (escape room 2: electric boogaloo anyone?).

To bring forward a personal newsletter twist, I'd love to do a smol motivational illustration each week, to bring a lil' bit of joy and positivity to everyone.

fwog in the rain

There are plenty more frogs where this came from!

See you at AGM2020!

Avatar for Callum Callum ( Callum )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

*Tagarople anthem plays as I enter the room, swiftly cut off by a record scratch* Just a quick message here, not quite time for a Presidential address quite yet *nearby reporters get noticeably sadder*. No, I'm just here to say that, unfortunately, I will not be running for a position, because I am graduating. I will, however, be serving as your Returning Officer for this fine AGM, making sure proceedings proceed smoothly.
This is most definitely not just a message to make sure I get updates on new posts in this thread...

See you soon people... *Tagarople anthem plays me out*


-Callum Marvell (Eggs President) https://www.facebook.com/callum.marvell

Avatar for finnbar Finnbar ( finnbar )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
(with thanks to Benjamin for his excellent press release help!)

Dear Tabletop Denizens,
We've had a productive year with the release of President 1.1, who you likely know as Callum. He's been an excellent President, but we at Tabletop Inc always strive for changes to our products and services. And people. To that end, we have decided to release a new update, President 1.a. We've heard your thoughts about what a President should be, and completely ignored them.
Based on the huge success of our old Comms Officer model and current Secretary stress tested system, we're happy to release such an exciting update! This system is unique in that instead of running on 1s and 0s like traditional computing systems, it is entirely non-binary.
It must be noted however, that due to our funding ties with Warwick University, this model may not be able to be released this year. If we are unable to get such funding, we will have to find a new President model in term 3. We are hoping this is unlikely, however.


Fast and Finnbar 3: Tabletop Drift
"graphic design is my passion" - Finnbar Keating, Assistant Graphic Design Rep

OKAY NOW FOR THE ACTUAL SERIOUS DECLARATION THINGY

(in that voice I use when trying to get everyone's attention at board games) Hi everyone! I'm running for President!

For those of you that don't know, I'm Finnbar, a fourth year computer scientist, your Secretary for this year, and Comms Officer before that. Which means that this will be my third year in exec, or Fast and Finnbar 3: Tabletop Drift (see my post last year). You've likely seen me at board games or CCGs (playing Netrunner), although I've also GM'd the odd (in both senses of the word) RPG and X'd the odd Wing at some wargaming things.

You might have noticed that being a fourth year computer scientist means that I should be graduating this year, and you'd be right. I am currently pursuing a PhD place here - if I don't end up getting the place then I will have to stand down. If that's after the AGM, then an EGM will have to be held some time in term three, but there should be candidates such that all is good. Regardless, if I wasn't confident in my ability to get that place, I wouldn't be running for President, so I hope that doesn't discourage you from voting for me.

Back to the more positive side of things, why should you vote for me? Because I'm currently the only candidate that isn't RON Over the last year, Tabletop has grown hugely as a society, not just because of the usual events we run, but also because of our new focus on special events - the megagame, escape room and big RPGs events being incredible additions to the terms they occupied. I was directly involved in the organising of the first two of those, which means I have a very good idea how a successful event is run and the sorts of events that we as a society are capable of.

As Secretary this year, I've had significant experience in overseeing how things happen within the organisation of the society and how each part of it works. This combined with prior experience of most of the events we run (sorry LARP) means I'm in an excellent position to help reps improve their sections of the society.

With that in mind, I should set out the things I would like to do. As I've said, the society ran significantly more special events in the last year, which we'd like to continue in future. As such, I would like to focus on how we can keep these events going sustainably in the coming years, and exactly when such events should run. There's been discussion of when exactly Big RPGs should be run, as well as thoughts from members about homebrewing future ventures. There needs to be discussion about what megagames we run in future - it would be much cheaper to run Watch The Skies every year now, but it may be difficult keeping the content fresh for people who have played before.

My main goal in all of this, however, is to keep the society welcoming and wonderful. In my time here, I've seen the society grow into an even more friendly organisation, allowing everyone from new players to veterans to keep playing the games they love. Together we create such a great community for people to enjoy games, to take a break from the day-to-day of our work and just be ourselves. I've grown with this community and with exec, and it's been a fantastic ride - all I can hope is that in return I can do justice to the President role.

Thank you all so, so, much.


i'm free

Avatar for EndeDoge5 Oliver ( EndeDoge5 )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hi, I'm Oli, a First Year History student. I'm intending to run for the position of RPGs rep.

Here's what I bring to the table (literally): my set of blue metal dice, a notebook with inane eldritch scribbles in, around 20 pages of statblocks for homebrewed monsters, my cardboard DM screen my sister made, and a brain tracking so many plot threads I could made an entire quilt.

Regardless of my obsession with shiny math rocks, poor art skills and bad handwriting, I believe I have a lot to offer the society as a member of the exec.

My aim is to ensure that DMs can easily find rooms on campus to hold sessions in, and that players can easily find games to be a part of. I want to ensure we maintain the core of the society whilst also attracting new members.

Having been a D&D 5e player for almost two years and a dungeon master for around one year, I have experience with the game and its rules, and can explain difficult concepts to new players in a coherent and understandable manner. I run a long-term campaign on campus with sessions every week, and have experience with campus rooms (esp. in Social Sciences and Humanities). More experience (with the booking system) will come in time, and I'm not afraid to ask fellow exec for help while learning.

I'm also interested in Star Wars RPGs, as well as other game systems, but have not had time to learn them yet. I'm confident that I can pick them up quickly and get people into games they enjoy.

I have plenty of experience with discord, running two servers, one with over 30 people in, and I'm a moderator on three others. I would like discord to become more prominent in the society since I firmly believe it is the best program for the job. Of course, I recognise the importance of the website and other media such as facebook, and am prepared to post on there as well. I have done some coding before but am no where near an expert. However, I'd be keen to continue if called upon for help.

I intend to keep records of room bookings to find which rooms are popular and why, and at what times, so I can recommend games and book more popular rooms in advance. I'd like to run more big events and 'exec one-shots' whereby new and old players alike can experience a game outside of the regular week 1 oneshots session.

More details on my plans for the society through the role of RPGs rep will be prepared before the AGM for your viewing and questioning.

I'd love to work as a member of the exec doing more of what I love and discover more things to enjoy in the society.

Cheers,
Oli (EndeDoge5)

Avatar for PoorQualityArbiter Ed ( PoorQualityArbiter )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hi, I'm Ed.
I intend to run for LARP rep.
Vote for me.

Avatar for Nahjo_Che Jon ( Nahjo_Che )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Dearest President, Secretary, Treasurer, Event Representatives, other Executives and Members of the Warwick Tabletop Games and Roleplaying Society,

This notice serves to inform that I, Jon Cheah, do hereby declare my full intention to re-run for the most glorious position of Wargames Representative.

Amongst my intentions for the Wargames faction are:
i) To with increasing regularity, hold terrain-making sessions, so as to preserve our collection of miniature structures against the ever-present enemy of time.
ii) To make available, introductory armies and quick-builds for streamlined systems such as Killteam and X-Wing, thence permitting unseasoned players to partake in Wargames without extraneous monetary burden.

Such a minor listing does not exhaust the entirety of my plans. One finds one can only be motivated to write as much in nonsensical formality. I shall therefore, be in attendance at the Annual General Meeting, and do most humbly look forward to detailing justifications as to why I am worthy of your ballot!

I have the honour to be your obedient servant,
See you then.

Avatar for Chilloutnitro Nathan ( Chilloutnitro )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hello, I'm Nathan, a first year engineering student. I intend to run for LARP rep as well as Quartermaster (equipment officer). I've had some experience of Larps before coming here as I attend Empire Larp. I'm applying for both positions simply because I love Larp and also want to get more involved with the society in anyway I can.

Cheers and I'll be seeing y'all at the AGM :)

Avatar for JayRed Justine ( JayRed )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Greetings, I'm Jared, a third year discrete maths student. I intend to run for CCGs rep. I play both Magic the Gathering and Netrunner, and am open to learning new games if people want to introduce them. I also have experience moderating a large Discord server.

Avatar for Alder Alex ( Alder )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Salutations to all guys, gals and enby pals of the Tabletop society. My name is Alex and I'm a first-year MORSE student looking for votes in order to become the board games rep in the new year. I've been going to tabletop society meets since the start of the year now and I have been looking for a way to get more involved and be helpful. Even though I have been more frequent at wargames meets I still love boardgames and will be attempting to go to all meets in the next term and from then on. I am also a person willing to do Saturday night shifts on boardgame weekenders as hellish as they may seem.

Anywho, I guess vote for me at the AGM, looking forward to seeing you all there.

Avatar for Isaac Isaac ( Isaac )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Add image description
I don't know how to make this image smaller, sadly.

Avatar for minijester1 Sol ( minijester1 )

Posted 4 years, 1 month ago

Hello all,
I'm Sol, second year computer scientist running for RPGs exec.

I had a super long script written about all my plans but it clearly wasn't submitted previously! So I look forward to explaining them all tomorrow in my incredibly planned speech of words, acronyms and improv!

Thanks all!

(The following is some of my background that was written in my previous message)
""
I have been sitting at the tabletop for many years. Boardgames are a great interest of mine, my collection is ever growing and I love learning new and interesting games! I also love to teach hence I work at the Dice Box in Leamington this year, teaching boardgames to all our customers. LARP is another flavour of the society that keeps my interest, I've been attending empire for 2 years,escaping into the city of Anvil for extended weekends 4 times a year. It's quite the escape.
My bread and butter, the one game that brings me to the table more than the others; the TTRPG. I've been DMing and playing many systems for almost 6 years. D&D 5e has been a main focus but I've also delved into the Star Wars RPG , Call of Cthulu, Starfinder, Blades in the dark etc. to name a few as well as many other d6 systems and one page RPGs. DMing is by far my favourite aspect of the hobby, telling stories and weaving a world, bringing a place to life at the table. Nothing can beat it!
""


Society's (self proclaimed) greatest Rogue/Assassin!

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