Motion to call the question.
this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025
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Robert's Rules are a fantastic tool used by bureaucrats to stymie any kind of discussion they don't like. If you've ever attended a union meeting or the like where it's being used - at least for me, it makes me want to gouge my eyes out.
I don't have a handy document to recommend for you, but if you attend any meetings by organizations that come from a communist tradition, you'll find that they tend to have fairly consistent rules. I attend org-related meetings all the time and these styles of meetings flow very nicely.
The organization I'm a part of will have a chair for a meeting. They will work with the attendees to produce an agenda that is distributed to attendees prior to the meeting. For the discussion of the points, the chair will keep a speakers list and give speakers the floor for a reasonable amount of time.
If you're worried about the chair abusing their position - In actual party meetings, the chair is elected with an immediate right of recall should they not be doing their job satisfactorily. For public meetings, the chair is selected by the organization - usually someone who is comfortable wrangling a crowd.
While this system is a lot less regimented than something like Robert's, it (combined with the principles of Democratic Centralism) is very sufficient for both small party meetings and larger public events. This style of meeting dates back to at least the 1st International as far as I know.
Hope that helps.
stack
Robert's Rules are a fantastic tool used by bureaucrats to stymie any kind of discussion they don't like. If you've ever attended a union meeting or the like where it's being used - at least for me, it makes me want to gouge my eyes out.
Yes, this is why I hate them. It’s a tool used to get people to shut the fuck up who disagree with the leaders of the meeting or annoying rules nerds who love nothing more than to harangue ppl about whether the chicken or the egg came first.
we usually do so that everyone does 1 statement and then after everyone has spoken, anyone can make 1 reply, then vote
They work really well when they're used in appropriate sized meetings and taught to all attendees. Most groups don't seem to do either though.
is you taking notes on a treasonous fucking conspiracy?