World Science Fiction Society

WSFS Business Meeting

Loncon 3 is administered under the rules and auspices of the World Science Fiction Society (“WSFS”), which has governed Worldcons for more than seventy years. WSFS will have a business meeting at Loncon 3 to consider changes to its constitution, and to announce the results of the site selection vote for the 2016 Worldcon.

WSFS also has a number of standing committees to perform tasks assigned from the business meeting. Among these is the Mark Protection Committee, which protects the service marks of the World Science Fiction Society (including the name “Worldcon”) used by Worldcon each year.

Business Meeting Overview

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) consists of every member of the current Worldcon. (The membership of Loncon 3 is thus now the membership of WSFS, and will remain so until the closing ceremony in London on 18 August 2014.)

The WSFS rules, published in the Worldcon’s souvenir book, consist of a Constitution containing the rules for the Hugo Awards and for the selection of future Worldcons, as well as the Standing Rules which govern the conduct of the Business Meeting. Every attending member of Loncon 3 can attend the meeting, propose changes, debate those changes, and vote on them.

Changes to the WSFS Constitution, including any changes to the rules for the Hugo Awards, must be approved by votes at two consecutive Worldcons. In addition, new proposals may be introduced each year. The Business Meeting may defeat and amend new proposals. Meetings are conducted under a relatively formal structure, codified in Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, and the Standing Rules.

Kevin Standlee has written an excellent guide to the Business Meeting which provides a great starting point if you are planning to attend and are not familiar with the way the meeting works.

The deadline for submitting new proposals to the Business Meeting is fourteen (14) days before the first Preliminary Meeting. The Presiding Officer may accept otherwise qualified motions submitted after the deadline, but all such motions shall be placed at the end of the agenda.

All Worldcons and NASFiCs are required to present annual financial reports to the Business Meeting from the time they are elected until they close their accounts. You can find Loncon 3's 2013 report here.

Business Meeting Times

The Business Meeting is always held on the second, third, and fourth mornings of the Worldcon (rarely, a meeting on the fifth day is required). We plan to start the Loncon 3 Business Meetings at the usual time of 10 a.m.

WSFS Constitution and Standing Rules

WSFS has its own website, which you can find at www.wsfs.org.

WSFS is governed by a Constitution and Standing Rules, which ensures that the organization continues effectively from year to year even though the WSFS membership is changing all the time. These are available as web pages in HTML format and as downloadable PDFs.

These documents are currently being updated to reflect the outcome of the 2013 Business Meeting, held at LoneStarCon 3 (the 2013 Worldcon) in San Antonio, Texas. We will post the updated versions during October 2013, along with details of the business being passed on from LoneStarCon 3 to Loncon 3.