The NADF

THE CHARTER OF THE DIPCON SOCIETY

v1.0 - January 1st, 2010

1. Definitions, Purposes and Membership

1.1 Definitions

1.1.1: 'Players' are defined as those persons who participated in the current Diplomacy tournament as GM's, Directors, or assistants as well as those who actually played.  For all practical purposes, anyone who registered for the tournament will be considered a 'player'.

1.1.2: 'Grand Prix Event' is defined as any Diplomacy tournament which meets the requirements for inclusion in the North American Diplomacy Grand Prix.

1.2 Purpose

1.2.1: The DipCon Society exists for the purpose of promoting and regulating high-level competitive play of Diplomacy in North America.

1.3 Membership

1.3.1: Each person who was a player in two Grand Prix Events within the calendar year ending with the most recently concluded DipCon is considered a current member of the DipCon Society

1.3.2: Membership in any other organization may not be considered qualifying or disqualifying in this regard.

2. DipCon Site Selection

2.1 Bids

2.1.1: Any individual or group wishing to bid for the following year's DipCon must submit their bid to the Administrative Committee no later than 60 days prior to the current year's DipCon.

2.1.2: The presenting individual or group is solely responsible for providing all relevant information relating to their bid, and for responding to Committee requests for clarifications or further details. 

2.1.3: Bids must, at minimum, include all information specified in the "Bid Information" section of the bylaws of this organization. 

2.2 Eligibility

2.2.1: DipCon events must adhere to a minimum ruleset which shall be established in the bylaws of this organization.

2.2.2: No site shall be eligible if it is hosting the current DipCon, or if it has hosted DipCon twice in the 5 immediately preceding years, unless the bid is pre-approved by the Administrative Committee. 

2.2.3: Bids may be rejected by the Administrative Committee at that body's discretion if, in their opinion, the bid is deficient and the bidding entity is not making a good-faith effort to redeem their bid.

2.3 Presentation and Voting

2.3.1: The Administrative Committee is responsible for publishing all eligible bids for DipCon in accordance with their bylaws.

2.3.2: Bidding entities may (and are encouraged to) establish their own bid website, and to otherwise promote their bid prior to the end of voting.  This may include a brief presentation at the current DipCon.

2.3.3: Bidding entities are strongly encouraged to respond in a timely manner to requests for further information and clarification on their bid, from both the Administrative Committee and the membership at large.

2.3.4: The Administrative Committee is responsible for establishing, publishing, and executing voting procedures in accordance with their bylaws as quickly as possible after DipCon. 

2.3.5: If no acceptable bids are made the Society will instruct the Administrative Committee on its preferences for the site of the next DipCon, and the Committee will make all the necessary arrangements.

2.3.6: The Committee shall publish the results of the vote, including each vote cast, no later than 48 hours after the close of voting.

3. Administrative Committee

3.1 Membership

3.1.1: All members in good standing of the DipCon Society shall be eligible to stand for Administrative Committee Membership.

3.1.2: The Administrative Committee shall consist of five members as follows:

The TD of the most recently completed DipCon

The TD of the DipCon-elect

The head of the NADF

Two at-large members elected from the Society.

3.1.3: Society members wishing to run for the at-large positions on the Committee must announce their intention to run to the current Committee no later than 7 days after the end of the vote for the next year's DipCon

3.1.4: The three statutory members of the Committee shall publish the names and contact information of candidates within 48 hours of the intent to run deadline, and shall then run a secure electronic election running no less than 7 days and no more than 14 days, in a format of their choosing

3.1.5: Committee authority shall immediately transfer upon completion of the DipCon bid, and must at the end of the next year's DipCon bid transfer all assets, archives, and records to the incoming Committee as swiftly as possible

3.1.6: Substitutions

If any member of the Committee is unable to continue his function, he will nominate his own successor.  If he does not,
the Chairman will do so. 

If the Committee fails to function, its powers devolve upon the North American Diplomacy Federation, who must immediately arrange for election of a new Committee. 

3.2 Responsibilities

3.2.1: Maintenance of membership rolls and eligibility

3.2.2: Maintenance and publication of DipCon news

3.2.3: Publication and vetting of DipCon bids

3.2.4: Execution of voting for DipCon selection

3.2.5: Execution of voting for at-large Committee membership

3.2.6: Enforcement of DipCon standards for the upcoming DipCon

3.2.7: Publication of proposed amendments and execution of votes on said amendments

3.3 Powers:The DipCon Committee shall be authorized to, by majority vote:

3.3.1: Reject a DipCon bid as nonconforming if they determine the bidding entity to not be acting in good faith

3.3.2: Convene a vote of the Society at large to strip a winning DipCon bid of its winning status

3.3.3: Convene a vote of the Society at large to de-list a just- completed DipCon for egregious irregularities

3.3.4: Call for special votes from the Society at large on extraordinary measures

3.3.5: Veto changes to the rule-set of the DipCon-elect which are made after the DipCon vote

3.3.6: Appoint and empower committees of the membership at large for the purpose of carrying out their responsibilities

3.3.7: Draft such bylaws as are necessary to carry out their responsibilities

4. Amendments

4.1: Any member of the DipCon society may propose amendments to the Charter by submitting them to the Administrative Committee.

4.2: It is the Committee's responsibility to publish such proposals, as well as a decision to either table the proposal or put it up for a vote to the Society at large, within 30 days of receipt.  

4.3: The Committee may, at their discretion, combine like proposals so long as they do not make substantive changes in the text of the amendments.

4.4: An amendment is considered adopted if the Committee puts it up for vote, and it subsequently receives a 2/3 majority of all votes cast.

4.5: An adopted amendment shall go into effect as specified in its text, or at the conclusion of the next DipCon if no such clause is contained in the amendment.

4.6: The Committee shall publish the results of the vote, including each vote cast, no later than 48 hours after the close of voting.

 

 

 

 

THE BYLAWS OF THE DIPCON SOCIETY

v1.0 - January 1st, 2010

 

1. Bid Information

1.1: At a minimum, bids for DipCon must contain the following information to be considered valid bids:

Event location

Participation costs

Contact information for the organizers

Lodging availability

Travel options

Tournament ruleset which will be used

Any other information which the Administrative Committee may request and require

1.2: It is highly recommended that the bidding entity also create a web page with all of the above information and include the URL in their bid package.

2. Minimum DipCon Ruleset

2.1: To be considered eligible for consideration as a DipCon hosting event, bids must specify a tournament ruleset which meets the following criteria:

The criteria used for ranking must be specified and objective

Boards may not be manually seeded with the intent of creating an advantage for particular players

Any of the following actions must recuse players from tournament ranking or eligibility for "standings" prizes

Acting as Tournament Director

Making decisions as to the manual seeding of boards

3. DipCon Voting

3.1: An online secure vote shall be set up as soon as possible after DipCon for selection of the next DipCon

3.2: This vote shall run for a minimum of 7 days, and a maximum of 14 days

3.3: The vote format shall be determined by the Administrative Committee and published with the opening of the vote