The Poll Procedures below will be suggested to replace the current poll procedures. The objective was to simplify polls and allow for faster polling while maintaining some amount of control over wild or inappropriate polls. The second post of this poll thread details the changes between the current procedures and these proposed procedures.

To be incorporated into our rules this will need to be sponsored by a Council Member and go through a confirmation Council Vote. As this is not an urgent matter I am taking the time to get general feedback from the citizens through this informational poll. This poll will remain open for 48 hours. If feedback is generally positive I will then find a sponsor in the Council.

This topic was discussed in THIS (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=40661) thread.

Code of Standards, Section F: Forum Poll Procedures
A. The following criteria are required for a poll to be binding:
1. Quorum levels must be met.
a. Quorum for polls is 1/3 of the active census within the
first 24 hours or;
b. 1/2 of the active census after the first 24 hours.
2. Approval levels must be achieved.
a. In the first 24 hours a super plurality is required.
1. To "win" the poll in the first 24 hours, a
category must receive at least double the
votes received by the next highest choice.
b. After the first 24 hours a simple plurality is
required.
c. If "Abstain" ever holds equality or plurality at the
end of a poll, the poll is not binding.
B. The following criteria are required for a poll to be valid:
1. Discussion thread open for 24 hours, minimum.
2. Poll type in the header and first post.
3. Poll end dates/times noted in the first post.
a. End dates/times can be conditional. (Example:
poll ends at the beginning of the next chat turn)
4. Link to relevant discussion threads in the first post.
5. Inclusion of an "Abstain" option.
6. Link to the poll in the Poll Registry.
C. The following criteria are preferred for all polls:
1. Proposed poll, up for 24 hours minimum.
2. Poll posted with link from discussion thread.
3. Poll duration minimum of 24 hours (48 hours plus is
preferred).
a. If the poll runs into the weekend it is advised
that the duration be extended by 24 hours for
each weekend day. Forum participation is much
lower on the weekends.
4. Link to the poll in the appropriate Department thread.
5. Participation requirement (quorum needed) noted in the
first post.
D. Information polls - Do not have restrictions and cannot be used
to justify policy, plans or actions.
1. All polls posted by Leaders are considered Official unless
specifically noted to be informational in the header and
first post.

Old: Two types of official polls, Standard and Quick.
New: One type of official poll. Criteria for the poll to be
binding changes after 24 hours. This lets a poll finish
faster if it has good support from the populace.

Old: 24 hour discussion, 24 hour pre-poll, 48 hour poll.
Minimum of 96 hours for a full poll to progress legally.
New: 24 hour discussion. Poll can end as soon as it reaches
quorum.

Old: No requirement to make the poll generally known. "Stealth"
polls are quite possible.
New: Polls must be advertised in the Poll Registry. Ensures
that a citizen must only subscribe to one thread to be
notified when any poll is posted.

Old: Quick Poll required 1/3 census. Results like 4/3/3 (Yes,
No, Abstain) could pass in 24 hours.
New: Super plurality required in first 24 hours. The winning
choice must have double the support of the second choice.
This allows a popular proposal to be quickly endorsed
while preventing marginally supported ones from being
adopted prematurely.

Old: An unpopular poll could force a bad decision. With 2 bad
choices, plus Abstain, one of the bad choices would win.
New: Any poll where Abstain ties or wins is now a voided poll.

Old: Wishy-washy terms like "should" caused confusion and
attempts at getting around the procedures.
New: All wishy-washy terms have been removed.

1. A poll is not valid unless a quorum of participation has been reached.
2. All polls should have the following information:
A. Poll type in the header and first post.
B. Poll start and end dates/times in the first post.
1. End dates/times can be conditional. (Example: poll ends
at the beginning of the next chat turn)
C. Link to relevant discussion threads in the first post.
D. Inclusion of an "Abstain" option.
3. Official polls
A. Quorum level is 1/2 of the active census.
B. Poll should proceed as follows:
1. Discussion thread, up for 24 hours minimum (48 hours
plus is preferred). Then,
2. Proposed poll, up for 24 hours minimum. Then,
3. Poll posted with link from discussion thread.
4. Poll duration is a minimum of 24 hours (48 hours plus
is preferred).
a. If the poll runs into the weekend it is advised
that the duration be extended by 24 hours for
each weekend day. Forum participation is much
lower on the weekends.
5. Link to the poll in the Poll Registry and/or Department
Thread (if appropriate).
4. Quick polls - When topic discussion is unwarranted or poll procedures
cannot be maintained due to time constraints, a quick poll may be used.
A. Quick polls do not have to follow the time conditions of Official
Polls.
B. Quorum level is 1/3 of the active census.
C. Results may be used to make temporary changes or specific, one
time decisions. They may not be used to make permanent article or
law changes.
1. The specific action item must be noted.
2. The action item must be applicable to the upcoming turn
chat.
3. The action item should be instantaneous or
reversible/correctable.
a. Examples of items that meet the criteria are:
i. City name change
ii. Change of tiles worked in a city
iii. Tile development
iv. Purchasing a technology
v. Upgrading troops
vi. Changing a build queue
b. Examples of items that would not meet the criteria
are:
i. Deals with a duration (resources or
gold/turn involved)
ii. Declaration of war
iii. Disbanding troops
4. These actions may be reversed, changed or overruled by any
subsequent Official Poll.
5. Information polls - Do not have restrictions and cannot be
used to justify policy, plans or actions.
A. All polls posted by Leaders are considered Official
unless specifically noted to be informational in the
header and first post.

I was hoping the new poll standards would address conflicting polls, which we seem to have a lot of lately. Other than that, I don't see a problem off the bat that wasn't addressed in discussion.

What about department related polls by citizens? I asked that.. but haven't seen anything...

That's another issue that was hammered out in DG1. All restrictions against citizens posting polls were removed. I wasn't too thrilled with that one but it's worked out okay for the most part.

This proposal is better than the current procedure, so I voted yes. But, I think it could be improved. To be more clear and shorter.

I suggest a entire revision of our laws at the end of this game. Mainly to facilitate the undertanding for new citizens.