Our documents specify that our meetings will be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order; what are Roberts Rules of Order?
Henry Martyn Robert wrote a book in 1907 setting forth procedures by which an assembly conducts its meetings and its business in an orderly fashion. As noted in the Foreword to the 1978 edition “The enduring principle underlying Robert’s Rules of Order is that, though the minority shall be heard and absentees protected, the majority shall decide.” Unless one has had a class in parliamentary procedure or was on the debate team in high school or college (or is a community association lawyer), one has probably never heard of Robert’s Rules of Order. The main point of this provision of your documents is that everyone gets to speak his peace at association meetings and the business of the association gets accomplished. For all but the very largest community associations, the formality of Roberts is probably not necessary. If you do get a member of your association who delights in interrupting with “points of order,” I recommend appointing him on the spot to be the parliamentarian for the me
