BENNETT'S RULES OF NON-PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE: |
So that all Mensa meetings may be conducted in an orderly manner, with due respect for propriety and dignity, the following rules are hereby established by universal consent (with the majority dissenting):
1. POINT OF PERSONAL OUTRAGE: At any time during a meeting when a participant becomes extremely upset, he or she shall have the right to interrupt any other speaker, will not be required to wait for recognition from the Chair, and has the obligation to speak at a volume considerably higher than required for normal conversation.
2. POINT OF IRRELEVANT INTERJECTION: Irrespective of the motion on the floor, the participant shall have the right to reply by launching a personal attack. At no time shall the point itself be addressed.
3. POINT OF ASSOCIATIVE GUILT: The participant shall have the right to impugn the intelligence of any other Mensan by alleging that he or she is, was, might be, has a third cousin who is, or may have great-grandchildren who will belong to any and all organizations designated by the participant as dedicated to the destruction of Mensa.
4. POINT OF CONTEMPT: The participant shall have the right to grunt, throw papers down on the table, shake his or her head vigorously, or otherwise demonstrate contempt for proceedings.
5 . POINT OF HARASSMENT: The participant shall have the right to introduce irrelevant motions for the sole purpose of delaying the meeting. It is only permissible to resort to a point of harassment when outcome of an imminent vote is obvious.
6. POINT OF REDUNDANT INFORMATION: This is not to be confused with the more familiar Point of Information. Where as a Point of Information is a request for information from the Chair, a Point of Redundant Information entitles the participant to tell those in the meeting something they already know.
7. POINT OF REDUNDANCY: This is a motion that entitles the participant to make a point made by another participant no more than five speakers earlier.
8 . POINT OF PIOUS POSTURING: This motion entitles the participant to make references to any teaching in the Bylaws or ASIEs that allegedly supports his or her point of view. A correct quotation, however, immediately disqualifies the point.
9. POINT OF GRUDGE: Entitles the participant to raise an issue debated by the organization not less than five years earlier, for which the participant has not yet forgiven those involved.
It is hoped that prompt and wide distribution of these rules will serve to bring order out of chaos that on occasion characterizes Mensa meetings.