BASIC PRINCIPLES

The day-to-day operation of the Society, as well as its governing underpinnings, adhere to the following Basic Principles:

1. A numismatic focus
2. Fun, education and enjoyment of the hobby as primary motivation
3. A healthy, Society-wide respect for all individuals
4. A fairness and civility among Members referred to as 'netiquette'.

CONDUCTING BUSINESS

Official WINS business, leading to binding decisions on the Society, is carried out via the Internet according to Robert's Rules of Order, or at least roughly so.  Motions are made, seconded and voted upon.  Whenever possible, motions are framed such that ensuing votes have three possible outcomes: Yes, No, Abstain.  Candidates are self-declared or nominated and subsequently chosen by the Membership in General Elections.

INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGISTS

Without communications and computer technology known as the Internet, WINS does not exist.  Consequently, WINS depends on people who can understand, operate and properly govern the use of Internet technology.  Technologists such as Webmaster, E-mail List Administrator, Chat Coordinator, Librarian and e-Auctioneer are vital to the existence and ultimate success of WINS.

Technology Definitions - For purposes herein, Internet technology is divided into two broad categories:  PULL and PUSH.

1. PULL Internet Technology requires active participation on the part of Internet users who make explicit requests for information they receive online.  Visiting web sites, posting to news groups and using search engines are examples of PULL technology.
2. In contrast, PUSH Internet Technology requires only passive participation by Internet users.  E-mail is an example of PUSH technology since unique online information is delivered to users without explicit requests for it.

WINS MEMBERSHIP

The Society is composed of Members.  WINS Membership is open to all individuals worldwide who have a working e-mail address and who conduct themselves according to the Basic Principles of the Society.  Each Member supplies his or her name and e-mail address to the Society.  The Society assures personal privacy for all its Members.  Additional personal information, over and above name and e-mail address, may be required during the Member registration process.

The Leadership - A small, distinct subset of the Members is called the Leadership.  The distinction between regular Members and the Leaders is the only distinction within the Society.  All Members of the Society enjoy equal standing under the Bylaws.

Duties of the Leadership and the Membership - The Leadership has special duties and also has the authority to carry out these duties.  These Bylaws establish the duties and authorities of the Leadership.  All other duties and authorities belong to the Membership.

Classification of Membership - To meet the needs of the Society, the Leadership may classify Members according to various criteria, such as junior members, dealer members, technologists, charter members and so forth.

Restrictions Placed on Membership - To preserve harmony in the Society, individual Memberships may be denied, refused or cancelled.  All decisions regarding denial of membership are made by the Leadership alone.  The primary reason for denial of membership is a demonstrated, continuous, repeated refusal to abide by the Basic Principles of the Society.  Ample warning must be given prior to expulsion of any Member from the Society.

Minors, under the age of 13 years, must have adult approval in writing from a parent or guardian to become a Member of the Society.

The Membership Database - WINS Membership is defined by a database containing the names of individual Members and, at a minimum, corresponding e-mail addresses.  The Leadership is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Membership Database.

The Leadership controls access to the Membership Database.  The Leadership must place privacy of individuals as the top-most priority over other considerations when dealing with all aspects of the Membership Database.

Active Members - An Active Member is one who:

1. appears in the Membership Database,
2. uses an e-mail address that accepts e-mail messages from WINS and
3. subscribes to at least one Society function that uses PUSH Internet technology, such as e-mail. PULL activities, such as visiting the WINS web site, are not sufficient to qualify for Active Membership.

At least once per year the Leadership must determine those Members who qualify as Active Members and those members who do not qualify. The Membership Database must be annotated accordingly. Further, at least once per year, the total number of Active Members (the number of Active Members on each Email List) must be published on the WINS website for easy access by the entire Membership via the Internet.

WINS LEADERSHIP

WINS Leadership is composed of individual adult Members (18 years of age or older) as follows:

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. Operations Administrator
6. Newsletter Editor
7. Librarian

DUTIES DEFINED

The President - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the President shall:

1. Preside over Leadership meetings.
2. Call for votes and administer voting and elections.
3. Create and facilitate committees, as needed, comprised of the Vice President and other active-member volunteers.
4. After recommendation by another Leadership Member, consider the approval and appointment of active members to fill vacant non-elected, volunteer positions, as needed, such as the Auctioneer, Assistant Webmaster, Assistant List Supervisor, Assistant Librarian and Assistant Newsletter Editor.
5. Pre-approve all media coverage, including media releases, promotions and advertising.
6. Oversee public relations in an effort to ensure that the Society in always seen in the best light.
7. Cause the development, updating and maintenance of a WINS "Standard Operating Procedures Manual" (SOP).
8. Develop, update and maintain the President's portion of the WINS SOP Manual.
9. Monitor the general well-being of the Society.
10. Report activities to the Membership as necessary.
11. Delegate responsibility and authority as desired, or as required to meet the needs and complete the tasks of the Society.
12. Perform similar executive duties as deemed necessary by the Leadership or the Membership.

Nota Bene
The initial development of a WINS "Standard Operating Procedures Manual" (SOP) shall be a priority of the first elected President. The SOP Manual shall explain in sufficient detail all of the operations of the Society and shall serve as a guideline for all of the basic, daily functions of the Leaders and Assistants. It shall contain information in a fashion that would allow any newly elected or newly appointed Leader or Assistant to assume office and easily carry out the duties of that office. Once developed, the SOP Manual shall be updated for each office by the incumbent as necessary. Copies of all updates shall be forwarded to the President. The President shall retain the current SOP Manual, provide a copy of the appropriate section(s) to each Leader and Assistant, and shall pass it on from President to President. The manual may contain sensitive information and should not be considered a document that's accessible outside of the Leadership realm.

The Vice President - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Vice President shall:

1. Perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President.
2. Represent the Leadership in all Committee meetings.
3. Work hand-in-hand with the Secretary to develop and disseminate media releases.
4. Develop, update and maintain the Vice President's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President.
5. Assist the President by monitoring the well-being of the Society.
6. Perform similar executive duties as deemed necessary by the Leadership or the Membership.

The Secretary - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Secretary shall:

1. Accurately record and archive Society business using current, data archival methods.
2. Maintain minutes of Leadership meetings, voting records, legal paperwork and the like using current, data archival methods.
3. Work with the Vice President to develop and issue media releases as necessary.
4. Maintain these Bylaws, ensuring that they are up-to-date and properly posted for the Membership.
5. Function as the WINS Historian.
6. Develop, update and maintain the Secretary's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President.

Nota Bene
All internet meeting minutes shall be maintained in the form of archived emails between the meeting members. The archived emails shall be the official minutes, and shall be retained in the Secretary's archives for at least seven years. Meeting minutes are private and for the use of WINS members only. Meeting minutes will either be posted regularly or will be available by request as forwarded copies. At the discretion of the leadership, meeting minutes may be posted or released either in the full, archived email format or in summary format. They shall not be posted or maintained on the WINS website nor on any other media available to the general public. If meeting minutes are posted, they shall be posted in a private forum where WINS members have ready access. If meeting minutes aren't regularly posted, they shall be stored by the Secretary until a copy is requested by any WINS member. If meeting minutes aren't regularly posted, the leadership shall notify members every time a meeting has taken place so that it's known that a copy of the minutes are, or will be available upon request. Meeting minutes shall be posted or be ready for release not later than 15 days after each meeting.

Other records maintained by the Secretary need not be readily accessible online to WINS Members, but they must be made available within a reasonable timeframe to any Active Member who requests a copy.

The Treasurer - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Treasurer shall:

1. Be responsible for the financial dealings of the Society and shall generate, maintain and archive accurate financial reports using current, data archival methods.
2. Receive all moneys collected by, earned by, or donated to the Society.
3. Maintain all of the Society's financial accounts, operational and investment, such as checking, savings and holding accounts as approved by the Leadership.
4. Disburse funds as approved by the Leadership.
5. File any required financial documents for the Society.
6. Develop, update and maintain the Treasurer's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President.

Nota Bene
Records maintained by the Treasurer need not be readily accessible online to WINS Members, but they must be made available within a reasonable timeframe to any Active Member who requests a copy.

The Operations Administrator - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Operations Administrator shall:

1. Ensure the continuous daily functioning of the Society's PULL and PUSH technology including:

   a. The Society's Internet Domain (website), its operation and its compatibility with all of     the major Internet Browsers. b. The Society's Opt-in Email Lists, their operation, sign-ups and administration.

2. Provide direct assistance to the President for any and all Society elections and voting as requested by the President.
3. Provide assistance to the Newsletter Editor, Librarian, Auctioneer and any other member in the form of HTML, data formatting and website presentation.
4. Be responsible for acquiring any additional PULL and PUSH technologies or services required by the Society and approved buy the Leadership.
5. Be responsible for recommending and acquiring assistants to perform the daily IT tasks, as needed; such assistants, including Assistant Webmaster and Assistant List Supervisor, to be approved and appointed by the President.
6. In the best effort to keep the Society functioning, ensure that a data backup is maintained to the extent that said backup could be used by a knowledgeable IT person to reinstate or reconstruct the Society's IT function; a copy of said backup to be maintained off site from the Webmaster with the off site location to be determined by the elected Leadership.
7. Develop, update and maintain the Operations Administrator's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President.

Nota Bene
To perform the duties of Webmaster or Assistant Webmaster, the member must have a working knowledge of the Internet, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and domain registration services, HTML and web page design, as well as optimization techniques for web pages and image presentation.

To perform the duties of List Supervisor or Assistant List Supervisor, the member should have a working knowledge of various Email List and Forum services.

The Newsletter Editor - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Newsletter Editor shall:

1. Be responsible for the development of all aspects of the Society's online newsletter, including but not limited to writing, editing, and HTML formatting for web page display and editing.
2. Make use of all available numismatic resources such as member and non member articles, hobby news and information from other hobby and media publications to obtain items worthy of placement in the newsletter
3. Ensure that the newsletter maintains a positive format and always presents the Society in the best light.
4. Ensure that all copyright laws are observed for newsletter materials including text and images.
5. Work hand-in-hand with the Operations Administrator to prepare the newsletter for the website and to maintain the newsletter website design.
6. Be responsible for recommending and acquiring assistants to help produce a quality newsletter, as needed; such assistants, including Assistant Newsletter Editor, to be approved and appointed by the President.
7. Develop, update and maintain the Newsletter Editor's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President.

The Librarian - In executing the responsibilities of the office, the Librarian shall:

1. Be responsible researching, gathering and preparing materials for display in the online Library in the website.
2. Work closely with the Newsletter Editor to ensure that all articles published in the newsletter are also placed in the online Library with proper author credit.
3. Ensure that all copyright laws are observed for library materials including text and images.
4. Work hand-in-hand with the Operations Administrator to prepare Library data for the website and to maintain the Library website design.
5. Be responsible for recommending and acquiring assistants to help produce a quality online Library, as needed; such assistants, including Assistant Librarian, to be approved and appointed by the President.
6. Develop, update and maintain the Librarian's portion of the WINS SOP Manual as directed by the President

The Leadership jointly holds responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the Society.  E-mail addresses of all individual Leaders must be published for easy PULL access via the Internet.  The Leadership is responsible for locating, enabling and retaining Technologists who can effectively provide an Internet infrastructure necessary to keep the Society operating smoothly.

Leadership Meetings - From time to time Leaders may meet via the Internet to conduct official business regarding the operation of the Society.  Leadership meetings may be open to the (Active) Membership, or they may be closed meetings, at the discretion of the Leadership.  WINS Technologists participate in all Leadership meetings to bring their expertise to bear on Society business.

At any time, any Active Member may make a Formal Motion from the Membership (FMM) as long as the FMM is seconded by another Active Member.  An FMM may be forwarded to any person within the Leadership via the Internet.  The Leadership as a whole is obligated to consider all FMMs received.  The Leadership may vote on FMMs at Leadership meetings.  Alternately, the Leadership may conduct a General Election to decide the outcome of one or more FMMs.  If an FMM is voted on by the Leadership, and the Leadership denies the motion, the Active Member who submitted the FMM may cause the FMM to be posed to the Active Membership in a General Election provided that three additional Active Members second the motion to do so.

Volunteers - Any Active Member may volunteer to play a non-Leadership role in the Society.  These non-Leadership Volunteer Positions may, or may not, be sanctioned by the Leadership.

WINS NEWSLETTERS

The Leadership must provide Internet capabilities to support one or more WINS Newsletters.  Only Active Members may publish, or participate in the publication of, any WINS Newsletter.  The Newsletters must be easily accessible by all Active Members of WINS using PULL Internet technology.  The Leadership may suspend support of any Newsletter that does not operate under the Basic Principles of the Society.  Newsletters may not be PUSHed to the Membership, only PULLed.

VOTING PROCEDURES

Votes may be held within the Leadership, or be posed by the Leadership to the Active Membership as a whole.  Ballots may be open or sealed, as appropriate.  But, when the voting is sealed, the voting totals will always be published to the Membership by the Leadership at the conclusion of the voting.  This will be accomplished by publishing the total number of YES, NO and ABSTAIN votes.  The outcome of the voting is defined by a simple majority of those who vote, except when these Bylaws are amended which requires a 2/3rds majority of those who vote. Only the Leadership and other Active Members may vote.

A vote is only valid, however, under the following circumstances:

These Bylaws may be amended at any time to meet the needs of the Society.  A motion to amend the Bylaws may be made by any Active Member.  All proposed changes to the Bylaws must be reviewed by a Bylaws Revision Committee comprised of Active Members within 30 days of the motion. The Committee Chairman shall then submit to the President for review the Committee's findings - proposed textual changes, or recommend motion dismissal with cause.  The President shall notify the member who made the motion of the Committee's findings, and shall make arrangements for a vote of the Active Membership, as necessary, in a timely manner.  Amendments to these Bylaws must be approved by a 2/3 majority of those Active Members who vote on the bylaws amendment proposals.

LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS

Once every two years, the Leadership administers and conducts a Society-wide General Election for all Leadership positions.  New Leaders are elected, or incumbent Leaders are retained, by vote of the Active Membership.  All candidates, and the General Election itself, must adhere to the Basic Principles of the Society. All candidates must be Active Members in good standing.  There are no term limits and individual Leaders may serve as long as they continue to be elected.  However, all elected Leaders must remain on at least one Push technology List for their entire term.  Any Leader who withdraws from regular contact with the active membership by not remaining on at least one Push technology List for their entire term, is automatically deemed to have resigned his/her elected office.

Two months before polls are opened, the Leadership must notify the Active Membership of its intention to conduct a General Election.  Polls must be open for at least two weeks. Partial counts, early disclosures, predicted outcomes and the like are strictly forbidden.  Once polls are open and voting has started, the final tally must be complete and the outcome published to the Active Membership within one month.

Though WINS Leaders usually hold office for two years at a time, due to exigent circumstances, a passed-FMM may cause a mid-term Leadership election for an individual Leader or multiple Leaders.

Appointment of Leadership Positions and Special Elections

1. When a Leadership vacancy occurs which is the result of the unanticipated departure of a Leader who already occupied an elected office, then the remaining Leadership shall immediately discern all interested candidates for that vacant office.  This shall be accomplished by announcing the vacancy and giving eight days after the announcement for interested candidates to become known.

2. When a Leadership vacancy exists because no member was interested in running for that office during the last regular election, then the other Leaders shall continually attempt to locate interested candidates for the vacant office.

3. When a Leadership vacancy exists for any reason, and for any length of time, and the remaining Leadership has not been able to discern any interested member to fill the vacancy, then the remaining Leaders must, via consensus, absorb the duties of the missing Leadership position among themselves; or seek assistance from the active membership to help cover the duties of the missing Leadership position; or the President may appoint one of the other existing Leaders to function in the capacity of the vacant Leadership position.  If the President makes an appointment as such, then that Leader will be functioning in two Leadership capacities, but shall only have one vote among the Leadership or in other membership voting.

Nota Bene
Before the Leadership makes an appointment in any Leadership capacity that requires certain skills, the Leaders must first determine that the member they're considering for the appointment has the minimum requisite skills for the office, or is able to acquire such skills within a reasonable and acceptable amount of time.

CASH ASSETS DISBURSEMENT

Should WINS ever cease to exist, the cash assets of the club shall be donated by the WINS Treasurer, or by other such keeper of the funds at that time, to the American Numismatic Association (ANA).  Should the ANA no longer exist at that time; or should the ANA be unwilling to accept the cash assets; or should the ANA be deemed as an unworthy recipient due to controversial circumstances at that time, then the cash assets shall be donated by the WINS Treasurer, or by other such keeper of the funds at that time, to one or more other non-controversial, bona fide, not-for-profit, numismatic organization(s) having open world-wide membership, whose objectives include furthering numismatic knowledge and cultivating numismatic interests.