My old copy of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th Edition disappeared some years ago and frankly I don't miss it. But since a significant portion of the Libertarian Party's platform committee activity seems to be about Professional Registered Parliamentarians [TM]* claiming "the rules mean I get anything and everything I want," I had to order a new copy.
716 pages of fairly small print.
The 1970 edition appears, per Amazon, to have been less than half as long and to have used a larger typeface.
Why so much stuff? Well, part of it is to deal with new developments like email and electronic meetings. But I would bet that most of it is sea lawyer bullshit intended not to facilitate orderly meetings, but to let a priesthood tie those meetings in knots and get whatever outcomes they want (or to charge fees for untangling the messes their system makes of things).
The Libertarian Party should switch from RONR to the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure as its parliamentary authority. It should also strongly consider modifying its membership pledge to "I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals, and that I am not a Registered Parliamentarian [TM], a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, or a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians [TM]."
Just sayin' ...
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