AHIKS By-Laws IV-V. Membership

IV. MEMBERSHIP POLICY:

A. Membership in the Society is open to mature adults at least seventeen years of age.

B. Acceptance of members into the Society is the responsibility of the Secretary. The Secretary will follow the guidelines set forth in these bylaws and those established by the Executive Committee when determining an applicant’s eligibility for membership.

C. An applicant must submit a valid application form to the Secretary to be considered for membership. If the applicant has been previously expelled from AHIKS the membership application will be forwarded to the Executive Committee which will determine if the member can be readmitted. The determination will be by majority vote of the committee.

D. Member acceptance procedure: After reviewing the application, the Secretary shall provide the new member’s name and assigned AHIKS ID# and any brief biographical description provided by the new member to the Executive Committee.

E. The Editor will ensure that the new member is added to the list of members who are receiving the email version of the K.

F. The Secretary will forward any match requests made by new members to the Match Coordinator for matching purposes.

G. Previous members of AHIKS who left the Society in good standing and who apply for readmittance will be re-admitted as a member upon receipt of a valid application. If possible, the returning member should be given his old AHIKS ID Number. A member who was dropped from the Society rolls solely for failure to forward updated contact information is considered to have left in good standing.

V. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP:

A. Membership privileges can be terminated by a majority vote by the Executive Committee Officers.

B. Examples of conduct that may call for expulsion include but are not limited to:
1. Non-responses to a game move or match assignment within normal AHIKS guidelines or those agreed to by the members at the inception of the match.
2. Cheating by any means or manner.
3. Failure to abide by the terms of an official complaint resolution by the Executive Committee or failure to abide by a match ruling by the Judge.
4. Disrespectful or abusive commentary directed towards an opponent or any officer of the Society.

C. Complaint Procedure:
When a member experiences what he/she feels to be any kind of discourteous behavior, he/she should contact the Judge, forwarding any evidence of this behavior to the Judge along with an explanation of why he/she feels such behavior is cause for disciplinary action and what actions the member has undertaken to resolve the situation.
1. The Judge shall examine the documents forwarded by the complaining member and shall contact in writing the member who is the subject of the complaint.
2. The Judge shall consider both sides of the complaint and attempt to reach a compromise solution between the members involved. At this stage, the Judge should attempt to mediate rather than adjudicate the dispute. If a compromise solution is reached, the Judge shall document the terms of that resolution for future reference. The Judge is to send to the Secretary a copy of the resolution for file.
3. If a compromise solution is not attainable, the Judge should adjudicate the dispute by the fairest means possible. The Judge should consult with the President whenever resolution of the complaint is not clear cut. Once the Judge has determined a resolution, he should notify the involved parties at the earliest opportunity.
4. A member may appeal a decision adjudicated by the Judge by requesting that the Judge submit the matter before the Executive Committee.
5. The Judge shall forward all relevant information to the Executive Committee at the earliest opportunity.
6. The Executive Committee shall have the option to reverse or change altogether the resolution adjudicated by the Judge. A majority vote is required to change or reverse the resolution. A letter of reason for reversal or change will be sent to the Judge and Editor for possible publication. A copy of the letter will be sent to the Secretary for the file.
7. The Executive Committee, after consideration of the situation, may expel the involved member by a majority vote. No appeal of the final judgment of the Executive Committee shall be considered.