WSFS Committees

WSFS Committees refers to various permanent or temporary committees appointed by the WSFS Business Meeting to transact World Science Fiction Society business or research while Worldcon is not in session. The phrase does not describe Worldcon committees.

While WSFS has no continuing existence, the Business Meeting creates a number of committees which carry on work during the interim between Worldcons. These are sometimes referred to as "standing committees," but in fact replaced the Standing Committee.

The Mark Protection Committee is mandated by the WSFS Constitution and hence exists permanently, but is under the jurisdiction of the WSFS Business Meeting. Its mandate is to preserve the WSFS trademarks, and its membership is selected by the WSFS Business Meeting and the active Worldcons.

A number of committees are annually re-created by the WSFS Business Meeting. (The Business Meeting has no authority to create permanent committees except by amending the WSFS Constitution, so technically each year's committee is entirely new. In practice there is considerable continuity of membership and purpose.

WSFS committees of long standing:

• The Long List Committee (aka "Formalization of Long List Entries Committee (FOLLE)" was created by Noreascon 4 to standardize the Long List of Worldcons. Its work has been annually endorsed by the WSFS Business meeting.

• Nitpicking and Flyspecking Committee -- a committee to codify rulings from the chair of continuing effect and to propose wording improvements (but not substantive changes) to the WSFS Constitution and WSFS Standing Rules.

• Worldcon Runners Guide Editorial Committee -- a committee to create a guide for running Worldcons.

• Hugo Eligibility Rest of the World Committee (HEROW) -- a committee to recommend works or categories first published overseas for extra-long Hugo eligibility.

Additionally, the Business Meeting will appoint temporary committees to consider specific questions with instructions to report back at the following year's meeting. Such committees are usually not continued and exist for s single year.

Membership in all of the annually appointed committees is at the discretion of the presiding officer of the Business Meeting, though it is generally open to anyone who volunteers.

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Miscellaneous

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