Archive:Proposals (old)

This is a proposed page where general proposals can be made by the community-at-large under various topics.

Welcome to the Citizendium proposals system

All Citizens may submit proposals here. This is a single, central system for all new proposals about the Citizendium. If you submit a proposal here, you can be sure that the community will respond; your ideas will not be simply lost and forgotten.

The system is simple. You supply some basic information about your proposal below, in what we call a proposal "record." If the record is in order, the Proposal Manager (or one of his/her minions) will move the record to a "subpage" of this page, depending on what body makes the decision about it. For example, proposals for the Editorial Council will go on the CZ:Proposals/Editorial Council page.

If a proposal is accepted and acted on, the proposal record should be deposited in [[CZ:Proposals/GROUP/Finished]], where the GROUP is the decisionmaking body. If rejected, the record of the proposal should be deposited in [[CZ:Proposals/GROUP/Declined]]. (Links to these pages can be found below.)

Each proposal must have a "driver," that is, someone who ensures that the proposal moves forward to a decision and then, possibly, action. The driver must specify and regularly update two pieces of information on the proposal record: the next step, and the date by which the next step needs to be performed. If a proposal loses its driver, it is moved to a page listing "stalled" proposals ([[CZ:Proposals/GROUP/Stalled]]).

While the system is simple, the fully detailed rules that govern the system are somewhat involved. You can see CZ:Proposals/Policy if you're interested, but you shouldn't have to know those rules in order to make and drive an proposal. If you have a question, then please contact _________________, the Proposals Manager. You can also post a question on the talk page, which the Proposals Manager and others will monitor.

How to make a proposal

First, get a new number a title for your proposal. Go to the titles page. Add the next number to the bottom of the list and, next to it, write a brief descriptive title.

Second, go to the initial proposals page and give us seven short pieces of information:

1. Brief descriptive title. The same you used earlier. This goes in the heading.
2. Proposal number (e.g., 0017). Make sure you include the zeros.
3. Summary of proposal. Limited to 100 words.
4. Name and date of original proposer: write four tildes ~~~~
5. Username of driver. If you, write three tildes ~~~; if someone else, specify. This is the person who makes sure the proposal moves along from step to step in its development. If it remains blank, it may be moved to the "driverless" queue.
6. Next step. The next thing you need to do to move the proposal toward reality.
7. Target date for next step. A date the driver commits to, for completing the next step.
8. (Optional) Notes. Brief salient remarks. Bear in mind the bulk of the info about the proposal is not in this record but on the proposal page.

Put this information in the blank template. You'll find a copy at the bottom of the list of initial proposals. Simply copy and paste that and fill it out. Then you've finished making your proposal!