This set of meeting rules came down a mailing list I’m on.  It’s from the Silicon Valley BSD Users Group and, rather than being rules for how to run a meeting, it’s rules for how to *arrange* one.

Here’s how they choose a meeting location:

RULE 2: Determination for the location for the BAD meeting is like calling shotgun for the front passenger seat of a car. Whoever calls the location first, wins, and that’s where BAD is going to be, period. In case of close calls, “first” is determined by date received by the list server machine, and ties go to the runner.

Take a problem, come up with an unambiguous solution to it, and document it in a FAQ.  It’s also interesting to see how the meeting guidelines reflect the group’s values.  Here’s an example:

Note that this message projects authority, it has all important information, and it does not use a question mark anywhere in the message or subject line.

In short: don’t be wishy-washy.  JFDI.

If I were joining this group for the first time, I’d have a pretty good idea of what sort of culture to expect on their mailing list.  I like that.