The STEREOSCOPIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Affiliated with the National Stereoscopic Association
(formerly: The Stereoscopic Society, American Branch)

Membership Rules

1.	
1.	The Society is open only to NSA members who make their own original stereographs in a format suitable for circulation in the Society’s postal folios, and who enter their stereographs in these folios on a reasonably regular basis.  At the very least, there must be one new entry per year.

2.	The SS of A is under the administration of its General Secretary, who is responsible for trying to keep the Society functioning effectively and harmoniously.  The General Secretary is aided by a Treasurer, a Membership Secretary, a Supply Secretary and a Secretary for each class of folio being circulated (such as “Realist” format slides, 3½×7 Stereocards, etc.).  These officers are unpaid volunteers who shall hold their offices as long as they are able and willing to perform their duties well.  Whenever an officer is retired, volunteers for the vacant post shall be solicited.  The General Secretary (or the Treasurer in the event of vacancy of the General Secretary’s office) shall submit the name of any volunteer(s) to the members for approval, or for election if there should be more than one volunteer for an office.

3.	New members shall apply for membership by writing to the Membership Secretary, indicating the folio(s) in which they wish to participate, and paying the annual dues fixed for the current year.  The Membership Secretary shall send the new member an envelope to be used to house stereographs intended for initial entry into the folios.  He shall forward the dues to the Treasurer, and inform the appropriate folio Secretary(ies).  He shall also request “evidence of activity” in the form of an initial entry view from the new member, and shall transmit this to the appropriate folio secretary.  Upon receipt of this initial view, the membership shall become officially active, and the folio secretary shall revise the route list – including that for folios currently in circulation – to insert the new member at a point in the circuit which will minimize transit time for the folios.

4.	Folios of stereographs are under the direct control of the folio secretaries, who can initiate new folios and are expected to keep existing ones circulating as long as it is reasonable to do so.  They shall attempt to sustain a flow of folios at monthly intervals.  A folio secretary must maintain the route list for his folio up to date, revising it as old members change their addresses or are lost through expulsion for rules infraction, by resignation or by death, and as new members are added.  As each folio passes through his hands, he should check its condition, make repairs if necessary, and be certain that it contains a current route list, a folio notebook, and at least as many voting cards as the number of domestic members scheduled to receive the folio before it returns to him.  Slides of deceased or retiring members should be removed and sent to them or to their heirs when feasible.

5.	Each folio is to be mailed by the folio secretary to the first member on its route list.  That member is expected to mail it to the second member on the route list, etc.  When a member receives a folio, he is expected to examine all the views of the folio and make brief, suitable comments and/or criticisms on the views as he is moved to do so, writing same on the enclosing envelopes of the views.  Views should be handled with due care and slide views should not be projected.  Each member should remove his old view, if one is in the folio, and should if possible insert a new view, using a folio envelope that he has filled out (indicating in the blanks provided his name, the title of the view, and technical and other descriptive comments).  Members are encouraged to use the folio notebook for comments of general interest, as well as for those too lengthy for the folio envelopes.

6.	The Five Day Rule.  Each member is expected to retain a folio for no more than five days from the date of its receipt before sending it to the next member on the route list (said list should be checked in each folio, as it is subject to frequent change).  Compliance should be documented by mailing a voting/tracking card to the folio secretary, indicating the dates of receipt and sendoff, the name of the member to whom the folio has been sent, the name of the new view submitted, and the votes being cast for views in the folio.  Note: Seven days are allowed for Print Division “Grand Tour” folios and for two-member households.

7.	Repeated violations of the 5 Day rule by two days or more, two violations by 5 days or more, or one gross violation shall be adequate cause for suspension of the offender by the folio secretary.  In case of lesser violations, suspension should not ordinarily occur unless the member has failed to improve compliance after warning by the secretary; furthermore, the secretaries are authorized and encouraged to be lenient in the event of mitigating circumstances.  As a corollary of this rule, members must make provisions for the folios in the event that they will be away from their usual addresses for more than a short time.  They are encouraged to notify the member immediately “upstream” from them in the route list, so that folios may bypass them if ready to mail more than ~10 days before their anticipated return home.  They should also alert the person who is watching their mail, so that folios arriving more than 5-7 days before their anticipated return may simply be forwarded.  Finally, members must notify the folio secretary and corresponding secretary promptly of any address changes.  Members dropped for violations of the Five Day Rule shall be eligible for reinstatement after one year.

8.	The folio secretaries shall each maintain a chart to keep track all their respective folios, and shall investigate as soon as possible any folio whose whereabouts are not adequately verified by voting cards.

9.	Each year, the Treasurer shall submit a financial report to the General Secretary and the members, with a recommendation for the next year’s dues (based on expected expenses).  Members will be expected to remit dues promptly; the Treasurer shall be required to send only one reminder notice if dues are not received by MARCH 1; dues shall be deemed delinquent if not received by APRIL 1, and the member shall be placed on inactive status until/unless dues are paid (the Treasurer shall notify the General Secretary, Membership Secretary, and relevant folio secretaries of such delinquency).  Funds collected by the Treasurer shall be deposited in a bank in the name of the Society and he shall disburse these funds as they are needed for the legitimate expenses of the Society.  Purchase of needed supplies by officers shall be their responsibility (i.e., they shall apply for reimbursement rather than have the Treasurer make purchases).

10.	Activities other than the circulation of folios (publication of newsletter, meetings, exchanges of views or equipment, inter changes with other groups) shall be encouraged, but shall be unofficial and optional.  Official meetings of the Society shall be called by the General Secretary (Treasurer if the office of General Secretary is vacant).  Adequate notice to all members will be required for any official meeting, and a quorum of five members must be assembled to take any binding action.

11.	Changes in these rules may be proposed at any time by any member; if at least one officer agrees that the proposal has sufficient merit to warrant the expense, the members shall be asked by mail to vote.  A simple majority of the members casting votes shall suffice to adopt the proposal.