Editing Robert's Rules of Order (section)

===Purpose===
Generally, ''Robert's Rules of Order'' is a guide for conducting meetings and making decisions as a group. The purpose of the book is "to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member's opinion, to arrive at the [[general will]] on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate ranging from total harmony to hardened or impassioned division of opinion".<ref>{{Harvnb|Robert|2020|p=l}}</ref>

The book is designed for use in [[Voluntary association|ordinary societies]] rather than [[Legislature|legislative assemblies]], and it is the most commonly adopted parliamentary authority among societies in the United States.<ref name=":13">{{cite web |quote = RONR is used by approximately 85% of all organizations in the United States.|first = Jim|last = Slaughter|title = Parliamentary Procedure in the 21st Century (Updated from 'Parliamentary Procedure in 2005') |work= The Toastmaster Magazine |url = http://www.jimslaughter.com/Parliamentary-Procedure-in-the-21st-Century.cfm|access-date = 2015-11-28}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web|last=Sylvester|first=Nancy|title=The New Version of Robert's and Why You Should Care|url=https://www.nancysylvester.com/articles-scripts|access-date=2015-11-28|quote=Since approximately 95% of the organizations in the U.S. prescribe Robert's as their parliamentary authority, the 11th edition is most likely the parliamentary authority for all organizations you are involved in.}}</ref> It is also recognized as "the most widely used reference for meeting procedure and business rules in the English-speaking world".<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url = http://www.parliamentarians.org/about/faq/|publisher = National Association of Parliamentarians|title = FAQ|access-date = 2014-03-08|archive-date = 2014-03-08|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140308091929/http://www.parliamentarians.org/about/faq/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

The book states that it is "a codification of the present-day general parliamentary law".<ref name=":17">{{harvnb|Robert|2020|p=xxix}}</ref> "General parliamentary law" refers to the common rules and customs for conducting business in organizations and assemblies. It does not refer to statutory legal requirements nor to common-law precedent derived from court judgments. In other words, the book is about procedures for meetings and not about what is "legal" (i.e. it is not a [[law book]]).

As a reference, it is designed to answer, as nearly as possible, any question of [[parliamentary procedure]] that may arise.<ref name="Robert 2011 xxiv" /> The Twelfth Edition contains 633 pages of text, and all of its original content was included because it "has at some time come up as a question of procedure somewhere".<ref name="Robert 2011 xxiv"/> The completeness of the book was made so that organizations would not have to write extensive rules for themselves. In addition, members of different organizations could refer to the same book of rules.

Henry M. Robert III responded to the simplification by saying the following:<ref name=":3" />

{{Quote|text = In an effort to make parliamentary procedure more widely accessible, known, and employed, the approach of "simplification" unfortunately resurrects the very problem that Robert's Rules first emerged to solve. When there are large gaps in the rules, one or more of three major problems occur: much time is spent in debating what the rules are or should be, the chair unilaterally imposes a result, or the majority imposes a result that frequently disregards the rights of the minority.
When virtually everyone agrees, an assembly may be able to get by without resort to elaborate rules. When there is serious division, however, it is in human nature that each side will attempt to construe any ambiguity in the rules in such a way as to foster its substantive objectives. The ideal is that the rules applicable to a contentious subject are so clear that the contending sides cannot plausibly differently interpret them to their own advantage. Only then does parliamentary law fully play its role as the neutral arbiter that channels disputes into productive debate over substance, instead of time-wasting and manipulative maneuvering over procedure.|sign = |source = }}