What does "good of order" mean? From Googling it seems to be a military phrase, but that doesn't jive with how I saw it used. I was at a conference (non-military), and "Good of Order" was one of the agenda items. The discussion under that item didn't make it clear what it was. The members seemed to discuss personal things, such as a colleague's husband who was ill. I just didn't get it, and then I had to leave the meeting early so I couldn't ask.

Any thoughts?

Agenda which contain cryptic items are a waste of time and space. Their only purpose is to add some air of spurious importance which the person submitting the item hopes will make him or her seem clever.

It is the job of the Chair to stop such nonsense and, when I chair meetings and request submissions, I will ask the proposer for clarification and expansion of any item sumbitted before I accept it.

Meetings are expensive enough without people's time being wasted on unclear items which they will, by definition, have been unable to research in advance.

This "good of order" item is a fine example example of an unclear and pointless item as is obvious by the fact that the delegates simply chatted about personal items since they knew not what the true topic was.

And while on the same topic of unprepared time-wasting items - "any other business" is another item which I never allow to take more than a few minutes - if even that. Anything that's important enough to need in-depth discussion can wait until the next meeting when delegates will be prepared for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard English: Agenda which contain cryptic items ...

I noticed that 'agenda' is used as a plural noun. Is this just a typo, or is it a british usage unfamiliar to me?

This was discussed quite recently. I generally use agenda and agendum as I would use data and datum or media and medium.

I am, I fear, in a vanishing minority.