Question about quota/total
 

Chapter total is 58
Chapter's current membership is 53
Quota last semester was 20, chapter only pledged 17, leaving 3 quota vacancies.

Do we have 5 spaces or 8 spaces? No one seems to know.

I tthink the spaces are either/or whatever gives you more members. You either have 5 spaces because of being at 53 instead of 58. Your quota leaves you 3 short (20-17). I don't think you can add them together. So I believe that you have 5 spaces.

You have 5 spots. If making quota still puts a chapter below total, they are allowed to bid up to total. So if the chapter made exactly quota, you'd have 2 more spots. You don't add the total vacancies to the quota vacancies.

Usually right after recruitment you can COB to quota. Since you are into a new semester, the quota number doesn't matter. Based on that you can pick up 5 more women to get you to total.

Exactly. Total is fixed from semester to semester - quota is not. Once that window of time after formal rush to fill quota closes, that's that - you can't "carry over" whatever plus or minus you had in quota.