Signum Incognitus: Guild Charter

SIGNUM INCOGNITUS GUILD CHARTER

MISSION STATEMENT

Signum Incognitus is a World of Warcraft guild located on the PvE server, Aggramar. We are primarily geared towards sociable, casual game play, with a handful usually on each night. We try to help each other out, particularly with questing, professions, and improved game play for each class with the intent of preparing players and their characters for end-game content. At present, the majority of our membership consists of working adults and college students, so we understand how real life comes before the game (as much as we may joke otherwise) but we are a family-oriented guild with several players under the age of 15, so members are asked to be mindful of our younger players both in terms of conduct and playing style. While not a raiding guild, Signum Incognitus is affiliated with several other guilds (The Small Guild Alliance of Aggramar or “TSGA”) for the purpose of experiencing large raid (10+ player) content.

We are primarily based on the East coast, so our members tend to be online between 6pm and 11pm EST. For the moment, questing parties are arranged between members at their own discretion, while officer-sponsored instance runs are usually done on Friday nights beginning at 8pm EST. We have members and alts ranging from level 1 to 70.

ARTICLE I: Explanation of Guild Ranks & Responsibilities

Section I: Ranks

Magus/Magistra = Guild Leader
Dolus Umbra = Officer (Council)
Consuasor = Officer’s Alternate Character
Sodalis = Member Player’s Main Character
Alternum = Member Player’s Alternate Character
Initiate = Prospective Member (Initiation Phase)
Novus = Prospective Member (Interview Phase)
Acolyte = Member Player is a Minor

Section II: Officer Responsibilities

Magus/Magistra: The responsibilities of the Guild Leader(s) are defined as (but not limited to):

Enforcement of policy amongst the membership with regards to Blizzard’s EULA for World of Warcraft
Maintenance and enforcement of guild policy amongst the membership (particularly with regards to the published code of conduct)

Development and maintenance of policies and activities in support of the membership (specifically with regards to membership recruitment, external guild alliances, and guild structure)

Development, maintenance, and moderation of content (with regards to the published code of conduct) on the guild website

Interaction with the membership and allied guilds for the purpose(s) for improved game play and maintaining morale.

Distribution of responsibilities amongst the officers to ensure continued stability and effectiveness of routine guild operations

Maintaining the morale and positive play environment of this organization

Transparent management of the guild bank. Contents of the guild bank should be viewable to the membership via the website at all times and be as current as possible. Requests from the bank should be handled via member-restricted forum (currently the “Drop Depot”.

Dolus Umbrae: The responsibilities of Council Officers are defined as (but not limited to):

Enforcement of policy amongst the membership with regards to Blizzard’s EULA for World of Warcraft
Maintenance and enforcement of guild policy amongst the membership (particularly with regards to the published code of conduct)

Development and maintenance of policies and activities in support of the membership (specifically with regards to membership recruitment, external guild alliances, and guild structure) with focus on participation in both internal and external guild activities

Development, maintenance, and moderation of content (with regards to the posted code of conduct) of the guild website. Appointment of “Moderator” status and duties will be at the approval and/or discretion of the Guild Leader(s).

Interaction with the membership and allied guilds for the purpose(s) for improved game play and maintaining morale.

Section III: Responsibilities of the Rank & File

Rank & File: The responsibilities of the guild membership are defined as (but not limited to):

Compliance with the terms for game play for World of Warcraft as stated in Blizzard’s EULA.

Compliance with the guild’s posted Code of Conduct.

Whenever possible, assist fellow guildmates and members of allied guilds with the completion of quests and/or acquisition of class-specific items

Exhibit a sense of good sportsmanship and fair play (in the context that a player should be just as motivated – and happy – to see a fellow guildmate complete a quest or win an item as they would be if they had accomplished that feat themselves)

To be prepared, beforehand, to use specific “game standard” mods and communication software (boss mods, threat meters, Ventrilo, etc) when participating in either group or allied guild activities (specifically “raids”)
To maintain a sense of etiquette (particularly in regards to the posted code of conduct) during use of guild chat, raid chat, use of SI and allied guild Ventrilo as well as other raid channels and media.

Remember to have fun!

ARTICLE II: Rank Progressions & Promotion

Section I: Ranks

Acolytes: Acolytes are players who are minors. Signum Incognitus is a family guild, and most member acolytes are children of active members. While we do not actively recruit minor players, it is also not our policy to refuse them. Players are given acolyte status so that other members will be aware that children are present and model their behavior accordingly.

Novus: A Novus is a member who is new recruit. New applicants to the guild begin with this rank. This is an “interview” phase, for both the guild and the recruit to see how well a “fit” the guild and the player will be. The recruit gets to see how things work (or don’t work) in our guild, and the guild gets to see how things work (or don’t work) with the prospective recruit. Novi are expected to familiarize themselves with and obey the tenets laid out in the Guild Charter and Code of Conduct. To proceed to the next rank, a Novus must participate in at least one guild sponsored activity within 30 days (and instance run but not necessarily a raid) of joining the guild, and abide by the rules of the charter and code of conduct. If the player decides that he or she wishes to continue their membership in this guild, and the officers agree as to a positive assessment of the applicants performance, the player will be promoted to Initiate. Active members are encouraged to make Novi feel welcome and aid them with quests and other assistance whenever possible.

Initiate: Initiates are recruits who have decided to stay with our guild. Initiates have a probationary status. This phase is about participation, and letting the membership at large get to know the Initiate and their play style better. Initiates are expected to continue to abide by the tenets of the Charter and Code of Conduct, and participate in (at least) two guild sponsored events within 30 days of attaining their rank in order to progress to Sodalis.

Sodalis/Alternum: Players who have passed their initiation are welcomed into the guild as full members. Players of this rank (who are in good standing) are entitled to participate in guild allied (TSGA) activities, make requests of items from the guild bank(s), have their alts invited to the guild, and are entitled to one vote each on matters for which the ruling council (Dolus Umbrae) call for the membership to ratify. Alts of Sodali are given the rank of Alternum. Sodali are expected to continue to comply with the tenets of the Charter and Code of Conduct.

Dolus Umbra/Consuasor: Dolus Umbra(e) are members of the guild who are officers. Players of this rank are tasked with the responsibility of seeing to the smooth running of week to week guild operations and events, enforcement of guild policy (specifically with regards to this charter and the Code of Conduct) and resolution of disputes between members. To ensure the mental strength, force of virtue, and skill in both play and leadership with regards to the guild’s leader, Dolus Umbrae are also charged with the responsibility of assassinating the Guild Leader’s toons at every available opportunity, but without risk to the membership or jeopardizing the success of any guild run, raid, or allied-guild event in which the assassination is to take place.

Magus/Magistra: The guild leader provides vision, unity, leadership, and the safeguarding and encouragement of positive morale for our organization. Following the old Klingon wisdom that no one who actually wants a position of power should have it, by unanimous decision of the Dolus Umbrae everything that happens in the guild (good or bad) is the guild leader’s fault. Also in the finest tradition of the warrior, it is the sworn duty of the GM’s noble lieutenants to see to the “honorable retirement” of our leaders toons, to avoid any perception of weakness or inadequacy. For the sake of morale, the Magus/Magistra oversees the distribution of “xKP” (where ‘x’ is the first letter of the GM’s toon that’s been killed and “KP” is “Kill Points”) each time one of the Guild Leader’s toons is successfully killed by the membership without additional loss of life or jeopardizing the success of the run during which the assassination took place.

Section II: Promotion through the Ranks

Members progress from Novus (Interview) to Initiate (Probationary) to Sodalis (Member) through application to the guild, participation in events, and assessment of performance both as a player and new member of our community.

Promotion to officer requires a nomination by one member of the Council, and approval by a majority vote. Promotion to Magus/Magistra requires six months active participation on the Council, with nomination (and second) by two members of the Council followed by a majority vote. Nominees for the position of Guild Leader must show extraordinary ability to lead well, and die better…

ARTICLE III: Recruitment Policy

Recruitment is the exclusive purview of the officer ranks. Members who encounter other players who they believe would be a good fit for our guild, or have friends in the “real world” who would benefit from experiencing WoW with a family-friendly environment should refer prospective recruits to the application page on the guild website.

Officers will engage in active recruiting when it is deemed that the active membership does not have sufficient numbers for the guild to perform or participate in established activities, or meet the goals of the membership in terms of game play (with regards to our mission statement).

Section I: Guidelines

Officers will follow the guidelines for recruitment as stated in the Blizzard EULA for World of Warcraft (i.e. if deemed necessary they will use the Guild Recruitment channel, not the City Trade or General Channels).

While we accept players from other guilds, we do not actively court (or “ninja”) players from other guilds. If a player wishes to transfer from another guild to ours, it is the responsibility of the officer rank to confer with the leadership of the player’s current guild to ensure there are no hard feelings or misunderstandings about the transfer. The new recruit must still follow the progression matrix for this guild regardless of their rank in their former guild.

It is the responsibility of the officers to review applications for membership in a timely fashion, and to indoctrinate new recruits as seamlessly as possible.

Section II: Former Members.

Guild members who decide to leave Signum Incognitus (under cordial terms) are not actively sought after to return. They are, however, allowed to re-apply in the future under the same rank progression system as designated in the charter. A majority vote by the Council is required for full re-instatement. The process is only allowed once per player.

Guild members who are kicked from the guild are not welcome to return.

The player’s main character and all alternate characters will be removed from the guild upon termination of membership.

Section III: Population (cap)

Active recruitment for membership will be capped at 30 active raiding accounts. This will provide the guild with enough flexibility to see endgame content while still remaining relatively small. Requests for membership after the cap has been met will be addressed on a case by case basis via the established recruitment process.

ARTICLE IV: Disciplinary Action(s)

As stated in the Code of Conduct, breaking a rule will result in a warning, demotion or being kicked out. The exact action will vary according to the situation. Being kicked out only happens with gross misconduct or multiple warnings. At minimum of two officers must agree and no single officer may disagree to remove a member from the guild (i.e. if any officer doesn’t think you should be kicked, you won’t be; and no single officer can make the decision alone).

As officers are required to confer with each other before enforcing a disciplinary action, in the interest of fairness at least one officer involved in making the decision should not have been involved or witness to the incident. So in all situations, members should have at least one advocate (so don’t go out of your way to cheese off The Council unless it really is your intention to get kicked).

Also as stated in the Code of Conduct, our guild gives 2 warnings – the third will result in a vote by the officers for removal from the guild. If a vote needs to be called more than once, it's an automatic kick. It is very rare for any of our officers to say, "Do not do this," so please take heed if they do.

ARTICLE V: Policies of Fair-play and the Distribution of Loot

Section I: Drops

SOP for guild sponsored events is to roll greed on all greens and BoE (Bind on Equip) blues/purples. All BoP (Bind on Pickup items) regardless of quality are initially passed on by all members. This gives a chance for members to discuss whether the item is an upgrade for a particular player/toon, and the item is distributed to the toon by need/usefulness, and not (complete) random chance. If more than one player/toon can use a particular drop, they should then perform a manual roll (100) with the item going to the highest roll. Please remember that one of the core tenets of this guild is that we help each out, so if you don’t get an item you feel you can use, we will either do runs for the drop until you get it, or do a different run until you have faction rep to get something equal or better (just ask – CAREFULLY – certain officers about their experiences with Molten Core and The Shadow Labyrinth). Remember – the healthiest attitude is that each member should be just as happy to see a fellow guildie get a drop as you would be if you got it yourself. After all, that same guild mate may just be the one who saves the day with their spiffy new gear while on a run where you get yours. Oh, and do kill Murmur whenever the opportunity arises. Just on principle.

Policy for Instance runs is for members once having gotten on blue or better item to pass on subsequent drops of equal quality during the same run. It’s acceptable to roll for another BoP item if the drop is a class-specific piece that no other member of the run can use.

Chests/Faction Drops: All members roll until they get one chest and/or faction item. In the case where everyone has won either one chest or faction item drop, all members may roll again, with highest roll winning the item.

Section II: Event Preparation

Before participating in an event (whether it be a guild-event but especially allied-guild events) each player is responsible for bringing materials and supplies necessary for their class to contribute and participate effectively in the run. Examples are (but not limited to) ammunition and (appropriate pet food) for Hunters, symbols for Paladins, Ankhs for Shaman, soul shards for Warlocks, et cetera, along with being mindful of when your character has been saved to a particular instance before volunteering to participate in a run. And while “support” classes such as mages can conjure food and water, and other players of your class may have extra supplies, it is not “their job” to see to themselves and you. Please be respectful of other player’s efforts when participating in events.

Section III: Guild Bank

Members of Sodalis rank and higher may make requests from the Guild Bank(s) via the Guild Bank Request forum on the guild website. While currently there is no “[bleep!] for tat” rule with regards to repayment, it is expected that all members do, in some way, constructively contribute to the guild’s inventory so that the membership may better itself as a whole in the process of leveling in class and progression of profession.

As requests from the bank(s) are a matter of public record, making more requests than contributions will result in a warning.

AMENDMENTS:

Amendment I: Voting rights of the membership

All players who have one Sodalis-level toon in the Signum Incognitus guild are entitled to one vote on matters that affect the entire guild (such as server moves). Calls for votes will be done by referendum of the Dolus Umbrae (i.e. the membership can post on the site forums for the officers to call a vote – if the majority of the officers agree for an open vote on a matter then one will be held).

Amendment II: Replacement of the Magus/Magistra

In the event that the Guild Leader is no longer able to perform his or her duties as specified by the charter, the Dolus Umbrae will hold a referendum to select a new Guild Leader. The Magus/Magistra should be able to interact with the guild on a (minimum) weekly basis to handle issues such as bank requests, site content, and event management (even if the Guild Leader cannot participate in those events).

Amendment III: Group Etiquette

Section I: Ventrilo Etiquette

Because we in the TSGA are all friendly with one another, and because we all have each other’s vent info – there has been a certain degree of “vent surfing” going on by folks in member guilds. Vent surfing is when you sign yourself onto another guild’s Ventrilo server and into channels where you see people you know, without being invited to do so. This is considered bad etiquette. When you “just pop on” to another’s Ventrilo without invitation, you have no idea what you might be pushing yourself into. As we in SI have been the recipient of this behavior, we can attest to how disruptive it can be. If any member indulges in this behavior it will result in a warning.

Section II: Raid Ventrilo Etiquette

Remember that when using Ventrilo, each member/player is in a voice channel with anywhere from four to forty other people – some of whom may be underage. So the following vent rules apply to everyone:

NO absolutely no F words (or any of Carlin’s y words you can’t say on Television)

NO defamatory racial, ethnic, or sexual slurs, slang or humor. It’s not funny – and not welcome.

If you want to communicate about your build, your spells, or things that pertain just to you, try to keep that

to whispers. Please remember, you’re not just talking to one person, you’re talking to several. Group related chatter is fine to a point, but if you’re looking for tips and tricks, try to keep those to whispers or /ra chat.

If you expect others to listen to you, please do not interrupt when others are speaking.

Ventrilo is for listening to instruction, especially on new fights. It is perfectly reasonable to ask a question relating to the instructions given. As a matter of fact, you should. But when it comes time to listen please refocus your attention on the instructions given. It wastes everyone’s time to have to repeat the full instructions because someone wasn’t paying attention.

Violation of established etiquette will result in a warning.