Acceptable Behavior and Harassment

“A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot...”

— Robert A. Heinlein, Friday

1. First and foremost, remember that you represent The Forgers of Orr. Your behavior is a reflection on the guild and its members. All members should act accordingly. All guild members are expected to conduct themselves as adults, and to remember that this is just a game. Behaving any other way is bad for all guild members, and is cause for removal.
2. All guild members are expected to maintain courteous behavior when dealing with others in the game. This includes fellow guild members, other players, and even our enemies. Defamatory remarks will not be tolerated within, or without, the guild. This includes slurs regarding race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.
3. Never take disagreements with other guild members into general chat. Always try to work the problem out together, or within the guild. If you require assistance, please speak with a member of the High Council.
4. Never spam general chat channels (e.g., "say", map, team, or guild chat). This includes both the spamming of text and of emotes ("/laugh", "/point", "/me", "/em", etc). This not only makes you look bad, it also makes the guild look bad, and is a fast way to get yourself, and other guild members, put on the ignore lists of others. This is especially important when promoting the guild by asking for new members. With regard to recruiting, the general rule is not to send a message to the general chat channel more than once every five minutes.
5. Be cautious with your language. Moderate swearing is fine in guild, group and voice chat, however, it should be curtailed in public forums (e.g., the general chat channel, team chat, map chat, squad chat). Also, be mindful of the ages and temperaments of other guild and group members before swearing.
6. Never post defamatory remarks about fellow guild members in public forums (e.g., the official Guild Wars 2 forums, our guild's forums, or any other forums). This will result in automatic dismissal from the guild. If you have a disagreement with another member, attempt to settle it with that person, or appeal to a member of the High Council for help.
7. All guild members should refrain from cheating, hacking, or exploiting. This will result in your removal from the guild and a report being sent to ArenaNet. Ruining the game for other guild members, and players in general, will not be tolerated.
8. Begging will not be tolerated, whether within the guild or in public chat channels. This reflects poorly on the guild, annoys other players, and tends to get you put on the ignore lists of others. Also, remember that another guild member being a higher level than you does not necessarily mean that they are always able to help you. Use common sense when asking for something. If money is being requested, you are obviously more likely to get a loan from a friend who knows you. If you are new to the guild, it is probably best that you wait a while before asking for money from other members, unless you know them well.
9. Guild members may not recruit for another guild, whether the guild already exists or will be created in the future, unless first given permission by our guild's High Council.

Guild Participation and Use of This Web Site

1. All guild members are expected to abide by the Terms of Service for this web site.
2. All members are expected to create a user account on this web site and keep their personal profile current (specifically, character profiles should be created for each character a member owns). Guild communications are posted on this site, and we want a group of people serious about being in the guild. This does not mean that you have to visit the web site on a daily basis, but a general rule is that you visit at least once per week to see what's going on. Only an email address is required when creating a user account. You can get one at Gmail.com or Outlook.com, if you do not already have one. We also have RSS feeds of all the web site content, and you can subscribe to email notifications for various content types by clicking the "Subscriptions" tab on your user account. It is strongly encouraged that you subscribe to guild announcements and be emailed each time we post a new one. Simply put: We make it easy to stay informed, so please do so.
3. All guild members are expected to be active in our forums, especially new guild members. Post questions, answer the questions of others, submit news stories, make suggestions, etc. Be active in the guild.
4. Commanders (those members with the Commander's Compendium) must be logged onto our server's private voice chat server when they activate their commander tags within World vs World. Please see the Voice Chat Server section of our rules for details.

Grouping with Others

1. Never leave a group or go AFK without telling the other group members first. This is especially important during dungeon runs and raids, where the group leader may need to instruct others to wait for your return, or replace you (if you are not going to return).
2. If you sign up for a scheduled event, please make every attempt to be there. We understand that things in the real world will come up. When this happens, please post a comment to the scheduled event stating that you cannot make it, and remove yourself from the list of those who signed up. Please do not simply remove yourself from the event, or (worse) leave yourself in "attending" status. Saying you will attend events, and consistently not showing up, is a fast way to have others ignore you and quickly replace you in groups for future events that you may actually plan on attending.

Disciplinary Actions

Violations of the rules will be addressed immediately by the High Council. If a High Councillor is present, please bring the issue to their attention and provide them with all the information you have (e.g., screenshots). If a High Councillor is not present, please address a guild member privately if you believe them to be in violation of any rules. Do not make a public scene, either in the guild channel or (worse) on a public chat channel. A simple statement or request to a fellow guild member should be sufficient to resolve any differences. If this does not prove sufficient, please record all events and present the information to a High Councillor as soon as one becomes available. You will be given that High Councillor's email address, if necessary, so you can forward the information you have collected when you contact him or her.

If a public spectacle is involved, the member will be asked to limit his or her discussion to private messages (e.g., whispers) with the High Councillor or the other party involved. If the member continues to disrupt the guild, the nature of the infraction will be brought before the High Council and demotion or removal from the guild will be considered. We understand that everyone can become upset with other members from time to time, however, we expect members to be capable of controlling themselves when asked to do so by another guild member.

Inactivity, Representation, and Removal from the Guild

Representation

All guild members are expected to represent the guild. Members who do not represent the guild for prolonged periods of time will be removed. The exceptions to this rule are:

1. When you are temporarily representing your own one-person guild for the purpose of managing a larger, personal bank.
2. When you are temporarily representing another guild approved by the High Council for Forgers of Orr guild-related activities.

Inactivity

Guild members who do not play their characters for prolonged periods of time will be removed from the guild. If you will be inactive for a period of time, it is best to let a High Councillor know first. You can use the in-game mail system or our contact form to let someone know.

If you are removed from the guild for inactivity, and you return to the game at a later date, you may request that you be invited back into the guild. You will, however, start out at our lowest rank. Promotion to another rank is at the discretion of the High Council.

The High Council

The High Council shall consist of seven members ("High Councillors") except when there are vacancies. All other councils report into the High Council, including the War Council and the Privy Council (see: Guild Structure). Each High Council member shall have one vote of equal value.

All major guild-related decisions shall be put to a vote of the High Council. A measure is considered approved when it receives a simple majority (50% plus one vote) of High Council member ("High Councillor") votes in its favor. Voting on major decisions will be conducted on the web site using a polling system. Each High Council poll will remain open for voting for no less than two days. Minor decisions may be approved either via voice vote during regular or emergency High Council meetings or via the polling system.

For more information, please see: Guild Structure

The Privy Council

The Privy Council is responsible for human resource management, including recruitment and retention of members and other member-related issues, event organization (e.g., PvP tournaments and player vs environment events), guild finance (see the Guild Finances section below), and information technology management (e.g., the guild's web site and any voice chat or related technology as it pertains to our guild).

For more information, please see: Guild Structure

The War Council

The War Council is responsible for the management of World vs World gameplay.

Some World vs World commanders (i.e., those with the Commander's Compendium) are members of the War Council. Appointment of new members to the War Council will be voted on and approved by members of the High Council. Those commanders who are appointed to the War Council will be given the guild rank of "War Councillor". This rank exists only to grant War Council members the ability to capture objectives (supply camps, towers, keeps, etc) during World vs World gameplay.

Note that those commanders who are on the High Council will be given the official guild rank of "High Councillor", along with the additional rights and responsibilities of a High Council member.

For more information, please see: Guild Structure

Commanders (those members with the Commander's Compendium) must be logged into the voice chat server when they activate their commander tags within World vs World. Please see the Voice Chat Server section of our rules for details.

The PvP Champion Rank

The PvP Champion in-game guild rank is assigned to the winner of our guild's PvP tournament. This tournament is held from time to time, and may or may not be on a recurring schedule. This rank will be assigned to the winner of the tournament for thirty (30) days after the tournament is held. After 30 days, the winner will be reassigned the rank they held prior to receiving the PvP Champion rank, whether we have another tournament winner after 30 days or not.

This rank will be modified each time it is assigned to a new tournament winner. It will be given the same permissions of the rank the winner previously had (i.e., if they were/are a war councillor, the PvP Champion rank will be modified to have the same permissions as the War Councillor rank while the winner has the PvP Champion rank). This will allow the member to have the PvP Champion rank without giving up their guild permissions.

This rank will be placed just below the rank the winner previously held in the guild ranks hierarchy (i.e., if the winner previously had the War Councillor rank, the PvP Champion Rank will be moved so that it is just below the War Councillor rank). This is a security precaution and will prevent members with the PvP rank from removing guild members they should not be able to remove.

This rank will be assigned to only one person at a time. In the event of a PvP tournament tie, the tie must be broken.

Inviting New Members

When inviting new members, please send them the "Guild Welcome" mail message via in-game mail (see: Recruitment) and ask them to visit the web site and create an account.

Guild Finances

Guild finances are managed by the guild's Exchequer (see: Privy Council). The guild bank consists of three vaults.

1. "Guild Stash" (Guild Storage): All members may deposit food into this vault. All members may withdraw items. Members are expected to take only what they need and leave enough for others.
2. "Treasure Trove" (Guild Operations Fund): All members may deposit items and gold into this vault, but are unable to withdraw. All gold donations should be deposited into this vault. Items deposited into this vault may be converted to gold and used to fund approved guild activities, such a WvW siege purchases, contributions for funding the purchase of Commander's Compendiums ("commander tags") for members, guild events, etc.
3. "Deep Cave" (Guild Operations Fund): All members may deposit items and gold into this vault, but are unable to withdraw. Items deposited into this vault may be converted to gold and used to fund approved guild activities, such a WvW siege purchases, contributions for funding the purchase of Commander's Compendiums ("commander tags") for members, guild events, etc.

Note that all donations to the Guild Operational Fund vaults (Treasure Trove and Deep Cave) are tracked on our Operational Fund sheet.

For more information and guild bank screenshots, please see the Guild Bank page in our Knowledge Base.

Voice Chat Server

Our server maintains a TeamSpeak server in order to allow members to voice-chat with one another (see the voice page for access information).

General Rules

If you are using the voice server for general chat, and are not engaged in game-related activities, and others who are engaged in game-related activities need access, you may be asked to sign off of the voice server in order to allow them to use it. We have plenty of ports on the server, so this should not be a problem, but please understand that game-related activities do take priority over simply using the server to chat with one another.

Rules regarding player behavior on the voice server are similar to the general guild rules. Please be courteous to one another, and try to keep the swearing to a minimum. Simply put: know your audience.

Do not fight in open chat on the voice server. Take all arguments into private, game-based text chat or another appropriate voice chat channel where only those who are participating in the current discussion are present. Do not disturb others with your personal arguments. Take them into a more private setting and settle them in a courteous manner with those involved. Others who are using the voice server do not need to hear people fighting with one another, and it can ruin their ability to concentrate on playing the game and accomplishing their goals.

Commanders

The Forgers of Orr commanders (those members with the Commander's Compendium) must be logged into our server's private voice chat server when they activate their commander tags within World vs World. This facilitates better communication among guild members and encourages all members to log onto voice chat. There are no exceptions to this policy. Any commander who is unable to log onto voice chat and communicate with our members will be asked to deactivate their commander tag until they are able. This rule will go into effect on 10 July 2013.

Accessing the Voice Server

Our server's voice chat server is a private server with access granted to all residents of Crystal Desert. While guests are allowed from time to time, their approval is at the discretion of the voice chat server's administrators. Residents of the two servers currently matched against Crystal Desert in World vs World are typically not allowed on our voice chat server.

Please join an appropriate channel when you join voice chat. Each guild of ten or more members has its own channel on the server, including our guild. Guilds leaders may also choose to create subchannels under their main channel. Our guild maintains several channels for different types of game play, and you are free to join them and chat with others. When joining another guild's channel, please remember that you are a guest of that guild and act accordingly. If you are asked to leave another guild's channel, please do so immediately. Each guild is entitled to determine who may and may not join their channel(s).

To learn how to join the Crystal Desert TeamSpeak server, please see our Voice page.

Amendments to These Rules

In the event that these rules require amending, a guild announcement will be posted in order to allow all members to participate in the discussion. Rules are not amended without full participation by all parties interested in taking part in the discussion. The initial discussion for a change in rules can be started by any member in one of the appropriate guild forums. If enough people are interested in amending the rules, an announcement will created asking for the opinions, suggestions, and concerns of all members.

The Forgers of Orr guild is run as democratically as possible, but only those members who are registered at this web site, and who participate in the discussion, will have their opinions considered. Members may choose not to participate in a discussion that will result in an amendment to these rules, but all members are required to abide by all rules agreed upon by the guild.

A member's participation in the guild, and adherence to these rules, will be taken into account when he or she voices a concern or opinion. Those members who choose to participate will play a larger role in the guild.

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