Code Of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Section One:
ENCOURAGED ACTIVITIES AND RULES.

The foundation of Grey Hawke’s Code of Conduct is made up of two different concepts. To establish a common mind set, it is important for all the members to understand the difference between things that are encouraged and rules. This is to set a standard for the guild as a whole.

Section Two:
AGREE AND COMMIT

Though this Code of Conduct is explicit, it is never-the-less only a tool and is always open for interpretation by the Guild Leader and the Officers. At no time shall the Code of Conduct be used as a weapon against the Guild Leader or the Officers in attempt for an individual to undermine the guild as a whole. Grey Hawke is not a strong dictatorship, but does have a solid leadership structure and though members might see flaws within this structure, membership is in itself an acceptance to follow its standards. In addition, the code of conduct will change with Grey Hawke. It is a living document that will reflect the beliefs of the guild, which change as time goes on.

ENCOURAGED: These are behaviors, which reflect well on a given member, and do pride to the overall guild. Things that are encouraged are not expected from the member, but overly doing the opposite can make a member poorly reviewed by the officers and possibly removed.

Example: It is encouraged for members to give items to the guild instead of selling or trading them to the general public. Knowing that sometimes people need funds that the guild can not provide, have extreme expenditures such as working on a trade, or have the opportunity to make a beneficial trade it is completely understandable to dispose of items that one has acquired in the fashion they deem best. Now if a person is always getting nice items and selling them, taking from the guild and not giving in return then the leadership can convene on whether that person is “Grey Hawke” quality and possibly have them removed.

Example: It is encouraged that an officer performs an active role in guild matters as deemed necessary by the Guild Leader (being active does not necessarily mean the member must be publicly vocal). Extreme inactivity or inability to participate in guild matters may warrant a request to step down from the office.
RULES: Rules are things that are grounds for removal from the guild. Generally the Guild Leader would be removing a person for a breach of a rule or has the right to either bring in the officers for review of the breach or give a warning. Rules broken can damage the guild’s reputation and/or cause overall loss of trust and unity within the guild.

Example: It is a rule that everyone treat each other with respect. A loss of temper and words exchanged during a raid where things go bad is not acceptable and undermines the continuity of the guild.

Example: It is a rule that one acts with honesty and integrity with all other members or non-members regardless of rank. To loot an item on a raid without permission is a breach of this rule.

Section Three:
Reasons for a Code of Conduct

Being that Grey Hawke is made up of many diverse players of different ages, mindsets and customs, there are certain guidelines that need to be in place within the guild to make sure that people are not made to feel uncomfortable in the game.
Though there are different ranks and responsibilities that characters hold within Grey Hawke, a player should never be in a position of being made to feel inferior to another player.
Since Grey Hawke will be dealing with many other guilds, it is important to achieve and maintain a good rapport and reputation.
A Code of Conduct promotes trust and unity within a set of people.

Section Four:
Violation of the Code of Conduct

Members violating this Code of Conduct are subject to discipline from the officers. Most commonly, members will not be subject to immediate discipline without discussion between officers. Its is the intention of the officers not to make rash decisions and to check with our peers before exacting discipline upon someone. Exceptions may occur, but as a matter of policy members will be warned about their actions.

Discipline will range from a warning, a request to leave an event, loot probation of various lengths and ultimately guild removal. Grey Hawke looks upon guild removal as the final, regrettable solution to extreme or repeated violation of the Code of Conduct.

This Code of Conduct is not definitive and all-inclusive. Every possible action will not be detailed here. Members are expected to understand not only the specific rules and examples here, but also the intention of this Code Of Conduct. The intent of this Code is to encourage members to be a team or a family so that we may achieve great things together and enjoy ourselves in the game and each other's company in the process.

Section Five:
Common Decency

All members regardless of rank will not verbally degrade, abuse, or intimidate any other player in the game. (Rule)
All members regardless of rank will not ridicule or belittle any other member’s ideas. Disagreements and debates will always occur given the wide variety of views and personalities, but regardless lack respect for another’s ideas and personal attacks in attempt to win an argument is not acceptable. (Rule)
All members will always be honest and trusting to one another. A person will never intentionally “rip-off”, cheat, or steal a person’s possessions through game bugs, lies, misdirection, etc. (Rule).
No member is expected to drop what they are doing to aid another member at a camping site, by buffing them with spells, or teleporting them about the lands. Regardless though, if help is asked and can not be given for whatever reason, then an answer explaining why shall be returned. Grey Hawke is a family and shall not intentionally ignore one another, but the requestor also needs to take into account that the person they are asking for help from might be “afk” or simply missed their tells. Always assume good intent. (Encouraged).

Section Six:
Net Decency

All members will refrain from “Spamming” on any net whether it is the guild, group, OOC, auction, tells, shout, or any other channel. (Encouraged)
All members will refrain from having open arguments between one another on any channel. Take it to direct tells, but remember we are all part of the same team so do not take it too far. (Encouraged)
All members are expected to support one another’s ideals vs non-guild members within reason. (Encouraged)

Section Seven:
Hunting Etiquette

Grey Hawke does not condone intentionally KSing in any form. The protection of a camping site against other people moving in is an exception to the above. (Rule).
Members should not move into another’s camping spot without first asking permission to share in the spawn. If the other party does not feel that there is enough experience for all people then one should move on. In any case, the wishes of the original group at the site, pertaining to camp sharing, must be carried out by the secondary group. This rule reflects heavily upon rule 1. Involving KSing of a target. (Rule)
Grey Hawke does not condone the intentional “training” of critters into other groups or people. Trains happen and sometimes there is not enough time to warn others so assume good intent. A member that causes a train should never take over a spot hit by that train even if accidental for this can be perceived very poorly by the victims and can have adverse effects on the guild as a whole. (Rule)
Grey Hawke does not condone the abuse of game mechanics to hunt safely (killing critters where you can not be harmed). (Rule)
It is perfectly ok to ask other members for “buffs” when they are not actively hunting. If a member is actively hunting and you are not grouped with them they are not obligated to buff you. Just use common sense and you should not put another member and their group in danger by asking.(Encouraged)
Grey Hawke should refrain from looting other people’s critters (Grey Hawke shall not be known as scavengers). (Encouraged)

Section Eight:
Trades and Wealth Issues

Grey Hawke has no problem with personal wealth, but being that we are a family we ask all members to help out within reason by donating unneeded items to the guild for distribution to other less fortunate members. (Encouraged)
Members that choose to donate to the guild have the right to
1. Give items directly to members of their choosing
2. Place items up for lotto on the boards
3. Set up a lotto on the guild website
4. Ask an officer if there is a person in particular that needs such an item
5. Simply give to an officer to distribute.

When a member determines that they shall donate an item to the guild and has chosen a method, they must follow through with their choice instead of a last minute change of heart. (Rule)
When members group with mixed guilds it is perfectly acceptable to be in a lotto for an item that can not be used by one’s profession. On the other hand, when in pure Grey Hawke groups, the default rule shall be that loot is lottoed only between those group members that can use the item. If no profession can use the item within the group then the item shall be given to the guild for distribution. Grey Hawke groups in non-guild events can agree ahead of time to a different guideline, for example, acquiring an item for someone to use in order to trade for another item. In all cases, any rule that is not based on the default guideline must be presented to the group members prior to the hunt. (Encouraged)
It is perfectly acceptable for members to solicit for help in obtaining of an item, but never shall solicited members be hand picked based on the fact that they do not need such an item. Obvious fear of losing a lotto to another member who also needs such an item is greedy and selfish. (Rule)
Items passed down to members from other members or from the guild belong to the guild inasmuch that when said member no longer has a use for the item that said item will be returned to the guild for redistribution. This includes all items gathered in guild events. (Rule)
If a guild member gets an extremely valuable item, he/she is to pass down the item it is replacing to the guild. For example, if Johnny gets a Shield of Auras from Arch-Lich on a guild event, he is expected to pass down his Orb of the Infinite Void to the guild. To whom the item goes is Johnny’s discretion. (Rule)
Grey Hawke’s funds are in place to help all members within reason. Members should refrain from putting a strain on the Guild’s wealth by constant or extreme requests. (Encouraged)
Grey Hawke members will not participate in the selling or trading of items for real-life cash through eBay or other auction/sales websites. (Rule)
If a player is using a character other than his or her own on an event, the player may not loot any item with the character unless agreed upon by other members of the group or officers depending on the event situation. If the event is considered raid status, the player is entitled to declare attendance at the event.(Rule)

Section Nine:
Violation of Verant’s Code of Conduct

No guild member may purposefully and/or repeatedly violate any part of Verant’s code of conduct for Everquest. (Rule)

Section Ten:
Event attendance

Given the needs of the guild at a particular moment, the expectation of attendance can vary. Certain raids may be declared more important and participation may be strongly encouraged or expected to these events. Since the needs of the guild are always changing, be sure to keep up with these changes as they are declared by the Council or guild leaders.
Mandatory events are those that are deemed a guild priority where the greatest benefit to the guild will occur. Smaller events such as large encounters to assist a member in completing a quest will not always be mandatory, but there are times when the officers will mandate that it is something the guild needs to do and will require a large raid force to accomplish it in the shortest amount of time. Even in this situation where it may only benefit one guildmate, the guild must recognize that these individual rewards make the guild itself stronger.
Any member (including officers and trial members) can request to be excused from an event. This is highly discouraged from trial members and it will be rarely approved for them. In practice, it should be a rare occurrence for an officer. Members should understand that just because they request this, it may not be granted. It is the responsibility of the officers to address these requests on a case-by-case basis and approve or deny them based on the requirements of the raid. If a member notices another member is not at a raid, an officer should be contacted and not the member absent from the raid. In most cases, the officers will know the situation and in all cases it is the responsibility of the officers to address it. (Rule)

Example: We understand that faction hits can cause players to skip the attendance of an event. If a player does not want to harm the faction that the event would ruin, the players are expected to contact guild leadership and indicate their reason to stay away from this event. Members may be asked to come to the event to aid in a manner where a non-KOS person is desired.
All Grey Hawke members attending an event are encouraged to keep track of their attendance record. This aids officers when determining how to distribute class specific items, as well as determining outstanding achievement in attendance. This is not a requirement, but is encouraged since it shows how the guild can benefit most when awarding items to players. (Encouraged)
Officers have the right to question these players about any issues they may have dealing with the events. Grey Hawke is built on a strong bond of being a team player and aiding the guild regardless of the situation. If a player is found to be purposely avoiding certain raids or only showing up at raids where they may receive an item they wish to have, their record may be reviewed and they may be asked to stop attending raids until they are willing to be part of the team spirit. This ‘punishment’ is not intended to be permanent nor does it have any effect on the member’s status in the guild in any way. Nobody will be removed from Grey Hawke because of this nor will they be embarrassed by public disclosure of this type of action against a member, save whomever that person wants to tell.
The member is entitled to a chance to fully discuss the matter with any member of the Grey Hawke leadership (or anyone else he chooses, of course). In most cases, we believe that no action will be required, and that the member will understand the preference of the guild and will join the team in spirit as a result of the discussion. (Encouraged)
We understand that real life circumstances may cause an individual’s playing time to suffer, and as long as players show honesty and a willingness to be a part of the team, they will remain in good standing. (Rule)
All events will be posted at the soonest possible time of notification via the bulletin board or guild MOTD and interested participants are asked to be up to date on this information before the event begins. It is encouraged that players try to read the events section of the bulletin board before logging on to gain this information.
Visitors/Guests of Grey Hawke. All visitors/guests of Grey Hawke on all major events are bound by this Code of Conduct. Invited visitors/guests are to be treated as members of the guild for the duration of the event for which they were invited, and are bound by all of the rules set forth herein. If any member or visitor/guest violates the rules bound in the Code of Conduct, the person(s) involved may be asked to leave the event by the Officers. (Rule)

Section Eleven:
Secondary Characters

Members of Grey Hawke are permitted to have one non-primary character in the guild. However, only primary characters will be able to receive items in guild events and through the hand-down system, unless an item is not needed by any primary characters. Members may change the character they designate as their primary character, but repeated switching between characters is discouraged.

Section Twelve:
Member Responsibilities

To be considered a member in good standing and be most eligible for rewards a member has certain responsibilities to the guild. Some of these responsibilities are required and others are encouraged because they strengthen the guild.

All members are to maintain a profile of their equipment and spells and make it available to leadership. Currently the guild uses Magelo. (Rule)
All members are to maintain "wish lists". The wish lists are currently maintained at the GreyHawke Loot Tracking Site.(Rule)

Note: These lists assist leadership in determining the best candidate to be rewarded an item. They are used as a GUIDELINE not as a strict limit on who can be awarded an item. It benefits the member to have a wishlist because it allows that member to plan for themselves what items would benefit them the most. There will be situations where a member may not have an item on their wishlist and will be rewarded due to certain circumstances.

Example: Member A does not have UberItemX on their wishlist but it is awarded to them even though other members there have UberItemX on their wishlist. This situation can occur if all of the members present that have the item wishlisted have recently received rewards and Member A is overdue for a reward. Another scenario could be that the item has a strategic value to the guild to be given to a certain member (such as a "hate proc'ing" weapon).

It is the position of guild leadership that deviation from the wishlists will be the exception and not common practice when awarding items, but each member should understand that exceptions will occur.
Raids will be tracked for member attendance. These attendance lists will be posted publicly and members are to check their attendance and be sure they are counted for raid attendance. (Encouraged)

Officers will be assigned to track attendance but due to random zoning , death, link dead, etc. occurrences no tracking will be 100% accurate. Members not checking their attendance will only be potentially hurting themselves. Members indicating attendance at a raid falsely will be subject to loot probation and if it occurs repeatedly will be subject to removal.
Trial members will be posted in the Comment Cafe area of the guild forums. Members should check this forum regularly and post relevant information regarding new guild recruits in this area. (Encouraged)
GreyHawke is in competition with other guilds for raid targets. The primary method of being able to advance the guild is to engage these targets but we have to know they are available. All members are encouraged to check for raid targets at every opportunity. This also includes identifying when another guild defeats a target so that we may anticipate when it will next be available. (Encouraged)
Advancement of the guild and its members. Gaining experience and advancing to the highest level, gaining a greater number of Alternate Advancement abilities and tradeskill advancement is understood by guild leadership to be of value to the guild. The goal of the guild often involves getting membership to an area that requires quest keys or flags to enter. The more members of the guild that gain access to these areas, the more effective the guild is in these areas. Members should dedicate some time to assist other members in these areas when needed. (Encouraged)

The Guild is Your EverQuest Family.
It is understood that in a guild of this size that we have people with a wide variety of personalities and opinions. While this is something that makes us stronger, realistically conflicts will sometimes occur.Members should remember that even if at one moment a difference of opinion has arisen, in the long run their guildmates are part of their team.
1. If a conflict with another member occurs, try and keep in mind that your guildmates are part of your team and not someone you should intentionally harm with harsh words over what is often a minor incident or philisophical difference. (Expectation)
2. Much as removal from the guild is the ultimate punishment for violations of this Code of Conduct, members should know that removing themselves from the guild is a serious act. On a case-by-case basis, leadership will address self guild removal as a statement of either extreme drama for attention or an act of disloyalty to the guild. (Expectation)
3. Repeated self-removal will result in permanent guild removal. (Rule)
4. Awarding of loot is always a difficult process since Grey Hawke is a guild full of talented, well-deserving individuals. Members should remember that when an item is awarded to someone in the guild that it is an award and a benefit to all of us. Dramatic actions from a member because that member did not get a loot item or disagrees with the award decision is not acceptable behavior. Similarly, negative /tells sent of to the person receiving an item will be considered a disrespectful act against a fellow guildmate and disruptive to the morale of the guild. Members sending such tells will be subject to loot probation and guild removal for multiple violations.(Rule)

Section Thirteen:
Policy on Members Returning Following Extended Absences

Any member who "disappears" for more than three months is subject to removal from the guild at any time. "Disappears" is defined as that member not being seen by a significant number of guild members during that time, and knowledge of their whereabouts and intentions on playing EverQuest is not readily available (nobody knows what's up with the player). (This is intended to be fairly subjective.)
This kind of removal will be based on leadership decision (we'll do a officer-only vote). Class liaison and other member input may be gathered before a vote is held. (Friends should be asked, etc.)
If the former member returns after such a removal, or if a former member returns without a tag for any reason, their case will be reviewed by leadership before a new tag and admission to the board will be allowed.
Procedure for readmission is this: Re-apply on web site through a post on the public board. Leadership reviews the case. One of the following actions will be taken: A) Member is readmitted without further action. B) Member is given a "trial" membership. C) Member is denied readmission.
In the event of a "trial" membership, this is handled much like a normal trial membership. No loot for 30 days, a mentor is assigned, and the returning member is *expected* to seek GH groups and be a visible part of the community.
If the returning member fails to make a presence during their trial membership, their trial membership may be terminated. (Active participation is expected.)
(Important!) No vote is held for returning members in this process. Either they make a presence and are re-accepted into the guild, or they fail to make a presence and are denied readmission (guild tag is removed).
In the event that a member has to leave for an extended period, they can notify an officer, and they will not be removed while they are gone, unless they're gone for much longer than the stated period.

In short, a returning member must demonstrate that they are "back in the game".

Section Fourteen:

The following is encouraged behavior for all members:

GH4LIFE!