AoRG is a benevolent dictatorship governed by a President and administered by a high council called the Chancellory. 

 Chancellory members are allowed to vote on issues.  The voting process is not valid in the absence of the President and Vice-president unless otherwise directed by them.   

The goal of the Association of Rhydin Guilds (AoRG) is to provide compatibility in role-play through a system of rules which are adhered to by all who hold forum membership.  The necessity for a Forum is orderly play that would otherwise be too inconsistent to manage.  

 The following Charter is designed to expostulate the basics of what is required of those within the Association. 
(All Material(s) submitted to the forum for its use becomes the property of AoRG in the spirit of unity of and the improvement or further development of the Roleplaying Community it provides.) 

The spirit of the forum mandates will be upheld at all times. 
Attempted use of "loopholes" will not be tolerated.  Something not specifically mandated does not mean it is allowable and any contested matters will be evaluated and ruled upon by the Chancellory on a case-by-case basis.  Decisions will be final.  

AoRG ensures a voice through the sharing of meeting minutes in the newsletter following each Chancellory meeting and by soliciting the opinions of its members on various issues. These minutes will be inserted into the newsletter on the Monday following the Chancellory meeting.

While AoRG provides the basic structure for guilds in the form of laws and mandates, the internal structure of individual guilds is their business solely and the forum will not interfere with internal guild affairs. 

I. Forum Structure The forum is composed of member guilds whose status is defined by earned wealth. 

 Any guild except Interns may submit a proposal but the Chancellory alone may accept or decline the proposal following evaluation  based on what is useful and/or beneficial to AoRG as a whole. 

Guild Structure Within AoRG 

(Guilds seeking possible entrance into the AoRG forum, please seen the "Join" page on the portal. Thank you)

Master Guilds  

Master Guilds are those whose earned wealth totals  2000 + Victory Points (VP) or more.  Master Guilds may mentor guilds in Intern Status and submit proposals to the Forum and Chancellory.  

Intermediate Guilds 

Intermediate Guilds are those whose earned wealth totals 1000 Victory Points up to 2000 Victory Points.  Intermediate Guilds may submit proposals to the Forum and Chancellory.  

Probationary Guilds

Those guilds whose activity level has dropped below the minimun required earnings for a guild at their status are at risk of being dropped from AoRG if the activity and earnings do not improve for two consecutive Accounting Periods. 

Intern Guilds 

Intern Guilds, newly admitted to AoRG, are those whose earned wealth is less than 1000 Victory Points.   They must work with a mentor guild until they have earned 1000 VP.  An Intern guild may be removed at any time.   

II. Guild Activity within the Forum  

Guild activity will be monitored through the utilization of the Victory Point [VP] System.  Guild status is determined by the amount of VPs  earned within six months and the VPs will be maintained by the Accounting Chancellor for, and displayed with, the Guild's information within the AoRG Portal. Please refer to the Accounting section on the AoRG Portal. (AoRG ) 

Inactivity or Low Activity  

Any guild that has failed to earn at least 200 VP in an Accounting Period is placed on Probation. In the event that the guild fails to earn over 200 VP in the following Accounting period, the guild will be dismissed from AoRG. (A dismissed guild may reapply at any time)

Guild Requirements and Guild Rosters

1.  A current Guild Roster must be submitted to the President, Vice President and Chief of Staff, along with the current Accounting Chancellors between the first and the third day of every month for verification of membership.
2.  Each Month the President shall choose two guilds within the Forum which will be audited to ensure they are in compliance with AoRG regulations. The following will be checked:
a.  A minimum of ten [10] legitimate members within the Guild to maintain membership and AoRG must be in every member profile for them to count towards requirement. 
b.  Guild Acronym or Name and AoRG Dice in profile.
c.   It must be detectable to the eye.  AoRG only has to be listed once .  

(We do admire and appreciate the  creativity of life scroll design but some aspects of those designs make it nearly impossible to locate the pertinent forum information for purposes of verification.  We request, therefore, you locate your forum information in an easy-to-see  place within your life scroll.  At the bottom of the primary page would be one example.)

UniRegs and Registration Requirements

III.  Censures / Reprimands

A.  Noncompliance1.  Failure to comply with AoRG Mandates may result in one of the following penalties should you not adhere to your first warning on the matter.
a.  A VP fine, set by the President and Vice-president.
b.  Expulsion from the Association. (An expelled guild may reapply after 3 months)

B.  Misconduct1.  Anyone who engages in underhanded dealings within Forum Events or Wars [dealings that are not part of the storyline], or in any situation maliciously maligns their fellow Associates will be dealt with accordingly so long as it is proven sufficiently to the President and Vice-president.  Penalties may be applied as follows:
a.  A VP fine, set by the President and Vice-president.
b.  Expulsion from the Association.  (An expelled guild may reapply after 6 months.)

C.  Treason Guilds or individuals that knowingly coerce, hinder, commit subterfuge, or otherwise utilize surreptitious methods to bring discredit to AoRG will be expelled and exiled - never to return to the AoRG.

D.  Definition of Suspension and Ban
1.  Suspension.  A suspension restricts the member from engaging in forum sanctioned activities for a specified period of time.  It has no effect on guild membership and often does not affect UniRegs (UniRegs may be affected if the circumstances warrant it.)  Suspension does not affect guild rank and the suspended individual is still a member of AoRG.  When the term of the suspension is completed, all privileges and recognition of owned enhancers are returned to the member.
2.  Ban.  Serious matters such as slander of the forum, treason, extreme sexual violence, threats to  Chancellors, and any other act considered detrimental to the forum as a whole in the highest degree may result in a  Ban.  A banned individual may  join and/or remain in AoRG guilds but will not be permitted to engage in any sanctioned forum activity.  All UniRegs and enhancers are stripped from the banned member and any attempted use of those items will not be recognized as legitimate. 

IV.  Conduct

A.  Forum and other official meetings
1.  You will notice our open Forum meetings are often large (up to 47 members in a full room).  Grand Commanders are asked to assure that their members never cheapen anyones presence by running over a recognized speaker with talking, unnecessary movement or "thought" processes.  That time belongs solely to the person speaking who, like everyone else, has a valued opinion to share with us.  Please make certain your members exercise due respect for that time.
2.  If you have a question, please place [?] in the room.  If you wish to comment, please place [!] in the room.  You will promptly be added to the "queue" and called upon with it is your turn to speak.  Do not blurt out questions and comments while another is currently speaking.

 V.  Definition of an AoRG Room

Any room that does not include the name of another forum or non-AoRG guild is considered to be a legitimate AoRG room if the bolt holder is a member of AoRG. (Exceptions include Red Dragon Inn rooms, Loreil Rooms, OOC rooms and any rooms as specified within the Mandates of any given Administration.  ( AoRG )

VI.  Use of the bolt is permitted in limited situations. 

There are occasions when someone makes him/herself entirely unwelcome in an AoRG room.  The most effective means of silencing such people is the ignore dart. Use of this feature simply makes the irritant disappear so far as you are concerned.  Remember, it is impossible to insult someone, or start a fight with someone, if they refuse to fight  with you.  If everyone who objects were to utilize the ignore dart, the one attempting to start problems would soon go away, defeated.  

Any situation where the bolt is used against another AoRG member must be documented in an orb which clearly demonstrates the circumstances.  Reports to the AOL Gods (ToS) may or may not be part of the process.   The following guidelines apply. 

A. An individual who enters a room and engages in OOC harassment and/or disruption of the room may be bolted without penalty.  (Subject to documentation as stated above.)

B. On occasion there may be instances of extremes in IC harassment or activity where the room owner feels he or she has no choice but to utilize the bolt.  Should this occur and produce a complaint, the Chancellory will carefully review the orb and make a determination on the specific situation.  This will be done on a case-by-case basis. 

VII Basic Courtesies of the Realm (and Munly Considerations)

1.  Remember, we are here to role play.  This means our characters are the personae here, not ourselves.  It is often distracting to others when we insert ourselves into a dialogue within the IC setting.  Please respect those who wish to participate in character and keep OOC conversations separate from (outside of) the IC setting.  

2. The AoRG Chancellory does not involve itself in OOC disputes. Any complaints generated on the basis of OOC problems will be returned to the sender without comment or resolution. We are interested only in the personae who inhabit this realm, not the other world.

3.  While we do not govern guilds and language used, we ask that when you make an appearance in guild rooms that are not your own you remember you are a guest and will keep your language from becoming offensive to others.  A good guideline for everyone is the will of the AOL Gods regarding unacceptable behavior and language.  (http://about.aol.com/aolnetwork/aolcom_terms)

4.  We strongly advise that you set ground rules for what sorts of activities your Character is willing to participate in.  Make it clear at the beginning of any situation which might become unacceptable what you will (or will not) allow your Character to do or endure.  Many include a simple disclaimer within their life scrolls that says, "Nothing without mun consent."  And your consent is necessary.   Never, ever, do you have to accept any play that is harmful or distressing to you or your character.   AoRG will never penalize any person who declines to participate in  a storyline they have not consented to.

5. Individuals who have been subjected to OOC harassment do have the right to protect themselves by blocking the ability of others to view their presence in this realm. AoRG will not penalize this action so long as the individual does not indiscriminately block everyone from viewing their presence. Hunters and Assassins are supposed to use stealth in tracking down their target. It was once the norm for them to have to actually "hunt" for their whereabouts. We shall return to that practice when need be.

6.  Mail storms are not allowed in AoRG.  Those who perpetuate them  will be subject to possible expulsion.  

(7.  Munly Threats.  In the event another mun threatens you (or anyone) with personal bodily harm we strongly recommend you notify AOL immediately and notify the proper authorities where you reside.  Always retain full documentation of such instances as evidence.  Problems such as inappropriate language or behaviors may be reported to AOL at the discretion of the mun.)

(Revision 08.26.07)