Companions of the Realms Charter of Membership

 

Mission Statement

Crusaders of the Realms is fundamentally based on the principle of friendship, comradery, and helping one another. These three principles are the guiding force for all decisions made concerning the guild. While we are recognized as a Good Alignment guild within the gaming community, our main and primary focus is to have fun and offer open ended friendship to all who wish to join us. All other aspects of a game are secondary behind these three simple ideals

Members of this guild are expected to always abide by the standards set forth in the mission statement. Members will not knowingly participate in any activity that is considered a direct contrast to the standards and ideals of the guild. This includes activities such as the deliberate modification of their game software, the excessive use of foul language, and any other action that the guild considers unacceptable. Violation of any of these may lead to the loss of your guild membership.

PvP with non-members of this guild that are of a GOOD ethic alignment is not appropriate. PvP against a fellow guild member is grounds for expulsion from the guild.

The two exceptions to these rules are:

PvP Training (live classes on the art of PvP)

PvP Practice (mutual agreement to PvP)

If a member receives any call for help, and they are in a position to do so, assistance is strongly encouraged. (If a member can not physically provide help, then please provide aid in locating someone who can). Members are encouraged to provide aid to any relatively inexperienced and/or defenseless players by escorting them through hostile territory. Guild members should offer these services without expecting payment.

Guild Structure

Council Elders
The Elder Council is made up of 2 representatives per Official Game chapter (should there be multiple chapters with in one game the number of Elders will stay at 2 for that Game). The number of Elders will vary from time to time based on the make up of the guild and what games they are active in. An Elder Position is not transferable (IE: an Elder who leaves the game they are representing also leaves his/her position on the elder council). The Elder Council is not the public figure head of the guild and do not take part in the day to day running of the guild. The Elder council however are the only body allowed to put forth to the membership a vote regarding charter changes (as detailed below under the topic charter). The council also holds the right to remove any officer from their position in the guild if after a majority vote they find that officer to not be acting in the best interests of the guild. The Elder council is a safety net put in place to protect the guild standards and ideals. The Elder council holds final say on any topic pertaining to the guild with the exception of charter changes which must be brought before the general membership for approval as well.

Only members who have served a full term in an officer position (as listed below) are eligible to become elders. Elders will hold their position until they either resign position or leave the game they are representing. New Elders will be appointed by the remaining Elder council. Each official game must be represented by two elders to ensure any decision made will reflect the guild as a whole and not any one game.

Guild Leader
Overall speaker and figurehead for the guild.  The GM supervises and runs the daily guild-wide business and coordinates with other officers.  The GM oversees the AGMs to ensure that their duties are being performed to satisfaction.  The GM may be removed from office by a majority no-confidence vote of the voting members as described under “Matters of Substance” or by the Elder Council. The GM can not create guild policy. In times were direct action is needed, the GM does hold the authorization to “temporarily suspend” a member until the Elder Council has been notified in full, at which time the Elder Council will deal with any disciplinary actions. Should the GM ever have to use this authority, he/she  must contact the Elder Council via E-mail with in the next 24 hours.

Each Chapter will also have 1 Assistant Guild Leader (AGM) each. The AGMs will be appointed by the 2 Elders of that particular game.  

Assistant Guild Leader
The AGM will over see the running of the guild in his/her specific chapter. It is required that any person who accepts this role understands that it is their job to always be available to the membership of that game. They will meet and greet, in person, each new member of the game chapter; they will be active in both non-PvP and the PvP settings. The AGM will set the example for all other members to follow. The AGM will also be in constant contact (via boards, e-mail, ICQ. etc) with the GM advising them on all topics/concerns regarding their specific chapter.

Each Chapter will also have the following Officer positions as appointed by the Agm of the chapter and approved by the GM. 

 

Sage
The Sage is the person who sets up the Non PvP events. Like the AGM the Sage must be active in the non PvP atmosphere. Like the AGM this is a very active position and a member interested in doing it must be willing to supply the time needed to fulfill this position. Unlike the Justiciar below this position is not limited to just one person and multiple people may hold this position when appointed based on individual game needs. 

 

Justiciar
Justiciar is the person who sets up the PvP events. Like the AGM the Justiciar must be active in the PvP atmosphere. The Justiciar will have 2 to 4 Royal Knights¿ appointed to help him/her in event co ordination. Like the AGM this is a very active position and a member interested in doing it must be willing to supply the time needed to fulfill this position. 

 

Royal Knights
These will be helpers to the Justiciar. Their duties will be to help co-ordinate events with in the PvP area of game. They will supply ideas to the Justiciar and instruct any member seeking help the best they can in aspects of the PvP game. The Royal Knights are not the Justiciar and there for they are required to have a presence in the game but ultimately the Justiciar should be the person most look to for guidance. Royal Knights are strictly support to better enable the Justiciar to perform his/her duties. 

 

Historian
Member who offers his/her time to maintain the web page. As the title suggests a Historian may NEVER remove guild history, writings, pictures, etc with out the express permission of the Elder Council. The history of the guild and the works by previous/present members are something we treasure very much and add an environment to a site that flash and sizzle will never replace

Items that need to be resolved that pertain to the running or policy of the guild are to be decided by the Guild Master or a designated appointee in charge of the particular function with which an issue is concerned. Decisions made by officers can be vetoed by the Guild Master. The Guild Master and officers are only empowered to quote guild and charter policies, should the concern be regarding changing written policy if must be elevated to the Elder Council.

Any member (officer or otherwise) who has concerns or disagrees with a guild leader decision may petition the guild leader for an officer meeting to discuss and vote on the matter.  In order to have a meeting request granted the petitioner must show good cause and member support for further discussion on the matter. In order to veto the guild leaders original decision the attending officers must vote 75% in favor of the overturning the decision.  
Meetings and votes concerning chapter issues will be attended by all officers from that specific chapter.  

Recruiting By-Laws

Members are recruited in game, they are directed to the web site to fill out a application. A recruit needs three sponsors to become a member of Crusaders of the Realms. Should any member feel the recruit should not be apart of the guild he/she may veto the application. The member however must show due case in vetoing the application when vetoing it. The reasons for vetoing it must pertain to the guild or impact the guild in some way. Vetoing an application for personal reasons or politics that have nothing to do with the guild, its membership, or its charter will not be recognized as valid. 

 

Addendum: Application Time Limit
From the time a recruit's Application is posted in the Applicant Section of the Chapter to which the recruit is applying there will be a 60 day time limit for the recruit to obtain the necessary three sponsors. If three sponsors have not been obtained within 45 days from the Application having been posted the Chapter AGM will then send email to the recruit stating that 15 days remain for them to obtain such sponsorship to become a member of the Crusadersof the Realms. If three sponsors have not been obtained by the 60th day then the Chapter AGM will send email to the recruit stating that their application has not received the three sponsors required to join the Crusaders of the Realms and the Application has been removed from further consideration for membership in Crusaders of the Realms but they may reapply if they so desire."
Should the Elder Council ever have to take action against a member, the ruling must always be consistent with the following:

1. speaking
2. removal of rank (in case of officer) or probation, or both.

Removal from guild. It is not the desire to ever single anyone out to have actions taken against them, to this end we feel the best course is to always give them 2 chances before using the ultimate choose. Any officer that does have action taken against (depending on severity) will have their officer position stripped from them prior to any other actions. In extreme situations the Council does have the right to bypass stages 1 & 2 and dismiss any member/officer from the guild.

Although it is very rare, if any member violates Guild Policy or participates in activities forbidden in the "Conduct of the Members" section in these by-laws, it will be grounds for disciplinary action or expulsion from the guild. Should this occur, the senior officers from that member's chapter and the Guild Master will meet for the purpose of considering what action to take. The accused member will be given the chance to state his/her own case, just as the injured party will be given the chance to bring charges against the accused. The Guild Master has the authority to, if deemed necessary, temporarily suspend the member while bringing the case to the attention of the Elder Council. Only the Elder Council may dismiss a member from the guild.

While times change and games change, we feel it is very important that the ideal of the charter continue on. For this reasons charter changes may only happen when 2 things happen.

1. The elder council vote and 80% of them are in favor of the proposed change.
2. The proposed change is then taken to the general membership for approval, 75% of the voting membership (IE:75% of the members who voted) must vote in favor of the change for the charter change to become active. While a lengthy process to have change happen this ensures that the ideals set forth and the basic common reason for the guild can never be changed. Rules may be changed but what the guild stands for will stay intact.

Misconduct Empowering Members Guild Officers Elected Leaders

Elected officer positions consist of the GM position.  This officer is elected at the end of the current officer's term or at such time when a position becomes vacant.

Game Chapter Closures

The Elder Council will have final say on if a game should or should not be recognized as an official Chapter of Crusaders of the Realms. However once a chapter has gained official membership into the guild, no person has the power or authority to close that chapter unless there is 0 members left playing with in that game world. Any member declaring a chapter dead or in any way belittling that Chapter, while there is still one or more active members, shall face immediate suspension while the process detailed under "Misconduct" is handled. Should a Game Chapter ever lose all its membership, the Elder Council will make the decision on if to close that chapter or not. The existing membership of the guild will be notified via a post by the Elder Council of their decision.