Company of Red Dawn - Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Company of Red Dawn Kinship's Code of Conduct applies to everyone in our kinship, no exceptions and no excuses, at all times while playing the online game, using the CoRD website and forums, as well as all official and unofficial LOTRO related websites and forums.

You shall not violate any of the official LOTRO Terms of Service (ToS). If you are not familiar with the ToS, please read it fully and carefully at http://www.turbine.com/?page_id=81
You shall not do any "real-world" buying, selling or trading of any LOTRO in-game characters/toons, accounts, or items. This includes, but is not limited to, buying, selling or trading of in-game currency (gold buying/selling/farming).
You shall not spam, hack, scam, trick, cheat, verbally attack or otherwise abuse any other player of LOTRO. Issues among players are bound to arise, however, CoRD is a mature kinship, and the Officers are always here to help you with any issues you may have with another player or kinship. Please bring any issues to the attention of an officer and give as much detail as possible. If the officer cannot offer a solution, you will be referred to the Kinship Leader. If the leader cannot offer a solution, you will be referred to a GM for assistance.
You shall conduct yourself as a mature and well mannered adult/young adult when playing the online game, using the CoRD website and forums, as well as all official and unofficial LOTRO related websites and forums. Company of Red Dawn is a Kinship name that is familiar to many players online as well as offline, and it has meaning. No action by any member shall tarnish our name or what it stands for.
You shall not use any vulgar, racial, or other defamatory language for any reason. Light profanity is not prohibited, as circumstances do arise, and words do sometimes slip out.
What happens in the Kinship, stays in the Kinship! No business/issues/concerns that are discussed between any level of members in the kinship shall leave the confidential confines of the kinship without the express consent of all joining in the discussion.
All members shall be in good standing - must play on a regular basis, participate with the kinship and members, offer to help others out once in a while, attend at least one kinship meeting a month. If you will be offline for an extended period of time (more than 2 weeks) you must notify an officer of the kinship.
You shall not beg! Asking for assistance with crafting mats/quests/deeds etc. is fine, but continual and/or repeated requests will be considered begging and will not be allowed or tolerated.

Company of Red Dawn Kinship's Code of Conduct Penalties: Though we are a relatively relaxed and social kinship, the code of conduct outlined above is for everyone's benefit. A violation of any of the above will result in disciplinary actions being taken. If anyone violates codes 1, 2, or 3 listed above, the disciplinary action will be immediate removal from the kinship without the possibility of re-joining in the future. Not only will the main character be removed, but any and all alts will be removed as well.

Violation of codes 4 through 8 will meet with the following actions:

First strike - Member will be warned by in game mail by an officer of CoRD about the violation. The warning will contain as much information as is possible about the violation. This information will only be shared with the officers and the member in question.

Second strike - Member will be informed by in game mail of the violation in question and will be demoted. The in game mail will contain as much information as possible about the violation and the resulting demotion. This information will only be shared with the officers and the member in question.

Third strike - Member, and all of the member's alts, will be removed from the kinship. The member, and all of the alts, will not be allowed to re-join the kinship at any time in the future. All access to the CoRD forum will be removed. The member will receive an in game mail from an officer detailing the violation and the removal from the kinship. This information will only be shared with the officers and the member in question.

Strike removal - If a member has received one strike, 30 days of being a member in good standing will remove that strike. If a member has two strikes, 90 days of good behavior will remove both strikes.

Fellowship/Grouping Etiquette

As a member of Company of Red Dawn you may find yourself invited to fellow/group with other players from other kinships (or members of CoRD). Outlined here is the proper way to behave in such a setting.

    1. If you are not ready to begin the quest/deed/object of the fellowship/group say so before accepting the invitation! If the group does not mind waiting for you, be very quick with what you need to do to be ready. If you will not be ready within 1 minute, don't accept the invitation under any circumstances. No one wants to wait while you process ore/hides, put things up on the AH, or organize your inventory.
    2. Always be polite and say thank you to the group's leader for the invite. Before you kill anything, confirm the loot rules with the leader. If you don't need the item for your character's crafting, pass or roll greed, and if you are the leader, you should report looting rules to the group when everyone is present.
    3. Do not leave your group hanging to fight off mobs that you have aggro'd!
    4. Do not leave your group to go farm nodes/collect wood/other resources. If it is right there, and you are not being attacked, fine, but no "taking off" to "get that before someone else does". If you want to farm, do it alone, not in a group.
    5. Once you are in a fellowship/group you are committed to that group. It doesn't matter if other players call on you for help, your first and only loyalty is to the group you are with. If you are seeking help, you will not be upset if kin members who are already grouped are unable to assist you.
    6. If you happen to roll and get the "uber" drop, do not under any circumstances suddenly decide to leave the group! Just because you got the item you needed/wanted does not mean that the group is finished.
    7. Things happen and sometimes we all have to get up from our computers. However, do not suddenly "leave" and let your group hang. It just takes a second or two to type in "brb" and hit the enter key.

Kinship Structure

Company of Red Dawn Kinship is composed of the following structure: Leader, Second-in-Command, Officers, Members, Recruits. All opinions are welcomed and important as this is not a "dictatorship", everyone's opinion helps to shape this kinship. However, the final say in all matters concerning the kinship will rest with the leader, second-in-command and the officers.

Membership Levels

Company of Red Dawn Kinship currently has the following membership levels: Leader, Second-in-Command, Officer, Member, Recruit. All new invitees enter at the recruit level and will remain there until they have played/grouped with an officer or a member in good standing. Members will be promoted to Officer status on an as needed basis by either volunteering for an officer position that has come open and/or by popular vote of all kinship members present. Officers and Members can be demoted as stated in the Code of Conduct Penalties section above. As positions and titles/rankings are expanded on by Turbine/LOTRO, this breakdown will be revised.

Purpose of Kinship

Company of Red Dawn is a casual, social kinship. All of the above has been voted on and accepted to both protect all members, as well as to ensure that everyone can fully enjoy the game and all it has to offer.

This document was voted on and passed during the 2-23-08 kinship meeting. For more information or for assistance with creating a similar document for your kinship, please contact either Kirvay or Aereanor in game.

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