The Rules of the Order of Middle Earth

These rules are just everday common sense rules. It wont change the way people play especially those who play for fun and enjoyment.  They are nothing spectacular and most adhere to these even before reading them!  

Maturity in the Kinship

• The Order wants all members to act mature.  So please no tantrums!  We just want fun. KEEP KINCHAT CLEAN PLEASE. We are a mature kinship.  Kids are behind parents watching the screens while they play.. sometimes the children play. We dont want vulgar chat in our kin.
• You dont have to be filthy/rude/sexually explicit/ to be funny.  We dont want that.  We want kinchat to be clean and stay clean.  If it doesnt you will be warned and fortunatly removed if you continue.  You will find fun without needing to do any of this :)
• Swearing is not encouraged. If you keep doing it regularly then please stop or go elsewhere and do it.

Roleplay Policy

• We are completely roleplay friendly. We don’t force it and if you want to roleplay go ahead. If not then no problem!
• Be Courteous to all players, RPers and non-RPers alike.
• Kinship Chat is generally considered to be out-of-character (ooc). There is no need to surround your text with (( text )) to indicate ooc chat. But you can RP in kinchat no problem.
• Fellowship and Raid chat can be either ooc or ic, it is entirely up to the group as a whole. Please respect whatever the group wishes to do, especially if you come into a group late.

Chat Channels

• We encourage free speech debate and discussion apart from two areas. Racism and Underage sex talk is completely prohibited. Its not part of the terms and conditions and its not part of our kinship.  Keep it out or stay out of our kinship.
• We don’t mind talk about politics, religion, sex as long as its mature and sensible.  If we were to completely stop these.. then I could never say Gordon brown is an idiot and I could never talk about my girlfriend and that’s just silly.  Talk away.. but as soon as it starts to get offensive it will stop. We do not want members to get harrased or offended over chat.. if an officer warns you on chat that you are offending someone and you refuse to listen you will be removed.  Respect members and most of all take it OUT of /kinchat!

Inactivity

• If you plan to be inactive for a long time please try to notify us.
• All players will be removed if inactive for 3 months and who have not provided any notification (under founders discretion).

Website and Forums

• Please realize that it has taken a lot of time and money in order to provide accomadations to the guild site such as a domained website and bandwidth. Please get involved in our forums! Communicate with one another! It is vital as well that you view any pertanent information such as news, changes to the guild, etc on our website. We try to utilize the message-of-the-day in game as much as possible, but it is very limiting. Most news will be on the site only. Please try to view the website weekly. 

• Please dont sell items in kinchat.  We are not a trade channel.  You can certainly offer items for free but not for sale :)
• If you want to sell items to kin members use the Kinship Auction House (an option at the normal Auction House when you put items for auction.)  You can then say you have listed an item for sale and its at the Kin AH for a certain amount.  Anyone that wants to buy will do so!
• Dont use your own kinners for profit making :) We are a kin to help each other.

Kinship Alt Policy

• Alts are fine in the kinship. We don’t mind them.
• Having an alt can be beneficial, we encourage it.
• Delete your alts if your not going to play with them of course.
• Simply notify an officer you want to have your alt join the kinship.
• All alts should use the Kinship Note feature to indicate who their main character is, for example, "Vivasvans Alt".

Real-life Family

• Real-life is the bane of mmo’s.  We understand completely if your away due to RL situations and since we are a no pressure kinship it does not bother us.  You don’t have to come online every day or every week.  Just play when and as you can.  Of course if your going away for a long long time.. just let an officer know that’s all.

Behavior

• It is expected that all members of the kinship treat each other with respect. This is the no.1 and only main rule. You will be removed without question if you don’t adhere to this and all recruits are recruited under this notion.
• Continuous use of so-called ‘leet-speak’ or foreign languages is not encouraged, try to use (standard) English in the guild channel. Bad language on accident is understandable sometimes, but if taken to excess or if members complain about it, the offender will be asked to moderate their language. Continued excessive swearing can ultimately lead to unwanted action. Also bear in mind that our members come from different backgrounds and all ages races and sexes.
• Other kinship Members. If you need help with item trading or other dealings in the guild, feel free to ask an Officer for assistance.
• Cooperation is something the Order prides itself on. We wish this tradition to continue. It is not expected higher level characters give up too much time to help out the lower level characters, however, help is always appreciated and reciprocated whenever time permits.
• We don’t powerlevel and Higher levels cannot just drop what they are doing to help “your game”.  They must play too.  Its encouraged to use various help channels first ingame.  /LFF for grouping and /advice for anything you don’t understand.  If you get no help then ofcourse ask in kin and someone will probably answer!  If you need to get a specific quest done then im sure a higher level can organize a time and help you to do it but do not pester them.
• DO NOT CONSTANTLY BEG FOR HELP IN KIN - nobody appreciates this and you will upset members and eventually be booted. 

Attitudes

• Members will carry an attitude that is motivational, and uplifting in the general spirit of the kinship. We will not harbor nor accept members who are emotionally unstable or have attitude issues with various members.
• If you have a bad, unfriendly, high and mighty, bossy attitude.  We don’t want you!
• Character Attitudes, they may be one thing, attitudes out of character is completely another. There is a distinct difference, so please recognize this.

Partying Raids & Instances

• Agree to a Leader. The Leader is the one who organizes the run as it progresses, he or she is not a dictator, remember you are supposed to be cooperating. However, listen to the leader if his requests are reasonable.
• It is expected that all members of a party involving kinship members behave in the spirit of the game.
• Loot rules must be established before the group gets involved in the coming adventure. Examples of Looting Systems are: Need before Greed, Roll on BoE, Pass on BoP, DKP etc. Please discuss the matter extensively beforehand if there is the intention to use a “non-standard” system. (Loot rules for official guild parties will be determined by the Officers ahead of time.)
• Members are expected not to pick unnecessary fights with people from outside the Kinship. However, should the behavior of an external person in a party/raid be utterly intolerable (e.g. ninja-looting, verbal abuse), all members are encouraged to stick together, and, if appropriate, to warn the Guild as a whole against these persons.

Disputes and Arguments

• We are all human and we will, at some point, disagree with each other. All arguments should be handled discretely. This means no spamming kinships with insults, accusations etc. All arguments should be taking to private channels (email, PM's, /w, /p) as soon as possible.
• Officers work hard for the kinship and are the creators of the community in which we all enjoy. Please respect them.
• If a problem can not be resolved please bring it to the attention of the appropriate Leader or Officers as soon as possible.
• Under no circumstances are arguments to be carried on using the Forums. They will just be deleted. This causes more problems between Members and makes the kinship look bad.
• The Leader and officers have the final word in any dispute between Members.  

Sanctions

• We are not a Kinship that wants to police its members. We hope to use this section only rarely, but any breach can be reported to the Guild Master and/or Officers who will deal with the matter.
• The Officers are responsible for deciding how to deal with Members who break rules. Remember our  main rule is respect.
• Officers have complete freedom of action and can warn, fine (as reparations, in case of breaches related to money or items), demote or remove Members as they see fit. Immediate removal from the kinship will only occur in the gravest of circumstances. The breaches should be discussed by several Officers before the more severe measures of demotion or removal are taken.
• Breaches by recruits will face a lower level of tolerance than those of full members; they may be removed without consultation if their actions make clear they don't share the general kinship spirit.
• Kinship officers must ask a leader if they are not sure what action to take.  If you don’t know what action to take.. then don’t take any. Ask a leader first.

The Final Say

•  An Officer is not allowed to deviate from these rules or enforce rules not explicitly mentioned herein without consulting the Leader first who can contact the Founder for direction and advice.
• The Founder is only available to Leaders for advice.  He will not get involved in any other matters.  Only matters relating to the Leader are his concern so don’t bother him unless you’re a Leader or Officer wanting direction.  He will only advise.

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