These are not necessarily in order ....
1. No politics, religion, or other high-emotion topics!
Topics such as religion, politics, ethnicity, abortion, wars, sexuality, sexual orientation, and other high-emotion subjects should be kept to private communications between friends. Do not post this information in the guild forum or discuss them in game or in Ventrilo. You never know who will become deeply offended over your discussion so it’s best to leave it out of the game.
There are many chat rooms on the internet that are free for you to express your opinions where the rest of us don’t have to go unless we are interested. In a game like Vanguard, you have a captive audience that could be resentful of your disruption of their play time with real-life hot topics like these.
2. No Drama!
We have a strict no drama policy. This means no whining and moaning about what someone else in the guild did or didn’t do or who got what loot. If you have a problem, send the person a private tell. Ask an Officer for help if you need it. Remember to keep it private at all times. Talking behind someone’s back is not private – it’s gossip. Drama will not be tolerated in any form and can result in dismissal from the guild.
3. Be Respectful!
We are all here to have fun playing a game we enjoy. Jokes, friendly banter and smart remarks are part of playing the game. It makes playing more fun, can break the tension if something unexpected happens, boosts morale and strengthens friendships.
There is a point where jokes become crude, cruel or offensive and that will never be tolerated. As adults we should all be familiar with this concept just as we are in our real lives. Comments written or spoken that are sexist, racist, sexually explicit, or otherwise offensive will not tolerated.
Members must act in an adult, professional manner, and treat each other with respect at all times. This means respecting their opinions, even when you don’t agree (see Rules 1 and 2 to prevent a lot of these issues).
Understand that there are real people behind those characters, and that everyone has their own dreams, ideas, goals, fears and problems. Disagreements and problems are a fact of life, but it is up to every member to deal with them in a professional manner, to work to find solutions or to agree to disagree. Personal attacks in Ventrilo, guildsay, regionsay, shouts, tell or other channels will not be tolerated.
If an Officer asks you in Ventrilo or in a /tell to stop the current conversation, you must do so immediately. This is to prevent any permanent relationship damage within the guild. An officer may bring both parties into a private chat channel to discuss the issue where the rest of the guild will not be bothered.
Remember, it’s best to say /guildsay be back tomorrow – bye everyone! and come back fresh the next day with a clear head than to say something you will regret. Words said in anger are almost always better left unsaid. This includes in the forums and Ventrilo.
4. No Harassment!
Harassment of another player will not be tolerated. Members are to avoid any verbal fights in Ventrilo, regionsay, shout, auction, tells or other channels with other people or guilds in the game. If a dispute arises between a guild member and another character, and it can not be resolved by either party, then the guild member should then /ignore the offending character. Serious harassment issues (not just annoying people that can be ignored) should be reported to SOE using /report and /petition.
Problems with other guilds or individuals outside of the guild should be brought to the attention of an Officer. At that point, we can attempt to deal with the person(s) via tells to correct the problem. Guilds, like individuals, have reputations, and public fights do nothing but hurt everyone involved.
If both parties are guild members, please take the unresolved issue to an officer or guild leader rather than Ventrilo or guildsay (see Rules 1 – 3).
5. Watch your language!
Although we are an all-adult guild, it doesn’t mean everyone has the same idea of what is appropriate. The use of vulgar or foul language in Ventrilo or in open text, such as /regionsay, /auction, /craft, /dip, /say, /shout or other public channels will not be tolerated since it reflects negatively on all guild members. Keep it toned down within the guild as well. If anyone in the guild has a problem with someone’s language in the guild, they should notify the person in a /tell or get an Officer involved. Repeated offenses could be grounds for dismissal from the guild.
6. Play nice!
The practice known as "kill stealing" will not be tolerated. Just because you might be able to steal it with a short cast spell or an arrow, doesn’t make it right. In addition, “ninja looting” or “training” others is not allowed. Vanguard has put in some features to prevent things like this.... group loot options, ownership of mobs, and mobs running back to their spawn area, but these undesirable play tactics are still possible.
7. Play fair!
Under no condition is it acceptable to play using tactics that are considered "dirty" or "unfair". Role playing an evil character is no excuse for this type of behavior as there is no provision in the game to defend against it. Also, your actions reflect on the guild as a whole, and therefore you must act in a manor that won't adversely affect our image. Nobody wants to see “That jerk from Silky Venom just....” talked about in a public channel! It reflects poorly on us all if one of our members is regarded in this way by the community on our server. All complaints of any member or applicant not playing fair will be investigated.
8. Be helpful!
All members are to help each other as much as possible and to provide in-game crafting skill services and harvesting materials to each either at no cost. We are a family, let's help each other. This does not mean everyone has to drop everything they are doing when someone else asks, but it does mean you should make an effort to help each other.
9. Be mature and unselfish!
We expect folks to act maturely and without begging or whining. Every member in Silky Venom is an adult – act like it! We abide by a need before greed philosophy. It’s also called givers gain. You get out what you put in.
10. Log in regularly!
Characters not logged in during the previous 30 days may be removed upon agreement of the Officers Council. If you have a personal situation that will prevent you from logging in, please make the Officers Council aware of it if you plan to be gone more than a week. You don’t have to share personal information, just let us know if there is an issue preventing you from being able to play. If you are removed from the guild for inactivity and decide to start playing again, please contact an Officer in game or in the forums to be readmitted as an initiate or member, depending on the circumstances.
11. Know your responsibilities!
Being an Officer is a position of servitude and not one of status. The higher the rank in the guild, the more self-sacrifice is expected. A new initiate is not expected to be as helpful as a full member, and Officers are expected to be the most helpful. If you choose to accept a position of leadership, please be prepared for what will be expected of you.
12. Respect the EULA!
We can’t emphasize this enough. Cheating in any way is not acceptable behavior. Infractions to the End User License Agreement (EULA) will not be tolerated by the guild. This means no bots, name infractions, exploits or other violations. Violations of the EULA will result in immediate dismissal from the guild whether or not SOE decides to ban you. In addition, if you find an exploit or hear about one, please use /petition to immediately report it to SOE.
13. Keep informed!
It is the responsibility of each guild member to visit our forums and read the guild message of the day. Make
www.silkyvenom.com your home page and half your battle is won!
14. Don’t leave on bad terms!
Members may leave the guild at any time. The guild and its members will respect their wishes. If the member leaves on good terms, he or she may reapply if the guild is accepting members at that time. Depending on the circumstance, the former member may have to start out as an initiate again. Members who leave in good standing keep the "Applicant" status on the guild Forum.
Disbanding from the guild as a form of protest is not acceptable. If a member leaves in this fashion, it is considered “leaving on bad terms” and the member will have to come to a solution with the Officers Council and membership of the guild before being allowed to return.
15. No Membership in Other Guilds!
Members should not have other characters in other guilds. The Officers Council has determined that any other guild is potentially a competing guild and any strategies learned in Silky Venom raids can eek or leak out inadvertently through words or actions. Removing the ability to have membership in another guild removes any chance of a conflict of interest. You must enable guild access to view your alts on vgplayers.com when you apply to Silky Venom. Remember - alts and friends and family are welcome in Silky Venom!
16. Keep the best interest of the guild at heart!
There are going to be times when a situation arises where there is no applicable rule or where the rule doesn’t make sense. Your Officers Council will make decisions at these times with the best interest of the guild at heart, whether or not the rules apply.
This doesn’t just apply to the Officers Council, but to all Silky Venom members, as well. If you are always thinking about what is best for the guild as a whole, rather than having a “what’s in it for me” attitude, the guild will be a better place for all of us.
17. Play your own character!
It's the person, not the pixels, who makes the Silky Venom member. Please do not allow anyone outside of Silky Venom membership to play your character. If you need to play a character other than your own for any reason, please let it be known that is the case.
18. Don't give out our Ventrilo information!
Our Ventrilo channel is for Silky Venom members only. Do not share this information with people outside the guild. You are free to join other Ventrilo channels with your group or friends.
19. No sharing information! <from Leto's original post on the subject, edited and condensed somewhat>
It is in Silky Venom's best interest not to share important information with other individuals or guilds.
Our guild is in direct competition with many other guilds on the server...not because we choose to race or because we have anything to prove, but simply because due to the non-instanced nature of Vanguard in the world of Telon, many things cannot be shared. Many mobs can only be killed by one group or one guild at a time.
We all have friends on Seradon who are not in the guild. Grouping with these folks is perfectly fine. Of course, it is perfectly acceptable to help them with common quests, common mobs, things an average experience group may do.
However, there are some things that must not be shared with anyone outside of Silky Venom. Things like strategies, boss locations and timers, information regarding the location or completion of large quests, etc. Anything that can give another guild a leg up needs to be kept within the guild.
A real friend won't ask you to divulge guild secrets. They will respect your position in Silky Venom and respect those boundaries. If they ask about things you can't tell them, don't be bashful about just telling them straight up that it is something you can't talk about outside the guild - even that they just shouldn't ask about that kind of thing. If they understand your position they won't ask you to spy on your own guild. Likewise, you must respect the boundaries of other guilds. If you don't pressure them for information they don't want to give out, they will be less likely to pressure you for information.
Obviously, everyone should keep their ears open and learn as much as they can about as many things as they can. But at the same time, guild boundaries must be respected by both the members of our guild and everyone who isn't. One of the most important assets in this type of game is information. Once you know what to do, where to do it, how to do it etc, then nothing stops you from doing it. This applies to groups and guilds as well as individuals.
Silky Venom should be cordial to everyone. Wish folks good luck, feign ignorance if you must, but please do not give out important information to folks without an SV tag on. The further we get into the game the more important this will become.
If you think you find a case where important information can be shared for mutual benefit, please check with a guild leader or officer first.
The members of this guild are going to have to keep a lot of secrets as we go forward - not all of it pertaining to game information. I don't have to tell the folks here that even our roster is a secret due to its unique nature.
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If you have any questions or concerns about any of these rules, or you have specific instances you are unsure about, please ask an Officer for clarification.
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Silky Venom: The Vision (Read before Applying)
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