Valar Guild > Games > Rules and Code of Conduct

        Rules (have to have a few, oh well)

1. All of our members are required to demonstrate a working knowledge of the books of JRR Tolkien. Although these are in general The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings and if possible the Silmarillion, only The Lord of the Rings trilogy is  mandatory.

To become a Full Member of the Valar Guild you will need to take an entry test. The test is performed by a Vala or Maia. The test will consist of five questions from The Lord of the Ring ( The book, not the movie ). Answer at least four of the five for entry, or show enough side information that the tester can tell that you've read the Lord of the Rings.

2. New members take a Tolkien character primary name for the Valar Guild after test. The name cannot be a Vala or Maia name, as those must be earned. The name is how the new member is known, as if it were the player's "real" name, and can be role-played. A new member may have a name not already taken, from any of Tolkien's works. They can be Farmer Giles of Ham, or the dragon Chrysophylax, or the hobbit Lobelia Sackville-Baggins as a primary name, although they might be playing in a game as a spaceship or zerg army or elf.

 3. New recruits, after passing the test, start out at Full Member honor. Valar and Maiar honor and names are reserved for the upper ranks and are gained through comittment to the guild and demonstration of Tolkien lore.

 4. Valar is a very unique guild on the net. Unlike most of any others, we are a sanctuary from the spam, vulgarity, rudeness, cheating and other forms of discourteous behavior. We are more than just a guild, we are a club that serves as a place to: chat Tolkien and other intellectual topics, play co-op games or just escape for a while into an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Eru founded Valar on these principals and The Council of Mahanaxar in The Valar Guild has spent much time to preserve it as such.

Membership in Valar is a privilege one earns every day. It is not a right. Every member, whether in channel, in a guild game, in a public game, or in a public channel / chat, as long as he is recogniceable as a member of The Valar Guild, is are expected to exemplify all that we stand for as if each were an ambassador for this way of gaming. The loss of one's privilege to be a member does not require blatant disregard for these rules, it requires only to not continually earn the privilege by maintaining a high standard in meeting these guidelines. If this seems unfair or harsh to expect these high standards, then maybe this is not the place where you would be happy.

We are one of the oldest guilds in gaming and on the net because we hold to these standards, and we will not lower them. The following rules of conduct are intended as a guideline to what is expected of each member.

Code of Conduct

1. Members who do not abide by the code may be removed from the guild.

2. All are expected to be polite and respect each other; there will be no judging of others, no malicious remarks allowed, no discrimination.

3. All guests you invite to channel / Guildchat etc. etc. are your responsibility; they should be informed of our channel and playing etiquette and will be expected to honor these rules. Any misconduct by them will reflect on you, and the Council will hold you accountable.

4. Coarse language is not acceptable, nor is screaming ( Caps ); it is disruptive and rude.

5. No spamming or flooding (hogging of the channel with irrelevant or repetitive posts).

6. When coming into the channel, ( Meetings ) you are expected to be in your guild character; a mistake is understandable but it only confuses people as to your identity. If you have other public characters, please keep them outside.

7. If you encounter an unknown  non-member in the friend channel, courteously ask him/her to state his/her business. If they are seeking membership refer them to a Maia or Vala for testing. If they are rude or in any way discourteous ask them to leave. If necessary ban them from channel or set them on Ignore [not all games or messengers allow this, but do it where possible]. Only if all of us do this can we maintain Valar as the sactuary it is intended to be.

8. If you are in possession of the gavel / leadership / presiding, you are not allowed to kick, ban or silence any members for "fun". There is no need to pass the gavel to a higher member unless during an official meeting, if a stranger comes into the channel, or if you can feel your self-control slipping. A co-chair who feels his control slipping can pass the gavel to the other co-chair. [Gavel refers to Battle.net meetings; self-control slipping applies to any meeting.]

During guild meetings:

During meetings please focus on the topic at hand so that we can get through business quickly. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome, and will be addressed after the old business is completed. Please whisper the meeting chair (usually Varda or Eonwe) to be put in the line to address the guild in the correct section and so that we can plan the order.

[Old system for Battle.net meetings, not applicable to AIM meetings.] Varda usually presides over the meetings. It is requested that she be handed the position [this was needed in B.net]. If Varda is unable to attend the meeting, Eonwë should be given the gavel.

If neither of those are able to attend, then give the job of presiding to the highest ranking member present.

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Basic gaming rules

1. There is absolutely no cheating in any game allowed. For example, in Diablo: no duping of equipment, spell books, elixirs, or anything else. No importing of equipment by any program not specifically ratified by the developers of the game. Any members caught cheating will be given a warning and placed on probation. If you are caught cheating again, it will result in immediate expulsion from the guild.

2. No taking of itens from public games unless you find them yourself, and it is unidentified when you find it. This rule does not exclude trading with other players through a given games legal options.

3. No Killing of other Players. (PKing, or PKKing) [Diablo]. This rule allows PvP or duelling if all agree willingly, if the option is given in the game.

We can not stress it enough, NO CHEATING AT ALL. no exploits of bugs of any kind, no use of third part programs unless :

    A. The Council approves it.

    B. The Game developers approve it. Battlegrounds in WoW and free people vs monsters in LotRO are approved But be polite; no gloating for winners or whining for losers.

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