Vode Handbook

Vode Handbook Compiled by Ehrensache Legacy Revised August 2017 CONTENTS

Welcome to Vode 1 Guidelines 2 Ranks 3 Rank Promotions 3 Inactivity Purges 4 Guild Bank Privileges 5 Officer Responsibilities 6 Officer Notes 7 Guideline Violations and Response 9

SAMPLE RECRUITMENT MESSAGE Come play with us! [Vode An/Mhi Vode] is a friendly, helpful, social guild looking for new members. Any class/level. We offer 10% BONUS XP/Rep, fully loaded flagship & stronghold, repair allowance, voicechat, webpage, & more. Whisper for invite or information.

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Vode An “Brothers/Sisters All” In Mando'a

Republic

Mhi Vode “We Brothers/Sisters” in Mando’a

Empire

We are a casual social guild exclusive to Star Wars: The Old Republic. We are based on the Jedi Covenant server and support both the Republic and Imperial factions. Our members range from seasoned MMO veterans to fresh-out-of-the-box newbies, can boast international citizenship, span a wide spectrum of age, and do a little of everything: leveling, crafting, PVP, Operations/Raids, Conquest, roleplay, and more. This is a wonderful guild for finding your specific niche and contributing with your unique gameplay style and ideas. Membership benefits in Vode include use of our guild strongholds, guild flagships, and guild banks. Our strongholds and ships are equipped with guild, cargo, and legacy banks; GTN kiosks; appearance and item modification stations; vendors; slot machines; and more. Our flagships provide an orbital support buff, which boosts all stats. Membership also grants 10% XP and reputation bonuses. A TeamSpeak channel is available for voice chat and highly recommended for Operations. Please join us in-game for Social Night, a weekly guild party hosted by one of our members and held in their personal stronghold. These events are a great opportunity to meet with your fellow guild mates; match names with faces; show off your coolest new moves, tricks, toys, gear, armors, and mounts; share knowledge; watch or participate in duels; and maybe even tell a story or two. Please consult the Message of the Day for each guild for specific days and times. Operations are also run on a weekly basis. Days and times for operations can also be found in the Message of the Day for each guild. Thank you for joining Vode!

Oya, Vode! “Let’s hunt, brothers and sisters!”

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GUIDELINES 1. Have fun! We want to give our players a wonderful experience. Be respectful and helpful. Lead by example. Share any ideas for guild improvement with an Officer. And, of course, play! This is a game. 2. Keep the conversations PG. We are a family-friendly guild, so mind your language and limit cursing. Be polite and courteous. 3. Avoid spoilers. Please avoid spoiling plot, story, and character details. Some members may not have played a particular class story or expansion. Please be respectful and preserve the surprise. If you feel your comments/questions may contain spoilers, please ask if the other guild members have played through that point in the game before posting. If anyone has answered in the negative, please do not post the comment/question to guild chat. You may privately whisper to someone who has already confirmed playing the content. 4. Don’t harass other members or other players. Don't use cultural, religious, gender, or ethnic slurs. Do not share or abuse sensitive personal information. Don’t beg other members or players for credits or items. Do not be a troll. 5. If you experience or see negative behavior within the guild, please report it to an Officer immediately. 6. Don’t abuse guild bank privileges. 7. Officers have the right to demote and/or remove members from the guild for serious violations. 8. When in need of assistance, please request it via guild chat or by whispering to a particular player. Be specific about what you need. Send a group request only after the player has agreed to assist you. Do not send blind group requests. 9. Characters that have been inactive for a significant period of time may be removed from the guild. If you will be absent for an extended period and do not wish to be removed, please notify an Officer, update your Member Note., and post to the website Forums (vode.enjin.com).

Please refer to Guideline Violations & Response (Page 9) for additional information.

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RANKS All ranks are given at the discretion of the Officers and with the approval of the Guild Master (Mandalore/Mand’alor). In Vode An, there is no set time period that must elapse before your rank is increased. However, Mhi Vode does utilize a timeline in determining promotion eligibility. Promotions are based on visibility, regular play, good behavior, and willingness to help guild members.

Recruit / Ad’ika – Newest members Private / Vod’ika – Newer members who show active participation Sergeant / Vode – Most common rank for consistently participating members Lieutenant / Mercenary – Ops/Conquest group leaders and/or Officers-in-Training.

These members have the authority to summon groups with the guild flagship.

Captain / Mando’ad – Officers. Commander / Clan Chieftain – Officers in charge of the guild in the absence of the Guild

Master Major General / Death Watch – Founding members Mandalore / Mand’alor – Guild Master

RANK PROMOTIONS Promotions are given every Monday by a designated Administration Officer.

Private / Vod’ika promotion is given after 2 weeks of active participation with the guild, barring any guideline violations. Sergeant / Vode promotion is given after 6 weeks of active participation with the guild, barring any guideline violations. After 9 weeks of active participation, Sergeants / Vode may be observed by current officers for possible officer promotion. After 12 weeks of active participation, Sergeants / Vode may be discussed by current officers for possible officer promotion. After 14 weeks of active participation, Vode may be approved by current officers for promotion to Lieutenant / Mercenary. Approved Lieutenants / Mercenaries will be asked if they would like to serve as officers or operations/group activity leaders. If they decline, they will remain Sergeants / Vode. If they agree, upon successful completion of training, Lieutenants / Mercenaries will either maintain their rank, serving as Operations or Group Leaders, or become Captains / Mando’ad, servings as guild officers.

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INACTIVITY PURGES

Inactivity purges occur as we near guild member limit. If you will be absent for an extended period and do not wish to be removed, please notify an Officer, update your Member Note, and post to the Forums section of the Vode website (vode.enjin.com). An “LOA” note will be added to your Officer Note for the duration of your absence, indicating your characters should not be removed.

Characters removed for inactivity may rejoin the guild at any time. However, your previous rank will not be automatically restored.

For Vode An (Republic): Characters will be purged after 40 days of inactivity.

For Mhi Vode (Empire): Ad’ika ranked legacies will be purged after 90 days of inactivity. Vod’ika ranked legacies will be purged after 120 days of inactivity. Vode ranked legacies will be purged after 150 days of inactivity. Mercenary ranked legacies will be purged after 180 days of inactivity. Mando’ad ranked legacies will be purged after 210 days of inactivity.

Commanders/Clan Chieftains, Major Generals/Death Watch, and Mandalore/Mand’alor are excluded from purges.

**Please note that in Mhi Vode these guidelines apply only to the most recently played character in each legacy.

Example1: JohnJohn Legacy has an Ad’ika rank and 5 alts. His most recently played character has been inactive for 88 days. None of this legacy’s characters would be removed from the guild, regardless of longer inactive dates on other characters.

Example 2: HeyYeah Legacy has an Ad’ika rank and 8 alts. His most recently played character has been inactive for 93 days. All of this legacy’s characters would be removed from the guild.

Inactivity Purge In-Game Mail Notification:

Your character has been removed from [Vode An / Mhi Vode] due to inactivity (___ days). You may rejoin at any time by contacting any current member and asking for an invitation.

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GUILD BANK PRIVILEGES All ranks may contribute credits, armor, weapons, resources, décor, etc. to the guild bank. Contributions are appreciated, especially when the flagships are moved for guild events. If you make a withdrawal of an item or credits, please consider contributing something in exchange for it. Most ranks are allowed a specified weekly amount of credits for repairs. Please note that these funds should be used for guild events, such as operations. The “week” resets on Tuesdays. Please do not withdraw items from the guild bank to feed characters that are not in Vode. Members are also not allowed to sell items removed from the guild bank on the GTN for personal profit. Abuse of guild bank privileges may result in rank demotion and/or removal from the guild.

Recruit / Ad’ika may view items in the guild bank, however, they may not withdraw items. If you need an item from the bank, please contact an Officer. Repair funds limit: 5,000 credits per week. Private / Vod’ika may view items in the guild bank and withdraw up to 2 items per week. Repair funds limit: 15,000 credits per week. Sergeant / Vode may view items in the guild bank and withdraw up to 5 items per week. Repair funds limit: 80,000 credits per week. Lieutenant / Mercenary may view items in the guild bank and withdraw up to 50 items per week. Repair funds limit: 100,000 credits per week. *These credits may also be used for summoning group/operations members to a location via the guild flagship.

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OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES The most basic officer duties are taken care of if you simply play as usual. These include answering questions, providing advice, handling guild invites, helping members with missions/fps/ops, and recruitment as needed. Officers have the responsibility of making Officer Notes for our members. Officers should also be alert to cursing, harassment, trolling, or other Guideline Violations and be prepared to moderate as needed. Officers may be assigned a specific focus beyond the above. These include the following:

Group Activity Leaders: These officers are responsible for organizing and leading guild group activities, including but not limited to Operations, World Boss hunts, Conquest pushes, PVP teams, and Uprising, Flashpoint, and Heroic runs. Case Officers: These officers are assigned to guild members who have guideline violations. Case Officers will alert the member to the violation and inform them how the violation may be corrected. The initial contact may be made by the CO individually or in conjunction with a higher ranking officer. The CO will track the member’s progress and provide Mand’alor and/or Death Watch with periodic updates. Administrative Officers: These officers are responsible for assigning join dates to all members and ensuring that all alts of the same legacy have the same rank. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) is responsible for rank promotions and inactivity purges on a weekly basis. A Deputy Administrative Officer (DAO) should be assigned and trained to carry out these duties in the event the CAO is unavailable. Resource Officers: These officers are responsible for organizing and maintaining the Guild Bank. Possible duties include regularly checking the bank ledger and log to check for abuses by members, ensuring adequate amounts of mats/gear/mods/etc are maintained, encouraging donations and organizing fundraising events as needed, and selling approved items to create needed vault space.

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OFFICER NOTES Officer Notes are used by our officers when making administrative decisions about rank promotions, demotions, inactivity purges, or in response to guideline violations.

**When adding or editing notes, make sure you are modifying the Officer Note and NOT the Member Note. Member Notes are visible to everyone in the guild. Officer Notes can ONLY be seen by the officers and contain information that the guild, as a whole, does not need access to. **

Join Date

All characters have this officer note. Join dates are important to document, as all rank promotions are dependent on the amount of time a member has been active in the guild. The date should be recorded in YY/MM/DD format so that sorting can be done properly in the Guild Window. However, characters that were in the guild before these records were kept are marked with JBRK (Joined Before Records Kept). When a new character is added, first check to see if there are other characters belonging to the same legacy already in the guild. If there are, copy the Officer Note from the other alts (highlight, then CTRL+C) and paste it into the Officer Note for the new character (CTRL+V). Also, give the new character the same rank as the other alts for that legacy. If the new character doesn’t have a legacy name, or if it is the first of a new legacy joining us, the Officer Note will simply be the date they joined. If someone joins on October 6, 2016, their first Officer Note would be 16/10/06.

Leave of Absence

An officer should be notified if a guild member will be absent for an extended period of time and does not wish to be removed for inactivity. The notified officer should immediately update the Officer Note for all of that player’s characters with LOA. This will alert the Administrative Officers that these characters are exempt from inactivity purges. The note should be removed when the player returns.

Guideline Violations

***When making notes for Guideline Violations, be EXTRA SURE you are changing the OFFICER NOTE and NOT the Member Note. This information should only be known by the Officers and the offender.***

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Any Guideline Violations should receive an officer note. We’ve tried to establish a simple but effective system so an officer can document what the offense was, how often it has happened, when it happened most recently, and who reported the offense.

Examples of such notes include: B1@16/10/08Ehren 1st instance of begging on Oct. 8, 2016, reported by Ehrensache C3@16/12/03Joh 3rd instance of mild cursing on Dec. 3, 2016, reported by John C**@16/10/20Smi 2nd instance of extreme cursing on Oct. 20, 2016, reported by

Smith H1@16/08/15Ents 1st instance of harassment on Aug. 15, 2016, reported by

Entschlossen GB2@17/01/02Anto 2nd instance of guild bank abuse on Jan. 2, 2017, reported by

Antony

Negative behaviors that do not fit the above formats or standard guideline violations may be added as the officer sees fit. Please try to attach a date and your legacy name for reference.

Exemplary Behavior

We also want to recognize and reward excellent behavior. If you see a member being particularly helpful, if they excel in a certain area, or if you think they might be a good officer, give them a note to reflect that.

Officers Ranks in Sibling Guild

Members that hold officer ranks in the sibling guild are also designated in Officer Notes. Examples: VA Cpt VA Com VA MG VA Mand MV M’a MV CC MV DW MV Mand

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GUIDELINE VIOLATIONS AND RESPONSE

***When making notes for Guideline Violations, be EXTRA SURE you are changing the OFFICER NOTE and NOT the Member Note. This information should only be known by the Officers and the offender.***

Begging: A member asks the guild or a particular member for credits, gear, equipment, or crafted goods without offering anything in return. This is usually a request from an inexperienced player who just doesn’t know any better. This should be discouraged publicly in guild chat. You can say something simple like “This is a community, not a charity,” or “We all work hard for our credits,” or “We don’t beg in this guild.” Though this is the most minor offense, you should add an Officer Note in case this is a reoccurring problem.

First Offense: Ehrensache Legacy (officer) catches BradleyF (player) begging on October 8, 2016. Ehrensache discourages BradleyF from begging. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note B1@16/10/08Ehren after the join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and a hold has been placed on his legacy’s rank. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: Smith Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF begging on October 20, 2016. Smith warns BradelyF about it, checks the officer note, and changes the previous note to B2@16/10/20Smi. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF, and the 4 week rank hold and observation period would start over. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks of the second offence, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Third Offense: John Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF begging on November 10, 2016. John warns BradleyF, checks the officer note, and changes the note to B3@16/11/10Joh. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, the legacy rank hold will be permanent, BradleyF will not be eligible for future promotions, and the note will not be removed. Fourth Offense: If BradleyF is caught begging a fourth time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action.

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Mild to Moderate Cursing: A member casually lets a curse word slip. This is usually isn’t intended to insult or upset anyone. Officers may use their discretion in this case, though anything beyond “damn” or “hell” should probably be called to the player’s attention either publicly in guild chat or privately by whisper. If you correct the player, you should add an Officer Note in case this is a reoccurring problem.

First Offense: Ehrensache Legacy (officer) catches BradleyF (player) cursing on October 8, 2016. Ehrensache warns BradleyF about it. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note C1@16/10/08Ehren after the join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and a hold has been placed on his legacy’s rank. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: Smith Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF cursing on October 20, 2016. Smith warns BradelyF about it, checks the officer note, and changes the previous note to C2@16/10/20Smi. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF, and the 4 week rank hold and observation period would start over. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks of the second offence, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Third Offense: John Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF cursing on November 10, 2016. John warns BradleyF, checks the officer note, and changes the note to C3@16/11/10Joh. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, BradleyF’s entire legacy would be permanently demoted to Private / Vod’ika, will not be eligible for future promotions, and the note will not be removed. Fourth Offense: If BradleyF is caught cursing a fourth time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action.

Extreme Cursing: A member uses a very strong curse word like “fuck”. This language shouldn’t be allowed under any circumstances and should immediately be called out publicly in guild chat. This should absolutely be reported in Officer Notes.

First Offense: Ehrensache Legacy (officer) catches BradleyF (player) using extreme language on October 8, 2016. Ehrensache warns BradleyF in guild chat. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note C*@16/10/08Ehren after the

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join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and a hold has been placed on his rank. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 8 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: Smith Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF using extreme language on October 20, 2016. Smith warns BradelyF in guild chat, checks the officer note, and changes the previous note to C**@16/10/20Smi. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, BradleyF’s entire legacy would be permanently demoted to Recruit / Ad’ika, will not be eligible for future promotions, and the note will not be removed. Third Offense: If BradleyF is caught using extreme language a third time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action.

Spoiling: A member spoils a plot point or character detail in guild chat. This is generally accidental, but can be very disappointing to players who have not yet seen the spoiled content. This behavior should be publicly discouraged in guild chat and reported in Officer Notes.

First Offense: Ehrensache Legacy (officer) catches BradleyF (player) dropping a story spoiler on October 8, 2016. Ehrensache warns BradleyF in guild chat. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note S1@16/10/08Ehren after the join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and a hold has been placed on his rank. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 8 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: Smith Legacy (officer) sees BradleyF spoiling a plot point on October 20, 2016. Smith warns BradelyF in guild chat, checks the officer note, and changes the previous note to S2@16/10/20Smi. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, BradleyF’s entire legacy would be permanently demoted to Recruit / Ad’ika, will not be eligible for future promotions, and the note will not be removed Third Offense: If BradleyF is caught spoiling story/plot/characters a third time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action.

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Harrassment: This category contains a wide variety of offenses, but these could be considered the most extreme. They include the use of sexually explicit or suggestive language; stalking another player; using racial/ethnic/gender/sexual/ableist/religious or other slurs; trolling; being excessively rude to another member; or any other behavior that makes members particularly uncomfortable. In all of these cases, the officer or any member witnessing this kind of behavior should take a screen capture of the chat window and record the date, time, and players involved. If the harassment is directed towards a member of our guild by a member of another guild, the behavior should be reported both to Vode leadership and to SWTOR admin. This category should be called out as inappropriate in guild chat immediately and absolutely be reported in Officer Notes.

First Offense: Ehrensache Legacy (officer) catches BradleyF (player) using a slur against a guild member on October 8, 2016. Ehrensache warns BradleyF in guild chat. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note H1@16/10/08Ehren after the join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and his legacy will be demoted to Recruit / Ad’ika. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 16 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: If BradleyF is caught using a slur against a guild member a second time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action. ***Players who are removed from either guild for harassment may also be removed from the sibling guild. This is at the discretion of each guild’s officers. However, as most of our members play in both guilds, generally it is better to act in solidarity and remove the offending player from both guilds.***

Guild Bank Abuse: A member withdraws items from the guild bank and sells them on the GTN for personal profit, utilizes guild repair funds extravagantly, withdraws large amounts of mats or materials without replacing them or making a fair exchange, or otherwise utilizes the guild bank in an inappropriate manner. These behaviors will generally be discovered after the fact and reported by Resource Officers.

First Offense: On October 8, 2016, Ehrensache Legacy (officer) notices that BradleyF (player) has improperly used the guild bank. Ehrensache warns BradleyF about it via whisper or in-game mail. Ehrensache checks BradleyF’s officer note; the only information listed is the join date, so BradleyF hasn’t had an earlier warning. Ehrensache adds the note GB1@16/10/08Ehren after the join date. BradleyF will be assigned a Case Officer, who will let BradleyF know that a note has been added and a

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hold has been placed on his legacy’s rank. The CO will remind BradleyF what the offence was, when it was done, and verify he knows not to do it again. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Second Offense: On October 20, 2016, Smith Legacy (officer) notices BradleyF has improperly used the guild bank. Smith warns BradelyF about it, checks the officer note, and changes the previous note to GB2@16/10/20Smi. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, BradleyF’s entire legacy would be demoted to Private / Vod’ika. If BradleyF doesn’t repeat the offence within 4 weeks of the second offence, the note can be removed and BradleyF is again eligible for rank promotions. Third Offense: On November 10, 2016, John Legacy (officer) notices BradleyF has improperly used the guild bank. John warns BradleyF, checks the officer note, and changes the note to GB3@16/11/10Joh. The Case Officer would again contact BradleyF. This time, BradleyF’s entire legacy would be permanently demoted to Recruit / Ad’ika, will not be eligible for future promotions, and the note will not be removed. Fourth Offense: If BradleyF misuses the guild bank a fourth time, his legacy will be removed from the guild. This legacy will not be allowed to rejoin at a later date. Any officer of Captain / Mando’ad rank or higher may remove the player and should alert all other officers of this action.