Exodus

MISSION STATEMENT:

Exodus is the Fizzcrank heir to The Holy Circle, which was established April 20, 2005 on Aggramar. Following the move to Fizzcrank, the guild reformed and began the game again on November 20, 2008.

The purpose of this guild is multi-fold: casual raiding on a ten man raid level, PvP for those interested in it, and helping fellow members obtain the goals inherent to each class.  The main objective of this guild is to provide a home for those that wish to participate in these various aspects of the game. It is our goal to promote a relaxed adult atmosphere with the absence of drama.  Participation in these various aspects of the game is completely voluntary.

We therefore have the following set of rules that everyone will adhere to and which will provide the needed discipline for continued success.  These represent the codified practices long maintained by The Holy Circle and continued into Exodus.


GENERAL LIST OF RULES:

The following rules apply to everyone in Exodus. No one is exempt from them, including the members, officers, and the guild leader.

    1.  Real life is always more important than the game. No one will ever be looked down on for not spending every spare moment playing WoW.

    2.  Respect ALL of your fellow guild mates, regardless of rank. It is a group effort that makes a guild successful and a place we all want to be, not just the leadership.

    3.  Integrity and maturity is expected. No one is here to baby-sit anyone else. We will not tolerate childish tantrums or other such behavior. Instead we will remove you from our guild.

    3.  Cursing or swearing at others is not permitted. The use of an occasional swear or curse word, as part of the conversation, will not be treated the same as an attack on another player. However, this is a family style guild so swearing is discouraged in guild chat and on vent.

    4.  Be helpful, not arrogant. It's great to meet players with a lot of WoW knowledge, but it's annoying to be made to feel inferior because of it. Offer helpful suggestions, but do not lord it over others.

    5.  Give to the guild freely. Your guild mates are not here to make you rich. If you have something you'd like to share, share it. If you need the money, put it on the auction house.

    6.  Begging will not be tolerated.  Just don’t do this, it is socially unacceptable and subjects both the beggar and the guild to ridicule and humiliation.

    7.  Greed has no place here. We are all here to help each other, not just ourselves. Give and receive in turn with both your time and material things. Stealing loot, also called Ninja-ing, will not be tolerated.

    8.  Give notice of your absences. Real life tosses us a curve every now and then, we understand and have an Inactive rank for such needs. Please let us know when you'll be away for long periods of time or else we remove you for inactivity. Acceptable notifications can be in the form of a post on our forums or in a direct contact with a guild officer.  After six months of inactivity, with no notification, your character will be removed from the guild. Officers absent from the game, with no notification, for more than a month will be demoted.

    9.  Adhere to the EULA. Exodus does not tolerate exploits and cheats. We believe in fair and honest play.

    10.  Harassment is not acceptable. Derogatory comments referring to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. will not be tolerated.

    11.  Do not bring the real world into guild chat. Playing WoW can be an escape, from the real world for many of the players. So keep real world discussions, such as politics, religion, ethnicity, gender, lifestyle, etc, out of guild chat.

    12. Uphold the honor of the guild at all times. The Holy Circle was a well-respected guild and we intend to follow that tradition on this new server, Fizzcrank as Exodus. Our members should behave accordingly. Anyone found tarnishing our reputation with his or her behavior will be removed.

    13. Respect the decisions of your leaders. The leaders of Exodus make decisions together in the best interests of the guild as a whole. If you have a serious doubt about a decision, please bring it to an officer for explanation without causing drama in guild chat.

   14. You are not to participate in a non-guild raid without first clearing it with the raiding officers. Raid instances hand out RaidIDs that lock you into that specific instance.  The Captains (Raid Leaders) will post a sticky forum listing in the general membership forum as to what raids will require asking about and which ones are always open for non-guild runs.



NO DRAMA POLICY:

Exodus prides itself on being filled with mature and fun players. We realize sometimes fun can go a little too far, however. Should you find yourself offended by a guild mate or any other issue, please do your best to resolve the problem calmly and rationally in a whisper. If the problem persists, bring it to the attention of an officer to be settled.

Should we find a member to be causing regular to constant problems in our ranks, the member will be removed. This includes officers. Petty squabbles can easily divide a guild if not handled quickly and properly. This is something we will not let happen to Exodus.



DISCIPLINE:

Guild Discipline has its role to play in terms of being fair to all. Pre-established rules of conduct give guidance to the members in terms of what is expected and what is not allowed.

The Exodus Officers Council has the right to set up additional rules beyond the bare minimum guidelines established in this charter.

The levels of discipline include a warning, a second warning with punishment by losing guild chat rights and or raiding rights for up to a week, and finally a guild kick as the ultimate punishment of being banished from the guild.  All officers may issue warnings, and will post in the officer forum that such was done when it occurs as a part of the warning as well as note it in the officer's notes section of the social page.  Any warning not posted by the issuing officer does not count for the record of the person.

The Exodus Officer Council is the ultimate arbitrator of any discipline.  Any person who is subjected to a punishment and does not understand why is more than welcome to speak with any of the council to gain that understanding, though every effort will be made for the person to understand the why and where-fore before the judgment is passed.

The general rule of conduct in guild activity is the golden rule: do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.  Disagreements and arguments will occur, to be sure, but they do not need to be in guild chat — that is a reason whispering is available for private discussions.



RECRUITING AND MEMBERSHIP:

Anyone seeking to join, with no prior association or knowledge of the guild, must fill out an application. The officers of the guild will review the applications and, if no objections are made regarding the applicant, the applicant will be contacted in game to get to know them a bit more. It is possible that we will ask to group with an applicant before making our decision or they may also ask us to group first before making theirs.

If an application is denied, the applicant will receive an in game mail from the Princess (or an officer designated for the job by the Princess) stating the reason(s) why.

Applicants with prior knowledge of the guild, such as former members of The Small Guild Alliance on Aggramar, or relatives and real life friends of current members can by-pass this application online and apply directly in-game to an officer.

Once an applicant is accepted into the guild they will be given a status of initiate. This status will be maintained for approximately a month while compatibility is being reviewed.

Reference the guild structure section for a detailed listing of guild ranks.

Each member of Exodus must read and sign this guild charter by entering a post on the signature page.  No member may be promoted past the Initiate level until he or she has agreed to the full charter by saying so with a post on the signature page.  The signature posting is at the bottom of the charter.  DO NOT skip reading the rest of the charter to sign it.  The rules established herein are the ones you are, as a potential member of the guild, agreeing to abide by.  As the long established principal goes, ignorance of the rules is no excuse, so read the whole charter and make sure it is understood before signing.



GROUPING:

We highly encourage our members to group with one another to foster the closeness and camaraderie of the guild. Keep in mind that the people who help you may call upon your help one day and vice versa. We are here to not only further our own characters, but to help improve those of our guild mates as well.

A guild cannot function as individuals, so it must run smoothly as a selfless and cooperative effort of all involved. We do not expect our members to ignore any plans they may have had in game, and certainly not in real life, nor will we ever force anyone to help others in the guild, but we do expect a moderate level of helpfulness from them in the spirit of guild progression.

It is easier to coordinate instance runs if planned previously. Our forums are a great place to do so. Exodus will also use the in-game calendar for the purpose of scheduling events.

Initiative goes a long way; so members are encouraged to make use of the scheduling tools to get instance runs set up. Note that only Captains (Raid Leaders as designated by the guild) may set up 10 or 25 or 40 man runs, but any full member, above initiate, may schedule a 5 man instance run.

Reaching the level cap does not automatically qualify you for raiding groups, even if a player decides to try his or her hand at raiding. Reaching the level cap, and putting your time into five mans so that you have improved your skills, your teamwork and your gear will help you get into raids. This goes for both the ten man and the twenty-five man instances.  Raiding instances are much more demanding in regards to skill and gear. Raiding officers will do their best to post a general guideline that can be used by raiders to determine if the current gear is up to par.  Also the Captains will work with the members in game or get some other guild-mate to help with practice, gear tips, spell rotations and the like as needed.



RAIDING:

   1. If you sign up for a raid, be there. Real life can get in the way but not habitually. If you become unreliable then you will be removed from the Raider rank. If you sign up for a raid and then find out you can not make it, then please try to change your status or inform a raid leader so they can change your status as soon as possible. Likewise, those that very rarely “sign up” for raids will be changed from Raider rank to Knight. Raiding days and times will be set by the raid leader Capains and posted in advance on the in-game guild calender.  Raids will have a maximum of 15 minutes for invitations within the guild and after that, the raid will be filled with non-guild players if at least five (5) guild members have joined the raid.  If less than a full party is assembled, then the raid will be cancelled for that night.

   2. Those with Raider rank are guaranteed invites to the raid. If a raid is short on people then we will check to see if there are guild members that want to join.  If none are available then we will check with other guilds we are friendly with and then if all else fails we will PUG the last remaining spots. We will finish out the night’s raid with the PUG players, even if a Raider logs on. If we find that we are constantly short on Raiders then we will actively recruit new members. However this will not happen unless we have multiple weeks in a row with low turnout. Certain times of the year and holidays are expected slow times and we will do our best to tough it out during these times. Low turnout is considered to be less than ten Raider rank or higher rank players on at raid time. We have no required raid attendance percentage but a Raider that has not raided in one month's time may be removed from the Raider rank at the discretion of the Captains with the advice and consent of the Officer's Council.

   3. Those with the Raider rank are expected to raid when online and needed. If you do not want to raid we have no problem removing you from the Raider rank. For Exodus Raiding to continue moving forward we need people that will put Exodus raiding as a priority.

   4. Show up to raids with the proper consumables. Those that habitually come to raids unprepared will be removed from the raider rank.

   5. Go to www.wowwiki.com and www.tankspot.com to read up on the fights. Those that show initiative to research the fights will be invited to the raid over those that do not.

   6. Be able to take constructive criticism on your play. You will not be called names or put down for messing up. However you will have the raid leaders helping you become better at filling your role in the fights. If you continually die on a fight or are not able to fill your role in the raid then you may be swapped out for some one else. We will give people a chance to experience a fight but at some point we may need to make changes that guarantee that we are going to beat the fight. Progress is very important for every one’s morale.

   7. Raiders are expected to help their fellow Raiders run five mans to get the gear they need for raiding. We will try to have one night a week that concentrates on getting those Raiders in most need of better gear into five man instances.

   8. Be prepared to sit out. If the raid leader determines that you need to sit out for some one else, then so be it. If asked to sit out do not take your main to another ten man raid without the raid leader’s permission. Since our focus is ten man raids, you do not need raid leader permission for running twenty-five man raids on nights that we are not raiding. For us all to succeed every one will have to learn to give and take….including raid leaders. There will be no favoritism shown to any one. Exodus is both a casual guild and a raiding guild and as such we all can and will do both. There are plenty of things to do when not in a raid. One of those is doing PUG five man groups in search of new members. Yet another is leveling an alt. etc…there are many other things to enjoy in World of Warcraft. Raid leaders will be doing their best to guarantee both success in progression and play time for all raiders. We will try to keep our numbers low enough so that we do not have a lot of people sitting out but large enough that we can fill out a raid without having to PUG. Some of the reasons you may be asked to sit are low dps, connection issues, lack of understanding on a fight, or group make up needing to be adjusted for success of the fight.

   9. Purple and blue loot will be passed on and then everyone that needs it will do a /roll. The highest roll wins. If you win you can pass to the next highest roll but not to some one of your choosing. One item per night of raiding. Exceptions to the one item rule are as follows: tanks alway get to roll on tanking gear (as it is unique to tanks and vital to progress for tanks to be very well geared), any item passed on by everyone for their main spec may be rolled on freely for a secondary spec by anyone and not counted as the one item for the night.  Items that no one wants will be DE’d and mats obtained put into the guild bank. All blue and purple BoE that is not needed by someone will also be put into the guild bank. All green BoE will be greed rolled using the blizzard rolling window and no one is to hit need on such a roll though if available, the disenchant option may also be rolled.  

  10. If you are unhappy with how the raids are being run or if you are unhappy with how you are being treated, then feel free to discuss it with the raid leader.  Do not start bitch sessions with others in game or on vent. Complaining to others will not make things better. Talking to the raid leader and seeing if you can work things out stands a better chance of success. If after talking to the raid leader you find that you are not happy, then feel free to request demotion to casual or even possibly /gquit. No one will hold it against you. You pay your own monthly fee and you need to do what makes you happy. None of us plays this game to add stress to our lives. Making every one happy is an impossible job, however the raid leaders will strive to do what they can. The raid leaders will do their best to be mature and accommodating and in return we hope that you will be as well.

  11. Treat others with respect….in side and out side of the guild. As a member of Exodus and a Raider you are expected to act maturely. Failure to do so will result in removal from Raider rank and possible removal from the guild.

  12.  Exodus requires Raiders to install and use Ventrilo. This voice communications software makes coordinating raiding events easier. You can download Ventrilo at http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php .  Raid chat , guild chat, and Ventrillo are not your personal play ground. Socializing is great but know the limits. The guild and definitely the raid do not need to know all the ins and outs of your personal life nor do they need to know every thing that happens to you in the game. When its time to fight a boss, raid chat needs to be kept “clean” for important information. The same goes for Ventrillo. When it comes to the boss fight no one talks but those that need to relay important information. All other times feel free to socialize. Raid leaders will relay what strategy the group will use as well as give instructions to those that do not know how a fight works. All others need to be silent so that the relaying of instructions can go as quickly as possible.  Do not start blurtering out your own instructions as they may not jive with what the raid leader is saying and may cause confusion. If you have a problem with the instructions or feel you have a better way of doing a fight then please whisper the raid leader. Those not able to adhere to this will be removed from the Raider rank.

  13. As a Raider you are required to have Ventrillo installed and working. You need both speakers and microphone working. If they are not you may be replaced for some one that does.

  14. All Raiders need to have installed the required current addons for raiding.  This will be listed and updated periodically in a separate sticky posting. These are addons that make the boss fights easier. Those that do not have these addons will be removed from the Raider Rank.

  15. Raid leaders will choose, with the advice and consent of the Officer's Council,  who has the Raider rank. The criteria used to decide who makes the Raider rank is listed above. Those that can adhere to the items listed above will be given the Raider rank.

  16. The Captains (Raid Leaders) will post a sticky forum listing in the general membership forum as to what raids will require asking about and which ones are always open for non-guild runs.


CRAFTING:

Crafting for guild mates is to be done free of charge with no money exchanging hands for any service provided by a fellow guild mate. A modest tip is not against the idea of no money exchanging hands but no crafter has the right to ask for or expect such from a fellow guild mate.  In short, while tipping for services from a guild mate is allowed, it is still strongly discouraged.  At no time should any crafter charge any fee to a guild member for assembling the materials into an item.

Should the crafter have the materials available to make whatever is being requested and would like to use them, they are encouraged to. If they do NOT have the materials handy or do not choose (and this is the crafter’s option, with no appeal possible) to use their stock, the crafter will give the person requesting the item made a list of materials needed and it will be left up to that person to either buy the materials off the auction house or gather them themselves.



GUILD RANKS:

Initiate    Trial membership

Rank 1: Initiate is for new members, regardless of level.  During this time the initiate will be under the watchful eyes of the officers and monitored for quality assurance and demeanor.  New members will be voted on by Officers Council within the first month of membership for approval to be promoted to appropriate rank.   A good attitude is paramount for this guild, greater than gear, spec, play schedule or even skill.  All the latter will simply help you obtain class levels and guild rank but it is your attitude that gets and keeps you in Exodus.  Initiates have no guild bank withdrawal rights, but may view all tabs.   


Inactive  No activity for a month or by notification

Rank 2:  Players who are not currently active will have all their characters set to the Inactive rank.  An inactive player has no guild bank withdrawal rights.  An Inactive player who returns to the game will have his or her rank restored to which ever rank is appropriate

Veteran   Level 1 to end game level cap

Rank 3: Members who are in level advancement mode are our Veterans.  If of high enough level, Veterans may take part in older raiding content when it is scheduled (which occasionally it will be, especially for achievements and gearing up).  The individual members are expected to be self-reliant enough to get most leveling done on their own but of course may and should expect help with some of the more difficult elites as well as with some instances that have important quests and or gear.  Note that for veterans this is a time to learn to work with the guild-mates, and to not be trying to get the guild-mates to do all the work of leveling for them. Asking advice is a far better option for gaining help than asking someone to come kill a mob for you.  Veterans have limited guild bank withdrawal rights, with the number of items withdrawn on any given day from any tab set at a maximum of one item.  Veterans may schedule five man instance runs on the guild calender and are encouraged to do so.


Knight    level cap (for PvE and PvP players)

Rank 4: Members who have reached the current level cap are our Knights.  Knights may participate in guild raids but will not be assigned top priority in getting a raid spot.  Knights will get preference in a raid over a pickup from outside the guild. Knights can and should be using the guild calendar to both setup and participate in 5 man runs.  Knights are expected to help our initiates and veterans with the more difficult elites and instance runs, but are not obligated to act on any particular situation.  Knights revert to Veterans when a new expansion pack raises the level cap until such time as the newest level cap is again achieved. Knights have limited guild bank withdrawal rights, with the number of items withdrawn on any given day from any tab set at a maximum of one item.  Knights may schedule five man instance runs on the guild calender and are encouraged to do so


Raider    level cap (and agrees to raid regularly)

Rank 5: Raiders must be ready for end game content and be selected to the rank of Raider by the guild's raid leaders (Captains).  Only those suggested by the Raid Leaders and voted upon by the Officer Council may gain the Raider rank.  Raiders must be able to regularly participate in raids or be converted to Knight rank at the discretion of the Raid Leaders with the advice of the officers’ council.  Gaining the title Raider is at the discretion of the Captains.  Raider rank is the preferred rank for those most interested in end game instance play; this rank is equal to the Knight but carries additional raid obligations and expectations. Raiders revert to Veterans when a new expansion pack raises the level cap until such time as the newest level cap is again achieved at which point the process repeats itself. Raiders have limited guild bank withdrawal rights, with the number of items withdrawn on any given day from any tab set at a maximum of one item.  Raiders may schedule five man instance runs on the guild calender and are encouraged to do so

 
Champion     (all characters per officer player)

Rank 6: Champions are the general officers of the guild, set to offer advice and guidance to the general membership, to recruit when possible and to settle disputes as they may arise, all the while promoting the general welfare of the guild at all times. The Champions may be given specific areas of responsibility, such as being a class leader or PvP leader or other duties as designated by the Officer Council.  There will be at least two Champions in Exodus and more if the Officer Council decides to expand this number.  Champions may issue invitations to join the guild and they may remove or discharge players from the guild.  Champions may issue warnings as warranted and will post such warnings in both the in-game officer notes and online in the guild officer forum.  Champions have limited guild bank withdrawal rights, with the number of items withdrawn on any given day from any tab set at a maximum of three items.  Champions may schedule five man instance runs on the guild calender and are encouraged to do so.


Captain        (all characters per officer player)

Rank 7:  Captain is the Raid Leader Rank.  Exodus has two Captains. The Captains set the guild raid schedule, lead the raids, and select the ones who get the rank of Raider with the advice and consent of the officer's council.  Captains may invite members into the guild and also discharge them as needed as well as give out warnings in the same manner as Champions. Captains have limited guild bank withdrawal rights, with the number of items withdrawn on any given day from any tab set at a maximum of three items.


Seneschal    (all characters [& Princess/Prince alts] per player)

Rank 8:  Seneschal is the guild bank manager.  There is one Seneschal only, save that all the Princess's alts are at the Seneschal rank also. The Seneschal may invite members and discharge them as needed as well as give out warnings in the same manner as Champions.  Obviously the Seneschal needs a very secure account and needs to be computer literate. The Seneschal may withdraw up to 30 items per bank tab per day.  


Princess    (Main character)

Rank 9: Princess or Prince is the Guild Leader.  The guild leader has all of the requirements, duties, and capabilities of the previous ranks and also chairs meeting of the Officer Council. The Guild Leader may not vote in Officer Council meetings but may veto Officer Council decisions. In the case that a decision is vetoed, then the full and unanimous vote of the other members of the Council (aside from the Princess) may override the veto.  The exact title is left to the decision of the person holding the office and any use of Princess in any part of the Guild Charter implies the title of Prince also.



THE EXODUS OFFICERS COUNCIL:

The various officers will meet periodically (most often informally through the use of the Officer channel) to discuss the current state of the guild, and to make changes as needed.  The Officers Council shall be comprised of the guild officers and the guild leader.  All decisions of the Officers Council are made by a simple majority vote with a quorum needed to transact business including either the Seneschal or the Princess as the chair.


SIGNING THE GUILD CHARTER:

Each member of Exodus must read and sign this guild charter by entering a post on this page stating the charter has been read and agreed to as part of being a member of Exodus.  There is no promotion possible for any member who has not signed and failure to sign within a reasonable amount of time is grounds for dismissal from the guild.  A reasonable amount of time is defined as the probationary period of being an initiate.