VikingsCOC

Vikings Code of Conduct Terms of Membership The Terms of Membership (ToM) must be adhered to at all times. Failure to comply will result in disciplinary proceedings (see misc 8). Structure: The members are the fundamentals of the Vikings alliance. All members (regardless of their access level) are responsible to help other members of the alliance where possible. Public Behaviour: All Members must be respectful towards all other members of the alliance. Members are not to behave in a rude, derogatory or threatening manner to other members. Attacks All members are required to attack on our raids. Targets will be made available by our Battle Group Leaders and/or the Attacks High Commander and/or their Officer(s) on our webbie (and in some cases in-game). Retaliations (retals) are allowed but only if you have committed an attack fleet to the raid and/or if your Battle Group Leader permits this. Solo attacking outside of raids and structure killing are not permitted unless you have explicit permission from level 5 officers. Defence All members are permitted to DC their own (and/or other) incoming. It is the responsibility of the member who handled the original defence call(s) to notify defenders of uncovered calls and to ensure that the call is properly covered. One dc point is awarded for one successful defence call covered. To receive DC points, upload the battle calculator to the Defence Page (respective on the defence call DC’d) in-game and add to the note details of the DC. You are required to be reliable when contacted for defence for the majority of the time. You are not permitted to defend against your fellow alliance members and you are not to defend hostile planets; hostile planets are identified in-game highlighted in red under galaxy view. Intelligence Intelligence (intel) is not to be leaked to anyone outside of the alliance. This includes member details, alliance strategy (unless authorised by level 5 officers) and anything relating to intelligence. Fleets 3x attacking is not permitted unless otherwise authorised by level 5 officers. All members are to abide to the alliance strategy and to conform to any strategic ratio builds instructed by level 5 officers.

Ranks and Roles The alliance has defined a number of ranks for the best operation of the alliance. Each of these ranks has its specific responsibilities and rules. Levels 1-6 in chronological order of access/authority. 6. Founder Founders are executives of the alliance. They are effectively High Commanders that do not necessarily have a department of their own. Responsibilities: Founders have the responsibility to ensure the continued existence of Vikings as a Planetarion alliance. They are responsible to ensure that all departments are conforming to the Code of Conduct. Founders hold access to all Vikings resources. Only founders can appoint new High Commanders with a level 6 vote, logged on to the Officers Google document under ‘HC Roles’. Founders can overrule High Commanders with a level 6 vote at any given point (see misc sect 4). Public Behaviour: Founders must always support the High Commanders and Officers within our private and public affairs. If they disagree with any of the High Commanders or Officers, they can only express their concerns within the officer channel, or in private message to the person(s) to whom it may concern. Founders must be respectful towards all members of the alliance, and other alliances and their representatives. Respect of Roles: Founders must respect the roles of the other High Commanders and their Officers, and must not interfere with their duties unless otherwise instructed by the relevant department.

5. High Commander (HC) High Commanders are the leaders of the alliance within a round. Responsibilities: A High Commander runs a specific department and ensures that the alliance has the best possible position in the universe. High Commanders protect the integrity of the alliance in all aspects, and they have the voting power on all big decisions of the alliance. Public Behaviour: High Commanders must always support other High Commanders and Officers within our private and public affairs. If they disagree with any of the other High Commander or Officer, they can only express their concerns within the officer channel, or in private message to the person(s) to whom it may concern. High Commanders must be respectful towards all members of the alliance and other alliances and their representatives.

Respect of Roles: High Commanders must respect the roles of the other High Commanders and their Officers, and must not interfere with their duties unless otherwise instructed by the relevant department. Misc: High Commanders are decided by a level 6 vote on a roundly basis. Only core members and/or Community Members are eligible. All newly appointed High Commanders and/or removals are to be logged on to the Officers Google document.

4. Officer Officers help the High Commanders run the alliance within a specific department. Responsibilities: An officer will help the alliance by doing a specific task. Officers may be consulted on big decisions but do not have the authority to make decisions unless otherwise instructed by the High Commander(s) of the relevant department. Public Behaviour: Officers must support the High Commanders and other Officers within our private and public affairs. If they disagree with any High Commander or Officer they can only express their concerns within the officer channel, or in private message to the person(s) to whom it may concern. Officers must be respectful towards all members of the alliance, and other alliances and their representatives. Respect of Authority: Officers must respect the roles of the other High Commanders and their Officers of their roles and responsibilities, and must not interfere with their duties unless otherwise instructed by the relevant department. Misc: Officers are appointed by the relevant High Commander of the specific department, and decided by a level 5 Officer vote on a roundly basis. Only core/community Members are eligible. All appointed Officers are to be logged on to the Officers Google document under ‘3.Officer Roles’. 3. Battle Group Leader (BGL) A Battle Group Leader leads a group of members into attacks. Responsibilities: Battle Group Leaders ensures that members of their Battle Group (BG) have sufficient targets. This includes helping the Attacks High Commander setting up attacks.

Battle Group Leaders are responsible: (a) To ensure that members of their battle group are complying to the Terms of Membership

     relating to attacks within battle groups.

Public Behaviour: Battle Group Leaders must be respectful towards all members and the other Battle Groups within the alliance. Misc: Battle Group Leaders are decided by the Attacks High Commander. Only core members and/or Community Members are eligible. 2. Scanners/Members Scanners provide the alliance with scans. Responsibilities: Scanners and Members are responsible to help the other members of the alliance where possible. This includes, but is not limited to, defending each other and attacking together. Public Behaviour: Scanners and Members must be respectful towards all other members of the alliance. 1. Community Member Community members are former members of the alliance or any of its predecessors, and who do not play an active role in any other alliance. Public Behaviour: Community members must be respectful towards all current/other community members of the alliance and within our private and public affairs. GENERAL: Be aware that everything communicated in public may be used by other alliances for political gain. By being rude, derogatory, or threatening to others, you might endanger the political situation that the alliance is in. Departments 1. Internal Affairs (IA) The Internal Affairs department is responsible for the internal maintenance of the alliance. Responsibility: (a) Ensure that all member reviews are updated, voted upon and processed at the end of each round. (b) Organise member meetings prior to each round - introduction to each role and take questions if necessary. (c) Applicants wanting to join are advised of the Recruitment Policy and processed without prejudice. (d) Complaints are handled, advised upon, and processed accordingly. (c) To ensure that all members are complying with the Terms of Membership relating to internal affairs. Structure: The Internal Affairs department consists of a High Commander (or High Commanders) with a number of Officers. Officer roles within the Internal Affairs department are Complaints and Recruitment. 1.2. Complaints Complaints are handled by, and voiced to, a Complaints Officer, and escalated to an Internal Affairs High Commander if necessary. The punishment (if required) is decided by the Internal Affairs High Commander (Note: if the punishment is removal from the alliance, this can only be done by a level 5 vote). 1.2. Recruitment Recruitment is handled by Recruitment Officers. Recruitment Officers must assist applicants who meet the recruitment policy (see 1.3). Once a Recruitment Officer is happy that the applicant meets the recruitment policy they must process the application to the Recruitment Review Process (see 1.4). Community members wanting to rejoin will bypass the recruitment policy straight to the member review vote (see misc 5).

1.3. Recruitment Policy Applicants wanting to join must meet the following criteria: (a) The applicant must obtain a vouch from a core member (see misc 2). Recruitment Officers must verify with the vouch(es) before processing the application. (i) If an applicant is only able to obtain a vouch from a standard member they are eligible for the Extensive Recruitment Process (see 1.3.1). (b) The applicant is not already blacklisted from the alliance (see 1.5). (c) The applicant must agree to work towards joining the core - we do not accept alliance hoppers. (d) The applicant must agree to be reliable. The Internal Affairs High Commander reserves the right to instigate a level 5 vote for instant removal at any time during the applicant’s first round in the alliance.

1.3.1 Extensive Recruitment Policy Applicants who are eligible for the Extensive Recruitment Process must: (a) Obtain a vouch from a standard member (see misc 3). (b) Undergo an extensive personal interview with a Recruitment Officer.

If the Recruitment Officer is happy to progress to the next stage the following will happen: (a) The applicant will be voted upon by level 5 officers on the Officers Google document under the tab ‘6.ERP’. (i) The applicant must be accepted by at least 80% of the level 5 officers. (b) If accepted the applicant will then progress to the Recruitment Review Process (see 1.4).

     (i)  If the applicant passes the Recruitment Review Process they are then subject to an   
          internal review of between 2 weeks - a full round.
    (ii)  While under an internal review the applicant is subject to access limitations decided 
            by the Internal Affairs High Commander.
  

NOTE: Prior core Vikings (and/or TGV) members do not require a vouch and can bypass this process straight to the Recruitment Review Process.. 1.4. Recruitment Review Process The Recruitment Review Process is the final stage of recruitment. This stage is decided by a level 4 vote where it requires 60% of votes to pass to the Internal Affairs High Commander for review. NOTE: The Recruitment Review Process is IRC (Internet Relay Chat) based, and Recruitment Officers must follow the procedure as outlined in their training.

1.5. Withdrawing Applications Applicants may withdraw their applications at any point during processing. They must inform the recruitment officer who handled their original application. Once an application has been withdrawn, only the recruitment officer who handled their original application can decide whether the applicant can re-apply. If the applicant believes their withdrawal was done in error, they may lodge a complaint to a Recruitment Officer or speak directly to the Internal Affairs High Commander. 2. Politics and Public Affairs Politics is the responsibility of the external maintenance of the alliance, to liaise with external alliance representatives and to ensure that the alliance is best positioned in the Planetarion universe. Structure: The Politics department consists of a High Commander (or High Commanders) with a number of Officers. Officer roles within the Politics department are advisory/official liaisons

2.1. Deals Deals are only to be made by the Political High Commander(s). Prior to any deals being made, the Political High Commander(s) must seek consultation from their own officers and other level 5 officers (fundamentally the Attacks/Defence departments). Any deals made are to be logged onto the Officers Google Document. under the tab ‘relations’.

2.3. Private & Public Affairs Level 4 officers relating to the Politics department are authorised to: (a) Liaise with external alliance representatives on an official capacity. (b) Liaise with members at official Members’ meetings on an official capacity.

Note: If two or more level 5 officers share the role of Political High Commander, an unanimous vote is required between the representing parties to make decisions relating to deals/agreements. 2. Attacks The Attacks department is the responsibility of the offensive military of the alliance. Their responsibilities are: (a) To ensure there is a clean and organised rotation of Battle Group Leaders for Battle Command (BC) duty and they stick to and fulfil their obligation on their allocated day(s). (b) To ensure that all Battle Group Leaders are following protocol. (c) To ensure that all members are complying to the Terms of Membership relating to Attacks. Structure: The Attacks department consists of a High Commander with a number of Officers and Battle Group Leaders. 3.1. Battle Group Leaders Battle Group Leaders are appointed and organised by the Attacks Department. They are responsible for the organisation of their own battle groups. Battle Group Leaders must follow any instructions as advised by the Attacks Department.

Battle Group Leaders are authorised to: (a) Prioritise target retaliations over participation on the raid. (Note they must inform an

      Attacks Officer and/or the Attacks High Commander with a valid reason - Officers/Attacks 
      High Commanders may revoke this action.)

(b) Provide targets for the alliance on their allocated days and/or other days if instructed by

      the Attacks High Commander or Attacks Officer.

Battle Group Leaders are NOT authorised to: (a) Authorise members on solo attacks. This is strictly the authority of the Attacks department. (b) Authorise the use of structure killers. This is strictly the authority of any level 5 officers. 3.2. Misc The Attacks Department must: (a) Comply with current political deals when setting up military offence and comply to any instructions advised by the Politics Department relating to politics. 4. Defence The Defence Department is the responsibility of the defensive military of the alliance. Their responsibilities are: (a) To ensure a healthy defence culture within the alliance

    (i)  This involves ensuring there are enough members actively coordinating fleets, ensuring 
        that members are contributing defence fleets, and helping members improve their overall 
        defence coordination (DC) skills, ie battle calculators (bcalcs).

(b) To ensure the fleets composition of the alliance is properly matched up against our

      incoming and future enemies.

(c) To ensure points are updated accurately and on a regular basis (see 4.1). Structure: The Defence department consists of a High Commander with a number of Officers. Officer roles within the Defence department are advisory and administrative. Authorisation: The Defence High Commander is authorised to: (a) Ground the alliance or reduce the fleets status if incoming is expected. 4.1. Points Management Members are awarded one DC point per a successful defence call covered. Verification that a valid battle calculator has been uploaded in-game is mandatory and that details of the DC has been added to the notes section too. Once a DC point has been awarded, verification from [Vikings] of the successful addition of the point must be added to the note. Additional points are awarded by any level 4 officers for late starters and/or anything members have done additionally for the alliance. 4.2. Misc Me

5. Scans & Alliance Fund The Scans and Alliance Fund department is the responsibility of scans and the alliance fund. Their responsibilities are: (a) To provide members with the best possible information about their targets and their

     incomings (see 5.1).

(b) To ensure a healthy balance of the alliance fund (see 5,1).

   (i)  This involves management of the alliance fund and controlling the alliance tax rate.  

Structure: The Scans department consists of a High Commander with a number of Officers and Scanners. 5.1. Scan Team The Scans & Alliance Fund department ensures there are enough scanners to provide members with scans at the time they are needed. This includes ensuring there is a speed scanner for early round and an high amped scanner later on. 5.2. Alliance Fund The Scans & Alliance Fund department ensures the healthy balance of the alliance fund. This involves management of alliance tax and a healthy flow of resource trading. Miscellaneous 1. Community Access Community access is limited access to core members who are not playing an active round. Limited community access is to be modified via [Vikings]. If the Community Member joins another alliance during this period, their community access together with their core membership is then immediately revoked. 2. Core Member A core member is a member who has played in the alliance for 3 or more consecutive rounds. Core members can vouch for new applicants to join the alliance. 3. Standard Member A standard member is a non-core member who has played in the alliance for longer than one round and less than 3 (consecutive) rounds, and who is subject to access limitations. Standard members cannot vouch for new applicants, however they can vouch for the Extensive Recruitment Policy (see 1.3.1). 4. Overrule Procedure Founders can overrule any High Commander and their department with a level 6 vote. This procedure must take place and be logged in to the Officer Google document under the tab ‘4. Overrule’. Votes require 60% of the level 6 Officers to have voted. If votes favour in the Officer’s favour, they have the authority to overturn the decision. 5. Blacklist The blacklist is a list of members that are regarded as untrustworthy or have breached the Code of Conduct and marked for exclusion of the alliance. Any level 5 officers can instigate a vote to add/remove to/from the blacklist. Only 2 instigations per user per a round. Votes require 66% to pass. Members marked for exclusion are to be logged in to the Officers Google Document under the tab ‘Blacklist’. 5. Member Reviews Member reviews are individual reviews to assess performance of members. This occurs on a roundly basis, at the end of every round. Member reviews includes standard and core members and are to be voted upon and logged onto the Officers Google document under the tab ‘1.member Reviews’.

6. High Commander / Officer Roles

7. Extensive Recruitment Process 8. Disciplinary Procedure The Disciplinary procedure is a systematic disciplinary action in dealing with members who have breached the Code of Conduct. The primary purpose of this process is to assist the member to understand that a performance problem exists. Disciplines are decided by the respective High Commander (and their department) pertaining to the action caused. If removal from the alliance is decided, this can only be authorised instigated by the Internal Affairs High Commander followed by a level 5 vote (level 6 if a High Commander is being disciplined). 9. Adding/Removing Members Adding or removing members is not permitted unless going through the formal process. Only the Internal Affairs High Commander may instigate a level 5 Officer vote to kick a member (usually in conjunction with a breach of contract (see Misc 9)). The Internal Affairs High Commander must instigate and log the vote onto the Officers Google document under the tab ‘4.Removals’. Votes require 66% to pass. New members are to go through the recruitment policy process (see 1.3). Community members are to go through the member reviews procedure (see misc 5). 9. Breach of contract A breach of contract is a legitimate cause of action in which a binding agreement is not honoured. If any member has breached the Code of Conduct, a level 5 vote is immediately instigated where a committee decides the course of action. The committee will decide the course of action before a vote commences. If a High Commander has breached the Terms of Membership and/or the Code of Conduct, then a level 6 vote is instigated instead.

Document Management: This document was last updated on 26th March 2014 at 15:30 GMT.