I would post this on the Lodestone forums as well, but I don't even have access to them for some reason and it won't let me do anything, so I'm posting here.
Roughly a week has passed since THE KRAKENS were unleashed on Eorzea, and so far, things have been mostly good! People in the FC have been running dungeons together, helping each other with quests and providing good company at most hours of the day and night. We continue to welcome new members into our ranks and we have all the makings of a friendly yet goal-oriented group.
That said, I've heard from several members who have been unhappy with some of their experiences in the FC. We recently lost a good member, because he was offended by something other members said and how they acted. I've also heard of isolated incidents of members being condescending to others who have questions. While I'm aware these incidents are the exception, I also firmly believe that this kind of behavior can't be allowed to persist. Otherwise, we'll eventually lose our most quality members, and we'll never be anything more than a glorified linkshell.
With that in mind, I'd like to propose our FC Guidelines and General Code of Conduct.
1. No Drama
- This is a game, and it's meant to be fun. When you cause drama, you prevent others from having fun. Fortunately, we're on a big server, and there are probably other FCs that will become reputable for having drama... but that won't be us.
2. Respect Your FC Mates
- Remember, none of us is an NPC. We all have unique backgrounds, work in different jobs, have different political/religious beliefs, etc. Being respectful to others in the FC means not only being kind, but also being sensitive. Empathize. Be aware of what you're saying, and how your words might affect Guideline #1.
3. Offensive Language
- Do not use racial slurs, derogatory terms, hate speech, etc. Swearing, in moderation, is completely acceptable; intolerance of others for race/gender/creed/nationality/age/etc is not. Even if your comments aren't directed at specific members of the FC, this kind of language is still not acceptable.
4. Put the Team First
- While it's great to set in-game goals for yourself (who doesn't?), this is a team-first FC. Don't be afraid to ask for help, but also don't forget to help others. Patience is a virtue.
5. Don't Abuse Free Company Privileges
- Being in a FC comes with some cool perks. We can choose a FC Action (such as experience buffs), we have a shared chest and we have a company board (with more perks to come). However, these perks become meaningless if people start using them for purely selfish reasons. The FC Action should never be changed without any kind of discussion with leadership; the FC chest should never be used to store someone's random excess items; the board should never have rude, vulgar or offensive messages. Each and every member of The Kraken Club must use these features with the group in mind.
6. Have fun!
- We are all here to have fun! Do your best to have fun, and also do your best to help others in the FC have fun. If we weren't trying to have fun, then there would be no point in being here.
Consequences for Violating These Guidelines
We're not asking people to follow rigid schedules and dedicate their lives to the game. In fact, the guidelines we've written above are pretty much common sense. If you honestly have issues with the guidelines above, then you probably won't last long in this FC.
Most complaints and alleged violations of the guidelines will warrant a discussion with the people involved. Those who violated the rules will be given warnings. Repeated violations will result in dismissal from the FC. There's no set number as to how many warnings a person needs to be booted; that depends on the severity (and intent) of the violation.
That said, there are occasions when people could be kicked from the FC without a warning. One instance that comes to mind would be the use of racist or derogatory language. We simply won't tolerate that kind of behavior.
Conclusion
Currently, this FC is strong. We have more than 200 members. We've had dozens of people online at a time despite login restrictions, and even more people will be online once SE gets the login situation sorted out.
Now's the time to set these guidelines so The Kraken Club can grow in the right direction.
A HUGE thank you to Thayos for his help with this. He basically rewrote my initial version of this and made it sound much more professional and structured. So thank you Thayos!
Edited, Aug 31st 2013 1:04am by BartelX