CODE OF CONDUCT HANDBOOK

Mission StatementThe Vanguard is a virtual online gaming community focused on fostering

kinmanship amongst members through the ideals of fellowship, unity, and respect. We seek to foster long-lasting friendships and establish ourselves as the

strongest, most-well respected gaming community in the Nation.

Section 1 - General Behavior

Preface: The General Behavior rules of The Vanguard shall cover a wide range of guidelines. This section deals with how members are expected to communicate and interact with each other, with leadership, in addition to respecting our community. All Vanguard members should pay close attention to rules marked with an *** as rules marked as such are considered are grounds for immediate suspension or removal from guild. See Section 6 for more details.

1 - Members of The Vanguard shall treat each other in a respectful manner. Members will cooperate with one another and be respectful to one another in all facets including, but not limited, to forums, Team Speak, real life, and in any other social facets. Members will not speak poorly about one another. This includes gossip, trash talk, and behind the back disrespect. Any drama inducing behavior, between members, will not be tolerated. Racial slurs, and/or discrimination of any kind on basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, national origin or sexual orientation of strictly prohibited.***

2 - As an 18+ community cursing on occasion is permitted but be kept to a socially acceptable level. Expletive strewn rants or any foul language directed at another Vanguard member, however, will not be tolerated.***

3 - Members of The Vanguard will not speak publicly about sensitive subjects that may involve this community or its members. This includes private leadership decisions, private projects the community is developing, or personal and private information about fellow members. The internal affairs of The Vanguard and its members shall be respected. Members shall not speak ill of this community, it's policies, or organizational setup in any way that will cause discord or is divisive to the community.*** Members with complaints about this community's practices are encouraged to follow the Chain of Command in voicing their dissent.

4 - Leadership of The Vanguard shall be respected and honored. The leaders of this community are voluntarily committed to performing their duties for the benefit of the community whole. As a result, there is a fundamental need for them to be respected. Members of The Vanguard shall not openly question nor criticize community leadership, nor their decisions. Leadership shall not be gossiped about nor disrespected behind their backs. Members of this community shall follow the commands and orders given by their officers and leaders. If a member disagrees with leadership, they should follow the chain of command in voicing their dissent by "privately" contacting the appropriate Officer and discussing the issue without fear of reprisal.***

5 - Members of The Vanguard shall report all observed violations of this Code of Conduct to leadership immediately. It is a duty of all members to assist leadership in the execution of our laws.

6 - Members of The Vanguard are to follow The Vanguard Chain of Command on all issues. Circumventing the chain of command or deliberately avoiding taking issues/concerns/problems to the appropriate leader is disrespectful to the leadership will be taken very seriously.

Please see your chapter's officer list/Chain of Command for contact information on each specific group. Members are encouraged to use a written form of communication (private message and email) via The Vanguard site in contacting the Chapter Officer, Chapter Leader, Guild Leader or the Community Manager. It gives the member proof that contact was made. Failure to adhere to the chain of command and proper means of communication will not be tolerated.

a). Issues in specific chapters should be directed to the Chapter's Leading Officer. If the issue involves the Chapter's officer, the issue should be taken to the Guild Leader.

b). Behavioral issues and CoC violations should be taken to the Recruitment Officer. If the issue involves the Recruitment Officer, the issue should be taken to the Guild Leader.

c). If a member feels the specific Chapter Officer did not handle their issue correctly or sufficiently, the member may contact the Guild Leader regarding the issue. Note that simply 'not liking' the

ruling that one was handed is not sufficient justification to bypass an officer; you must be able to prove that the ruling was in error.

d). Issues involving the Guild Leader should be taken to the Community Manager of The Vanguard. The Guild Leader is the leader of the guild. Use caution when taking issues to the Community Manager. If the Community Manager believes you are circumventing the Guild Leader, there will be consequences. Make sure you truly do have an issue the Guild Leader cannot solve or is directly involved in before bringing an issue to the highest authority.

7 - The formation of cliques or sub-groups, inside The Vanguard, is strictly forbidden. While ranks and sub groups (like PvE or PvP groups) may exist in our organizational structure, these are not cliques as they are publicly published, accessible to see by all community members, with requirements approved by The Vanguard. Any sub-groups that are privately created and specifically designed to be exclusive of other community members will be dealt with severely. ***

8 - The Leadership of The Vanguard does not condone the unprovoked harassment of other players, friend or foe. We expect members to act like adults and use good judgment in this regard. The Vanguard will do what it must to protect and preserve its reputation in the gaming community. The only exception to this rule is for people who have been placed on the K.O.S. list. Such people may be dealt with in any fashion. Additionally, members will not be charged for violating this rule if they were simply following the orders of their Chapter or Community Leadership.

9 - The Vanguard will treat friends and allied partners/guilds in a cordial manner unless otherwise noted by Leadership. Members are also forbidden from negotiating with other guilds and communities on behalf of The Vanguard, unless the member has been given permission to do so. Members should use the Chain of Command if approached by another community. 

10 - All copyrighted items and/or EULA-breaking behavior or information is hereby banned from The Vanguard's forums and property. The use of The Vanguard graphics or symbols, without the permission of the Guild Leader is strictly forbidden unless used on guild property OR on the official forums for games with which The Vanguard is involved. Sharing of any account information or any other information that permits you to access any guild services (including the forums and Teamspeak) is prohibited. ***

11 - Members of The Vanguard are required to play inside an established chapter if they possess a character on that chapter's server. This includes beta/alpha and pre-release guilds. Members are not allowed to have an unguilded main character on a server where an official chapter exists and shall not apply to other guilds. In a MMO where a character is allowed to represent more than one guild, Members are *ONLY* allowed to represent The Vanguard's guild. *** 

(a). This rule does not apply to Casual Chapters. Members may maintain membership inside a guild, other than The Vanguard Casual Chapter, as long as leadership is informed. Failure to notify leadership will be a violation of this rule.

Section 2 - Pre-Release Activity and General Forum Activity

Preface: The Vanguard places strong emphasis on member activity and involvement. The very core of any community's survival is the activity of its membership. We want all members to get to know one another and develop a close-knit kinship. The activity requirements of The Vanguard aim at fostering those relationships between all members while ensuring that our community members remain active and dedicated to The Vanguard.

1 - While operating as a pre-release chapter, members may have one of two requirements, depending on the chapter's progress and the game's progress.

(a). An Official Chapter, participating in a standard pre-release, will require its members to be active on the forums AND the recruitment forums for their particular game. The basic requirement for a member of a pre-release chapter is involvement in guild activities, activity night attendance,

meeting attendance, unofficial event attendance, and TeamSpeak activity. Various additional forms of activity include: 

Activity Nights: Activity Night attendance will not only remove a recent activity warning (if you have one), but will pass you for activity that week.

Official Meetings: Attending an official chapter or open Vanguard community meeting will pass you for activity that week. Attending the monthly open Vanguard meeting will also remove a recent activity warning.

Unofficial events: Unofficial event attendance reported in the Unofficial Events topic will provide a bonus that replaces a couple of your required forum posts that week.

TeamSpeak:  While difficult to monitor, it provides a modest to significant bonus to your activity (See section 2 for more details). 

(b). The only exception to the above requirements are for Unchaptered full members. Due to the difficulty of posting without a current game to play, an Unchaptered member's activity is monitored by the Community Manager.

2 - TeamSpeak -

Officers and Leadership may consider TeamSpeak an activity bonus. Members are urged to not use TeamSpeak as a activity crutch as the structure of TeamSpeak simply does not give us a manner in which to determine how active you are. However, officers who see a member in TS consistently will give them credit for it. It is possible for a pre-release chapter member or an Unchaptered member to pass activity primarily off of TS activity, but this is difficult to accurately measure and would require someone who is actively engaging with other members in TS for hours almost every day.

In Official Chapters, post-release chapters, and while alpha/beta testing their chapter's game, members are required to be in TeamSpeak while in game. If a member is not in TeamSpeak while logged into the game, for a consistent period of time, leadership will issue that member a Code of Conduct violation (Section 4, Rule 4). The first violation of this rule will result in a CoC warning, which stays on your record for four months. This prohibits the member from being promoted, can prevent the member from obtaining Officership. A member who violates this rule twice in four months will be suspended from The Vanguard and eligible for a trial by jury. If the member is convicted, they will be demoted to Recruit until they re-earn their full membership.

3 - Warnings -

The member's activity status is judged following the above guidelines and the Chapter Officer's discretion. Members who are failing activity are issued an activity warning. Activity warnings remain on your record for 3 Months. After that time passes it is removed from your record. There are also multiple ways to remove a warning from your record before the 3 Month Period expires, as outlined in sub-section a.

Recruits  Recruits may not receive any activity warnings. They are removed upon failing Activity.

4 -  Simply logging into the game and soloing will not give chapter leader's a reason to place your name on the active log. It is the responsibility of the Chapter Leader to furnish this list. If no list is received for a week, no one is given any extra credit. We will depend on membership to remind their leader of this list.

5 - When operating as a pre-release chapter, roll calls occur randomly throughout the pre-release process. They are often used to get to know our membership better. They will always appear at random as a force read thread once every few months, within the Vanguard Members only forum, and usually involve detailed instructions on completion. Failure to answer a roll call, by the end date, will result in your removal from the chapter. There are NO exceptions unless you are on military leave and have already established this PRE-ROLL CALL. Roll calls typically last one month, giving our members plenty of time to respond.

6 - Members of The Vanguard may be members of more than one chapter. 

7 - Members of pre-release guilds may contact their Chapter Commander and be placed on the Inactive List. A member may be placed upon this list while they are on vacation, dealing with work issues, or dealing with personal issues. Members are not required to give their Commander a reason when asking to be placed upon this list. When a member is on this list, they are completely immune to activity checks and cannot receive activity warnings nor be removed for inactivity. Members who wish to be placed upon this list *must* contact their Officer via email or private message. During this correspondence, the member must state the dates they wish to be immune to activity. Members who are in the military and are actively deployed, conducting training exercises, or who are involved in basic training may be placed upon the inactive list. Members wishing to be on the inactive list for longer than 30 days shall discuss this need with their Commander or the Grand Master.

Section 3 - Post-Release Activity and In-game Requirements

Preface: Activity in game is essential to our community's success. Chapters of The Vanguard are striving for strong server presence and excellence as well as high rankings. This can only be achieved through the dedication of our members. As such, The Vanguard may on occasion impose requirements for our members in game as necessary dependent on the game structure.

1 - Members of chapters, which are currently in post-release status, have a much different type of activity requirement. Members, who consider the chapter their primary chapter, will be required to log into the game at least twice per week. Members who intend on being offline for more than a week are encouraged to make use of the inactive list. Primary chapter members who are offline, for a period of 10 days or more, shall be removed from the chapter. Upon return they may issue a petition to be re-added to the roster. In addition to the log in requirements, members will be required to be actively participating in that chapter's activities and attending events.

2 - Members of post-release chapters will be required to log into The Vanguard forums at least once per week to check for force read news threads. Unless the Community Manager or Chapter Commander says otherwise; post release members will not have a post requirement. Members failing to log into the community forums, at least once per week, are subject to warning or removal. It should be noted that post-release members are still very much encouraged to continue to post and participate on our forums. We cannot continue to grow and be active if all our post-release members are not present in the forums. The lack of post requirement is because we know you are focused on playing the game, raiding, and PvP. However, we still highly encourage forum activity for our members. If the forums are experiencing a severe lack of activity, a Chapter Commander or the Community Manager may overrule this rule. If this is done, it must be posted, via force read, in the respective Chapter thread.

3 – Member of The Vanguard member may have several chapters they call home, but will always have a "primary" chapter. This is usually the chapter in which the member is most active. If a member is a member of another chapter, other than their primary, it will be considered their secondary chapter. If the member's secondary chapter is in post-release status, the member must only log into game once every fourteen days to remain on that chapter's roster. If a secondary chapter member fails to log into the game, within fourteen days, they will be removed from the chapter and ineligible to rejoin for 30 days.

4 - Members in a post-release chapter are *required* to be in Team Speak whenever they are logged into the game. Occasional exceptions can be made by submitting a request to not be in TS to an officer for approval. Members may join the AFK channel, which is completely muted, and be given credit for being in Team Speak if they are logged into the game. However, a member attending a guild event must be in that event's Team Speak channel. Violation of this rule will follow section 6 of the Code of Conduct.

5 - Members of post-release guilds may contact their Chapter Commander and be placed on the Inactive List. . A member may be placed upon this list while they are on vacation, dealing with work issues, or dealing with personal issues. Members are not required to give their Officer a reason when asking to be placed upon this list. When a member is on this list, they are completely immune to activity checks and cannot receive activity warnings nor be removed for inactivity. Members who wish to be placed upon this list

*must* contact their Officer via email or private message. During this correspondence, the member must state the dates they wish to be immune to activity. Members who are in the military and are actively deployed, conducting training exercises, or who are involved in basic training may be placed upon the inactive list. Members wishing to be on the inactive list for longer than 30 days shall discuss this need with their Commander or the Grand Master.

6 - Activity in unofficial, casual Chapters shall be much more relaxed than an established official chapter. Each member of a casual chapter is simply required to log into game once in a while unless otherwise noted. However, casual chapter members shall still be required to maintain an active forum presence. This will require them to log in to our forums, and interact with other members during these times. Team Speak activity will continue to act as a large bonus and will be required while online in the casual chapter's game.

Section 4 - Guild Raiding and Event Behavior

Preface: One of the most important activities The Vanguard members will participate in is raiding and guild events. These events can range from PvP, PvE, to crafting. Membership behavior, during these events, is paramount to the success of the event.

1 - Any member of The Vanguard who complains about loot distribution is subject to disciplinary action up to removal from the group/raid and suspension from further group/raid activities. The period of such a suspension will vary based upon the nature of the offense. The ruling of the Chapter Commander as it pertains to loot distribution, is final in all guild group or raid environments. If a member feels their Raid Leader or the Chapter's Leadership is treating loot distribution unfairly, please follow the Chain of Command of The Vanguard in voicing your dissent.

2 - Any member who purposely attempts to deceive his/her fellow Rangers or Leaders in a group setting of any kind, for the sole purpose of getting treasure for himself/herself and withholding it from the chapter, will be removed from the group immediately by the group leader. Such offenses will be sent to the Commander of the offending member's chapter. ***

3 - Any member who joins an official event and then leaves out of disgust, frustration, or boredom will be given a warning and possibly suspended from further events by the Guild's officers, Leaders, or the Raid Leader. Real life can happen and if you need to leave, then let your Raid Leader know. If you're leaving because you're upset/bored/frustrated, you would be considered to be abandoning your fellow Rangers. Please see the PvE section of the chapter forums for any further clarification on PvE matters.

4 - A call to arms is any emergency which requires our members to respond immediately in force. A call to arms will be honored by every online member of The Vanguard. If a call to arms is issued, every online member must proceed to fulfill that call to arms, regardless of where they are or what they are doing. A call to arms can be issued by the Chapter Commander within the PvP department. If the Grand Master or PvP Commander are not available, another officer may initiate a call to arms. Casual Chapters may NOT issue call to arms. Chapter Leaders who issue an unwarranted call to arms will be severely dealt with by leadership, as this is an issue of grave disrespect to the guild's members and their personal time. A Call to Arms is a rare occurrence, but its importance must be understood. 

(a). This rule shall only apply to members who have ready access to the game in which the emergency occurs.

Section 5 - Community Leadership Behavior and Expectations

Preface: Being a leader in The Vanguard carries with it a high level of responsibility. Leaders within this community carry the flag of leadership with honor and respect this community could not be here without those who step up and take the burden of leadership. Members should look at the official hierarchy of The Vanguard for information on the perks of these leadership ranks.

1 – The Community Grand Master shall be the ruling head of The Vanguard. The G.M. has the highest-level administrative position in the guild and has final say in all matters. He assigns officers and other leadership positions as needed and as appropriate depending on guild size, goals, and projects.

2 – The Small Council of The Vanguard shall be the operations force of the entire community as overseen by the Guild Leader. The Small Council shall be composed of up to four proven members selected by the G.M. The Small Council shall have ultimate authority, as a body, in all community matters. This council has a duty to enforce the Code of Conduct in all situations, to be active participants in all community leadership affairs, and to consistently attend Community Leadership meetings. This council also will act as the highest court in all member appeals. As this council has a duty to the members of The Vanguard, they are required to be active in community decisions. Members of this council who display a pattern of not participating in petitions or meetings will be removed from the council. Such a removal can only occur with approval of the Grand Master.

3 - The Community Manager of The Vanguard shall perform all administrative functions, and act as a judge in all member trials. They are one of the four members of the Small Council. The Community Manager shall also manage the community's finances. If the Community Manager begins to fail in their duty, they are subject to removal from their post. This is achieved with a Unanimous Small Council vote.

4 – Both Official and Casual Chapters of The Vanguard shall consist of Chapter Commanders. These officers are responsible for administration of their department within their respective Chapter. It is the duty of all Commanders to enforce all of The Vanguard’s laws, statutes, and requirements upon the members of his/her Chapter. Officers of this community have a stronger obligation to report and enforce the laws of the community. Officers who observe violations of the community's rules are required to act. A Commander who fails in their duty will be charged with dereliction of duty and punished according to section 6 of the CoC. Multiple incidents of dereliction of duty will cause the Commander to be terminated from their position and ineligible to serve again in that capacity.

(a). The Small Council or Grand Master may temporarily suspend a Commander, to prevent a 'out of control' action, which 'grossly' violates The Vanguard’s policy. This suspension is simply a temporary removal of the leader from their position and a Small Council meeting must be scheduled, within 24 hours, of the suspension. In the event of a suspension, a Commander of the Grand Master’s choosing shall perform Chapter Commander's functions until the suspension is resolved. It shall be noted that such an action, taken by the Community Manager, shall only be done in the most extreme situations and will NOT be taken lightly.

(b). The Recruitment Commander shall be in charge of all behavioral issues within their Chapter. They or the Chapter Commander will act as the charging officer in all cases of CoC violations. The Recruitment Commander or Chapter Leader will also act as the Prosecutor in circumstances where a member must go to trial.

(c).  All Commanders shall immediately do what is required to resolve any code of conduct violation incident. Once the situation is calm, the leader or officer shall present all records of the incident to the Recruitment Officer for final evaluation and final action. The Grand Master and Community Manager shall be informed, immediately, of any code of conduct incident sent to the Recruitment Officer for review.

(d). All Commanders may immediately remove a member from the guild, the forums, and/or Team Speak if the member is displaying extremely disruptive behavior and will not stop. This action may only be taken after the officer has made numerous attempts to calm the subject down and calm the situation. The officer 'must' immediately inform the Recruitment Officer and Chapter Leader of the incident. The officer will present required evidence which shall back his/her decision to remove this member. At this time, the Recruitment Officer or Chapter Leader shall make the appropriate charges public and follow suspension protocol. This subsection is designed to give officers the ability to remove members when that member's behavior is extremely disruptive and waiting for an official suspension would greatly hurt community stability.

Section 6 - Rights of Members

Preface: Members of The Vanguard that have achieved Ranger status have unique rights within this community. This section details the rights of our Rangers and reviews their right to jury trial, adequate warnings for activity, and their right to be honored as Rangers.

1 - Except in cases of activity failure, Rangers of this community may not be removed from The Vanguard NOR be demoted without a chance to face their accuser and be judged by a jury of their peers. However, members may be demoted from their officer position without a trial by the guild leader. A member who violates a CoC rule or is on probation from previous offenses will be suspended from The Vanguard. During this suspension, they are removed from the in game chapter(s), banished from the forums, and removed from the Team Speak server. However, this is temporary until a trial is conducted. The tenured member will still appear on the community's rosters and is still a member of the community. The suspension is simply to prevent drama, while a jury trial is prepared, and to calm the situation.

(a). Rangers of The Vanguard may be removed from the community, without a trial, in the event of an Executive Override as unanimously decided by the Community Council. Executive Override cannot last for more than 48 hours. During this time, the council may remove any member associated with the incident that caused the emergency to be declared. Only members associated with the incident, that caused the emergency to be declared, may be removed and a thorough investigation must be done. Once an Executive Override is declared, the council must report all removals and the reason for those removals to the general membership via public post. In order for this rule to be implemented, major steps must be taken to acquire a unanimous approval vote. A minimum of 2/3rds of the council must be present to make this vote. If the incident occurred inside of a Chapter, the chapter leader must be present for this vote.

2 - Rangers of The Vanguard must receive an activity warning before their removal from the community. Once a full member has received an activity warning, they may be removed within 48 hrs if they have shown no improvement and have not responded to the warning. *** 

3 – Rangers who have been suspended from The Vanguard, are eligible for a trial by jury. Once suspended, the member will be contacted by the prosecuting officer via email. The suspended member will have 48 hours to respond to the email. In their response, they must indicate they wish to be tried by a jury of their peers. If they choose trial, they must schedule a trial and work with the prosecutor and Community Manager in finding a suitable date good for all parties involved. A suspended member may also decline trial. If a suspended member declines a trial or fails to schedule a trial in a timely manner, they are entering a plea of guilty. Their punishment will be levied against them using the punishment hierarchy found in rule 5 of this section. A guilty plea does not mean the Ranger will be removed from The Vanguard. If a suspended member fails to respond to the email within 48 hours, they are considered guilty and automatically removed from The Vanguard.

(a). The Small Council of The Vanguard may deny a member a right to trial. In order for this to occur, the council must meet and vote unanimously to deny the trial.

A trial may only be denied due to the following circumstances:

1 - The suspended member breaks the Code of Conduct while suspended.

2 - The person has demonstrated behavior that leads the council to believe they are making a mockery of the trial process, have no intention of remaining with the guild if found innocent, or wants a trial to simply waste time.

3 - The person has a long, documented history of CoC violations, suspensions, and disruptive behavior.

4 - The person discusses their suspension and/or trial with a member of the community, other than the guild leader, prosecutor, or members of the coucil. However, this does not

mean suspended members cannot associate with Vanguard Members. They simply cannot discuss their suspension and the upcoming trial. This prevents involving other members in possible drama.

4 - Trial proceedings shall be conducted in The Vanguard’s Team Speak. A jury of available Council members shall serve in each trial. The acting judge, usually the Community Manager, will do his/her best to ensure the jury chosen are impartial. Members of The Vanguard do not have a right to attend trials unless acting as witnesses. A defendant may only call four witnesses. Once the trial is concluded, the jury shall read out a verdict for each individual charge against the defendant. After the charges are read, the judge will pronounce the punishment using the punishment hierarchy located in rule 5 of this section. However, the judge has supreme authority in issuing of punishment and may be lenient or more harsh depending on the circumstances of the case. A member has the right to "one" appeal if they are not satisfied with the judge's punishment, the way in which the trial was conducted, or the jury's findings. It must be made within 48 hours of the original verdict. The appeal will be heard by the Grand Master and their decision is final.

5 - Violations of the Code of Conduct shall follow the punishment hierarchy below. Severe violations will lead to immediate suspension and banishment, if found guilty. Multiple violations and/or guilty verdicts on multiple rules will increase the offense count appropriately.

Punishment Hierarchy of Legend Gaming

Severe Acts - In regard to this document, severe acts are overt actions, be it speech or behavior, that is deemed by the Community Council to tend towards insurrection against the community and it's leadership. Rules in this document are marked with red lettering. Violation of those rules will cause the offending member to skip to fourth offense.

First Offense: Full Members, who are not on probation and do not have any active Code of Conduct warnings, will fall under the First Offense category of this section if they violate the CoC. This does not apply to severe violations. Full Members guilty of a Code of Conduct violation, within the first offense category, shall receive an official Code of Conduct warning from leadership. Warnings are issued through Private Message and email. Leadership is also encouraged to meet with the member receiving the warning, on Team Speak, to explain the warning. Official warnings remain on a member's record for six months. During these six months, the member is on probation. Members may request a record of their warning at anytime from leadership. Official Warnings are not reported to the membership of The Vanguard and do not have to be publicized. However, leadership is encouraged to report warnings to the victims of any violations. Recruits are not eligible for warnings.

Second Offense: Rangers, who commit a violation while on probation or who commit two violations in a single incident, will fall under the Second Offense category. Members falling under this category shall be suspended from The Vanguard. Leadership shall remove their in game membership, ban them from the forums, and revoke their Team Speak privileges. If a Ranger is found guilty at trial and falls into this category, they will be demoted to Recruit. Members demoted using this system will have to earn back their Full member status using the normal Recruit system.

Third Offense: Rangers, who commit two violations while on probation or who commit three violations in a single incident, will fall under the Third Offense category. Members falling under this category shall be suspended from The Vanguard. Leadership shall remove their in game membership, ban them from the forums, and revoke their Team Speak privileges. If a Ranger is found guilty at trial and falls into this category, they will be removed from the community. They are eligible to rejoin the community in 30 days from their removal. However, the ex-member would have to complete the entire application process again as a recruit with no guarantee of re-acceptance.

Fourth Offense: Ranger, who commit three violations while on probation or who commit four violations in a single incident, will fall under the Fourth Offense category. Members who commit severe acts also fall under the fourth offense category. Members falling under this category shall be suspended from The Vanguard. Leadership shall remove their in game membership, ban them from the forums, and revoke their Team

Speak privileges. If a Ranger is found guilty at trial of four or more offenses, the member will be banished from The Vanguard and receive a lifetime ban from the community. Members found guilty of severe acts will be banished from The Vanguard and receive a lifetime ban from the community

Section 7 - Chapter/Casual Chapter Specific Rules

Preface: Due to many games being different, there is a need for chapters and client guilds within The Vanguard to have additional rules. Please refer to the proper forum thread for the rules of each individual Chapter.

***All applicants are required to read this code and fully understand AND agree with it before being accepted. By applying to The Vangard, you agree to adhere to the Code of Conduct. Excuses of “I didn’t know” will not be accepted nor a valid form of argument for any breaking of the CoC rules.***

*** These rules are set in place for the betterment of the community as a whole. If you do not agree to the rules set in place or disagree with them, it will not be in your best interest to join. These rules create the best environment for fun, for all Vanguard members.***

**These rules are subject to change by the Leadership of The Vanguard. Any change to the rules above must be posted immediately and are not in effect until the membership is informed of said changes via email, pm, or forum posting in this topic.**