The Riders of Rohan Kinship

Gaming Philosophy, Leadership System and Code of Conduct

Original: 7/12/2007

Updated: 4/7/2010

This document represents the official purpose, gaming philosophy, structure and Code of Conduct (CoC) for The Riders of Rohan kinship (RoR) on the Arkenstone server in the perpetual online game The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). Any and all information within this document belongs to the officer corps of The Riders of Rohan kinship and should not be reproduced for any reason without the express written consent of the officer corps of The Riders of Rohan kinship. For document reproduction questions or any other comments or questions reference The Riders of Rohan, please fill out the webmaster contact form located at www.ridersofrohan-lotro.com.

Summary of CoC: This section is a quick summary of the main points of the CoC. This is provided so that members, officers and the general public can quickly gather and understand the most important ideas contained in this document. Please see the paragraphs below for further details concerning the following list:

• The most important ROR rule is to have fun while being mature, respectful and relaxed and while following the LOTRO Terms of Service (ToS).

• Although all members’ opinions are valued and we encourage all ideas and suggestions, RoR is an Oligarchy style organization in which the Executive Officer corps exercise control over any and all matters related to RoR.  The Executive Officer corps is assisted by the Officer corps.

• Members/officers shall not conduct “real-world” buying, selling or trading of any LOTRO in-game characters or items including currency i.e., “gold buying or selling”.  Violation of this rule will result in immediate expulsion from the kinship.

• Members/officers should always conduct themselves with maturity and respect and shall not scam, spam, hack, trick or cheat other RoR members or any LOTRO player.

Purpose: This document is designed to outline the gaming philosophy of The Riders of Rohan as well as to inform our members and the public of the rules that govern our in-game conduct. This document applies to all Executive Officers, Officers and members of The Riders of Rohan.

Gaming Philosophy: The Riders of Rohan kinship has a very simple gaming philosophy. We believe that gaming should be fun and relaxed while remaining mature and respectful. The officers and members of RoR feel that each individual deserves to have a fun and exciting gaming atmosphere free from personal attacks, abusive language, excessive profanity or any other type of harassment. Although we believe that each player has the right to voice their opinion, that right does not and will not override the rights of other players to have a safe and satisfying gaming experience.

Leadership System: Although The Riders of Rohan kinship values all member’s opinions and suggestions, RoR is an Oligarchy style organization in which the Executive Officer Corps exercises control over any and all matters related to RoR.  The Executive Officer Corps have absolute authority over all situations involving RoR. The Executive Officer Corps, aided by the Officer Corps, will make all kinship decisions and have the final say in any and all situations regarding The Riders of Rohan kinship.

Code of Conduct

The Riders of Rohan Code of Conduct is as follows and applies to all Executive Officers, Officers and members during online gameplay, while using the RoR website and any other LOTRO related website:

1. Members shall not violate the official LOTRO Terms of Service. The official LOTRO ToS is located at the following web address: http://www.turbine.com/?page_id=81. Although some of the following rules are a violation of the LOTRO ToS and are therefore covered by this rule, the RoR Executive Officer Corps has chosen to explicitly point out certain rules. These rules are considered especially important by RoR leadership.
2. Members shall not violate the LOTRO ToS rule which expressly prohibits “real-world” buying, selling or trading of any LOTRO in-game characters or items. This includes the buying, selling or trading of in-game currency of any kind. For more information, please refer to the Restrictions and Conditions of Use section, paragraph 1 of the LOTRO Terms of Service.
3. Members should always conduct themselves with maturity and respect.
4. Members shall not scam, spam, hack, trick or otherwise cheat other RoR members or any LOTRO player.
5. Members shall not verbally attack any other RoR member. Disagreements are a part of every MMORPG but members will remain mature and respectful at all times. If a disagreement occurs, it should only be discussed via private messages. No arguing, bickering, flaming or other verbally hostile or abusive conversations are allowed on any RoR kinship chat channels, RoR website venues or any other LOTRO related website.
6. Any and all Player vs. Monster Player (P v. MP) (Freep vs. Creep) regions are considered "free for all" regions by RoR. RoR has no restrictions on P v. MP play. All CoC rules apply to RoR members playing on "monster" characters.
7. Although the use of light profanity is not strictly prohibited on RoR kinship communications channels, the use of profanity is highly discouraged. An excessive, especially vulgar or disturbing use of profanity is prohibited in all RoR kinship communications channels. One or more Executive Officers and/or Officers will make the final decision on a case by case basis as to what represents “excessive”, “especially vulgar” or “disturbing”.

Even though RoR does not govern how often members play or how fast members increase character levels, we feel that it is very important to keep the RoR in-game kinship roster relatively current and up to date. Therefore, from time to time, we may remove characters from the RoR website and in-game roster which do not log in to the LOTRO game or RoR website for 6 months (180 days) or more. This does not mean that the member or the member’s characters have been expelled from the kinship. The member can bring the removed character back into the RoR kinship at any time by logging in to that character and contacting a RoR officer. If any member will be unable to log in a character for 6 months or more, the member can post a message on the RoR website forum reference their extended absence and their character or characters will remain in the kinship.

Special “Rule 2” Penalty: The RoR leadership team feels very strongly that no RoR member shall break rule number 2 listed above. This rule applies to the “real-world” buying, selling or trading of LOTRO in-game items, currency or characters. We believe that this type of activity is not only dishonest in nature but is a key contributing factor to the overall downfall and degradation of MMORPG games such as LOTRO. Therefore, rule number 2 listed above is the only rule that if violated, will automatically result in unconditional, immediate and permanent expulsion from The Riders of Rohan kinship. Any member found in violation of this rule will not receive any type of warning from the corps of officers that their actions are inappropriate. The offending member will face immediate expulsion from The Riders of Rohan kinship in accordance with penalty step 4 listed below.

General Code of Conduct Penalties: The Riders of Rohan kinship does not consider itself a restrictive or highly structured kinship. We pride ourselves on remaining free of unnecessarily restrictive rules and regulations. Our goal is instead to provide a fun and relaxed environment for members to meet and game together. Nonetheless, the above mentioned code of conduct consists of the basic rules that we feel must be followed in order for all members to enjoy the fun and relaxed gaming environment which we strive to create and maintain. Therefore, the code of conduct will be enforced. The following list identifies the actions and remedies that can be taken by the officer corps in the event the code of conduct is broken. The below list is in preferred order but the officer corps will handle each situation on a case by case basis. The officer corps reserves the right to skip one or all of the first three penalty steps and proceed directly to step 4 in any situation.

Step 1:  Officer corps will inform the member via private chat channels that their actions are inappropriate.  Members can and should ask the informing officer why the actions are inappropriate. The officer will ensure that the member fully understands why their actions are inappropriate before any further disciplinary actions are taken.  The officer will inform all other officers about the warning.  The warning will not be posted in a public venue for any reason. If the problem persists,

Step 2:  Officer Corps will inform the member via private chat channels that their actions are again inappropriate.  The officer will inform the member that this is their final warning and explain in detail what actions were deemed inappropriate and why.  The officer will inform all other officers of the final warning. This final warning shall not be posted in a public venue for any reason. If the problem persists,

Step 3:  Officer Corps will suspend the member from participating in any and all RoR activities for a period of one (1) calendar month. The officer corps will draft a suspension notification explaining in detail what repeated unacceptable actions lead to the suspension. This suspension shall not be posted in a public venue for any reason. Suspension notices will only be transmitted through private channels and will only be seen by the member and the officer corps. The suspension applies to the members main character and any alternate characters controlled by the member. If, after the 1 month suspension expires, the problem persists,

Step 4:  Officer Corps will indefinitely expel the member from The Riders of Rohan kinship. The officer corps may attempt, but is not required, to explain why the member is being expelled. The expulsion will take effect immediately and will last indefinitely. The offending member will no longer be welcome to participate in The Riders of Rohan kinship or any venue controlled by The Riders of Rohan kinship. Any known alternate characters for the offending member will also be immediately and indefinitely expelled from The Riders of Rohan kinship. Once the decision is made to expel a member, the decision will be final and will not be open for discussion and/or negotiation. If a member is expelled for code of conduct violations, the member will not be eligible for readmission to The Riders of Rohan kinship in the future.

By accepting membership in The Riders of Rohan kinship, each member and officer expressly agrees that they read and understood this document as well as the official LOTRO Terms of Service. Each member and officer also expressly agrees to abide by the code of conduct set forth in this document and the official LOTRO ToS. Ignorance as to the existence of this document or the official LOTRO ToS will not be accepted as an excuse for violations.

The corps of officers would like to reiterate that we do not want to levy unnecessarily restrictive rules and regulations on RoR members. Our goal is to have fun and play LOTRO together in a relaxed and stress-free environment. The above rules of conduct are the most basic rules that we feel must be enforced in order to ensure that The Riders of Rohan kinship remains a fun, inviting and relaxed organization for all members. If any RoR member or member of the general public has any questions or comments about this document, please fill out the webmaster contact form located at www.ridersofrohan-lotro.com.

Thank you and we will see you in Middle Earth.