PIF Silvergate Guild Charter and FAQ

1.  Guild Management Roster
2.  Guild Charter
3.  Introduction and History
4.  An open letter from Kailef
 

1.  PIF Guild Management Roster - Revised December 2016

• Guildmaster Jarrod Kailef
  Kailef founded the PIF Silvergate guild in 1999.  He is the only member remaining from "House Silvergate", the guild from which PIF Silvergate sprung.  He is ultimately responsible for the management of PIF Silvergate as a whole, the assignment of guild officers, templars, and agents, insuring the guild charter is adhered to, and mediation of otherwise irresolvable conflicts between members.  He is also a merciless dictator, but you'll never get him to admit it in public.  Oh, wait...  
   
• Assistant Guildmaster Shanni 
  Shanni was originally promoted to help manage the and moderate relations between members of our rapidly growing guild.  Besides having full managerial authority over the guild, she functions as the equivalent of our 'Internal Affairs' department. This involved being the first point of contact for individuals who have a grievance with other PIF members.  Additionally, she will be the first point of contact when the guild management determines than a member needs to be counseled regarding their conduct.
  
  
• Officer Anosa - SotA Division Lead
  Anosa saw Shroud of the Avatar's potential very early on, and is even operating "Silvergate Inn" inside the city of Beran's Reach, mirroring PIF Silvergate's beginnings in the text MUD Gemstone III.  A dedicated and long time member of PIF Silvergate, he embodies the the essence of what it means to help others without the expectation of reward.
  
  
• Officer AncientOne - WoW Division Lead
  A member of PIF Silvergate since 2003, AncientOne is a true veteran of our guild.  While he would be the first one to admit that he isn't the most technically inclined, he more than makes up for that in enthusiasm and a sincere desire to help others.
  
  

2.  PIF Silvergate Guild Charter - Revised December 2016

1. Statement of Purpose
    
   Our guild exists to create a fun, stress free environment for our members to interact, help each other, and assist new players with learning.
    
2. Guild Leadership
   
   A.  Guild Management
    
   The Guildmaster, Kailef, is ultimately responsible for all final decisions regarding the guild, and is responsible for insuring that all of the tenets in the Guild Charter are adhered to by all members.  In the absence of the Guildmaster, the Assistant Guildmaster will assume the duties of the Guildmaster.
    
   Guild Officers are assigned by the Guildmaster to perform broad ranging duties as defined by the Guildmaster.  In the absence of the Guildmaster and Assistant Guildmaster, Guild Officers are responsible for guild decisions.
   
   B.  Guild Lieutenants
    
   Templars are assigned by the Guildmaster to independently perform specific duties as directed.  Templars do not have authority over guild decisions except in the areas they are specifically assigned.
   
   Agents are assigned by the Guild Leadership to provide specific aid to a member of the Guild Leadership in the exercising of their specific responsibilities.  Agents do not have authority over guild decisions.
    
3. Guild Server and Faction
    
   PIF Silvergate is an multi-game guild, and as such, specific server and faction information varies depending on which game we are participating in.  In general, PIF Silvergate is not a PvP guild, and we generally do not have a presence on open-PvP servers.  That said, creation and play of alternate characters and unguilded characters is permitted.  
    
4. Member Responsibilities
    
   In the past, PIF Silvergate required all active members, unless specifically relieved of this duty by the guild management because of their skills being needed elsewhere, to participate in the PIF Silvergate Advocate program.  This program consisted of each member spending several hours per month in a starter town of their game of choice, assisting new players with acclimating themselves to the game.  As time has passed this has become somewhat less useful, with most new games having new players start in an instance and providing a guided tour to get new players up to speed.  As such, this is no longer a requirement for PIF Silvergate members, but we still require members to provide aid to new players when you see someone that needs assistance.
    
5. Code of Conduct
    
   All members must be kind, courteous, and refrain from use of profanity at all times.  Offensive language, intentionally instigating other members or players, rude behavior, etc, may result in disciplinary action up to and including the immediate termination of guild membership.  While we will be lenient and allow about as much wiggle room as one might see in a PG-13 movie, consistent disregard for this rule will not be tolerated.
   
   If a member feels that another member has behaved inappropriately, or has a grievance against another member for some reason, it should be discussed privately and resolved.  If a member cannot or will not discuss the matter privately, they are required to speak with the guildmaster, an officer, or the Internal Affairs Coordinator.  Publicly discussing a grievance, whether voice chat, guild chat, forums or otherwise, is strictly prohibited.  Failure to follow the guidelines in this paragraph is grounds for dismissal from the guild, at the discretion of the guildmaster.
    
   In general, be polite, and remember that it is a violation of our Code of Conduct to behave in a fashion that does not consider the needs of others.  Greed and self-interest are not appropriate attributes for our guild members.
    
6. Participation
    
   Guild members are expected to participate in-game and on the PIF Silvergate message boards regularly.  If you are going to be away from the guild for an extended period of time, we request that you report that absence on the forums, or at least let an officer know that you will be away.  That said, PIF Silvergate members are members for their lifetime, and generally will never be removed from the guild unless they ask to be.
   
   "Participate in-game" as mentioned above entails spending the bulk of your in-game time grouped with other PIF Silvergate members in one of the games that PIF Silvergate is currently active in.
    
7. Guild Treasury / Funding
    
   PIF Silvergate will maintain a guild treasury for the purpose of funding our crafters, expeditions, equipping members in need, and eventually purchasing guild housing when it becomes available.  All members are welcome to donate a portion of their income or collected crafting materials to the guild treasury whenever it is convenient for them to do so.  Mandatory collection of regularly scheduled guild dues for deposit into the treasury is no longer required as of May 2005.  However, the PIF tradition of assisting fellow guildmates perseveres, and when a member requires capital and crafting materials to purchase or create items beneficial to the guild, all members are expected to contribute.  Contributions for such instances will be coordinated by the guild treasurer.
    
8. Role Playing
    
   PIF Silvergate is not a dedicated role playing guild.  While role playing is encouraged, it is not required.  However, all members must keep discussions about non genre-related topics out of all chat (Guild / Group / Public) except for private chat.  Discussion of game mechanics are permitted in public chat for purposes of assisting others.  Note that The Silvergate Company is the public name for our guild when role playing.
    
9. A.  Application for Membership
    
   All applicants must read, understand, and agree to follow all guidelines expressed in this document.  Additionally, Applicants must read the "Membership Applications" topic on the PIF Membership Applications forum viewable by clicking the "Forums" link under the Main Menu to the left of this page.  All Applicants must fill out the membership application found here in it's entirely and post it into permanent record.
    
   B.  Membership Acceptance Policy
    
   All applications will be reviewed by the Guildmaster and Officers to determine suitability to the guild.  In order for each applicant to begin the formal application process, they must be sponsored by a current, non probationary PIF Silvergate member, and have a secondary sponsor whom may be probationary or non-probationary.  Once sponsored, the Applicant must be approved by the Guildmaster.  At that time, the Applicant will participate in a one-month evaluation period during which they will be invited to the guild as a visitor.  During that period, a general vote will be held by the guild at large regarding the applicant's admittance to the guild.  If any 'no'  votes are received, they must be outweighed by 'yes' votes by at least a factor of 10 to 1.  Additionally, all of the guild management staff must have voted 'yes' in order for the application to be ratified, which as of August 2007 is conducted in a separate forum.  The Applicant's forum participation and in-game conduct weighs heavily in this process, and the applicant is strongly advised to follow the direction of their primary sponsor in order to maximize their chances of being admitted.  The final decision regarding the admittance of an applicant rests with the Guildmaster.
   
   C.  Probationary Members
   
   Once accepted, the member will have a three month probationary period during which their in-game and message board conduct will be further observed to determine if the potential member is a good long term fit for the guild.  At this time the member's sponsor is responsible for instructing the new member in the expectations and minutiae of membership in PIF Silvergate.  After a period of time no less than three months has passed, if there have been no complaints against the probationary member raised, the sponsor is relieved of their responsibilities to tutor the new member, and the new member's probation expires and they become a full member.  If complaints about a member are raised, the probationary member will either be ejected from the guild, or the probationary period will be extended by an additional three months, depending on the severity of the infraction.
   
   D.  Re-Application
   
   Applicants who's first attempt at membership is not successful may re-apply after 30 days have passed from the date their unsuccessful application, provided that have a sponsor other than their original sponsor.  If the second application is not accepted, the member will no longer be eligible to apply for membership in PIF Silvergate.  Members that are expelled from the guild for misconduct are not eligible for re-application.  Members that leave the guild in good standing are eligible to re-apply, or at the Guildmaster's discretion, may re-admitted without performing the application process.
    
10. Other Administration
     
    The Guildmaster of Pay It Forward / Silvergate reserves the right to modify this charter at any time, and take corrective actions required for the benefit of the guild as a whole that may not be specifically expressed in this document.

3.  Introduction and History - Written late 2003, revised December 2016

When these players began to gather in Asheron's Call, before long we noticed that the learning curve was rather steep - Our guild (then known simply as Silvergate, an extension of the guild we were part of in GemStone III) began to take turns during peak hours of the day, standing around new player spawn points and giving assistance and instruction to the fledgling players to help them on their way.

Well, this became more than just a hobby for us. Our guild grew, and more members volunteered for this job.  After a time we gained the ability to deploy a guild member at every starter town in the game at the same time to provide help to the new players. We eventually instituted set schedules whereupon no new player could enter the Harvestgain server during prime-time hours without having a Silvergate member right there to help them get started.

After a time, Turbine (the Asheron's Call developer team) began an Advocate program which was basically an "official" version of exactly what we were doing already - Nearly all of our members applied for this program, and most, having already been experienced with this, were immediately accepted. Our guild was credited with being instrumental in the creation of the program.

With the release of Asheron's Call 2, many guild members, (including Kailef) moved there. The Silvergate guild continued to operate in the original Asheron's Call. The members now in Asheron's Call 2 did not form a Silvergate branch immediately, however. Many of the members joined an existing guild known as (you guessed it) Pay It Forward, and it thrived quite well, as it's Guildmaster had similar goals and ideals as Kailef. However, this Guildmaster shortly left the world of online gaming due to personal reasons and Kailef became the Guildmaster of Pay It Forward as well as Silvergate. Kailef decided he was not able to run Silvergate in AC1 and Pay It Forward in AC2, so he ceded his position of Guildmaster in AC1 to his second in command.

The Pay It Forward guild forged ahead and began to set up an Advocacy program here as well, but shortly later took a bit of a hit, because Asheron's Call 2 was in the throes of technical difficulties which prevented nearly all Guild and /tell (private message) chat. However, they recovered and survived, keeping the name Pay It Forward as it clearly exemplified what the guild was about.

After a year of operation in Asheron's Call 2, the technical difficulties reached a head and were compounded by a large wave of perceived "nerfing" of player characters by the developers. The result of this was a mass exodus from Asheron's Call 2, taking the once crowded servers which housed 800-1000 players during peak times to 50-75 each. Asheron's Call 2 sputtered into stagnation on or around the middle of 2003 as most of the players quit, leaving Pay It Forward a shell of it's former self.

The remaining members continued to remain in contact with each other on their guild message board, planning on reforming in World of Warcraft. Now the day draws near that PIF Silvergate will once again have the opportunity to shine in a game managed and developed by one of the most competent and responsible gaming companies on Earth. We eagerly await the opportunity to bring our unique brand of camaraderie to World of Warcraft, a much anticipated game that the remaining PIF Silvergate members have been waiting impatiently for.  With a few of us having the opportunity to play in the Beta Stress Test in August of 2004, our excitement level is at an all time high.  We can't wait!

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Seven years later, we continue to play World of Warcraft and prepare ourselves for the imminent launch of Bioware's Star Wars: The Old Republic, which many of us have beta tested.  World of Warcraft is still going strong, and we will become a multi-game guild soon, with some of our members playing WoW and some playing TOR.  It is an exciting time for us!

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As 2016 draws to a close, our guild has begun to play in Shroud of the Avatar, the new MMO released by Richard Garriott and his team at Portalarium Studios.  Our tradition of helping others without the expectation of reward remains central to our gaming experience, and although we are not as large as we once were, our members, both new and old, continue to strengthen friendships and have fun together.  While most of us maintain our retail WoW accounts, a lot of us also played "Vanilla" World of Warcraft for a time, until the Nostralius server was shut down by Blizzard Entertainment.  It was a really fun return to our roots in World of Warcraft and a lot of fun.  While a new group has begin running the old Nostralius server and some of us are planning to play, we all hope that Blizzard introduces a legitimate way to play classic "Vanilla" WoW again, as most of us really miss the greater challenge and larger differentiation of classes that the original game provided.

4.  A Personal Message from Kailef - Written late 2003, revised January 2nd, 2004

I've been playing massive multiplayer online RPG's for as long as I had a modem.  I played pure text MUD games for years and years prior to the first introduction of Meridian 59, the first real graphical online RPG that I am aware of.  As games got more advanced, so did the problems that they presented to players.  Game flaws became more and more apparent - not so much bugs causing crashes, but design issues where players who were supposed to be having fun would get into fights over who gets the vital drop off of that last mob, kill stealing, camping, griefing, and all of the other nonsense that tends to follow MMORPG's around like a persistent cough that just won't go away.

All of this was compounded by the rather steep learning curve of these games, especially Ultima Online, (leave town and die) Everquest, (Help, it says I'm starving, where can I find some food?) and Asheron's Call 1 (Huh, what's a taper?) ... Having played them for a good long time and watching how the high level players were in such a hurry to go off and power level while cheerfully discussing the latest Superbowl in a setting so obviously not designed for such things, I figured this needed a solution, and fast.  Therefore, I wanted to take a moment to express what I feel is the appropriate way to go.

First, all members, regardless of level, length of time with the guild, officer or otherwise, are to be considered equal.  We simply don't have room for a big ego in our guild.

Second, this is a game!  Games are fun.  If the game stops being fun, if our guild stops being fun, we must address the issue immediately.  Too often in the past I have found myself going on a raid and feeling that I was off to my day job rather than playing a fun game.  That's not to say that we shouldn't be organized and efficient and all of that, but there's not going to be a mad level race in this guild.  Role playing and socializing are the whole point to a MMORPG.  If you just want to go out and kill AI controlled monsters, you certainly don't need a server with a thousand other players on it to do so, right?

Third, we don't have to be the "best guild on the server".  In fact, I don't care if we're the weakest guild, the last one to complete each new quest, etc...  That's not to say that I don't want us to be able to tackle the tough mobs and go on the tough quests, but keep a perspective as we do so - There's no race here.  Our job as outlined in our charter will make us a well-known guild regardless of our battlefield exploits.  We should have a reputation as a helpful, trustworthy, mature group of people that anyone would want to have around. 

Fourth, griefers be gone.  If you want to give members or non-members a hard time, think harassing people is fun, enjoy using foul language, enjoy being rude, or simply don't want to take the time to be considerate of your fellow members, you certainly don't belong in PIF Silvergate.  This sort of thing will literally not be tolerated.  All guild officers may terminate the membership of any member at any time for any reason related to the offenses noted in this paragraph.  You can appeal to the Guildmaster if you feel you were unfairly treated, but my advice is to never get into this situation in the first place.  I realize this is harsh, but one of the most prevalent issues with PIF Silvergate in the past was members wearing our tags going about acting like jerks and ruining our reputation. 

Fifth, and this has been a bit of an annoyance for me in the past:  Guild members should not charge other guild members for items and services.  We maintain a guild treasury for the purposes of funding our crafters (and eventually buying housing when it's implemented!) and supporting guild activities.  If you need some sort of payment for a terribly expensive item you gave to another member, just ask an officer if you can get compensation from the guild treasury.  It's that simple.  We are here to support all of our members - As was mentioned earlier, we are all equal.

Sixth, let's talk about grouping.  Simply put, members should interact with other guild members on a regular basis.  Members who tend to spend most of their time with non-members or soloing, members who fail to participate in the guild message forums... these are members who ought to look for another guild.  There were few things more frustrating to me in Asheron's Call 2 than watching a guild member ask if anyone would group with them in guild chat, and listening to all hundred members online at that time ignore the request because they were off "doing their own thing".  In a nutshell, if you can't take the time to group with members of the guild, then you're not a member of the guild.

In closing, remember that we are a team with a few very simple common goals.  Help new players, help each other, and have fun.  Not to be generic but quite simply, remember the golden rule.  Don't do something to someone unless you'd want it done to you.