What does it mean to be an active member?
It is different in many guilds. Up to now I have not been strict about it at all. In fact I have not banned anyone for being inactive. This is mainly because it was a new guild and we needed all the members we could get as well as the fact that I spent a lot of my time maintaining the Guild. Now, however I will be putting into action a strict policy for inactive members. The policy is as follows.
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1. All new members must post at least once in there first month.
2. All members must post at least once a month. (If you miss one month here and there I will not act on it unless there are other circumstances)
3. Donating in not required but if you do donate I will add "Activity Credit" (100g = one free month, however once you use up that month you go back you 0 credit) For more information on "activity credit" see number 9.
4. Vacation, If you are going on vacation or going somewhere that you cannot access the internet please post in the "Vacation" thread the date of your departure and the date of your return and I will not mark you "inactive" for the time that you are gone.
5. First Offence, I will PM you to let you know that you are "inactive" and risk banning. After that I will allow two weeks to pass and if you have not made a post (or donated, but posting is preferred) I will send you another PM stating that this is your last warning. You will be given one week (or 7 days) from the time of that PM to become active again. If you do not I will ban you.
6. Appeals, if you have received a PM from me saying that you have become "inactive" and you do not agree you may reply to my PM stating why you disagree. I am not always right. It may be that I have over looked something although I will try my best to check and double check before issuing a warning.
7. Record, All warnings will go on your permanent record whether they are warnings for inactivity or breach of Guild rules. The only reason that I will remove a warning from your record is if you appeal it and I agree with your appeal.
8. Individual Basis, although these rules may seem harsh I will also view each case on an individual basis. These are guide lines to help you avoid being banned, but I do not enjoy banning people and if there is a reason that you should not be banned I will try to take that into consideration. On the same line I you are a repeat offender I will also take that into consideration and you may get harsher treatment, but I will try to warn you if you are becoming a repeat offender so you will know where you stand.
9. More on Activity Credit, as aforementioned you may receive "activity credit" by donating. This is because we greatly appreciate donations that help make this guild better. Also it shows that you still remember that this guild exists and that is activity. There is a limit to "activity credit," however. All new members must post at least once by the end of the second month no mater how much is donated. "Activity credit" can not be used for over 3 months. if you donate more than 300g you will still get all of the "activity credit" that is equivalent to your donation but it must be used at another time. If I find that you are just posting once every 3 months and relying on "activity credit" repeatedly you will be warned for "inactivity."
10. Marking periods, for ease I will call a month 4 weeks or 28 days.
NOTE: This rule will go into effect at the time of this post (November 17, 2006) I will treat all members with no posts as new members and will be counting form today on. Similarly for all members who have posted I will be counting form today for your next post. For all members who have donated, I will record your donations as "activity credit" and I will use it if you do not post within one month of this today (November 17, 2006).
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Thank you for reading this and if you are not clear on something please post your specific question here so that other people who may have the same question can see the answer.
