Bushido Rules and Policy v1.5.0, Everything Under the Sun

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Foreword:

This thread is a unified collection of all current Bushido rules and policy. This initial post acts as a summary of and index to each policy or rule. The full rule or policy should be linked immediately after the summary and includes all clarifications and exceptions. Any questions, suggestions, or concerns should be posted in a separate thread.

Mission Statement:

Bushido is a semi-casual raiding guild which believes in strong family-guild bonds and mutual respect. Policy

General Policies:

The guild bank is available to all guild members, but its contents are distributed at the discretion of guild leadership. Policy

Ranks within the guild are determined by participation and contribution. Policy

Bushido members are expected to have a moderate amount of guild interaction while online. Policy

Charging a guild member money for crafting should only be done when materials are not being provided, but unsolicited tips are perfectly acceptable. Policy

Recruitment Policies:

All players seeking to join Bushido must fill out an application in order to be considered. Policy

All Bushido members are encouraged to point any interested players to our application form or an officer, but should avoid actively attempting to recruit players from other raiding guilds. Policy

Raiding Policies:

Bushido members are expected to follow common courtesy when dealing with loot in raids. Policy

Bushido members should be aware of the rules specifically pertaining to Bind on Equip loot in raids. Policy

Bushido members are responsible for their performance in raids and should be aware of all that this responsibility entails. Policy

Active Bushido members are expected to raid with the guild at least once a month. Policy

Bushido members can organize and schedule their own guild raids if doing so does not conflict with guild raids that have already been scheduled. Policy

Bushido members are allowed to raid with PuGs and other guilds only when doing so does not conflict with Bushido's raids. Policy

Bushido members are not required to have dual specializations. Policy

Legal Policies:

Bushido has zero tolerance for gold/account buying and selling. Policy

Bushido allows for account sharing only under specific circumstances. Policy

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Mission Statement

The fundamental core of Bushido is that of mutual respect. This basic principle is the foundation for all of our policies. How we raid, how we treat each other and how we communicate must be anchored in our respect and care for one another. Without this, the family atmosphere and bonds we seek are unobtainable.

The fundamental goal of Bushido is to raid successfully without requiring real life sacrifices on the part of its members. We attempt to schedule and conduct our raids accordingly.

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Guild Bank Policy

All donations to the guild bank should be sent to Thebaglady.

The guild bank is built entirely upon unsolicited gifts from guild members. Due to the incredible variety of items and their widely varying individual worth, it is necessary that withdrawals are accomplished through the guild leadership. This allows us to keep distribution relatively equal and prevent items with a large demand from being quickly depleted.

If you wish to withdraw an item all you must do is ask an officer or Guen. In some cases officers may defer to Guen if they believe the item in question may potentially be highly sought. So long as you have a clear reason and need for the item it's unlikely that you will be refused. The circumstances for a refusal will always be explained.

The following are guidelines for what items to donate to the bank. They are not exhaustive, so please use your personal judgement.

Gear:
Green BoEs are not accepted. They quickly cause clutter and are very rarely used. BoE Blues and Epics are generally welcome. Be aware, however, that low level world drops are generally less useful for a raiding guild.

Reputation:
Current content reputation items are preferred.

Rep items usually stack in lots of 100-250, so generally speaking it's not too much trouble to store them. Do keep in mind that some rep items are far more useful than others. For the moment, our policy for withdrawing faction reputation items is an equal exchange (3 arcane tomes for 3 fel armaments, etc). Rep items for non-scryer/aldor rep usually get donated more than they're used, so if you need cenarion rep items or something like that, please let us know.

Quest:
Quested items, such as Un'Goro Soil or Power Crystals, are welcome so long as we are not already possessing more than one stack. Darkmoon Cards are welcome, but please avoid old world cards unless they are 8's, A's or completed decks.

Class Spellbooks:
Only spellbooks for untrainable spell ranks are accepted.

Consumables:
Consumables for raiding are appreciated greatly. Keep in mind which items are most useful, an elixir/food buff only useful to one class is more likely to cause clutter than one many classes use. Consumables in the guild bank should be used only when extenuating circumstances prevent a player from bringing their own.

Recipes:
Please do not send recipes that are not rare vendor spawns or world drops, or below level 250 profession skill.

Materials:
Most old content crafting materials quickly gather dust. Please donate only those old materials that are very likely to be used or extremely rare/valuable. Current content materials are always welcome. We will return anything we have in excess.

Gems:
Please do not send green gems, cut or uncut. All other gems are welcome. For up-and-coming jewelcrafters, you may request uncut blue gems from the bank if you are planning to cut them for skill-ups, after which you return it to the bank. However, we ask that you reserve this practice for cuts that are useful for raiding.
Epic gems will be saved for raiding gear. Please do not request them unless you are certain a particular slot has lasting value.

Lastly, the guild bank is not your personal junkyard. It's not appropriate for you to jettison stuff to Thebaglady just because you don't need it and don't know what to do with it.
Remember that any items that aren't getting used may be sold to finance more bank tabs.

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Guild Rank Policy

Aside from the top ranks reserved for officers, all other ranks are determined by guild participation and contribution. Those guildmates who prove themselves to be dedicated to the guild and its members will quickly rise in rank.

This is our way to recognize those exceptional people who go beyond what is required. These are the people that liven up guild/raid chat, who make instances/raids fun, who continually provide their services and help without thought of compensation, and who don't think twice about putting the guild before themselves. Ranks carry no benefits outside of the due recognition for in-guild accomplishments. There is no practical difference between a Petty Attendant and a Cavalryman

Members who keep to themselves and rarely interact, even if they are timely and focused in raids, will take longer to rank up. It's very difficult to get to know someone if they aren't participating.

Almost all demotions are temporary jokes made during typical guild chicanery. Permanent demotions are extremely rare, given only if the member in question has displayed a startling and damaging disrespect for their peers. To date, there has only been one permanent demotion in the history of the guild.

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Guild Interaction Policy

It is not a requirement that members be continuously interacting whenever present. We're well aware that there are times when players simply wish to focus on the task/goals at hand and have personal time. However, we very strongly encourage all players to pay attention to guild chat and interact whenever there's an opportunity.

Greetings and farewells are a start, but a healthy guild does more. When someone asks a question, whether it's about an instance run, an item's value, or a quest, please take the time to answer (even if it's a simple "no" or "I don't know"). Share your in-game experiences, joys and griefs as they happen. Be silly, serious, or wax philosophical in guild chat and vent to have fun with us. If none of these are practiced on a consistent basis we have no right to call ourselves a family guild.

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Guild Crafting Policy

We believe it is courteous and respectful to defer payment for any crafting service when the guildmate asking for the help provides all the materials themselves. Any charge or compensation in the case of missing materials is a matter of the crafter's discretion.

When guildmates are looking to obtain materials within the guild, the decision to seek compensation is that of the person providing materials. It should not be assumed that guildies will give up their hard earned items without cost unless they personally wish to.

Please also keep us informed as you learn new rare crafts. We like to keep our crafting threads up to date, and it's easier to update (and for you to remember) if we get new crafts as they're learned rather than in big chunks.

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Guild Recruitment Policy

The guild recruitment application is a tool we use to get to know prospective players. It helps us enter interviews informed about the applicant and with realistic expectations. It also acts as minimum bar for all prospective members, filtering out anyone unable or unwilling to but a basic modicum of effort.

Players who have raided with us extensively can bypass this process if the guild leadership feels they have distinguished themselves in their time with us.

We do not make exceptions for real life friends, spouses and family. There have been many cases in the past where doing so was a mistake that caused problems both for us and for the guild as a whole. We understand and share the desire to have friends and family in the guild, but the guild itself is a family. Everyone who joins needs to be a part of that. Recruits who come here solely because of friends or relatives and not because of the guild's own merits ultimately hurt the guild more than they help.

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Guild Member Recruiting Guidelines

Bushido is always open to players of every class and spec. Whenever you encounter players who are genuinely fun to play with please consider pointing them our way. You don't need to be a salesman or an evangelist, just ask after their interest in raiding and point them to our application.

The only time we ask you do not solicit applications is when the player in question is already in a raiding guild. We are strongly against guild poaching and always communicate with other raiding guilds when we receive applicants from one of our peers.

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Common Courtesy

Common courtesy is a loose looting system which asks players to stop and consider other players before themselves when loot is being distributed. There are no "hard" rules, but general guidelines for players to follow.

1) Be wise. Knowing clearly what is and isn't an upgrade for you goes a long way toward reducing both downtime and drama.
2) Be honest. Rolling sidegrade on an item which is an upgrade games the system. Mistakes happen, but people take notice if someone frequently undervalues items.
3) Be humble. If you have already received an upgrade please pass on further items during the raid so that other people can have a chance.
4) Be gracious. A particular item might be a far bigger upgrade for another player, or may be the last piece a veteran needs to complete their gear. Try to be aware of these circumstances and pass accordingly.
5) Be courteous. Celebrate not only your own victories, but those of your fellows. Jesting is welcome, but try to avoid kicking someone when they're down or raining on someone's parade.

These are by nature subjective, but the guild leadership is very mindful of how everyone conducts themselves in our raids. Overly self-deprecating players will be smacked until they have the sense to roll. Likewise, abuse of the system will not be tolerated.

Typically players will accept one upgrade on a given evening and pass or roll sidegrade on later drops.

Common Courtesy applies in all situations. However, there are specific rules when dealing with Bind on Equip items that are dropped during raids, found in the following link: BoE Epics and World Drops in Raids

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Raid Performance Policy

The nature of our guild is such that we have precious little time to raid together. In order to be successful as a raiding guild we must make the most of the time that we have. As such, all raiders must be aware of how their performance and conduct benefits or detracts from our raids.

First and foremost, communication is of the utmost importance. Friendly chatter makes for fun and smooth raids. Clear intentions make looting relaxing and quick. Decisive interaction makes boss fights epic, exciting and successful even in loss. Wiping dozens of times on one boss is fun with proper communication, and one-shotting can be depressing without it.

Secondly, each raider must be aware of their ability to fulfill their role. It is important that we excel in all of the functions our class/spec is called upon to perform. Raiders should always be reevaluating their abilities, identifying where they have trouble, and taking the necessary steps to improve.

Lastly, preparation and punctuality are key to getting raids started on the right foot. Showing up to raids on time, minimizing distractions/afks and having consumables ready will have a huge positive effect on the raid. When raids start on time, everyone benefits from a better environment.

To reiterate, we have precious few hours with which to raid and these responsibilities help us to make the most of what time we have. Failing to do your part is disrespectful toward those who raid beside you.

Officers and Class Leads exist as a resource for players who need outside help to improve and to bring severe issues to attention. Beyond that they are not responsible for anyone else's performance.

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Raid Frequency Policy

Bushido members who are active are expected to raid with the guild at least once a month. Active members who do not raid at least that often will be approached by the guild leadership in order to identify what hurdles and problems exist that inhibit the member from raiding.

The purpose of this is to determine what is best for the guild and the player involved. The situations will vary, but in some we may suggest that the player find a guild with a schedule that better matches their own. We will not, however, force or ask any player to leave simply due to schedule conflicts.

This rule obviously does not apply during guild downtime such as summer doldrums or immediately after an expansion release. There are also obvious exceptions for those still leveling/gearing up. Most obvious of all, the rule does not apply to players who are inactive.

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Member Raid Scheduling

For those raiders who are unable to make our schedule, or who simply must raid more often you may organize or even schedule your own. However, these raids must not conflict with raids scheduled prior.

Raids come into conflict when they have an impact on each other's available raiding pool. Please make sure that all players involved had no intention or ability to make a previously scheduled raid before inviting them. Also avoid the obvious mistake of scheduling your raid at the same time as another.

Please note all such raids in the forums, even impromptu ones. It helps us to keep track of what our guild is accomplishing and to plan for the scheduled raids.

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PuG Raiding Policy

Some of our players have volatile schedules, additional alts, or friends in other guilds. To facilitate their needs, we have no problem allowing them to raid with other guilds and PuGs so long as this does not conflict with our own raids.

Conflict occurs then the player in question could have comfortably made a guild raid either at the same time or an identical raid later in the week. When raiding with other guilds please make sure to contact the guild leadership so that we're aware. It spares everyone confusion later, and helps us to plan for guild raids.

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Dual Specialization Policy

Bushido does not require that our members have dual specializations. However, raiders that take advantage of the feature can and should be clear as to their "main" specialization and roll on gear accordingly. Rolling "need" on gear for your secondary specialization should be avoided whether or not that specialization is used for raiding.

As stated elsewhere we have no particular preference as to how you choose your talents so long as you are able to adequately fulfill your role.

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Gold/Account/Character Buying and Selling Policy

Bushido has zero tolerance for gold/account buying and selling. Under absolutely no circumstances or conditions are these activities allowed. Any members found to be conclusively engaged in these activities will be expelled from the guild permanently.

99.9% of all gold on the market is obtained through hacking accounts. If you buy gold you are supporting people who routinely trash accounts and entire guilds. To facilitate this outright criminal activity is beyond disrespectful. Do not do it.

Bushido takes a similar stance on account/character buying/selling/trading in order to protect our members and our guild. The market is filled with hacked accounts, double crossing buyers/sellers, and dubious scams. The potential damage is too great to allow our members to take that risk.