[Officer Meeting] October 31, 2012

October 31, 2012 Officer Meeting Notes

So, as write this, the meeting has yet to take place. Hopefully I get around to having it tonight, rather than tomorrow, but be rest assured that at some point during the next 36 hours a conversation between officers will take place on the following subjects. Below we have Vanguard (patch)notes, so that you guys know exactly what's coming.

General Changes

• We will finally get around to discussing the guild bank's rules. As it stands, the bank will have moderate access to most tabs. Materials for leveling professions as well as for PvE and PvP endeavors will be made available. This (likely) includes gems, enchants, flasks, cloth, ore, cooking supplies, cooked foods and banquets, and possibly epic gear upgrades or the materials to make such. Members will be expected to use the bank appropriately. Any excess use of the bank will be closely monitored and will likely result in removal of bank access.
  
• Ranks
  
  • There have been changes to ranks, and these are reflected in our current guild set-up. Ranks have been separated into divisions, with officers holding their own separate ranking within the guild. All members will OOCly be on equal grounds, though this may not be the case ICly, as hierarchy is established on a military and political basis.
    
  • Officers now hold one of two officer ranks.
    
    • The Oathbound are junior officers, with limited access to the guild bank and moderate administration capabilities. These officers will be in charge of moderation of guild chat as well as assisting with storyline as fitting. ICly, these members are people of important rank that are unaffiliated with any of the particular units, sworn to the Vanguard itself. Some may be the alts of officers. Members who were a part of Amphitheatre's main story will be appointed to this rank so that they may continue on with said story on the side.
      
    • Commanders are senior officers in every sense of the word. They have exceptional bank access and each are capable in their own right of making administrative decisions in the absence of the guild leader. They are expected to know our rules and know our preferential methods of dealing with infractions. ICly, they are also leaders. Commanders will lead each of the respective units within the Vanguard and each is responsible for their own unit. There will only be one commander per unit, and there will be no further commanders appointed past the date of this post.
      
• Division Forums
  
  • Each of the divisions of The Vanguard have been given their own forums here on our main ones. These sections can be found off the main index, under the formal title for each unit. There is a character biography section for stories and character templates for members of the unit, as well as a story thread. This story thread may be IC or OOC at the discretion of the Commander in charge of said unit. Commanders will also be in charge of most of the maintenance of the sections.
    
  • Yet again it is asked of already existing members of Vanguard to please fill out an application. Ten minutes of your time goes a long way towards fairness for new members and a great example for our guild!
    
  
  

Rule Changes

• Vent Moderation
  
  • Read the rules section regarding our channels. We have had several incidences where channel rules were not respected already, and this is not something that will be tolerated in the future. Future issues will result in either a very strict warning (and on second offense, a kick) or a kick depending on the violation. Private channels are to remain private, public channels are to respect our rules regarding offensive subjects, and demands for silence/subject-drops are to be heeded.
    
  • Commanders have been given vent moderation capabilities and instructed on how we as a guild will be using them. This will be gone over tonight as well, for clarification.
    
  • Another public channel and another private channel have been added for your convenience, as well as a proper music channel. The music channel is, of course, muted.
    
  • We now also have a proper officer channel. The password to said channel is to remain between officers only and is subject to change should a non-officer be given access. Being brought into officer chat for a discussion is acceptable, however the private channels are preferred for such conversations unless it is necessary to remain undisturbed.
    
• Chat Moderation
  
  • Offensive subjects will no longer be tolerated in public chats. While jokes are funny, racism, elitism, bullying and bigotry are not. Our rules have been changed to reflect this, so please keep potentially inflammatory conversations to whispers or party chat.
    
  • Offenders of the above will not be muted. They will be warned, and then they will be removed should it continue afterwards. There will not be exceptions.
    
• IC/OOC Policy Modification - The IC/OOC policy will undergo modifications to reflect our more serious stance on IC/OOC line blurring. Actions taken to remove offenders will now result in instant ignore as well as a potential retcon (depending on the amount of story that would need to be retconned) or seriously guided 'exits' from our storyline. We are not prepared to negotiate character concepts/stories with people whom have proven incapable of acting like normal adults. We do not want any IC/OOC drama in this guild, and as such our stance will reflect such without exception.
  

Player Versus Environment

• 10 Man Raiding - Mogushan Vaults
  
  • We will be beginning raiding Mogushan Vaults on November 13th, 2012. By this date we expect every person attending the raid to have at least a 466 item level, as well as to be fully versed in the strategies for the raid. You must be enchanted, flasked, spec'd and buffed for action, and we would prefer if you do at least one LFR for both parts of this raid.
    
  • We will be discussing the loot system to be used. In event of pugged members, it will likely be zero-sum DKP. If the run is a full guild run, we may consider running a loot council/priority system. As was mentioned, this is not set in stone. It will be discussed at tonight's meeting in full and these notes will be adjusted afterwards.
    
  • Currently we have a core of:
    
    • Tanks : Paladin, Warrior
      
    • Healers: Paladin, Holy Priest
      
    • Melee: SMF Warrior, Arms Warrior, (potential ret paladin for first attempt)
      
    • Ranged: Affliction Warlock, Fire Mage (mage may be exchanged for ret depending on state of gear)
      
  • Due to the above we are currently looking for a healer, preferably a resto shaman with an elemental offspec (druid will also be considered). We are also looking for a talented DPS to fill our last slot. Ideally said DPS would be ranged, though we will run with skilled melee classes as well.
    
  • Vent is a must for all attending! No exceptions! As well, vent will remain clear during all encounters. If you are unable to respect this rule, you will be removed from our future progression events.
    
  • Raid nights will take place twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 PM PST until 8:30 PM PST.
    
  
  

Roleplay

• The Vanguard story kicks off!
  
  • We will be working our storyline in arcs that will line up with Blizzard's events and patches. The first arc will take place starting this week and changing over into the second arc with the dawn of patch 5.1, expected some time in December.
    
  • We will be using a 'guided story' method for our guild direction. This means that we do have events and campaigns planned, however unprecedented storyline will always take priority over these. For example: if we planned tp have a Vanguard council meeting next week, but this week we attend an RPPvP event that sees several commanders downed, we are likely not having said meeting next week. We know roughly where we are going with the storyline, but we welcome any and all events that may deter us from that path.
    
  • Vanguard 1.0 - Building Up
    
    • Our first arc will focus on uniting and building our various contingents. Below are some of the events that are in planning, and the rough estimates of when these events will take place.
      
    • Pledging - This event will take place within a week, possibly two depending on circumstance. The contingents founding the Vanguard will be pledging to a common cause publicly, choosing to represent factions and nations that have fallen beneath the Horde's blade as a showing of courage and defiance. To clarify, the members of these contingents should be actual members of the nations they represent by birth or upbringing.
      
    • Council Meetings - The Vanguard Council is composed by the circle of commanders leading the various units sworn to the Vanguard. Council meetings will either take place weekly or bi-weekly, depending on decisions made tonight. These council meetings will see a variety of subjects discussed and a campaign proposed, see below.
      
    • Pilgrim's Gala - This event will take place during the Pilgrim's Bounty festival in late November. The exact date is undecided, though likely will be decided tonight. This will be a faction-wide event, meaning that we will be organizing it with the intention of including other RP guilds in it. As such, we will be posting details on the WRA forums and working diligently to get this rolling. It will be a formal affair, so get started on those ornamental armor sets and ball gowns early!
      
    • Pandaria Campaign I - This will be our transition event into 5.1. Some time in early December the forces of the Vanguard will be heading for Pandaria with the intention of leaving our mark on the Horde and the land. Different contingents will likely have different reasons and purposes in being there, though we will have one thing in common - we will be moving together to fight through the ongoing war, securing the Alliance foothold and influence. The following details are not set in stone and are subject to change. They are only one of many ideas: The Pandaria Campaign (I) will take place over the period of one week to ten days, meaning we will roleplay in each zone for roughly two days before settling with the other Alliance forces in the Vale. After this point we will be maintaining a presence in Pandaria, at least in some regard, for the foreseeable future. There may be RPPvP events involved, so be sure to get your PvP gear! The conclusion of this campaign should line up roughly with the release of patch 5.1; If it is too early we will simply continue RPing in Pandaria. If it is too late, we will be in Pandaria shortly after 5.1 falls.
      
  • After 5.1 hits and the beginning portion of the Pandaria campaign is concluded, we will be moving into the next arc of our guild story : Making Our Mark. Details of this will be discussed in upcoming weeks, but we will absolutely be following game canon and rolling with the punches Blizzard throws at us.
    
  
  

That should draw our officer meeting tonight to a conclusion. Hopefully we will be able to broach all topics covered above and get some details settled for the long haul. I am posting this early in hopes that several of the people involved will get a chance to read this and that it will get those wheels turning! Tonight's meeting is going to be about brainstorming and being creative! Everyone else, feel free to comment below as you see fit, whether it be with questions, compliments, concerns, or criticism.