1.0 Mission Statement

Let it be known that brave Warriors, good and true, have banded together to guard and cleanse the Woods of the forces of evil.  Henceforth they shall be known as the Warriors and Guardians of the Woods and shall serve their guild and cause with honor, loyalty and courage.

The Charter for the Warriors and Guardians of the Woods was first approved October 12, 1995. Since then we have sought to provide an enjoyable, family type gaming environment for our members.

2.0 Purpose

In maintaining this online gaming guild in multiple massively multi-player online role-playing games the fundamental guiding principles of honor, loyalty, and courage remain our core Values.

The purpose of this charter is to provide a framework for the perpetual management of the Warriors and Guardians of the Woods (WGW), which is an international gaming organization whose goal is to provide an enjoyable gaming atmosphere for our members in multiple online games.

3.0 Scope

This Charter has authority over all persons who accept membership in WGW, and all Chapters of the Guild who wish to consider themselves a part of WGW.

4.0 Exploits, Hacking and Third Party Programs

WGW is a guild based on honor.  Hacking, using unauthorized third-party programs, exploiting bugs or otherwise violating the license, terms of service, or other rules of the publisher or developer of a game in which WGW is participating, in order to gain an unfair advantage, is dishonorable and strictly prohibited.  Any such actions are grounds for immediate dismissal from the Guild and Chapter.

5.0 Organization

All members are governed by a Council of Warriors.

The Grand Guild Master and the High Council shall have overall and ultimate authority over the Guild.

The Global aspects of the Guild shall be administered by a High Council.

Each individual Realm in which WGW participates will be ran by the Chapter Guild Master and the Chapter Council.

Chapter Councils shall have authority over the individual Realm that they represent.

5.1 Membership

All members who currently and regularly play in any Game that has an official WGW presence shall be deemed Active Members. The Grand Guild Master may at his discretion grant active membership status for active participation on our Message boards.

If any member ceases playing regularly in the judgment of the Council of Warriors, they shall be deemed to be an Inactive Member. Inactive members may not vote in guild elections.

Access and Membership to the message boards is granted or removed at the discretion of the High Council.

Admission and Removal of individual members to an individual Chapter is handled by the Chapter Council. The rank of individual members of WGW shall be established by the Chapter Council for the game in which they participate.

5.2 The Council of Warriors

The Grand Guild Master, the High Council and the Members of the Chapter Councils shall constitute the Council of Warriors.

The Council of Warriors shall help provide an enjoyable gaming atmosphere for all members of the WGW. It is the responsibility of each member of the Council of Warriors to participate with other members in the game regularly, to communicate with the membership regularly, to participate in Council Meetings, and to participate in recruiting, training, and Guild events. If a person accepts appointment to the Council of Warriors, they accept the responsibility to promote the Guild Values and keep it strong.

5.3 Grand Guild Master

The Grand Guild Master (GGM) is the moral leader of the Guild, and will ensure that the Guild stays true to its Mission. With the assistance of the Council of Warriors, the GGM will help to promote an enjoyable gaming environment for all Guild members. The GGM has the duty and responsibility to make all decisions, and take all actions necessary to enforce those decisions, except those specifically reserved to others by this Charter, in order to assure the continuity, vigor, and character of the Guild as a whole.

The GGM may delegate any or all of his or her authority, at any time, as he or she sees fit. Any decision of the GGM, including the decision to remove a member of the Council of Warriors, may be reversed by a 2/3 majority vote of the High Council.

5.4 High Council

The High Council shall consist of the Grand Guild Master, the Assistant Grand Guild Master, and the Master of Personnel. Additionally, The Leader of Each Chapter shall sit on the high council with the title of Chapter Guild Master on the High Council. Each chapter will choose another member of the Chapter Council to sit on the High Council as a Warrior Advisor. Thus, the High Council will consist of 3 full time members, plus two (2) members from each active Chapter.

The High Council is responsible for the establishment and termination of individual Chapters. All authority not specifically extended to Chapter Councils shall remain with the High Council.

The High Council is responsible for administration of the Web Site, Message Boards, Voice Server, and other resources that are shared by all Guild Chapters.

Each member of the High Council shall have one vote on all issues. A majority of votes of the members of the High Council is required to take any action.

In order to be a member of the Council of Warriors, the member must be an Active Member in at least one Chapter of WGW.

If any member of the High Council fails to perform his or her duties, they shall be removed by the GGM.

No player may hold more than one High Council position. The only exception is that the GGM may also serve as a Chapter Leader. In this case they will retain the title of Grand Guild Master.

5.5 High Council Meetings

The Grand Guild Master shall preside over all meetings of the High Council and shall set its agenda. If the Grand Guild Master is absent from any meeting of the Council of Warriors, a Chapter Guild Master will act as the meetings Moderator. If both are absent, then the most senior member of the Council who is present will act as the Moderator.

The High Council shall meet on the first Tuesday of each month (@ 7:00 PM - Pacific Time) with additional meetings held on an as-needed basis. The Assistant Grand Guild Master shall be responsible for scheduling meetings of the Guild and the Council as necessary.

5.6 Chapter Councils

Once established, a Chapter Council shall have authority over all issues pertaining specifically to the game which they administer, but that authority must be exercised in a manner consistent with this Charter.

The size and organization of a chapter council shall be determined by the Chapter Council. At a minimum it shall consist of the Chapter Guild Master and one Assistant Guild Master.

Each member of the Chapter Council shall have one vote on all issues. A majority of votes of the members of the Chapter Council is required to take any action.

Members of the High Council hold a seat on the Chapter Council of the game(s) in which they actively participate.

5.7 Chapter Bylaws

Each Chapter should establish its own Chapter Bylaws, as long as they are consistent with this Charter and contain the following provisions:

a. The Chapter shall elect a single Chapter Guild Master by a simple majority of all Active Members of the Chapter, and the Chapter Guild Master may be removed by a Vote of No Confidence of a simple 2/3 majority of all Active Members of the Chapter.

b. The Chapter shall appoint or elect two members of the Guild High Council from the Chapter, one of which may be the Chapter Guild Master.

c. Exploits, Hacking and Unauthorized Third-Party Programs:  WGW is a guild based on honor.  Hacking, using unauthorized third-party programs, exploiting bugs or otherwise violating the license, terms of service, or other rules of the publisher or developer of a game in which WGW is participating, in order to gain an unfair advantage, is dishonorable and strictly prohibited.  Any such actions are grounds for immediate dismissal from the Guild and Chapter.

d. These By-laws are for the purpose of clarifying issues that pertain to this specific Realm. The WGW Guild Charter has ultimate authority over all Chapters of WGW, and may not be superseded by the contents of these By-laws.

In the absence of specific Chapter Bylaws the provisions in this section (sect 5.7) shall serve as the Chapter By-laws

6.0 Elections and Term of Office

6.1 High Council Elections

Elections shall be administered by the Assistant Grand Guild Master, unless the Assistant Grand Guild Master is a candidate, in which case the election will be administered by the Grand Guild Master or the Councilor with the longest Guild tenure.

Vacancies in the High Council shall be filled by an open election, with candidates being nominated from all Active Members of the Guild. The position will be filled by the candidate who receives the most votes. All active members of WGW may vote in these elections.

6.2 Chapter Council Elections

Elections for Chapter Guild Master (Chapter Leader) shall be administered by the Assistant Grand Guild Master and voted on by the active members of the chapter that CGM will represent.

In the event of the extended absence of a Council Member, the Council of Warriors may appoint an interim Council Member.

6.3 Term of Office

The members of the Council of Warriors shall retain their offices until they resign, or until they receive a Vote of No Confidence from a 2/3 majority of the Active Guild Members.

If any three (3) Active Members of the Guild request a Vote of No Confidence in a member of the Council of Warriors, then the Guild shall hold such vote.  No such vote may occur more than once in any six (6) month period of time.  Such votes shall be administered by the Assistant Grand Guild Master or the Councilor with the longest Guild tenure.

6.4 Retention and Termination of the GGM

If the Grand Guild Master resigns from his post, the Assistant Grand Guild Master will act as interim GGM until a new Grand Guild Master has been appointed. In the event of an extended absence or vacancy, the High Council shall appoint one of its members as Grand Guild Master.

Any High Council Member may make a motion for a Vote of Confidence in the GGM. If this motion is seconded by another High Council member, then a vote is taken. If a 2/3 majority of the High Council casts a Vote of “No Confidence” in the GGM, a new GGM shall be appointed immediately.

The new Grand Guild Master shall be appointed by the High Council and the appointment ratified by a simple majority vote of all active members of the Guild whenever necessary. The appointment of a new Grand Guild Master shall always be ratified by a majority vote of the entire guild membership.

7.0 Expansion

We encourage our members to explore each new game that becomes available. If the game seems a good fit for WGW, then a new Chapter may be started to support our members in that new Realm.

7.1 Petition for Expansion

The establishment of a WGW Chapter in any online game is within the exclusive authority of the High Council. If any person desires to establish a WGW Chapter in an online game, they shall make such a request from the Council. The Council has the authority to grant or deny said petition within its sole discretion, and establish whatever terms or conditions it deems appropriate in the event said petition is granted

7.2 Ambassador

Upon acceptance of their petition, the person who champions WGW's expansion into a new Realm shall be granted the title of Ambassador. This special title may be held in addition to other guild title or ranks. The Ambassador shall be charged with establishing a WGW presence in this new realm. The Ambassador should create the initial Rank system for the new Game, as applicable. Additionally, they should create the initial By-laws with any game specific policies that are needed but are not covered by this Charter. They should also specify information such as server or realm choice.

Once the Guild is established in the New Realm, then the Ambassador may petition the High Council to become the Chapter Guild Master, or they may nominate another who will fill that roll.

8.0 Chapter Name, In Game Ranks and Titles, and Common Terms

Each realm that is played by WGW is a unique environment. In order to maintain consistency between Chapters we encourage the use of terms and titles that have historical significance to WGW.

8.1 Chapter Name 

Each WGW Chapter is encouraged use the name "WGW" but is not required to do so. Names such as “Warriors and Guardians of the Woods”, “Dogs of War”, “Wardog(s)”, “Guardians of the Woods”, “Warriors of the Woods”, “Woods Warriors”, and “Warriors and Guardians” have been used in previous chapters of this guild and are pre-approved for use. Any other proposed chapter name must be approved by the High Council for use.

8.2 In Game Ranks and Titles:

As such, the Chapter Council of each game has sole authority to establish ranks and rank titles within their Realm. Limitations of the game itself may dictate how the rank system is implemented in each realm. The following titles are guidelines to establishing rank names within a particular game. They should be used when reasonable.

Guild Master, Wardog, Warrior Elder, Warrior Commander, Master Warrior, Master Guardian, Woodsman, Warrior, Guardian, Squire.

8.3 Common Terms used by WGW:

These terms and phrases are a common part of the history and culture of WGW and their use is encouraged in all Chapters of WGW:

Green Machine, Wardog(s), Order of the Rose, Green and Gold, Calling other members “Brother” or “Sister”

8.4 Other Definitions:

Realm: A single gaming world. This is typically a specific faction, on a specific server, within a specific game.

Chapter: An instance of WGW that exists in a single Realm.

WGW: Warriors and Guardians of the Woods

Council of Warriors: The group of players that manages this Guild. Consisting of; the Grand Guild Master, the High Council, the Chapter Guild Masters, and the Chapter Councils. Use of this term is inclusive of High Council and Chapter Councils.

Warrior Advisor: A general term applied to the member of the WGW Council or Warriors

9.0 Process for Amending this Charter

This Charter may be amended only with the approval of the GGM and a majority vote of the Council of Warriors.

10.0 Revision History

Version 1.0 October 12, 1995

Version 2.0 June 15, 1996

Version 3.0 August 10, 1996

Version 4.0 October 13, 1996

Version 4.1 March 02, 1997

Version 5.0 January 03, 1998

Version 12-06 December 02, 2006