Our Rules      

        Rules put our philosophy into practice with some specific examples:       

Respecting the Game

1. Blizzard's Terms of Service must be honored at all times.  You agreed to honor them when you installed the game and every time you installed a new patch.  Violating these terms will not only get you expelled from the guild, it may also get you into more serious trouble with Blizzard, including account suspensions, bans, and legal action.

2. Buying or selling virtual assets such as gold, characters, or accounts is not only against Blizzard's rules, it also supports the black market economy that leads people to become gold farmers, spammers, and account-hackers.  Don't contribute to the problem.

3. Exploits are discovered from time to time in any game, and it may take the developers time to close the loopholes that make those exploits possible.  Just because it's possible to defeat a tough raid boss by taking advantage of such an exploit doesn't make it right.  It's not a proper victory if we had to cheat in order to get it.

Respecting the Guild

1. Think of AFD’s reputation whenever you're around other players in game, in trade chat, in forums, or in vent.  Everything you say and do reflects on the guild, for better or worse, so try to behave in ways that make the guild look good, not bad.

2. Limit your use of profanity to situations where it's called for.  We're adults here, and we're not going to expel you for dropping the occasional F-bomb, but when every other word coming out of your mouth is profane we will think less of you for it, and so will others.

3. Your main character must be a member of the guild before we will allow any of your alts to join.  If AFD isn't good enough for your main, in other words, we don't want to become a parking lot for your alts.  We want to be the guild you do your raiding with, and we ask in return that you invest that much in us. Alt allowances are as follows: 2 level 60+ alts per main and 1 low level alt. Alts that are currently 80 will be allowed as long as they are played actively.

4. We are all adults here and with that in mind please do not join Vent or Guild chat while intoxicated. While we all are here to relax and enjoy a friendly atmosphere there is no need to show up inebriated or under any other influences. Please do not show up for guild events or raids under the influence. If the raid leader or any other officer feels there is a problem you will be removed the event with disciplinary repercussions to follow. (If you are unable to handle your booze no one else wants to handle it for you).

Respecting Other Guilds

1. If you commit to attending an event being run by another guild, honor that commitment by showing up at least 15 minutes ahead of time, and come prepared with any flasks, potions, buff food, etc. you'll need.  Show them that you value their time as much as your own.

2. Respect the rules set forth by whoever happens to be leading the raid, even if that person is not a AFD member.  The raid leader is the final authority for that run, and his decisions on things like loot distribution override our own policies.

3. If you ninja loot, be prepared to be expelled from AFD.  Remember, Guild Leaders talk to one another about things like that, so don't think for a second that it won't get back to us.  The incident will be investigated, and if you're found guilty you will be expelled.

4. Don't badmouth other guilds, especially in public.  If we let it be known that we don't think much of a particular guild, we'll only end up making enemies and finding ourselves on any number of personal blacklists.  Whatever you may think of another guild, at least be sportsmanlike enough to keep your mouth shut if you can't say anything positive.

Respecting Fellow Members

1. Discrimination of any sort—racism, sexism, etc.--is unacceptable, be it in guild chat, in forums, or on vent.  It may be nothing more than a joke to you, but to other members it may push some buttons that make them feel uncomfortable in our community.  If you feel like the victim of this sort of discrimination or harassment, please report it to an Officer so the matter can be dealt with.

2. Help other members when you can, and don't be afraid to ask for help yourself when you need a hand with anything.  This is a key part of fostering a feeling of community, and a great way to get to know one another.

3. Be considerate of other members when it comes to loot drops.  An item you want may be a much bigger upgrade for another member than it is for you, and at times like this the honorable thing to do is pass and let that member get the item instead.  This strengthens the team (and by extension the guild) as a whole, since a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

4. If you have personal disputes with certain members that you can't resolve among yourselves, we encourage you to come to one of the Officers for help.  The Officers are charged with treating all members fairly and impartially, and can mediate in disputes like this to arrive at a just solution.

5. Keep your temper under control and avoid making outbursts you're likely to regret.  We all have bad days and there will always be raids where things don't go our way, and that's frustrating, but taking that out on others is not the way to handle it.  Likewise, don't logout (or gquit) in the middle of a raid and abandon the rest of your team because you're unhappy about something—that sort of immature conduct will get you sidelined from future raids.  Take a deep breath, in other words, before you let your temper get the better of you and ruin the raid for the rest of your team.

6. If you're going to be away from the game for more than a few days, it's important that you notify an Officer, or post about it in the guild's web forums so that we know what's going on.  A member who disappears for more than a month without providing any notice will be expelled. This grace period is only 7 days for Recruits.

7. Commit to being the best that you can be, whatever your chosen class.  Be willing to do the research on sites like elitistjerks.com and use advanced tools like Rawr to understand how your class works and how to get the best performance out of it.  Talk to the Master in charge of your class to get advice from a more experienced player about optimizing your gear, your talents, and your rotations.

8. The guild vault exists to help all members, and you should feel free to take what you need from it.  The flip-side is that your fellow members are counting on you to contribute things to the vault as well.  If you produce consumables like potions, flasks, buff food, etc., consider donating some of these as well, since we go through them regularly.

9. Show up at least 15 minutes before any event that you've committed to attend, and be prepared with any flasks, potions, buff food, etc. that you expect to need during the course of the raid. Bring extras, in fact, in case someone else isn't as prepared as you are.  This demonstrates to your teammates that you respect their time as much as you do your own.

10. If for some reason you can't attend an event that you committed to, notify the event's organizer as soon as possible so that a replacement can be found.  The more lead-time you provide, the better; ducking out at the last minute—or failing to provide any notice at all—won't win you any friends, and may result in you being demoted to a standby position for future raids as a penalty.

11. Show up to raids with an understanding that you will be expected to stay for the full duration (typically 3-4 hours), and that the team may wipe many times in the course of that run, particularly with progression content. 

12. If you're a member of a raiding team, we expect you to maintain an attendance rating of at least 75% to retain your position in the team.  While we can account for extenuating circumstances, the fact is your reliability is important to the team, and if you can't regularly attend the team's events it's in the team's best interest to give your slot to someone who can.

13. Take it upon yourself to read up on the bosses we're going to encounter in an upcoming raid.  Check the write-ups on sites like WoWwiki, watch video tutorials on sites like Tankspot, and educate yourself about the fights so that you'll have a good idea about what to expect when we get there.  The better you know the fights, the less time the raid leader will have to spend explaining them, and the fewer times the team is likely to wipe due to simple mistakes.

14. When we wipe during a raid, be willing to release and run back rather than waiting on others to resurrect you.  Remember, the rezzers usually need to run back too, and they won't appreciate it if you just sat back and waited for them to do all the work.

15. During a raid, don't go AFK at random, and certainly not without informing the raid leader. There will be announced breaks at regular intervals so that everyone can go get a drink, visit the washroom, etc., so please be courteous to your teammates by waiting for these rather than holding everybody up.

16. After a raid, don't just immediately leave—stick around for the post-raid debriefing.  It's not just an opportunity to review our progress and discuss things we can improve on, it's also a chance to bond together as a team and walk away with high spirits, rather than blaming ourselves for things we did wrong and fearing that our teammates resent us for it.

Respecting the Chain of Command

1. You may not always agree with the decisions made by the GM, the 2nC, or other Officers, but you should always recognize their authority to make those decisions, and abide by them. Chances are they have very good reasons for making those decisions, and they have the interests of the guild as a whole at heart.  Those decisions aren't always easy, and they may seem harsh at times, but they have to be made.

2. If you disagree with someone above you in the chain of command, voice your disagreement privately and respectfully, either to the leader in question or his immediate superior.  It's possible they've overlooked something and you might be able to change their minds, but embarrassing them in front of other members is never a good way to do so.  Ask to discuss the matter with them privately, and if they still aren't convinced they should at least be able to explain their decision to you in more detail.  In any case, once they've heard your argument and made a decision, the matter is closed and you must respect that.

3. Openly challenging the authority of someone above you in the chain of command will almost certainly get you expelled from the guild.  The leaders at all levels are investing a lot of their time and effort for your sake, and they deserve better treatment than that.  If your problems with authority are that severe, you won't likely be happy with AFD anyway, and should probably resign from the guild before you're expelled.

Understand that when someone above you in the chain of command offers you constructive criticism it is in the interest of helping you become a better player.  The Master of Class for your class may take you aside at some point to go over your talent build and rotations to help you get the most out of your character.  Don't take this criticism personally—we can all stand to improve our play, and learning to take good advice from more experienced players is part of maturing as a team player.