1. Membership in the Stonewall Family is a privilege.

The Stonewall Family meta-guild was created to provide a "safe space" for adult (18+) LGBT players and their friends/allies to game within Azeroth, make social connections, and have an overall good time with people who have similar interests. However, simply being LGBT or LGBT friendly does not entitle you to membership. If you cannot, or will not abide by the rules contained in this charter, membership within our meta-guild is not for you.

2. Mutual respect for your fellow players is mandatory.

Members of The Stonewall Family are expected to treat each other with respect at all times. Diversity is one of the cornerstones of why The Stonewall Family exists, and we celebrate the diversity throughout our own community as well as others. We recognize that you as a member have a right to play without harassment, and our officers will expect you to treat all players (both member and non-member) with equal respect.

As a member of The Stonewall Family, you do not have a right to unlimited free speech when using our guild resources. Regardless of race, class, gender, culture, ethnicity, sexual preference or any other characteristic, our officers will intervene when chat or other action that is deemed to be in the realm of harassment takes place.

Some examples of this include:

3. Use of Guild Chat

Guild chat is an adults-only zone. As such it is subject to an array of topics covering anything from sexuality to politics, music, film and a multitude of other subjects. Guild chat, however, is not the best place to recount what went on in your bedroom last night, or the specifics of what you plan to have going on there tonight. Keep in mind that while many may be interested or find it humorous, guild chat is primarily about helping each other and is a shared guild resource, not a private gossip channel.

The guild does not allow any type of mods or macros which issue "auto-congratulations" or catch phrases within guild chat. These types of mods/macros are repetitive and tend to get annoying within a large group of players. Discussion of illegal drugs or illegal activities is against Blizzard's ToS, and as a result is banned in our guild chat as well. The guild's leadership does not judge anyone for what they choose to do in their free time, however discussion of activities that are illegal (such as marijuana use) can be viewed by Blizzard as violation of their ToS and as a result can cause them to disband a guild. As a result, if you'd like to discuss these topics -- please keep it to tells and avoid guild chat.

If a subject of conversation annoys, shocks or outrages you, you have the option to not participate in the conversation, ignore it, and continue having fun with the game. If you decide to stay out of a particular conversation at any time, ignore it and continue having fun with the game. Being harassed is one thing, simply being offended is quite another. The Stonewall Family's officers have no desire to babysit guild chat, unless members are being disrespected, abused publicly or the charter is otherwise being broken. If for any reason you are asked to drop a topic, or move the conversation along by an officer - you are required to do so immediately. Officers fully appreciate the value we all place on freedom of speech and expression and will not make this kind of request lightly, but we expect you as members to comply for the sake of peaceful guild relations. Like fires, conversations tend to die out if nobody is feeding them.

The Stonewall Family recognizes that the term "rape" has a very charged impact on victims of sexual assault or abuse, and as a result -- does not allow its use in our guild chat in a casual manner to discuss PvP kills, or jokingly toward any other player. Our guild feels that the pain to former victims outweighs any benefit achieved by using this term casually when other words that are less hurtful could be substituted.

If you disagree with an officer's actions regarding chat, please take your complaint directly to a different officer or guild leader either in-game or via the private message function on this forum board. Do not argue the case in guild chat at the time as this will be construed by the officers and other members as an attempt to further provoke drama or hatred, and we will respond accordingly.

4. Resolving Intra-Guild Disputes

We are all human and we will, at some point, disagree with each other. All arguments should be handled discretely. This means no spamming guild chat with insults, accusations etc. All arguments should be taken to private channels (email, PM's, /tells) as soon as possible. If a problem cannot be resolved please bring it to the attention of the appropriate GL or Officers as soon as possible. Under no circumstances are arguments to be carried on using the Forums. This causes more problems between Members and makes the Guild look bad. Any forum post attempting to start/continue an argument will be moderated/removed from public view immediately. The same rule applies on Ventrilo/Mumble in public channels or any other place where the disagreement can be viewed publicly. The GL's have the final word in any dispute between Members.

5. Leaving the Guild

If you /gquit or leave via server or faction transfer, we are by no means obligated to invite you back. If you leave the guild, it will be considered that you have had the sense and maturity to discuss whatever grievances you may have within the proper chain of command, i.e., your raid lead, a Senior Member, an Officer or a GL. On-the-spot quitting because of a grievance with anyone is not valid, and quite honestly that level of maturity is not desired within our meta-guild family.

Should a situation arise in which you decide to leave the guild and end your membership with us, please do not use guild chat or the forums as a method to cause gossip or drama regarding your exit.  Regardless of the circumstances that cause your departure, it is completely inappropriate to attempt to create conflict based on your exit.  Goodbyes should be short, to the point, and unbiased.

We are all adults, and we expect a mature level of discussion and cooperation from all of our members. Our first and foremost intent is to protect the loyal, valued members who want a drama-free, fun and positive gaming experience.

6. As a member you are ALWAYS a Representative of our guild

Our meta-guild has a strong reputation in the gaming community and strives to make a positive impact on both the LGBT and gaming communities. The actions of each of our members will therefore affect the reputation of the guild as a whole.

Never forget that you carry our guild's name above your head at all times, and conduct yourself in a manner which will earn respect from your fellow players, not contempt. Be proud of being in The Stonewall Family, and make those around you happy to see a member of our Guild. Be polite, both to guildmates and non-guild members.

We have diplomatic relations with many other guilds on Proudmoore. It is very easy for someone to contact our Guild Leaders or Officers when they see one of our members doing something that causes an issue, whether it be in a PUG, a battleground, in [2. Trade] chat, etc. Your actions always reflect on your guild as a whole, and negative behavior will be treated by others as what to expect from your fellow guildmates.

Some examples are:

Any of the above will be considered a violation of our charter, and will be dealt with accordingly.