Code Of Conduct
The following Code of Conduct was adopted by KOD. Applying for membership indicates you have read and agree to abide by it.
KOD, being a clan that holds honor and sportsmanship to be more important than winning at all costs, has the following rules and standards of behavior for all it's members. Violation of these rules will be cause for punishment ranging from censure for a period of time (not to wear clan tag in servers etc), to requiring a public apology, to being expelled from the clan. Said punishment to be determined by the KOD Clan Council.
A. General – Continual failure in any of these areas may be a cause for disciplinary action. Continual failure in all of these areas for a period of three months will result in an "automatic" forced retirement. (not expulsion)
1. ALL KOD must, with some limited exceptions, install and use ICQ to keep in touch with clanmates when online and keep the information regarding their ICQ number current on our website and on clanbase.
2. ALL KOD must install and use an IRC client such as mIRC and periodically join #kod on Quakenet to visit with your clanmates.
3. ALL KOD must register in the KOD forums – and should read the postings there at least, and are encouraged to post.
4. ALL KOD must attempt to play some game that other KOD are playing periodically, we are a "gaming clan" and the reason for being in KOD is to play together, as well as visit
5. ALL KOD must keep information on our website and on clanbase regarding their email address current, and respond to emails sent them by other KOD if the email is such that it would require a response or requests an acknowledgement.
6. ALL KOD must inform the clan by email or post in the clans forums of any anticipated extended periods of absence from being online. Exceptions will occur of course – some things "come up" and don't allow the member any warning, much less allow that member to tell the clan. Other life situations are simply too delicate to tell the clan about – and allowances will be made.
7. ALL KOD must keep ALL information in the KOD private forums PRIVATE. If there are any issues concerning ANY material in these forums, consult the KOD Clan Council. They will handle the issue. DO NOT make a huge scene about any information in these forums to the public. If the information must be released to the public, the Clan Council will do so. There is a reason why these forums are PRIVATE. (Breaking this rule is automatic grounds for expulsion from the clan. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.)
B. Specifics – Behavior that is expected of KOD members in the following specific instances. Some of these are "compulsory" others are "advisory" – as in what being a GOOD KOD is about. Common sense should tell you which is which.
1. Gaming – All KOD members will conduct themselves in a sportsmanlike manner in the game servers.
* NO complaining about "ping" or "lag" as cause for low score etc. If you can't play with the ping you have leave the server.
* NO complaining about other players choice of weapons.
* NO complaining about "cheaters" or public accusation of same. If you feel someone is cheating, you can take snapshots, make a demo, or whatever to establish proof of the cheat, and submit such proof to the server admin (most servers have a "contact" address in the rules displayed on gamespy) and in such submission you should be very careful to just state that you SUSPECT cheating – do not accuse.
* NO Cheating on your own part. This includes no exploitation of game "bugs" – map exploits are sometimes debatable, when in doubt, don't. No use of "custom" player models, no use of outside programs (other than communication programs and the like) to be used in conjunction with the game being played in order to improve you performance. Use of scripts – bound key press sequences is NOT a cheat.
* NO Team Killing or Team Damaging (team wounding if you prefer) on any Friendly Fire ON server – not even as a joke. It isn't funny – and is only meant to spoil the game for others.
* NO game spoiling of any kind – no killing self repeatedly to hurt your teams chances of winning, no blocking of passages, either with your players body, equipment or mines or the like. No shooting players out of planes or off bridges etc. YOU KNOW what "spoiling" is – so don't say "I didn't know it ruined the game for others, I was just having fun"
* NO spamming – not with weapons nor with words. Repeated display of the same or similar phrase is not funny, is not helpful, and spoils the game. Repeated excessive use of explosive type weapons in a confined space such that it denies all players from both teams access to that space is spamming. Use of explosive type weapons to "clear a choke point" before a rush is tactics. There is a difference. The first is a "game spoiler" the latter is part of playing the game. When in doubt, if someone on your team complains, cease immediately. If someone from other team complains, consider the nature of the complaint – will ceasing your activity enhance the enjoyment of the game for the majority of the players in the server? If so, cease and desist.
* NO participation in long discussion on a busy server, no matter the nature of the subject. And NO participation in flame wars, heated debates etc. in any game server, no matter the subject. And NEVER get into a "my clan is better than your clan" or insult wars (which some think is a way to lead up to a match challenge – it IS NOT) or anything like that. If insulted, say "thanks, I like the way you play too" etc.
* DO be polite to other players – saying things like "good shot" and "nice hidey spot" or "good tactics!" instead of "BS" or "FFS" or "ASSHOLE" – note that one makes the other player feel good about playing with us, the second makes them not want to play with us. If playing with a "mate", you can use derogatory terms in a joking manner – always with a smile please, so all know it is a "joke".
* DO be helpful to other players, answering questions in game for new players to the game, telling people where to find information to help them learn to play the game better etc.
* DO wear your KOD tag proudly at all times in all games and mods on all servers. KOD is a tag to be proud of. And don't hesitate to tell them WHICH KOD you are.. Kiss OF Death – and give them our website address. If they have a complaint about us, we welcome the opportunity to correct their impression of us. But most will want to know so they can compliment us or join our ranks. If you are in another clan, but are playing alone on a server or playing with other KOD, wear the KOD tag. KOD tag must be warn in preference to other clan tags, and is always worn FIRST – before your name and before all other clan tags. If you aren't that proud of KOD, then maybe you don't want to be KOD.
* DO be complimentary of other players and clans.
2. IRC – All KOD members will conduct themselves in a friendly and gentlemanly fashion in all IRC channels at all times. These rules apply to EVERYONE in the KOD channel, not just KOD members.
* NO excessive and/or gratuitous use of profanity. It only shows your lack of intelligence and we don't want others to know that we have members who are lacking in that department. As one great man once said, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
* NO "spamming" – no sending of multiple messages with same or similar phrasing. No "null content" messages. No "slap wars". No use of scripts that send "information" that others quite likely could care less about. IRC is for CHAT, not running scripts so others can know to what music you are listening, what you are downloading how fast right now, or how much space is on your hard drive or how long your system has been up.
* DO be polite to others on a channel. KOD members will from time to time have disagreements, and our channel is the place to work these things out – not on other public channels. KOD members can fight and scratch and kick each other's teeth in on our own channel. If you think it might be embarrassing for KOD or for our visitors on our channel, either take it to "PM" if it can be handled "one on one" or ask the visitors to leave while you have this "family discussion"
* DO support your clanmates and help them learn how to use IRC and be good "citizens" of IRC.
* DO insist that all visitors be polite to KOD members in the KOD channel. This does not mean that KOD members are allowed to be rude to visitors. But the KOD channel is provided for KOD to speak to KOD, visitors are like guests in your home – they are welcome only to see our good side, and are expected to behave politely to us. You would not have a friend over to your house and allow them to insult your mother/father/brother/sister – don't allow a guest to insult your "brothers" in KOD.
* DO listen to KOD FULL members. If the clan is discussing a "family matter" and visitors are asked to leave, please do so or you shall be banned from the channel.
3. Forums – All KOD members will refrain from embarrassing the KOD tag and themselves in public forums.
* NO multiple posting – press "submit" once and then check to see if post "took" – hit refresh on post page or leave and come back if it looks like it didn't take. Only when you are certain it didn't take should you then hit "reply" again and again enter your message and submit it.
* NO spamming – post only on those subjects for which the forum was designed. Talking about politics on a games forum is just another way to "troll" and is spam of the worst sort.
* NO "trolling" – a "troll post" is a post stating a controversial opinion or such and is designed only to cause a "flame" response. It is an immature and thoughtless method of gaining attention. KOD doesn't need nor does it want that kind of attention.
* DO support your gaming community on all forums relating to the games/mods/servers you play.
* DO post polite, thoughtful comments and responses. Remember, think for twice as long as it will take to post. Use a word processor and spell check your post and such before going to the forum and posting whenever possible. (and most posts won't require you to provide an immediate response – they don't know if you read it "just now" or the day before.
* DO initiate threads – making certain that the subject has not been discussed in another thread on that forum first. Most forums provide information on "thread starter" – and this will get your name and the KOD name out in front of the public, and assuming you have followed the other rules will enhance our reputation in that community.
* DO keep all private forums PRIVATE. The KOD private forums were designed for KOD full members eyes ONLY. This includes user information, passwords, posts, pictures, file attachments, and anything else that is posted in our PRIVATE forums. If there are any issues concerning ANY material in these forums, consult the KOD Clan Council. They will handle the issue. DO NOT make a huge scene about any information in these forums to the public. If the information must be released to the public, the Clan Council will do so. There is a reason why these forums are PRIVATE.
4. In ALL cases, KOD will NOT initiate or participate in "clan bashing" – making insulting or derogatory comments to or about other clans. (we may dis them in our private discussion areas – but even there – remember that the person you are "dissing" today may join KOD tomorrow.)
5. Under NO circumstances will any KOD exhibit in any way any form of chauvinism – racism, sexism (including homophobic remarks) religious prejudice, nationalism etc.
If anything is left unclear feel free to ask any of your future clanmates or mail me, The Recruit Master
