IAAPA Standards of Conduct

Last Updated January 1, 2002

Questions and comments should be directed to our Minister of Law, John (law@axisandallies.net).

International Axis and Allies Player's Association Standards of Conduct

Introduction

The International Axis and Allies Player's Association is an organization composed of people with different backgrounds and temperaments. The IAAPA is dedicated to providing an interesting, stimulating and enjoyable community for all members. Acceptable member conduct as it applies to Association activities is of major concern. The following Standards of Conduct detail IAAPA policy concerning member conduct, which includes all types of interaction with other members (email, instant messages, chat rooms, BBS postings) and conduct which can be portrayed as representing IAAPA in the Axis and Allies Community (posts on other club BBSes, etc.).

In all the cases below what is considered a violation will be determined by the Minister of Law who may, should he decide to, solicit a reference decision from the currently seated Supreme Court members. Any formal appeal of a ruling by the Minister of Law will be heard by the President, and the decision of the President can then be appealed (by either the Minister of Law or the member) to the Supreme Court. On issues which touch on 'grey areas', the Minister of Law is encouraged to solicit opinions from the Supreme Court to prevent unneccessary work and appeals later.

A) Offensive Communication

The use of language which is vulgar, abusive, profane, blasphemous or hateful displays poor gamesmanship and is not permitted. Please use your best judgement and be respectful of other members. Use of any offensive type of language in communications with other members, even if masked by symbols or other characters, is a violation of the Standards of Conduct.

B) Harassment

Targeting a member in an effort to cause distress, embarrassment, unwanted attention or other discomfort is harassment. This Association does not permit any form of harassment and may suspend or terminate the membership of any player who harasses others. You may have a disagreement with another member's point of view, but personal attacks are not permitted. Also prohibited are attacks based on a person's race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, membership in organizations, beliefs or any other basis for discrimination.

C) IAAPA Disruption

Members are not permitted to interfere, through action or correspondence, with the regular execution of Association Government duties or the normal flow of ongoing games and activities. Disruption may occur by continued refusal to obey Association rulings or by any actions reasonably considered antagonistic, abusive, belligerent or capable of generating hostility. Repetitive antagonistic postings on the BBS which denegrate the IAAPA or government officials may also constitute disruption, especially if the matter has been addressed in government communication.

In addition, disruption can occur by continued actions of a frivilous, irrational, unjustifiable or pointless nature, and can be the basis for disruption of service due to a government member being forced to waste time attempting to deal with or address the communications.

D) Multiple Accounts

Association members may participate in Association games under only one email address and alias at a time. If members wish to change their email address, all they need to do is go to Member Services and update their Member Profile with the old address moved to the old email field, and the new address in the current email field.

Random verification checks of all members will be carried out, in addition to regular verifications at least every two years. The procedures for verification at a minimum consist of snail mailing a verification code to the member and having that member email the code to the IAAPA Secretary, with additional provisions as decided by the IAAPA administration at any time.

E) Cheating

Any member that is judged through the proceedings of the Association Government to have played or conducted themselves dishonestly, or attempted to cheat in any way, is in severe violation of the Standards of Conduct and subject to immediate disciplinary action. Attempts to obfuscate, threaten, provoke, bully, coerce or impose upon other members (new or old) will be considered as potential avenues for cheating, and can be a violation.

Improperly quoting Association policy, even when acting in good faith, can also be a violation of the Standards of Conduct. Ignorance of the rules or of policies is no defence if a member ASSERTS Association policies or rules.

F) Mass Mailings

With the exception of the IAAPA Government performing their duties, sending communications to the entire Association roster without prior authorization from the government is not permitted. Unauthorized mass mailings are considered not only a nuisance by most but violate net etiquette. Members are also not permitted to distribute the IAAPA roster to any outside company, agency individual, corporate entity or computer without express permission of the Association Government.

All mass mailings from the government will be handled by the Communications Officer, except in emergencies where the Minister of the Internet, Minister of Law or the President may issue mailings.

G) Advertising and Solicitation

Unless you've obtained express permission from the Association government, you may not send unsolicited advertising, promotional material or other forms of solicitation to another member except in areas authorized and designated for such a purpose (e.g. message boards).

H) Account Phreaking

It is absolutely prohibited to solicit or attempt to obtain a member's e-mail account password, IAAPA account player number or password, or any information of a personal nature. Remember, IAAPA officials will never ask you for your password or account information. If someone asks you for it, refuse and report the incident to the Association government.

I) Intellectual property laws

Intellectual property laws apply with equal force to content found on the internet web site. Taking online discussions, Association postings or e-mail of others, even when you've participated in the discussion, and posting them elsewhere is a violation of intellectual property laws. You may be liable to the holder of the rights for copyright or trademark infringement. Basically, you may not transmit over the Internet material that is subject to any person or entity's rights, including copyright, without the express permission of the rights holder. If no specific restrictions apply directly or indirectly to a particular item you may make a reasonable number of copies provided that the copies are only for your personal use and that any and all proprietary-rights notices are reproduced unchanged.

IMPORTANT NOTICE -- by submitting content to any "public area" of the IAAPA you grant the Association the royalty free right to distribute the material for Association purposes (i.e. government discussions, game logs, BBS postings, Association Newsletters, etc.).

J) Inappropriate Postings

Posting or distributing patently inappropriate material in any Association area (e.g., sending mass e-mail solicitations, sexually explicit or otherwise offensive or disruptive materials) may result in disciplinary action. The purpose of membership in the IAAPA is to play IAAPA sanctioned games - features such as the BBS, logs, etc. are secondary and as such if a member appears to not be interested in playing games, and is instead using IAAPA resources as a soapbox, their postings may be found to be inappropriate.

K) Online Conduct

Any conduct not covered in the above which in the the opinion of the Minister of Law is questionable or abusive will be considered for disciplinary action within the Association.

L) Use of IAAPA Web Site Resources

The IAAPA Dice Server is for the use of IAAPA members exclusively playing IAAPA sanctionned games and not for the use of non-IAAPA members or non-IAAPA gaming. Any member found to be using IAAPA server resources for any inappropriate purpose (including games for another Association, rolls not for a game, or any other action deemed improper by the Association's Minister of Law) is in violation of the Standards of Conduct.

M) Derogatory Comments about other Axis and Allies Clubs

Many IAAPA members feel strongly about the positive environment which the IAAPA provides for all, a friendly online and face to face gaming environment which encourages excellence and the highest levels of sportmanship. It is easy to incorrectly and unfairly say that all other associations do not maintain the standards of IAAPA. Members are free to express their opinion in personal correspondence and on the BBS, however, unsubstantiated attacks and criticisms which are completely unjustifiable are not encouraged and repeated incidences of such communication will constitute a violation of the Standards of Conduct.

N) Disciplinary Actions

On occasion it may be necessary to deliver disciplinary actions against Association members to enforce these Standards of Conduct. The Minister of Law under review (through potential appeals) of the IAAPA President and IAAPA Supreme Court may administer the following disciplinary actions.

  1. Written Warning

    A Written Warning is a private correspondence between the Minister of Law and a member who has violated the Standards of Conduct. The correspondence will detail the member's violation of the Standards of Conduct and if necessary, specify corrective actions required by the government. The purpose of a written warning is to correct a deficiency in behavior without causing undue embarrassment or perception of persecution. Members of the IAAPA Executive receive a copy of this correspondence.

  2. Suspension

    Suspension is a disciplinary action designed to correct severe and/or continued violations of the Standards of Conduct, often after a Written Warning has been issued and was not effective. Suspensions vary between a minimum of one month, and a maximum of three months. Suspensions are sent to the Association Government and members affected by the suspension. While suspended a member:

  3. Membership Termination

    Membership Termination is a measure reserved for particularly egregious and/or repeated violations of the IAAPA Standards of Conduct, often after a suspension has proven ineffective. Membership Termination is identical to Suspension with the exception that re-admittance requests will not be accepted.

  4. Lapsing membership

    Any member who is not currently playing a game and has not submitted a game finish in the last month can be flagged as inactive. A member may not remain a member of the IAAPA and have access to the web site and the dice server unless he is active and playing games. If a member is going away for a period of time (say a 6 month period of service in the military), he will be made inactive and will be reactivated when he starts playing games again.

The Standards of Conduct were last revised January 1, 2002.

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