ShadowNET - Charter

The wording herein has been particularly chosen in regards to vernacular and ordering to achieve maximum clarity.

Preamble: 

This Charter has been set forth to direct the community representing the ShadowNET living Shadowrun campaign, to facilitate a maximal number of Shadowrun players playing together in an accessible manner, to provide guidelines for a welcoming and inclusive community, and to give opportunity to all across the world to enjoy a compelling and engaging Shadowrun story.

        Article I

        Guiding Principles:

1. Mission: To ensure the maximum number of players can play Shadowrun together in the manner simplest and most accessible for the most people while offering a compelling and engaging story. Storytelling and role-playing tabletop games hinge on trust and must be both engaging and immersive to the end of overcoming of challenges,  which is what lends credence and excitement to the story.
2. Vision: To create and nurture a singularly impressive beacon of shadowrun roleplaying and spread the excitement, joy, and relaxation that comes from a truly engaging and dynamic story.
3. Culture: To maintain a positive culture of enjoyment and trust is paramount. GMs being free to choose their players and players being free to choose their GMs creates accountability on the part of all people involved to play the game in good faith. The ability to create characters and stories that interact in equal measures of fairness and inclusiveness. Finally, to share equally in the enjoyment of the game and to take enjoyment from the act of sharing it.

Article II

Organizational Structure:

1. Separation of Powers:

1. Administration:

The Administration Division shall oversee day to day maintenance of ShadowNET, and shall contribute two (2) members to the Council, the Head of Special Projects and the Head of Rule Review.

1. Special Projects:

The Special Projects branch shall concern themselves with maintenance of the four ShadowNET subreddits, (r/ShadowNET, r/ShadowMinds, r/ShadowChargen, and r/ShadowNetwork) the ShadowNET wiki, player and event records, and shall also be responsible for special projects which benefit the community.

The Special Projects head shall be responsible for bringing issues regarding the maintenance of the community’s assets to the Council.

2. Rule Review:

The Rule Review branch of Administration shall oversee the formalization of, in regards to Shadowrun book rules in use on ShadowNET, banning rules, modifying rules, and providing errata with the goal of clarifying and streamlining the Shadowrun process on ShadowNET for all members of the community. The Rule Review branch shall attempt to keep ShadowNET as close to RAW (Rules As Written) as possible while also keeping the needs of a living world and the ShadowNET community in mind. The Rule Review branch shall be in charge of examining and evaluating any new Shadowrun 5 source material before it is incorporated into ShadowNET.

The Rule Review Head shall be responsible for bringing issues regarding mechanical aspects of Shadowrun to the Council.

2. Gameplay:

The Gameplay Division shall oversee the Game Master side of the ShadowNET living campaign. They shall contribute two (2) members to the Council: the Head of Game Masters and the Head of Lore.

3. Lore:

The Lore branch of Gameplay shall oversee overarching storylines guiding the ShadowNET living campaign.  The Lore Head shall have final say over aforementioned storylines, and shall work to integrate player storylines when appropriate.  The Lore Head shall keep an open mind to all storylines suggestions and coordinate between the Game Masters who have brought forth storylines they wish to play out with the community. In addition, the Lore branch shall oversee presentation of post-mission consequences upon the world of the ShadowNET living campaign to members of the community under a media purview. The Lore department shall be responsible for the oversight of contact creation and approval for the ShadowNET community.

The Lore Head shall be responsible for bringing issues regarding the presentation and story of the living campaign to the Council.

4. Game Masters:

The Game Master branch of Gameplay shall contain all members of the ShadowNET living campaign who have both expressed a desire to Game Master and have formally joined the ranks of ShadowNET Game Masters. Game Masters shall retain agency over their both their tables and storylines.  More impactful storylines shall be coordinated with the Lore Department to prevent unwanted intersection of storylines. The Game Master Head shall have the authority and responsibility to oversee all members of the Game Master Branch.

The Game Master Head shall be responsible for bringing issues regarding the community of Game Masters on ShadowNET to the Council.

3. Characters:

The Character Division shall oversee both the review of characters created by members of the ShadowNET living campaign and creation of character-oriented content. The Characters Division shall contribute one (1) members to the Council: the Head of Character Review.

5. Character Review:

The Character Review branch of Characters shall oversee ensuring the legality and playability of characters proposed by members of the ShadowNET living campaign. The legality of characters is defined as adherence to ShadowNET player rules, while playability of a character is defined as the capacity of a character to fulfil their archetypal role. Members of the Character Review branch shall, once the legality of a character has been verified, offer constructive criticism on both concept and mechanics, keeping in mind that character concept should never be impeded by mechanical suggestions.

The Character Review Head shall be responsible for bringing issues regarding character creation to the Council.

2. The Council:

                The Council shall be composed of five (5) members, each with one (1) vote to vote upon issues brought to them by the community. The Council shall be responsible for the direction of ShadowNET such that the ShadowNET community is always, to the best of its ability, following the Guiding Principles as outlined above. Members of the Council cannot run for Senate. Other responsibilities of the Council are, but are not limited to:

4. Providing a basis for collaboration between the three divisions and their branches.
5. Facilitate open discussion.
6. Approving full house rules.
7. Handle interpersonal relationships within their own branch (excluding relations between the head of the branch and their constituent members).

3. The Senate:

                The Senate shall be a group of members of the community elected by their peers to represent the interests of the general populace. Members of the Senate shall be nominated and chosen by the community. The Senate shall be responsible for electing members of the Council and for bringing votes of No Confidence from the community to the Council. Members of the Senate cannot run for Council. The Senate is also responsible for interviewing potential candidates for positions on the Council. The Senate shall also be responsible for gauging the general state of the community and preemptively deal with issues within the community. The Senate holds mediation power in interpersonal conflicts. The Senate shall also be responsible for bringing issues of efficiency and community health before the Council.

The Senate shall have the power and responsibility to mediate interpersonal conflicts within the community as well as investigate reports of actions unbecoming of Senate, actions unbecoming of Council, and potential malfeasance. The Senate is additionally tasked with investigating violations of the charter or By-Laws that are not within the purview of a member of Council.

Decisions made by The Senate must have a simple majority in order to be executed. In matters that involve a current member of The Senate ,that member shall recuse himself/herself.

The Senate  has the power to interview any and all members believed to be relevant to the case at hand, and are entitled to any council-owned documents pertaining to the case.  The Senate additionally has the power to issue temporary and permanent bans.

4. Players:

All members of the ShadowNET community are considered Players, and are therefore encouraged to have some fun and enjoy the majesty of a Shadowrun living campaign. The Players of ShadowNET shall be be responsible for electing members of the Senate.

Article III

Membership:

The membership policy for ShadowNET shall be defined as follows: any and all are welcome to join and enjoy the living campaign built by the community. To become a member of ShadowNET, one must submit a character for review to /r/ShadowChargen and have it approved. Following character approval, one may, if they so desire, join the ranks of the Game Masters following the vetting process, delineated in the GM Rules.

        Article IV

        Amendments and Additions, Organized by Date:

<06 DEC 2015> Amendment I: Folded Investigation into Senate, and moved all enumerated Banning Powers to Senate. Original Charter may be found [Here]

        Amendment Process:

                Amendments must be proposed by either the Senate or Council. Amendments must be confirmed by both the Senate and the Council. Amendments must then be approved by the players, and be voted upon by the members of the ShadowNET.