Demographics | Age Requirement | Diversity | Commitment | Integrity
Honor | Official Teams | Website/Discord | Live Streaming | Member Inactivity
Alternate Characters | Guild Tags | Informal Chapters | Official Chapters | Loyalty | Ranks

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Pandamonium is a member-driven MMO gaming community with a core value of inclusivity. We are comprised of a richly diverse collection of people from all walks of life, including many marginalized groups, who are committed to having fun. At our center are real life and online friends who have been gaming together since 2004. Our goal is to provide a safe environment free of drama, where all members show each other mutual respect.

Demographics
Community Members: 353
Average Age: late 30's
Age Span: 18 to 70's
Year Established: 2004


Age Requirement
A minimum age of 18 years is required for acceptance into Pandamonium. By submitting an application to join the community, the applicant is declaring that they meet the age requirement. No exceptions to this rule will be made.

“There are no exceptions to the rule that everybody likes to be an exception to the rule.”

Diversity
Our members represent differences in race, age, gender, politics, religion, and sexual orientation. Those inclined towards bigoted, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, or misogynistic behavior need not apply. You wouldn't like it here, and we wouldn't like to have you.

Commitment
Real life takes precedence over gaming. All Pandamonium members will be respectful of others' real life situations, circumstances, and emergencies. That being said, we expect members to honor their commitments. Before a member agrees to attend an event they should realistically determine if they will actually be able to fulfill the commitment. Once a commitment is made, members are expected to show up on time and be prepared. When circumstances arise that prevent fulfillment of a commitment, members are expected to let the appropriate event leader know as soon as possible.

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”

Integrity
It is expected that all members will abide by the game Terms of Service and Rules of Conduct at all times. Specifically, the use of 3rd party hacks and/or cheats will result in immediate removal from the community.

“There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.”

Honor
Pandamonium members are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which is becoming to them and to the community. Inflammatory or insulting comments, and rude or petty behavior have no place in game chat, voice chat, Discord text chat, or interactive game forums and will be dealt with immediately.

“Be honorable yourself if you wish to associate with honorable people.”

Official Teams
Pandamonium is primarily a casual community. However, we have solid procedures in place to satisfy those individuals interested in endgame raiding, ranked PvP, and other organized events. The Official Teams page contains details on how our teams function within the underlying community structure (as well as an overview of the team creation process).

Website/Discord
The community maintains this website as a recruitment tool and the Discord server as a communication tool for its members. You can check for announcements, upcoming events, and general chat. A wealth of information may be found on the website and within Discord. Members are encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences with others.

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing."

Live Streaming
Individuals interested in live streaming in-game content that includes fellow community members can do so only with the permission of those sharing their voice channel or in-game group. Planned community events that will be live streamed must be advertised as such. This must include whether the event will be permanently saved on the Twitch website. We have posted Streaming Guidelines to assist those interested in getting started with streaming.

"Privacy matters; privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be."

Member Inactivity
All members are expected to be active both in-game and on Discord. Failure to log-in to any of the chapters or post actively on Discord for more than 120 days may result in removal from the community. In order to rejoin Pandamonium, the inactive individual must reapply for membership. This includes Members who previously chose to leave the community. If you permanently leave the Pandamonium Discord server we will view this as a signal of your decision to leave the community. Any guilded characters will be removed.

Alternate Characters
Players that have achieved the Member rank and above are invited to bring alternate characters into any official or informal chapter. Alternate characters will be held to the same inactivity requirement as main characters.

Guild Tags
Pandamonium, if available, is our guild/FC/company name. If it is not available or we require multiple entities for a particular game (e.g., because we have an opposite faction entity or because of in-game member limitations), we also use Pandaloons, Pandalysium, and Pandarama.

Any individual with the rank of Member and higher wishing to tag an alternate character need merely ask one of the Chapter Officers or Game Leaders for an invite to any of the guilds. Please note that only current members of Pandamonium will be allowed into any of our guilds/FCs/companies, and the Pandamonium Charter applies equally to all. Though the rank structures are identical, opposite faction guilds, in chapters where they exist, are intended to merely be alt guilds. This means that our primary focus is and will always be the primary faction guild.

Informal Chapters
An Informal Chapter is an MMO that Pandamonium has a small presence in. They are created when there is reasonable interest to have some organization within a particular game, but not to the point of having a leadership structure like an Official Chapter. Leadership of an Informal Chapter consists of one person: the Game Leader. They can petition the leadership team to form an Informal Chapter if there are at least 10 community members interested in joining. Informal Chapters typically will have no active recruitment, as it is merely intended to allow for casual gameplay among existing members of the Pandamonium community (the exception to this is pre-launch games). However, applications through an Informal Chapter are allowed. An Informal Chapter can be converted to an Official Chapter at any time if the leadership team determines that it qualifies.

Currently, we have three informal chapters: EverQuest II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and World of Warcraft.

Official Chapters
An Official Chapter is an MMO that Pandamonium has an active presence in. Official chapters have the full support and use of resources within our gaming community, including recruitment, leadership manpower, and a more robust website/Discord setup to facilitate its growth and prosperity. A game becomes an Official Chapter, essentially, if there is elevated community interest. There are no specific numbers since Pandamonium's community population will fluctuate over time. Some games will emerge as obvious candidates and become quickly adopted by the community (typically evidenced by active Discord discussions). Once it is clear there is enough interest from the community at large for a particular game, the Community Managers will then start looking for Chapter Officers. As candidates emerge and we as a community are satisfied that we have a large enough group assembled, we will then proceed to set up the chapter and make the necessary modifications to accommodate the new game.

Currently, we have two official chapters: Final Fantasy XIV Online and New World.

Loyalty
All members of Pandamonium are expected to abide by this Charter. Members are encouraged to invite other players whom they believe will be an asset to the community to submit an application via the Pandamonium Discord (#apply).

“The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”

Ranks
Panda Pal
A Panda Pal is a personal friend of a member in good standing for at least 6 months. They must be unable to join a Pandamonium in-game guild or FC because of their ties with other friends or family, and approved by the Leadership Team. They have limited access to Discord channels.

Trial Member
A Trial Member is an individual with limited access who has not yet submitted a community application. The Trial Member will have full access to all Pandamonium events. A Trial Member must submit an application within 2 weeks of tagging. If an application is submitted and approved, they then become an Apprentice and go through the standard vetting process. If an application is not submitted or denied, it will result in immediate community and guild removal.

Apprentice
An Apprentice is an individual who has applied for membership through the required channels, has agreed to abide by the published community charter, and has been welcomed into Pandamonium for a trial period during which time the Apprentice will be evaluated for compatibility and integrity. Apprentices may only apply with one character, can only have ONE character in the guild during the trial period and can participate in all events for which they are geared and eligible. An Apprentice may be promoted to full membership upon recommendation by any member in good standing and after a period of no less than 2 weeks.

Member
A Member is an individual who has successfully completed the recruitment phase and been approved for full membership by the leadership team. The Member will have full access to all Pandamonium events. A Member may choose to bring their alternate characters into any Informal or Official Chapter. If a Member removes their toons from all Chapters before reaching Life Member rank, they will be removed from the Pandamonium Discord server and must reapply for membership should they wish to return.

Life Member
A Life Member is a long-standing member who has significantly contributed to the community. Membership is retained even though they may no longer be tagged in an official chapter as long as they remain active on Discord (a negative parting of ways being the obvious exception). Though the bestowing of this rank is sometimes subjective and dealt with on a case-by-case basis, the general guidelines include being a community member for 18+ months and generally active in voice and text chat on Pandamonium's Discord server. If a Life Member leaves the Pandamonium Discord server, that is reflective of a decision to leave the community and they must reapply for membership should they wish to return.

Team Leader
A Team Leader is a Member that also functions as a raid team leader. They coordinate and spearhead forces, maintaining a balanced team to handle the toughest fights. To aid them, Team Leaders have access (if available) to a dedicated raiding bank which assists with logistical support and stocking mission critical supplies.

Moderator
A Moderator is responsible for Discord moderation. They monitor the interchange of contributors and make decisions regarding content. If the tone becomes hostile or starts to move in the direction of personal attacks, a Moderator has discretion to intervene in the discussion to prevent heated, inappropriate exchanges. Conversely, topics they feel deserve further examination can be pinned for easier access. They are responsible for processing community applications and maintaining the members list. Moderators are selected on an as-needed basis.

Game Leader
A Game Leader is responsible for all in-game administration for the Informal Chapter that they oversee. A Game Leader cannot be an existing Chapter Leader or Chapter Officer and must be approved by the Community Managers.

Chapter Officer
A Chapter Officer is an active participant within the game. They are involved in general community oversight and policy implementation. Duties may include inviting and welcoming new apprentices, assisting members with general information, providing useful and significant content to our Discord, organizing guild events, and creating a positive environment in guild and voice chat. Chapter Officers are selected on an as-needed basis.

Chapter Leader
A Chapter Leader is responsible for all recruitment and in-game administration for the chapter that they oversee. If the game requires a single GM, they fill this role.

Community Manager
A Community Manager coordinates guild policy creation. These individuals play a key role in general guild management by enforcing such policies, setting guild goals, and overseeing the selection of Official Chapters. The current slate of Community Managers have been managing guild activities together and keeping the boat afloat since 2004.