Announcement from \m/

[Starfox101]

[center][img]http://i47.tinypic.com/29472ht.gif[/img][/center]

Sup. Yeah, we've been pretty quiet lately. That's because we've been doing stuff. We had a minor government shake up a few weeks back, with a few government members breaking off and forming the Gentlemen's Club. After that, the Triumvirate also decided to step down, and as you may know by now, Caliph, myself, and Gerald Meane were appointed and confirmed as the new Triumvirate. At first progress was slow, I personally had to shake off quite a bit of rust, as it's been quite a while since I ran a normal alliance, or as close to normal as \m/ is. Anyway, we've worked out a new Charter for \m/. Why do we even have one, you ask? I don't know, because we're going to do whatever we want anyway, but we'll at least adhere to these standards.

[quote]I. Preamble:

\m/ is a collection of nations that have come together with mutual views on freedom and democracy while acknowledging limits to these freedoms and understanding that in times of extraordinary crisis we must set aside our freedoms for the common good. We understand that a helping hand is a controlling hand.

\m/ > Friends > self

II. Membership/Separation:

1. Joining \m/:

i. Nations of any strength may join as long as they meet the following criteria:

a. Cannot be engaged in war of any kind. If currently at war with another nation, you must declare peace before consideration.

b. Cannot be considered a rogue, terrorist, or be on a ZI list for another alliance. \m/ is not a safe haven to escape past discrepancies. You must settle any outstanding issues that you may have with another alliance before being considered for membership.

c. Cannot be a current member of another alliance or an applicant. If you have already applied elsewhere and would like membership here instead, you must contact the other alliance and notify them of your intentions.

d. We're black, y'all. And we're black, y'all. And we're blackity black, and we're black, y'all.

ii. Nations which wish to join must acknowledge charter policies by stating the following:

"I, **Nation Ruler** of **Nation Name**, have read the \m/ charter and I pledge my loyalty to \m/ before anything else. I'm not going to be dumb about this."

iii. Lastly, nations wishing to be granted membership must post the following information in the Member Sign-Up forum:

Nation Name:
Ruler Name:
Team Color:
Nation Link:
Nation Strength:
Former Alliances:
Are you currently on any ZI Lists?
Where did you hear about how bad $@! we are?

2. Leaving \m/:

i. You may leave during peacetime with no consequence provided you have no outstanding debts to its members. You are required to post your resignation in the appropriate section on the Forums or by informing a Government member of \m/.

ii. Leaving during a declared time of war is considered desertion. You may leave \m/ if you choose but this means you're a douchebag and a coward. We don't like those sorts, and we'll take whatever action we feel is necessary to make things a pain in the $@!. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.

III. Member Expectations:

1. Don't act dumb. Great swaths of freedom are provided to you, and we stand as a group to protect your freedoms to the greatest extent possible. This doesn't mean you should abuse these whenever you want. Discretion is generally a good thing. We expect you to police yourself -- or else we will police you. If a triumvir tells you to behave, this means you've skylined yourself in front of the top leadership. For your own future well being, listen to the triumvirs.

2. Treat others in the way that you would want to be treated. Respect is earned, but it must also be given.

3. Self-control. Control yourselves, do not act like an idiot and refrain from being a problem. If you can’t control yourself, the Government will control you.

IV. Government and the Powers of Government:

1. The chain of command for \m/ is as follows:

i. The Triumvirate
ii. Director of \m/land Security
iii. War Minister
iv. Foreign Affairs Minister
v. Internal Affairs Minister
vi. Minister of Finance
vii. Minister of Trades

These individuals are the only ones authorized to speak on behalf of the alliance, and only in regard to their respective positions.

These individuals are in a position of servitude; thus, they exist to serve the alliance. The alliance does not exist on their behalf. FAVORITISM HAS NO PLACE IN \m/. If you expect preferential treatment on the basis of your bra size (or even the existence of a bra, which as everyone knows, doesn't exist on the Interweb), gender, or who you know, then you'd better look for another alliance not so easily swayed by retardery.

i. The Triumvirate: Responsible for alliance oversight, the ultimate Managing unit within \m/. All major decisions, including war declarations, member erections, ejections, mergers, treaty collaborations, shall be approved by two of three triumvirs. Triumvirs serve for an indefinite period of time. Should one resign or be impeached, the remaining two Triumvirs will choose a nominee to fill the void and an emergency election shall be held. The alliance must then vote to approve the nominee. 75%+ of those who voted must approve the nominee before he can made a Triumvir and elections will last for 72 hours.

A. The Triumvirate has the right and authority to set forth a code of Conduct for all members of \m/ including the Government. They are also tasked with providing for the enforcement of this conduct either directly, or indirectly through other Government Officials.

B. The Triumvirate is responsible for setting forth Mission Statements for each individual Ministry with consultation with these Ministers to deem what is physically possible to achieve within a certain time frame.

C. The Triumvirate is responsible for organizing and planning weekly government conferences to discuss the overall management of \m/ and the progress of the Ministries in achieving their goals. If the a Minister has performed poorly within the time frame prior to the meeting, it is up to the discretion of the Triumvirate in deciding how to deal with that Minister. The Triumvirate will also need to give their own report to the Ministers informing them on alliance Business, Foreign and Domestic, that has occurred within the previous week. The Triumvirate reserve the right to declare Martial Law, temporarily banning elections and giving direct control of the alliance to the Triumvirate. Enacting Martial Law requires a 3/3 vote of the Triumvirs. Martial law will last for no more than 2 weeks, at which time the Ministers will vote to either end Martial Law or keep it for another two weeks.

ii. Director of \m/land Security: Responsible for the operational security of \m/, ghostbusting in assistance to the Minister of Internal Affairs and keeping the Salahis out of important \m/ state dinners. The Director is appointed by the Triumvirate, requiring a 3/3 vote of the Triumvirate to appoint or remove the Director of \m/land Security. The Director is responsible for making sure that all policies and actions taken by the rest of the Government are within the bounds and powers defined in the Charter. The Director will also work to guarantee that member freedoms and rights are not violated. The Director may have 1 Deputy, but can also recruit the assistance of other \m/ members as agents.

A. The Director and 2 of his staff members may serve as the official \m/ Tribunal which will determine if laws, policies, or actions undertaken by the Government are Constitutional. They are expected to keep an impartial view and interpret the Constitution as it is written but by also applying reason and logic to their decisions.

B. Agents of the \m/land Security Agency will be expected to assist the Director in any manner possible. These agents can be dismissed by the will of the Triumvirate or Director at any time. One agent may serve on the \m/ Tribunal with the Director and his Deputy.

iii. War Minister: Heads up the alliance military to include the creation of war lists, maintenance of individual enemy lists, the creation and maintenance of war guides, and the creation and maintenance of unit organization. The Minister of War has the authority to command the Military how he sees fit and appoint as many staff members as deemed necessary to help oversee and insure effective unit cohesion. The Minister of War is also responsible for creating, enforcing or repealing policy concerning the Military. Only the Triumvirate can repeal policies implemented by the Minister of War when deemed necessary. Contacts the triumvirate with information about all aggressive action.

iv. Foreign Affairs Minister: Conducts foreign affairs to include embassy creation and inter-alliance coordination. This Minister has the power to enlist help from the general Membership to aid in these activities. This Minister is also responsible for maintaining, overseeing and communicating with Foreign Diplomats who have been given Embassies on the \m/ forums. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is also responsible for deciding on the organization and layout of these Ministries.

A. Enlisted Diplomats can be fired at will by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and replaced as deemed necessary.

B. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for insuring that all \m/ Embassies abroad are active and that the Diplomats actively and visibly take part in them.

C. Enlisted Diplomats of \m/ whom are deployed abroad will be expected to give regular reports to their overseeing Minister.

v. Internal Affairs Minister: Conducts the day-to-day affairs of alliance operations to include member masking, recruiting and updating membership rosters. The triumvirate prefers tech-savvy individuals in this position that can keep the Forums in prime condition. This Minister is responsible for ensuring that elections are started and finished on time. They will be permitted to aid the Ministers of War, Finance and Trades with their duties if needed. This Minister must ensure that all of \m/’s guides are up-to-date, accurate, and easily understandable.

A. The Minister of Internal Affairs must create and maintain an Academy that will test all prospective \m/ applicants before they may be permitted to join the alliance. The Academy must be rigorous and should educate these prospective members in anything from how to wage war, partake in Tech Deals, Grow their Nations effectively, \m/ Laws, and any other items set forth in their Mission Statements.

vi. Minister of Finance: Responsible for organizing Tech Deals, member Aid, Development projects and writing and maintaining Economics guides. The Triumvirate prefers organized and number-savvy individuals in this position. All programs and projects undertaken by the Finance Minister that involve the Membership must be voluntary programs. However, mandatory programs may be approved by a simple majority vote of the Triumvirate.

vii. Minister of Trades: This Minister is responsible for organizing Trades for the alliance. They are expected to do so in an orderly and efficient manner and he may assign individuals who have asked to be placed in a Trade Circle into another one if the requested circle is not available or if a more beneficiary circle is found.

2. Impeachment:

i. Triumvirs may be tried by impeachment proceedings upon a simple majority from the collective ministers. The Triumvirs being impeached have a right to make their case against their accusers. The Director of \m/land Security will oversee the trial and act as an impartial Judge. The Ministers, excluding the individual who called for the Triumvir’s impeachment, will act as the Jury along with 4 randomly selected Deputy Ministers. If the Triumvir is found guilty by the Jury, the Triumvir has been impeached. In order to remove the Triumvir from office a vote must be taken by the Membership to remove the Triumvir. The case for and against the Triumvir must be presented in an orderly and professional manner. The membership will be given 3 days to read the material and decide for themselves whether or not to remove the Triumvir from office. On the 4th day, an impartial Vote will be taken where the membership will be required to post “yea” to remove the Triumvir, or “Nay” to keep him. After 48 hours, the vote will be closed and the votes will be tallied. The vote must be at least 75% or higher to remove the Triumvir from Office. If the vote fails to remove the Triumvir, his powers will be returned to him. Individuals who move for the Impeachment and removal of a Triumvir may not be removed from \m/ for their stance during the Impeachment and Removal proceedings.

ii. Ministers or Deputy Ministers may be removed at any time deemed necessary by a simple majority Triumvir vote.

3. Elections

Elections for Ministers shall be held bi-monthly starting on the 13th day at 6PM EST and ending on the 15th day at 6PM EST. Any \m/ member can announce his desire to run for a Minister position. No Campaign messages may be sent to individual \m/ nations, instead the Minister of Internal Affairs will alert the alliance as a whole of elections and direct them to the appropriate sub-forum. A simple majority vote for a candidate will result in the victory and appointment of that candidate. In the event that only one individual runs for a particular office, he shall be elected by default with no vote necessary on Election Day.

A. All Ministries are elected with exception of the \m/land Security and all positions under that ministry.

B. The number of deputy positions open for appointment in a ministry will need to be chosen by the newly elected Minister with the approval of the Triumvirate. The number of deputies allowed will be no less than 1 and no more than 3.

C. Candidates must state their intention to run for office and which office one week prior to elections. During this week before elections, candidates are permitted to campaign in the appropriate subforum.

4. Votes of No Confidence

i. May be called by the members of the alliance for a Minister or Deputy Minister with a simple majority (51%), then a secondary election will be held depending on if it is a Minister or Deputy Minister being removed. Members moving for the Impeachment of a Minister or Deputy Minister are expected to present their case in an orderly, professional and respectful manner.

ii. A Deputy Minister can be recalled by (51%) of the vote

iii. A Minister may be removed by (65%) of the vote

iv. Following the recall of a Minister of a Deputy Minister, anyone not already in Government may run to fill the position. They will be expected to post a Campaign platform and a special election will be held within 72 hours of the previous Recall election. A simple majority vote by those who voted will be needed to elect the new Minister or Deputy Minister.

5. Secondary Policies and Laws

Secondary Policies will be more specific rules and regulations not covered in the constitution, but they must also parallel the powers, rights and limits set by this constitution. If a Policy or law is found to be unconstitutional by the Director of \m/land Security and his Staff, the Policy or law is considered null and void. Ministers have the ability to set or create policy in regards to their specific field of expertise while Triumvirs can set policy for anything regarding \m/ Internal Affairs, Finance, Trades, War, or Foreign Affairs.

5a. These Policies or Laws must be posted in an area of the forums easily accessible to the members of \m/. However it is not required to post these where foreign diplomats or the public eye can see unless deemed necessary by the Government of \m/.

5b. Policies or Laws made by Ministers may not include Ceasefires, Disbandment, economic embargos upon other alliances, use of Team Sanctions, removal of members of Government, and they may not demand the silence of \m/’s members. Revising this particular sub article is not permitted by anyone.

6. Disbandment: The Triumvirate can disband the alliance with a 3/3 vote followed by an alliance-wide vote. The vote will last 7 days and will require a 100% approval vote by at least 75% of the alliance. Voters will be required to verbally cast their ballot in the appropriate thread in which they must vote either "Yea" or "Nay". Should the vote fail, the motion to disband the alliance will have failed and the Triumvirate will be required to step down and appoint their successors immediately thereafter. This clause may not be revised upon the ratification of this document.

V. War:

1. Inter-alliance war, whether it be aggressive or defensive, is sometimes necessary. A majority approval from the Triumvirate is necessary to declare war.

i. Nuclear First Strike Policy: The government & members of \m/ realize that nuclear weapons are beneficial to the alliance and fully support nuclear development. We also realize that nuclear weapons are built for 2 reasons:

A. Deterrent

B. To cause maximum damage to enemy nations. Therefore \m/ authorizes nuclear first strikes in war, unless deemed not necessary by the Triumvirate (for duels, mass raids, etc.)

2. Inter-alliance ceasefires and peace declarations will only be approved by the Triumvirate.


VI. Nation-on-Nation War:

1. \m/ does not promote or encourage single-nation war, but will allow individuals to fight in accordance with the following guidelines:

i. You will only declare war on one nation at a time.

ii. Other \m/ nations are under no obligation to provide any assistance to your nation but can if they desire to.

iii. You will not declare war on a nation within an alliance. \m/ defines an alliance as any group of nations with more than 19 members.

iv. You must declare peace with the previous target and the war must be ended before you may declare war on another nation.

v. There is no limit to how long you may fight a war with a single nation or how you may fight this nation

VII. In-game Spying:

1. Spying is aggression.

2. If we discover members of another alliance spying on one of our members, the aggressive alliance will be contacted. The nation in question will be dealt with and reparations may be received. No \m/ nation is to attack this nation unless approved by the Triumvirate or War Minister.

VIII. Charter

1. Editing or amending the current charter:

i. A copy of the previous version of this charter must be permanently archived to preserve the history of the living document.

ii. All changes and additions to the current text requires Triumvirate approval.

IX. Miscellaneous

1. \m/ also recognizes:

i. Alice in Chains rocks your face off.
ii. Metallica used to kick a lot of $@!, it no longer does.
iii. Chris Cornell was dead to us upon the release of his solo album.

2. Geocaching is the official alliance sport.

3. We support the U.S. military, and the Marine Corps in particular. Semper Fidelis.

4. Coffee's for closers only.

5. Free speech: No one will be ejected, banned, etc., on the basis of speech in our IRC channel or on the forums alone so long as what was said and done falls within the bounds of the Code of Conduct for all members.

Commonly-used terms:
-- i dont even know whats going on: You don't even know what's going on. Used most often after a member has recently joined a conversation.
-- \m/: When used as an adjective, generally refers to something awesome.
-- tech raid: All wars are tech raids until the game mechanics allow individuals to isolate what is taken or destroyed in war.[/quote]

We also decided to change our official alliance theme song. It used to be Make it Rain by Fat Joe, ft. Lil Wayne, but Lil Wayne is in prison and is enjoying that thug love now, so we decided he didn't represent us well. We (right?) decided that Kid Cudi is the !@#$ and is the future. Wayne ain't nothing. Therefore we decided to go with The Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_Ys3BO_4M"]Music Video[/url]

[i]Crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, take a hit
Feelin’ lit feelin’ light, 2 am summer night.
I don't care, hand on the wheel, drivin drunk, I'm doin’ my thing
Rollin the Midwest side and out livin’ my life getting’ out dreams
People told me slow my road I'm screaming out $%&@ that
Imma do just what I want lookin’ ahead no turnin’ back
if I fall if I die know I lived it to the fullest
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.

Tell me what you know about dreamin’ dreamin’
you don't really know about nothin’ nothin’
tell me what you know about them night terrors every night
5 am, cold sweats wakin’ up to the skies
tell me what you know about dreams, dreams
tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin’
you don't really care about the trials of tomorrow
rather lay awake in a bed full of sorrow

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good

I'm on the pursuit of happiness. I know everything that shines ain't always gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold, hey
I'll be fine once I get it, yeah, I'll be good

I'm on the pursuit of happiness
And I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold, hey
I'll be fine once I get it, yeah
I'll be good

Pursuit of happiness, yeah
I don’t get it, I’ll be good[/i]

Pretty much it emphasizes how we are as an alliance.

People told me slow my road I'm screaming out $%&@ that
Imma do just what I want lookin’ ahead no turnin’ back
if I fall if I die know I lived it to the fullest
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets

Anyway, yeah, we're pretty great in case you didn't notice.

Signed,

Triumvirate: Caliph, Gerald Meane, Starfox101
Director of \m/land Security: Merrie Melodies
Minister of War: D3filed
Minister of Internal Affairs: Emperor Marx
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Earogema
Minister of Trades: Supreme Emperor Daeg

[Chief Savage Man]

More or less a perfect charter.

[Starfox101]

I agree. Props to Emperor Marx for making it happen.

[Scorponok]

Massive charter there. I love the bit about Chris Cornell, everyone needs that in their charter.

Have fun \m/. So altogether how many gov have stepped down?

[Starfox101]

Two left, and three Tri's stepped down. However, Marx accepted an MoIA spot, and CSM took a DMoFA spot. So, technically, only Comrade Goby stepped down.

[Chief Savage Man]

Lil Wayne is a punk. Kid Cudi is the truth. Also, the whole first tri stepped down and three ministers stepped down as well.

edit: dammit starfox

Edited April 3, 2010 by Chief Savage Man

[Tautology]

Congratulations on the new charter.

[Earogema]

Blingin' as usual.

[kriekfreak]

Congratz guys

[citizenkane]

Congratulations on your new charter and new government members.

They made Caiph trium?!

[Jens of the desert]

Nice work on an excellent new charter, \m/

[Kevin McDonald]

At first I was happy that EM wasn't in gov anymore, but then I read down and saw that he's your MoIA now and that made me sad.

Just kidding, I love the little guy.

Congrats to our allies in \m/

[mhawk]

So you've set your raid limit to nothing more than 19 nations, however no amendment for alliances 19 and under with treaties.. that is going to go well.

[Lancer]

Congrats on an excellent charter.

[SpiderJerusalem]

Good thing I am leaving... A triumvirate with Starfox... Good God

[Gerald Meanĕ]

[quote name='mhawk' date='03 April 2010 - 02:39 PM' timestamp='1270301933' post='2246499']
So you've set your raid limit to nothing more than 19 nations, however no amendment for alliances 19 and under with treaties.. that is going to go well.
[/quote]

That just means those members better hope the aggrieved just want reps and not their face bashed in. Nature finds a way.

[lonewolfe2015]

I still hold out hope for a return of Audioslave, thank you very much.

Looking good guys.

[Valtamdraugr]

Congrats guys.. looks good.

Onward and upward! Or.. sideways...w/e.

[Nintenderek]

Now here is a Triumvirate that I can enjoy.

[Comrade Goby]

We're so aesthetic.

[Imperator Hades]

Starfox back in leadership, some things change but the strong always survive. I eagerly await good things.

[Kortal]

I had hoped that \m/ would have learned their lesson after the still fairly recent debacle.

How many times does Polar need to rub your noses in your mistakes before you realize that wrongfully attacking nations in ANY alliance no matter the size is a dumb move?

Its time \m/ comes out of the dark ages and bans raiding altogether, before your conduct leads to another disastrous war in which your allies suffer.

[tamerlane]

sup? Im Cole Hamels.

[Captain Oliver]

This is... interesting...

[Riddick]

\m/ is makin it happin o/