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I. Statement of Purpose

The mission of the Elanthian Merchant Alliance, hereinafter referred to as the "Alliance", is to provide a unified front of merchants in Elanthia, joined in allegiance to values of honesty, integrity, character and fairness.

As an elite group, the Alliance will seek to seperate itself from non-member merchants, through such actions and standards as described within these bylaws, and further development as an Alliance as time passes.

The common goal of the Alliance is to benefit, through its action and standard, the member merchants as well as the consumers to whom we sell. That benefit may be in material wealth, value received, role-playing enhancement, and general security and confidence in all merchant-related transactions. As such, this Alliance shall make no discrimations against any being in Elanthia, by race, gender, age, or creed.

It is the intention of the Alliance to promote the economic well - being of all residents of Elanthia, through proper and regulated selling techniques, tremendous public information dispersement, other educational activities, and a standard of role-playing which will be a strong example for others to follow. In many societies, the merchants are often the most powerful members of society for a wide variety of reasons. The Alliance recognizes the potential of such, and the responsibilities that come with such, and seeks to build a foundation which is cohesive with that end result.

Internally, the Alliance will seek to train, educate, and inform its members, to the many diverse aspects of the merchanting trade, so that by being a member of said Alliance, they gain tremendous intellectual and material advantage. Also, the Alliance would seek resources within its membership, so that Alliance members would provide much needed resources onto one another, thus creating greater cohesiveness and advantage.

Lastly, the Alliance seeks to provide a suitable and enjoyable role play environment to its members. The challenges and excitement of being a proper 'merchant' in Elanthia, as well as the resources and education necessary by which to make it a truly unique adventure and experience.

II. Governing Body

A. All matters of law and membership are voted upon by the membership, as clarified in this document. The bylaws recognize the need for Alliance development over time, and when the time is right, a governing body will be instituted.

B. Proposals of Ideas, Bylaws, Charter Amendments, and Memberships are presented to the Founder (later, Chairman) who will be responsible for finding a suitable method with which to present and receive votes from the Membership.

C. Charter Membership will receive weighted votes (2:1) on all issues voted upon by the General Membership, until the time when a specific Governing Body is put forth unto these bylaws, at which point this rule will be null and void.

III. Membership

A. Statement - Membership in the Alliance will reflect the highest levels of character and integrity in the Elanthian society and the Merchant industry. As such, membership should be considered the highest honor, and the actions and accountabilities of the membership will be carefully guarded.

B. Eligibility - A citizen is eligible to be a member if he or she has attained at least the tenth level of training and has submitted an application to the Alliance. Each applicant must also have a proven background that is relevant to merchanting and proper etiquette. Each applicant must prove, by reputation, to role-play whenever possible and to consistently stay in character. All applicants must be able to provide a reasonable benefit within the context of merchanting, to the membership. All applicants must show reasonable knowledge of items in Elanthia, and be familiar with relative properties and consequence of those properties. Additionally, cognizance of the nature of various GM and Town merchants is highly encouraged. All applicants must be in good standing within the realms of Law in Elanthia, and be in good standing regarding Simutronics polcy. All applications will be submitted to and reviewed by the Charter Membership.

C. Acceptance - Applications received by the Alliance are reviewed by the Founder for accuracy and completion. A suitably completed application is then forwarded to the Charter Membership for voting. Charter Membership will have 7 days to review the Application and submit an 'Aye' or 'Nae' vote to the Founder. General Membership requires 100% approval by the Charter Membership. After Charter Membership has voted, accepted applications will be sent to the General Membership, which will have 7 days to review the information and vote. A 75% approval by the General Membership is required for initiation, all previous steps completed.

D. Initiation - Accepted applicants will be initiated in a ceremony that will be witnessed by no less than 50% of the Charter Membership, including the Founder. At that time, all tomes of reference to the Alliance will be updated to reflect the new membership. No initiation fees will be collected.

E. Expulsion - Violation of any of the terms of these By laws is reasonable grounds for permanent Expulsion from the Alliance. Expelled members are not eligible for Alliance membership at any time in the future. Membership in the Alliance comes with the understanding of all bylaws contained here within.

i.) A Motion to Expel must be presented by one of the members, and will follow this procedure.

ii.) Statements regarding grounds for Expulsion on the member in question will be compiled by the Founder and forwarded to the Membership.

iii.) The member in question will be given one statement to plead their case. This statement will also be forwarded to the Membership.

iv.) Expulsion will be voted upon by the Alliance Membership. A 51% vote is required to expel a member from the Alliance on proper grounds.

F. Membership is considered lifetime in the Alliance. However, participation in any Alliance - run Merchant events or meetings is mandatory, to remain active.

i.) Active membership is defined as participating in at least 1 of every 3 Alliance events, and no less than 2 events per year.

ii.) Inactive members are not considered 'Expelled', but simply removed from the ranks of active membership as defined by the Alliance libraries and public information tomes.

III. Conduct and Statements.

A. All members of the Alliance are expected to remain true to their characters. This is to suggest that they attempt to remain in character and handle events and actions as they would within the best spirits of role-playing.

B. OOC speech is completely unforgiveable within these bylaws. No public announcement of any aspect of mechanics will be uttered in speaking aloud or publicly, or on the thought nets. This includes, but is not limited to, mechanic-specific references such as "DS", "AS", "+20"(or any + number), "AvD", "Scripts", or the usage of keyboard characters not specific to emphasis on dialect (for example: "***", " :-) "" <<>>" or others.) These are considered 'chat room' icons and have no place within the Alliance or its membership. Additionally, OOG references are not suitable nor acceptable in public speech.

C. In written or sent Merchanting, (i.e. auction scrolls, message board posts), some tolerance of Rule III B is understood. However, any and all sales by Alliance membership should reflect the highest integrity of the membership. Care should be taken to ensure correct information, proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, and ease of reading in any sales which are being conducted by a member of the Alliance to the general public of Elanthia.

D. Mystery Items or Packages are completely prohibited by members of the Alliance. Any bulk sales must be listed in full, and the nature of the items must be made clear to the general public to whom is able to purchase the bulk package. Mystery Notes are completely unacceptable within this, or any context.

E. Lotteries. Lotteries are acceptable by the Alliance membership, IF and only IF, the drawing of the lottery is done with an in-game mechanic. Examples of an in-game mechanic, could be dice, runestones, a gambling wheel or some other fair and totally random value generator. OOG determination of an in-game prize for which people paid for a chance to win is unacceptable.

F. Flat Priced Sales and Minimum Bids. Reasonable market values will be determined by the Alliance membership. Altered items will not fall within the regulatory principles of these bylaws, nor will anything entirely unique, for example, box found or GM auction one-of-a-kind items. Current market values will be determined in charts available in the Libraries of the Alliance, and open to all. Alliance members are not to sell listed items at above the posted market values, and are not to set Minimum Bids in an Auction environment above listed market values.

G. All exchanges of wares must be done in character, and with the integrity reflective of Alliance membership. Any mechanical information needed by the buyer or seller should be done via whispers, private thought or in writing.

H. Guarantee. Any sale of any noted item* in excess of 500,000 silvers, Elanthian currency, will be backed by a 72 hour guarantee. If the buyer decides to return the item within 72 hours, for any reason, so long as the item is in the same condition as it was upon its initial sale, the Alliance member will return the silvers and accept the item back into inventory. *Noted Item is defined as a high value item which can be 100% quantified by regular means. For example, this would include Weapons, Armor, Shields, Containers and the Like. Items which have usages that are not easily determined, such as scrolls, rechargeable items or potions, do not fall within the context of this guarantee. However, that is assuming all other rules of proper sales are followed and the item is not misrepresented in any way.

I. All Alliance members agree to provide a unique or discounted good or service to fellow members that reflects an additional value over what the member makes available to the general public. This can include, but not be limited to, Item discounts on member inventory, Loresinging/Assessing services for free or at a discount, or any other additional discount or value given towards the membership which is not made available to the general public.

J. The Alliance membership recognizes the value of Information. Members that are able to glean uncommon information regarding wares or services of travelling merchants or merchant events are encouraged to share that information with the general membership.

K. The Alliance membership recognizes the value of honest transactions. Members will be encouraged to forego the exchange of items or services with citizens of Elanthia that have proven themselves dishonest to fellow Alliance members. In submitting names to the membership along these lines, extreme detail should be included.

L. Membership in the Alliance recognizes the value of the rules contained within, implies an agreement to abide by them, and understands that violation of these rules is grounds for Expulsion.

M. Alliance members will be expected to treat one another with the utmost respect, indicative of the high level of integrity this organization seeks to maintain. PvP Combat is prohibited as a means to settle any disputes within the membership, and frowned upon by Alliance members to settle any merchant - related disputes.

IV. Disputes

A. Disputes arising from within the Alliance in regards to the organization, bylaws, or transactions may be handled in one of the following ways.

i) An in-game hearing will take place at a predetermined time and place. Both parties must be present to state their case, as well as at least 60% of the Charter membership, and any additional General membership available to attend. After both parties have presented their evidence, and stated their cases, a determination of action will be agreed upon by the Charter membership present. This determination will be voted upon by the non-party membership present. An 80% vote is required for this action to be determined as the final ruling. Both parties agree to the results of this ruling, and this is implied by their pleading of the case in front of membership.

ii) Both parties may submit a Statement to the Alliance. The Founder will compile the statements and forward to the entire membership. The membership will have 4 days to respond to the Statements, in terms of favoring one arguement or the other. The Founder will compile the votes, and summarize the results in additional correspondence. The membership will then have 4 days to vote upon a determination of action. A 80% favorable vote towards the action will result in its passing. Both parties agree to the results of this ruling, and this is implied by their submission of Statements to the membership.

iii) Disputes that are stalemated within the General Membership can be settled by a 90% vote of the Charter Membership.


V. Amendments

A. It is reasonable to expect that as the Alliance grows, the need to Amend these By Laws is recognized. An Amendment must be submitted to the Membership for review. The membership will have 14 days to vote upon the proposed amendment. A 75% 'aye' vote is required for passing the Amendment into these Bylaws.

B. Rule III H was clarified to prevent abuse of Alliance members by buyers, and to clarify the intentions of the 72 Hour guarantee.

VI. Definitions

A. Charter Membership: The original Founder and members of this Alliance.

B. General Membership: To include the Charter Members, and additional members as recruited and accepted within the Alliance, within the guidelines stated within these bylaws.

C. Charter Membership will be considered the governing body of the Merchant Alliance until at such time, amendments to these By laws are made to institute a Council. The Founder will be considered Chairman of the Alliance within the context of this passage, and until By laws indicate otherwise.

D. Active Membership is defined as those members of the Alliance participating in Events, Discussion, Voting and other Alliance activities within the course of the Calendar year, in such a matter and with such frequency as to suggest involvement with the Alliance.

E. Library and Public Record will be posted at the following website: https://gs3merchant.tripod.com/
Public information, as well as Member only information will base itself from that 'virtual office'.

VII. Summarization.

Membership in the Elanthian Merchant Alliance is considered an honor and should not be taken lightly. Members will hold themselves to the highest standards in terms of character, honesty and action. Participation in this Alliance implies an understanding of all rules contained within as well as all governing Laws of Elanthia, and obeyance of all Simutronic policy.