The Grand Lodge of Freemasons

The Grand Lodge of Freemasons is a multi-color, predominantly orange, alliance. The alliance was created on November 11, 2007 by Genghis, and it officially opened to the public on December 8, 2007. Currently the lodge holds two members.

= Charter of the Grand Lodge =

Preamble
We, the members of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons (GLOF), come together in a spirit of cooperation, friendship, and common purpose to draft this Charter of our alliance. Through this living document we provide for the general welfare of the alliance, pledge every GLOF nation to an alliance wide defense, and enact a system of governance and conduct to guide our collective efforts towards the betterment of our nations and those of our friends and allies.

1.1. Admission
1.1.1. In order to gain admission to The Grand Lodge of Freemasons, all applicants must answer questions determined by the Grand Superintendent. Questions will include, but not be limited to, Nation Name, Ruler Name, current Wars and Trade information.

1.1.2. Each applicant will undergo a probationary period of up to 14 days. After completion, the Lodge Affairs staff will approve full membership. In the event a member does not receive this, he/she may reapply for membership and a new probationary period will follow.

1.2. Membership
1.2.1. Concurrent membership in other alliances is not allowed.

1.2.2. Upon putting forth an application for admittance to the GLOF, all applicants and members are bound by this Charter. Violations of Charter provisions may lead to disciplinary action by the Grand Registrars.

2.1. Government Structure
2.1.2. The executive branch of the GLOF is represented by the Council, and led by the Grand Master and his/her Deputy. These two positions are elected popularly by the alliance membership. The remaining Councilors are appointed by the Grand Master.

2.1.3. A Committee of 5 Wardens consisting of the 5 most active (not necessarily the most senior) forum users will police the Government internally. They will vote for removal of corrupt or inadequate Councilors only and will have no external dealings on political or military matters.

2.2. Elected Councilors
2.2.1. Grand Master: Acts as chief executive for the GLOF. Responsible for determining Council priorities and foreign policy, representing the GLOF in international negotiations, deciding on disciplinary procedures, and coordinating Council activities. Makes any executive decisions not otherwise specified in the Charter.

2.2.2. Deputy Grand Master: Responsible for assisting the Grand Master in his responsibilities, with particular focus on communication between the Council and other member nations. Makes urgent executive decisions in the absence of the Grand Master.

2.3. Appointed Councilors
2.3.1. Grand Chancellor: Responsible for deploying and coordinating Ambassadors to other alliances, negotiating treaties, and assessing potential threats.

2.3.2. Grand Knight: Responsible for the security of member nations, supervision of GLOF wars, advising the Grand Master on the acquisition and use of nuclear weaponry, and coordinating military assistance between members.

2.3.3. Grand Superintendent: Responsible for setting admission and membership requirements, recruiting, background checking, guiding prospective members of the GLOF, assisting the Grand Master in disciplinary procedures, ensuring the mutual support and friendship of member nations, and coordinating reconstruction aid efforts.

2.4. Appointed Offices
2.4.1. To further the mission and operations of the GLOF, members are appointed to various positions by the Council. These appointed Offices are subsections under the respective Council Offices, rather than Council level officials. Appointments are confirmed by the Grand Master.

2.4.2. Grand Crypto: Appointed by the Grand Chancellor. Head of the alliance intelligence, conducts intelligence gathering missions and other duties to that end.

2.4.3. Grand Pursuivant: Appointed by the Grand Superintendant. Head of the alliance communications and works with the Council on communications to the GLOF as a whole and the rest of the Cyberverse.

2.4.4. Grand Mechanic: Appointed by the Deputy Grand Master. Head of alliance information, oversees the Information Station, and works with alliance members on collection and communication of information on the workings of the game engine.

2.4.5. Quartermaster: Appointed by the Grand Superintendent and Grand Knight. Head of alliance building and war aid programs. Works with Lodge Affairs to run all building aid, and the Order of the Red Cross (ORC) to run all war aid.

2.4.6. Wardens: A group of five members consisting of one of the three Grand Registrars and four independant members. These members will remain Wardens until they choose to step down or are deemed unsuitable by their fellow Wardens.

2.4.7. If a Warden is deemed to no longer be qualified for the office, he/she may be removed by the remaining four Wardens with a unanimous vote. Whenever a Warden leaves office, an immediate election by popular vote will be held to determine the replacement from a selection of three active forum users.

2.4.8. Wardens will be required to vote on no confidence matters internally within the GLOF. There will be no Warden involved in Diplomatic and/or Military discussions with outside alliances.

2.4.9. Wardens automatically surrender their position upon election or appointment to the Council. An immediate election by popular vote will be held to determine the replacement from a selection of three active forum users to select a replacement Warden in the event that a current Warden is elected to Council.

2.5. Order of Succession
2.5.1. In the event of an emergency vacancy in the Council, the following order of succession will be followed until the vacancy is filled:


 * 1. Deputy Grand Master;
 * 2. Grand Chancellor;
 * 3. Grand Knight;
 * 4. Grand Superintendent.

2.5.2 Council members may appoint a substitute for their role in case they expect to be temporarily absent. For unexpected absences, or those extending beyond the length of term, the Grand Master may appoint a substitute.

Article III: Member Ranks and Privileges
3.1. The GLOF wishes to provide the opportunity for every member nation to attain any rank or position in the alliance, and encourages all nations to work towards earning any position to which they should aspire.

3.2. Recognizing that not all members will avail themselves of this opportunity or give equal contributions to the welfare of the GLOF, and believing that contributions and commitment to the GLOF should be encouraged, recognized and rewarded, the Council may, at their discretion, establish and maintain rankings and privileges within the membership with the stipulation that they are only based on service to the GLOF, which includes but is not limited to contributions to alliance defense, aid and development, administration, and regular participation in alliance discussions.

3.3. The Council may assign special privileges to any membership rank so created, so long as those privileges do not in any way infringe upon the rights of any other GLOF members as established by the Charter, and are fully disclosed to the entire membership. Such privileges are not exempt from legislative controls.

Article IV: Elections
4.1. Council elections shall take place Quarterly, according to the following schedule: 2 days open for declarations of candidacy (beginning on the first Thursday of the election month), 2 days for campaigning (Saturday, Sunday), and 2 days for voting (Monday and Tuesday). If a run-off is needed, run-offs will take place on Wednesday and will last for 24 hours - ending at update on Friday. Each stage of the elections process begins and ends at update.

4.2. In order to ensure the transparency of the election process, one of the Wardens shall be appointed as Returning Officer to oversee all matters relating to the election. The Returning Officer is not permitted to stand in the election.

4.3. During the candidacy declaration period, any GLOF members who have held GLOF membership for a period of 6 weeks or longer may put themselves forward as a candidate for one office. If a GLOF member is unable to declare their candidacy themselves during the nomination period, they may do so in advance through private message to the Wardens, who will in turn declare the candidacy once the declaration period begins.

4.4. GLOF members may cast one vote for each Office. A candidate gaining a majority of the votes is elected. In the event no candidate gains the majority of the vote a runoff is called.

4.5. In the event of a runoff a new poll will be opened containing the top two candidates from the first round. If there are any ties in the first round that result in there being more than two eligible candidates for the runoff they will be entered in the poll as well. The winner of the runoff is elected regardless of vote percentage. In the event of a tie during a runoff the already elected members of the Council will deliberate amongst themselves and choose which of the tied nations will join them for the term.

4.6. During voting polls will be posted containing only the names of all running candidates. Polls will be constructed such that viewing the current voting totals before casting a vote voids a members vote. If a candidate runs unopposed no poll shall be posted, and they will win the election by default. There are no write-in votes permitted.

4.7. The Returning Officer shall certify and post election results within 24 hours of the end of voting. Election winners enter office upon certification.

5.1. War
5.1.1. The GLOF seeks peace between its members and other nations of the Cyberverse. GLOF members may not declare wars of aggression without the approval of the Grand Knight or his/her appointed proxies.

5.1.2. Should a member nation be attacked and diplomatic negotiations with the offending nation fail, all GLOF members pledge to mobilize the entirety of their military and economic resources in defense of the attacked nation, aiding reconstruction and war efforts to the best of their abilities as directed by the ORC.

5.1.3. In times of peace all GLOF nations are required to follow the directives of the ORC in regards to any measures required to maintain military readiness.

5.2. Nuclear Weapons
5.2.1. Nuclear research, posing a critical advantage in national development, is embraced by the GLOF. Member nations may purchase nuclear armaments at their discretion.

5.2.2. Use of nuclear weapons for strictly defensive purposes is tolerated with Council approval. Any nation seeking to launch nuclear weaponry may only do so with official Council consent. The Grand Knight must be informed if any nuclear weaponry is purchased.

Article VI: The Freemason Judiciary
The purpose of the Freemason Judiciary is to ensure that the Charter and Laws of the GLOF are upheld at all times.

6.1. Organization
6.1.1. The Freemason Judiciary is comprised of a panel of three members, known as Grand Registrars, selected through popular vote.

6.1.2. Once elected, Grand Registrars are entitled to serve as long as they retain regular GLOF membership, with the option to resign at their discretion and at any time.

6.1.3. Grand Registrars must submit a notice of their resignation at least ten (10) days in advance in order to allow for election of a new Registrar to commence.

6.1.4. Registrars automatically surrender their position upon election to the Council.

6.1.5. An immediate election will be held to select a replacement Registrar in the event that a current Registrar is elected to Council.

6.1.6. Registrars may be removed from their post by a majority vote of the Council, combined with a 2/3rds majority vote by GLOF members.

6.2. Procedures
6.2.1. Both plaintiff and defendant shall represent themselves, presenting whatever evidence they feel pertains to the case at hand. The Defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

6.2.2. All evidence and/or witnesses gathered by either party must be submitted to the justices for approval.

6.2.3. A trial shall follow this order: The Plaintiff may make an opening statement, followed by the Defendant's opening statement. The Plaintiff may then examine any desired witnesses, and the Defendant may cross-examine them. After all witnesses and evidence has been exhausted, the Plaintiff and Defendant may make their closing statements. The Registrars will then retire to their private chambers to deliberate. The ruling may be handed down according to the opinion of the majority of the Grand Registrars.

6.2.4. The Grand Registrars are the sole determining authority on when constructive testimony has been exhausted and may close the trial when they are satisfied such testimony has been completed. No trial may last longer than four days maximum from start to finish, trials may be rescheduled if defendant or plaintiff is unavailable for testimony.

6.3. Judicial Authority
6.3.1. Registrars shall have the authority to determine appropriate punishments for any infraction at their own discretion.

6.3.2. Judgments of appropriate punishments for any given type of infraction shall be considered to establish a binding precedent which must guide future decisions regarding similar offenses. Precedent may be over-ruled only with a unanimous decision by the Judiciary to do so, accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the previous decision being disregarded.

6.3.3. The following are classified as criminal offenses warranting trial: Corruption, Disobeying Orders, Fraud, Espionage, and Knowingly False Accusation of Crimes.

6.3.4. Crimes may carry penalties up to and including expulsion from the GLOF, depending on the severity of the offense. Other suitable penalties include, but are not limited to, fines and suspension from the GLOF protection.

6.3.5. The Judiciary may elect to hear charges that a crime has been committed that does not fall in the above list. If they are in unanimous agreement that a trial is warranted it may proceed.

6.3.6. The Council may exercise executive authority to impose disciplinary measures on any member accused of a crime without waiting for a trial if they determine that immediate action is necessary, but such disciplinary measures shall not remove access to the Judiciary for the accused, or involve direct military action against a member. War declarations unaccompanied by direct attacks are permitted. In such cases the accused may immediately appeal the decision to the Judiciary, or the Council can present the case directly themselves and request confirmation of their decision. If the decision is upheld then the disciplinary measures may be extended to total removal of Freemason access or direct military engagement if the charges warrant it.

Article VII: Ratification
7.1. At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, the full Alliance Charter shall be presented to the GLOF for vote.

7.2 This vote shall begin on the first available weekday after the Constitutional Convention approves the Alliance Charter. Voting shall continue for three days. The vote will be certified and presented to the alliance population within twenty-four hours of the close of voting. Any amendments to the Charter which alter elected positions take effect upon the close of the next election cycle.

= External Links =


 * GLOF Forums
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