Pern Alliance Charter

Purpose

Pern Alliance is an organization of autonomous roleplaying clubs formed so that members may work with each other to facilitate roleplay within the environment of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern™. This support includes a forum in which to discuss problems of club administration, discuss the canon on which clubs are based, to seek and receive assistance with website and mailing list technical issues, and to otherwise generally support and connect with other members of Pern roleplaying fandom. The principle aim of Pern Alliance is to encourage a sense of community and establish links within Pern fandom itself.

The Alliance recognizes that Pern is the creation of Ms. McCaffrey, and that role play within that world exists by her gracious permission and in adherence to her stated rules. Only clubs approved by her official representatives at the Worlds of Anne McCaffrey will be admitted to the Alliance as members, but members of the group will help those who are striving to gain that approval and to understand the rules set out by Ms. McCaffrey and her representatives. Besides roleplaying clubs, admission requests will be considered from other Pern-related sites, and membership will be granted on the basis of the site’s relevance to the Alliance’s mission of helping roleplaying clubs in particular and Pern fandom in general.

Structure

The Pern Alliance membership itself consists of owners or other designated representatives of member clubs. The entire Pern Alliance consists of the community of people who utilize this website and message board as a resource and an area to exchange ideas. Alliance users will communicate primarily via a common message board, which will be used to discuss questions and comments relating all aspects of Pern club administration, Pern canon discussion, and web and mail technical issues. The designated representatives appointed by each member club will also have access to several reserved areas that are for private discussion about club-specific issues that they would like to discuss with representatives from other clubs. Rules and procedures for the Alliance, as well as acceptance of new member clubs, will be established by the collaborative of the moderators.

Code of Ethics

1. All correspondence between members that involve the Alliance, whether via email, snail mail, telephone, message board, or online chat, will be conducted with courtesy and respect. We cannot control how you act, but should someone express dissatisfaction with another member and provide proof of flaming in a matter that can be related to the Pern Alliance, this may result in removal of membership. A personal matter between Alliance members that does not involve the Alliance is NOT grounds for removal of membership.
   
   
2. Members will remain tolerant of other members, both individuals and clubs, accepting that, though all clubs follow Ms. McCaffrey's rules, subtle and not-so-subtle differences exist on other points, and are designed to serve the needs of the individual club memberships. A difference of opinion is not a personal attack, it is merely a difference of opinion and we expect people to agree to disagree. Discussions of canon on the Pern Alliance message boards is not meant to establish a precedent all member clubs should follow, only to allow discussion of varying viewpoints.

Additional Expectations

In addition to the above behavioral guidelines, Pern Alliance Moderators are expected to adhere to the following:

1. Any reservations or opinions as to Moderator business will be stated in group discussion, so that they receive a response by all involved.
   
   
2. All concerns will be approached fairly, without regard to originating club or member, and setting any personal feelings aside. Only issues that have a demonstrable effect on the Pern Alliance should be considered
   
   
3. Issues or concerns will be addressed promptly.
   
   
4. Issues discussed will remain confidential.