It's just under one page long, and very basic. I don't think we need anything more than this. aside from a couple of points, it would be suitable for other guilds to use as well, if they wanted. let me know what you all think. (I wrote it in word, the formatting looks better in the original document, I promise.)

New South Haven Schmiedennarren Guild Charter
I.Statement of Purpose
A.The purpose of the NSHS is to promote and advance the arts of foamsmithing, armorsmithing, and other related crafts.
II.Challenges
A.Any guild member may issue challenges.
B.Members receive accolades for all challenges completed , other than challenges they have issued.
C.All challenges must be posted on the forums in the NSHS Guild area, and contain the following information:
i.Who the challenge is directed at (one member, a group of members, or the whole guild)
ii. Level of the challenge (novice, apprentice, journeyman, or master)
iii.Terms for completion of the challenge
iv.Timeline, if any (i.e. before Gates, before Rag, etc.)
v.Type of challenge (weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, other)
III.Membership
A.There are four ranks of membership; Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master, as well as one Guildmaster.
i.Novice
a)Any person may become a novice member simply expressing interest in the guild
Novice members do not have voting rights, but may issue novice-level challenges, and receive accolades for challenges completed.
ii.Apprentice
a)Must have completed at least two challenges of apprentice-level or higher.
b)Must have passed a test on the MoA as administered by a Master of the Guild.
c)Must be voted in by at least 30% of guild members of Apprentice-level or higher
May issue challenges of apprentice level or novice-level
May vote on all guild matters except for journeyman ranking, and master ranking.
iii.Journeyman
a)Must have completed at least three challenges of journeyman-level or higher.
b)Must have attended an inter-realm event with enough passable weapons and armor that they are self-sufficient.
c)Must be voted in by at least 50% of guild members of journeyman-level or higher
May Issue challenges of novice-level, apprentice-level, and journeyman-level.
May vote on all guild matters except for master-ranking.
iv.Master
a)Must have completed at least five master-level challenges
b)Must have attended an inter-realm event with enough passable weapons and armor to loan to at least 3 other people
c)Must complete a masterpiece, which may be any item of their choosing.
d)Must be voted in by a 2/3 majority of current masters of the guild.
May issue challenges of any level
May vote on all guild matters.
v.The Guildmaster
a)Elected by a simple majority of voting Guild members.
Chief executive of the guild
Acts as a master of the guild for purposes of voting and issuing challenges.
B.There are two independent paths of rank that each member may follow, Weaponsmith and Armorsmith.
i.In order to achieve a rank as a weaponsmith, all challenges completed for rank must be weaponsmith challenges, and all previous weaponsmith ranks must have been achieved. The same applies for achieving ranks as an Armorsmith.
iii.The rights of each member to cast ranking votes, and to issue challenges apply only to the path(s) in which they hold rank. (i.e a master weaponsmith may not issue master-level armorsmith challenges unless they are also a master armorsmith, and vice versa)
IV.Ratification
A.This charter shall be ratified, as written, once it has been endorsed by at least 75% of all current guild members.
i.Answering "yes" to the poll, "ratify this as written?" on the guild forum shall be considered an endorsement.
B.This charter may be amended at any time, with the endorsement of 75% of voting members.
i.Any voting guild member may propose an amendment, unless the amendment alters the ranking requirements of a rank that they have not yet attained.
ii.To propose an amendment, a member must post the amendment on the forums, in the NSHS section.
ii.Answering "yes" to the poll, "ratify this amendment?" shall be considered an endorsement of the amendment.

Some clarifications:
earning accolades means earning the right to bear some sort of guild symbol and to mark on that symbol your rank, and your challenges completed. I have an example drawn, that can be viewed on the website, in the pictures folder.

Note that right now, anyone who wants to can vote on whether or not to ratify the constitution, where 75% of members is considered to be 75% of people who have stated an interest in joining this guild.

Also note however, that once this is ratified, the guildmaster will be the only voting member. This means it will be his responsibility to issue challenges, write an MoA test, and begin elevating people to their appropriate ranks.

I like it, but could we incorporate separate ranking for weaponsmiths and armorsmiths, by having some challenges be designated as
armor- or weaponsmithing and by designating someone a "journeyman" armorsmith after they complete 3 armorsmithing challenges, same thing for weaponsmith. That way we can propose to have this be a possible framework for determining overall vocation rank.

ummm sounds better, i have made many weapons so i know most of the MOA by heart, the only real section i don't know that would apply to the guild is the armor part.lol . besides for the MOA test and challenges i believe i have passed just about everything for master weaponsmith. if you count the past Invasion which had 4 realms in attendence. i had 5 blues two shields and one red all that passed, i believe that qualifies, even if you don't count the fuzzy's i still had two blues two shields and one red, thats enough for three people... just sayin

For the weapon/armor amount requirements, you should have to have made the things yourself, not just have them. That way it's a measure of your ability and experience, not just your ability to purchasse weapons.

okay then i had, 2 blues, 2 shields and 1 red i believe that is three(actually i had another red with me i just need minor repairs to make it pass , it's the only weapon i have made that hasn't passed yet. )

Also do you think we should have terms for guildmasters? I don't know if it'd be necessary, but w/e.

Allow me to address your concerns.

SolinuSvipdag wrote:

For the weapon/armor amount requirements, you should have to have made the things yourself, not just have them. That way it's a measure of your ability and experience, not just your ability to purchasse weapons.

I agree, and I believe that most guildmembers would as well. that's actually why I did not include it in the charter. when the time comes for the masters of the guild to decide if a person should advance in rank, they will certainly consider whether a person has made their weapons or simply bought and/or received them from someone else. There are a lot of details like this to consider, and not everyone agrees on all of them. That is why they have not been written in to the charter. Receiving a majority vote implies that the candidate has met ALL requirements, written and unwritten, to the satisfaction of the guild. therefore, it is unnecessary to spell out each and every requirement. If in the future, it becomes necessary to spell out certain requirements, the guild can vote to add them into the by-laws. There are currently no by-laws, but it will be up to the guild to add some, if they deem it necessary.

SolinuSvipdag wrote:

do you think we should have terms for guildmasters?

The purpose of the terms for THE guildmaster is so that we always have at least one person who can act as a master if we don't have any active. (i.e. right now, there are no masters, or journeyman, or apprentices, so there would be no way for anyone to rank, since only masters can grant the rank of master, or issue master-level challenges, and so on.)
It's also basically just saying that we have one leader, and that leader has to be elected. (they can't appoint themselves, or seize control by force, etc) Any functioning group needs a leader, so yes, it is necessary to include this point.

Also, I agree that the ranks should be divided by vocation somehow, so that this can serve as the ranking system for vocations.

do we have to worry about that now? or can we ratify a skeleton charter, then negotiate the advancing after?

Oh, by term I meant "Guildmasters will be elected for X weeks" or some other amount of time, not a defenition of guildmaster.
Also we could just put in a clause that says that the charter could be amended by a majority vote of members, so whatever charter we ratify we could change later.

kewl, kewl. I say let's ratify this bad boy and get the guild up and running.

Also, on a side note, and this is totally random, but what do you think of the foam job I added onto your mace?

i think that in order to rank up we should have to build a certain number of weapons that pass as "good quality weapons" so maybe 10 weapons for journeymen, etc.

how's about for any journeyman-level challenge you have to build 3 passable weapons (for weaponsmiths) or 2 passable pieces of armor (for armorsmiths), that way to get to J-man you'd need to make at least 9 weapons plus w/e is actually required in the challenge.

Also, I really think we should tack on a clause about amending the charter. Just a line that says the thing can be amended by majority vote, but the debater in me will cry if it isn't in there.

3+1=9, does not compute T.T ...1 to get into guild and 3 for j-man?? huh, and i;m not sure we need to get that many, i mean, there is no need to to waste so much money on these things, i think only enough weapons as needed, i have like 5 to myself and i think that is overkill(though i want to make a couple more of different kinds)

I have changed the constitution a little, to update it.

@ Svip: I think challenges should be about more than just making weapons. they should be about getting better at making weapons.
IMO, making a certain number of weapons is a novice/apprentice level challenge. making a weapon(s) of a certain quality is getting into j-man and master level challenges. (i.e. implement a new technique for making a better stabbie tip, make a red that is balanced effectively so that it is quickly maneuverable, but still hits with shield-breaking force, make a super-light speed bat that still passes hit tests, etc) And then of course, a masterwork weapon should implement all of the best techniques learned throughout all of the challenges.
Ranking is about becoming a better foamsmith.
That being said, however, it is important to have plenty of passable weapons on the field, and the responsibility for making that happen does sort of fall on the guild. Cranking out loaner weapons is the kind of task that should be delegated out to the apprentices and novices of the guild, so it does make sense as a requirement before becoming J-man, but it should stop there.

i think all that is moot, we should go with my idea for the ranking and be done with it. Lets Ratify this thing!!!