1) Club Membership
FanForce is open to every Star Wars fan with very few exceptions. General club membership cannot be denied for a lack of costume or a lack of money for dues. costumes are NOT REQUIRED to join any FanForce. Membership also cannot be denied based on a person's gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age (for people over 18). All official FanForce events need to be open to all ages, and family friendly.
The membership must use and maintain the forum provided by TFN to keep their official status as a FanForce. Also, there must be at least three members for the chapter to be official.
2) Becoming an Official Chapter
The first step to becoming an official FanForce Chapter is getting a chapter forum. There need to be three separate people from the same area interested in the chapter before a forum will be created. After a forum has been created, the club members need to have three meetings (with at least three members each) within a year. These meetings need to be announced on the chapter forum to be considered toward the three required, and they should be announced on the TFN main page if possible. After or during the third meeting, the first annual Chapter Rep election should be held (see the rule on Chapter Reps). Also, so stay official, a club must continue to have at least three meetings per twelve month period.
3) FanForce is not a costuming group
Fan Force is intended to be primarily a social group. While costumers can be a part of any Fan Force, costumes are not, nor will they ever be, required to join a FanForce or hold an officer position in the club. There are other groups where having a movie accurate costume is a requirement for official membership. This is not the case in Fan Force. Anyone is welcome, costume or not.
Some successful and active FFs around the globe have active costume aspects of their group, but do maintain a balance of events. Also, if a FF attends a costumed event, non-costumed fans and members must be allowed to attend and participate.
4) Distance between Chapters
It is generally best to have a chapter centered around a particular city. The rule of thumb on the minimum distance between chapters is fifty miles, give or take. This is subject to population density. Areas that are more densely populated could have chapters that are closer together, while more sparsely populated areas may have chapters farther apart. Special circumstances can be considered.
5) Meetings
All official FanForce meetings and events must be open to all ages and be family friendly. All members must be welcome at all events (unless removed from the group with GSA and RSA approval). Some meetings should be in public places to help new potential members feel more at ease. Meetings need to be announced on the chapter forum at least 1-2 weeks prior to the meeting, and should be announced on the TFN main page as well.
Alcohol is allowed to be consumed and served at meetings, but all laws concerning alcohol consumption must be followed. If a chapter is found to have knowingly served alcohol to a minor, they may lose their status as a FanForce and legal action will be taken.
Meetings cannot all be costumed events, and even costumed events should be welcoming to those members without costumes.
6) Chapter Forums
Chapters need to use their TFN forum often for event postings, chapter updates, and some socialization to draw in new members. The forum is the chapters main connection with FanForce. If a chapter only uses their forum to announce events, or does not use it at all, then the chapter will lose their claim on the forum, and their right to be called a FanForce. Off site forums are allowed, but they are not to replace the TFN forum. The FanForce administration cannot protect chapters as well if the bulk of what happens with the chapter is on a different forum and cannot help to settle disputes because there is no access to the forum, PMs, or the like.
If four weeks pass with no posts on the chapter forum or just event posting, the RSA will warn the chapter that they are going to lose their forum unless significant changes are made. Two weeks after that, the chapter will lose their forum and cease to be an official FanForce chapter. Four months with out an official meeting of some sort planned and the chapter will lose their official status, and then the forum.
Threads in the FanForce forums must have a purpose. If a chapter has a few social threads and topic threads (ie threads on Movies, TV shows, things to do in the city, etc) that is fine. But, the should be threads on club business as well not just social threads.
7) Chapter Reps
To be a Chapter Rep (CR) a person must be at least 18 years of age and live in the city/region they are Representative for twelve months of the year. There can also be only one CR per chapter. CRs are expected to uphold the CR Code of Conduct both on and off forum. They are also expected to report any problems on their forum or with their chapter to their RSA or a GSA as soon as possible. Condoning or encouraging negative behavior/posting habits could result in a demotion or ban of the CR in addition to the person(s) causing the problem.
Chapter Reps need to sign in several times a week to check their chapter forum, check their PMs, and check the CR forum. CRs need to post at least every other week in their own forum. They also need to contact their RSAs often regarding events and forum changes (headers, banners, etc). If a CR goes two weeks with out logging in, s/he will be demoted and the RSA will facilitate elections for a new CR. If a CR informs his/her RSA before an absence, the two week rule can be waived.
Chapters need to have annual elections for the position of Chapter Rep. The elections can take place in forum or in person. If the elections are in person, at least two people other than the current CR (who are not related to or in the same household as the CR) need to PM the results of the election to their RSA. Elections in forum will be handled by a PM vote to an RSA who is unaffiliated with that chapter. If a chapter has not had annual elections, then the RSA will step in to start the election process.
8) Club Officers
Club officers are held to the same standards as Chapter Reps, and they too must follow the Chapter Rep Code of Conduct. Eligibility to be a club officer or Chapter Rep cannot be denied based on a lack of costume, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, or age (over 18).
9) Property
Everything given to or purchased by a FanForce belongs to the FanForce chapter and not any one person. This includes but is not restricted to: all money, banners, mascots, costuming items, logos, and websites. If a person leaves FanForce then s/he needs to surrender all FanForce property to a club leader. The club name and logo all belong to FanForce and not to any one person. After something is created and given to a chapter, the creator releases all right to the image/item (i.e. graphics, site design). These things effectively belong to FanForce. Any disputes about property, names, or logos will be decided in favor of the people who stay TFN.
10) Due and money issues
Dues are allowed, but not to be abused. If money is collected for any reason (dues, charity, any mass purchases) then the chapter needs to have a treasurer. This needs to be a different person than the CR and should not be in the same household or related to the CR. No exceptions. If it is found that a person or chapter is abusing dues or charity money the person(s) involved may be removed from FanForce.
11)Buying/Selling/Trading/Advertising
Buying, selling, or trading in FanForce forums will follow the following guidelines. A link to an EBay auction may be posted if it is your own auction or you have express permission from the person auctioning the item off, or if you have suspicions about the auction being a scam. Items are not allowed to be bought, sold, or traded for in the forum. EBay or other reliable auction site links are allowed because there are already protections for both the buyer and seller in place, so FanForce cannot be held accountable. Discussion of group purchases is fine.
Advertising is not allowed except for FanForce charity events or a FanForce sponsored group event (ie group garage sale). People who sign up to just advertise will be banned and their posts removed.
Anything that doesn't fall into one of those categories goes to the FanForce collecting/trading forum.
12) FanForce reserves the right to ban for things that happen off of the message boards.
FanForce is a group that meets in person. Thus we have stricter rules regarding some off forum activities. We reserve the right to ban someone from TheForce.Net and from FanForce activities for things that happen in real life. A few things may result in a temporary ban, others in permanent. Using FanForce as a recruitment for other activities may result in a ban. Breaking local laws in regards to a FanForce event may result in a ban (i.e. having or distributing illegal drugs, serving alcohol to minors, purposefully harming/assaulting an other member, etc). Harassment of another FanForcer or family member of a FanForcer could result in a ban. If that member feels sufficiently harassed that s/he files a restraining order against another member, this will result in a ban of the problem person. If it is discovered that a member is a registered sex offender, that person will be banned permanently. Note: the FanForce administration does need significant proof that a person is guilty of any accusation before banning will occur.
13) FanForce reserves the right to
FanForce reserves the right to refuse a chapter/forum's creation, refuse a title to a member, and refuse to let a person become a CR or officer in a chapter. As with all posters, the role of CR is a privilege, not a right. As such, a CR's privileges may be revoked at any time. FanForce may ban a person or shut down a chapter for breaking the rules and/or TOS. FanForce also reserves the right to change and update these rules as necessary.
14) Miscellaneous
There can only be one CR per chapter. The CR does not necessarily have to be the club president/leader. Chapters are allowed to decide their own areas of focus based on members interests, but they must be open to all forms of Star Wars fandom. Charity work is allowed, but not necessary. Using a FanForce chapter in a negative manner will result in a removal of the chapter, and possibly the banning of the responsible parties. All Jedi Council rules and TOS apply to FanForce. Individual chapters may make their rules tighter, but may not lighten them.
Notes: Please direct any questions about the rules to the Updated FF Rules Q&A thread in FanForce Comms.
Also, an updated FF FAQ is forthcoming.
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EV got me demoted, a winnar is him  "you will quickly be known as the cool teacher. just be sure to start of the clas by explaining to all students they are to address you as the admiral." -- jedi_knight_birr Ok, this is why evolution is bunk. You're
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