01. Team Policies

Hearts of Oak Team Policies

Whether you wish to join the team or are already a member, please take a moment to read the following policies to ensure you understand what is expected of you.

Team Guidelines
First and foremost, all team members are expected to follow the Forum Rules that apply to all members of PiratesAhoy!. Breaching any of those rules will result in warnings and/or bans as usual.

In addition, members should follow these guidelines:

- Team Conduct
All members must treat each other with respect, regardless of team hierarchy.
Any members found to be deliberately disruptive and/or disrespectful are subject to removal from the team.

- Content Creation
Before beginning production of an asset for the game, members should check with a Coordinator in their group to see what tasks need to be completed.
Members are encouraged to check the Assets Needed forum to see what high-priority content is needed.

Members must inform their Coordinator when they wish to tackle a specific task.
We do not impose specific deadlines for most assets, but members are requested to provide regular updates on their progress.

We expect assets to be well built and historically accurate to a reasonable degree.
Members are requested to do their own research before asking for help, but may seek guidance to ensure these standards are met.

Upon task completion, members must upload their asset(s) to the FTP and inform their Coordinator.

- Communication
All members should use the forums to communicate their activity with the rest of the team.
Members are required to communicate in written English to the best of their ability.

Use of Skype is recommended for live discussions with other team members.
In the interests of transparency, members are discouraged from using PMs to discuss topics that otherwise belong on the forum.

- Time Management
Being on our development team is a significant commitment, and we expect members to take that seriously.
Members must state when they are unavailable in the Developer Availability thread.
If a member can no longer find time to contribute to the project, they should inform the rest of the team in the aforementioned thread.

Members must respond to Coordinators when asked to provide status updates. Failure to do so repeatedly will result in demotion to Provisional status or removal from the team.

Promotions

- New Members
Anyone wishing to join the development team must apply via the Recruitment Forum.
Relevant team Coordinators will then decide whether to accept an application.
Applicants with commercial intentions will be rejected, unless they agree to contribute without payment.

- Provisional Status
Members with successful applications are given Provisional status in their chosen group(s) when they join.
They are eligible for promotion to normal rank after completing their first task given to them by a Coordinator, and uploading their content to the FTP.

Normal members may also be demoted to Provisional status if they are not contributing or are inactive for a significant amount of time.
Provisional members may be removed from the team altogether if they are inactive for more than three months.

- Coordinator Status
New Coordinators may be appointed upon request from other Coordinators.
Members eligible for this role must be trustworthy and dedicated to the project, and should have reasonable skill in their department.
They must be prepared to guide new members, assign tasks to be completed, and supervise these tasks.
Members may apply for the Coordinator role themselves, assuming they are eligible.

- Top Contributor Award
Any member (apart from a Project Manager) may be given the Top Contributor award if nominated by a Coordinator.
Members must have shown exceptional skill, dedication and/or contribution to the project to be eligible for the award.

Members may not nominate themselves for the award.
The award may also be revoked if necessary.

- FTP Access
Members may gain access to the FTP to share their files if they have:

Intellectual Property

- IP Rights
All members reserve the rights to their own work.
Content created for Hearts of Oak may not be used for purposes other than that without the content creator's explicit permission.
Members must not claim ownership of any content they did not produce themselves.

- FTP Use
All files on the FTP are for Hearts of Oak use only.
By uploading a file to the FTP, members give PiratesAhoy! permission to use their own content in Hearts of Oak.
Nothing on the FTP may be used for purposes outside of Hearts of Oak, unless explicit permission has been given.

Members who do not respect others' intellectual property are subject to removal from the team.


Thank you for your cooperation.