Constitution

Mission Statement

The Universal Gaming Alliance, Unigamia, or |UGA| is a non-profit organization whose goal is to unify gamers, misfits, rebels, and loners across multiple games and platforms. It does this through the Sovereignty System, such that each game is given its own autonomy within the organization, and players can move within sovereignties instead of joining other organizations to play those games. |UGA| will continually expand until it is a dominant presence in every popular multiplayer game on PC, and expand to consoles once that dominant foothold is maintained.

In the |UGA|, your gender does not matter; your race does not matter; your sexual orientation does not matter; your gender identity does not matter; and your age will not be used against you. Everyone is equal and will be treated without unfair discrimination. Everyone will be treated with mutual Respect. |UGA| consists of people with various beliefs, creeds, religions, and political beliefs. Individuals who disagree vastly must agree to disagree, and respect one-another as fellow members of the Universal Gaming Alliance. It is through Loyalty not to one individual, not to the leadership of |UGA|, but to |UGA| itself that we can put aside our personal differences and view each other as members of this alliance who will support each other as individuals and each seek to grow and expand the organization so that it achieves longevity. It is through our loyalty to |UGA| that we can have respect for each other as allies regardless of our differences.

However, loyalty to the organization breaks down if we cannot trust each other, and that trust is rooted in Honesty. Our community cannot exist without it. Honesty is more than speaking the truth, it is having the freedom to speak what you believe to be the truth. Maybe you are wrong, maybe you are right; you have to accept the possibility of both outcomes, but you can only know the outcome of your speech if you speak. As such, Freedom of Speech is an integral part of Honesty. You might offend others with your speech, but what matters is intent. If you do not intend to disrespect, then you should be honest. Just as you can be honest while not being disrespectful, you can be honest while being dignified. Dignity is having maturity, patience, and pride in and as a member of |UGA|. You should not be a sore loser or a sore winner. You should not be impatient when waiting for a game or decision. You keep it positive. Talk about the good times in |UGA|, not the bad. There is more than one way to speak, and you can speak honestly while being undignified. Rise above it, and be both honest and dignified.

Just as you must have dignity, |UGA| members must have Discipline both inside and outside of |UGA|. Discipline is following the rules and having self-control. Inside of |UGA|, when members discipline themselves and do not break the rules, there are no arguments, or the arguments can be quickly resolved. Outside of |UGA|, discipline is integral to managing the time you play games, and pursuing your education. Your job and schoolwork come first before anything you have to do for |UGA|. When you do have to do things for |UGA|, it often requires Leadership. We believe in giving all members of |UGA| the chance to become leaders, and to learn leadership experience that they can bring outside of |UGA| into the world. Leaders will be taught how to manage other users, how to resolve conflict, and how to grow the organization.

Last but not least, the |UGA| instills a sense of Camaraderie in every single member. Once a member of |UGA|, you are always a member of |UGA|. Every member will take a break from |UGA| at some point in time, but nearly all of the committed members who take a break come back to |UGA| in the future. Overall, |UGA| seeks to be one thing: a family. Do not do anything to another member that you would not do to your own family. When you join, you become part of a fellowship, a fraternity of brothers and sisters who are all orientated toward the same goal: growth of our organization and the propagation of our Core Values beyond |UGA|: Respect, Loyalty, Honesty, Dignity, Discipline, Leadership, and Camaraderie.

Articles

I. IRL

The Universal Gaming Alliance exists on the internet. Therefore, we hold no bias against your culture, ideology, race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, or sexuality, nor will you be discriminated against because of them, but please do not force your views on others.

II. Privacy

(A) Definition Doxxing is the intentional digging and sharing of personal (private or public) information. Doxxing can include but is not limited to: full names (both given name and surname, not just given name), addresses (not region or nearest major city), names/occupations of family members, or nudes of the member (pictures of the breasts, penis, or vulva).

(B) Punishment Scope Doxxing a Unigamia member is punishable whether it is done within Unigamia or outside Unigamia, and whether it is done by a user of Unigamia servers, or a member of Unigamia.

(C) Discovering and Sharing It is possible some users may inadvertently discover the dox of a member of Unigamia. If dox are discovered and it is reported to a Galactic Commander or above, but the dox are not shared with anyone other than the target of the dox, the discovering user will not be punished. The target member will be notified that he or she has dox publicly available and advised on steps to remove them.

(D) Recording Voice or Video To prevent the rise of deep fakes, permission must be asked before recording the voice or video of a member of Unigamia. Public streamers must give notice before and during the streaming of content that features others. Sound clips created consensually require consent of the member in order to be distributed.

(E) Honesty Exemption Members are not required to be strictly honest when asked about their personal information, including their name, birth date (it must be accurate on the forums, but you do not have to make it public), and location. Members must be honest about their exact age for purposes of promotions and preventing minors from accessing adult content.

III. Direct Harm

No member shall directly cause harm to another member or oneself including but not limited to:

• Sharing personal information without permission from an individual or when not in private with Supercluster Commodores
• Flaming another |UGA| member
• Throwing slurs, epithets, or other insults like pedophile at members. You can use your free speech as long as it isn't directed at other members
• Baiting
• Bullying
• Griefing a |UGA| game
• Spamming group channels or chat
• Harassing another member
• Threatening another member
• Scapegoating another member
• Laughing at another member
• No bad sportsmanship
• Do not misrepresent the Constitution
• Hazing a new |UGA| member
• Mocking another member
• Impersonating another member

IV. Indirect Harm

No member shall indirectly cause harm to another member including but not limited to:

• Blackmailing
• Spreading rumors
• Talking negatively behind a member's back
• Interrupting (including if you interrupt another user you have muted/blocked on TeamSpeak multiple times)
• Speaking of past drama will only involve more exaggeration, more details, which more often than not, amount to more lies.
• You are not allowed to bribe or beg other members (especially admins) with/for in-game items, money, etc.
• Also do not repetitively ask for gifts, including money, in-game items, etc.
• This means that members will not do anything that might divide the community, hurt sovereignties, or compromise our core values.

V. Factioning

This is an unratified section of the Constitution. For the last ratified version, please click this link.

(A) Definition Factioning is defined as individuals who belong to |UGA| and attempt to steal members away from the |UGA| to another organization or prevent users from joining |UGA| servers.

(B) Faction Recruitment No member of the Universal Gaming Alliance shall recruit another member to an organization, Discord, TeamSpeak 3, or any other server not run directly by the |UGA|, unless specified in V. C.

(C) Factioning Exceptions The following organizations are exempt from being declared an enemy faction so long as they stay within the restraints listed.

(i) Sovereignty A sovereignty is a subdivision of the Universal Gaming Alliance, usually for a specific game but it could also be a subdivision of its members for a social purpose. A Sovereignty is bound by the Constitution, and should host links to both the Constitution and an invite link to the Universal Gaming Alliance Discord in their #rules channel or whatever is equivalent.

(ii) Alliance An Alliance is a separate gaming organization to the Universal Gaming Alliance with an agreement to share members based on a specific game. The allied organization would send all of their members to the Universal Gaming Alliance for the games |UGA| plays, while the |UGA| would send all or some of our members to the allied organization for the games they play. Both Discords would host invite links to each other in the channels that represent the games the other organization plays.

(iii) Streamer Discords Streamers run their own Discord servers for the purpose of building their stream and their audience. So long as streamers continue to take part in |UGA| and aren't simply using it to recruit members to their streams.

(iv) Friend Discords Friend groups can create private Discords since |UGA| is so big, as long as the group doesn't try to get members to quit |UGA|.

VI. Communication

This is an unratified section of the Constitution. For the last ratified version, please click this link.

(A) Private and Direct Messages The Universal Gaming Alliance neither holds nor claims to hold authority to demand the release of the PMs (private messages) or DMs (direct messages) of any of its users on any public platform (e.x. Steam, TeamSpeak 3, Discord) not under the complete control of |UGA|. PMs sent on the forums are subject to Constitutional review.

(i) Assurance of the Right to Privacy When not pertaining to official administrative, legal, or sovereignty issues, all members of |UGA| shall assume Two-Party Consent for PMs and DMs. You are not allowed to share the PMs or DMs of other users without the consent of the users whose PMs or DMs you are sharing.

(ii) Suspension of the Right to Privacy When pertaining to official administrative, legal, or sovereignty issues, DMs or PMs can be volunteered under One-Party-Consent to the Galactic Command Center only. DMs or PMs cannot be shared with members below a Tier of Spur Officer unless the above stipulation is met.

(iii) Conditional Right to Privacy Users of a public platform not holding a Tier as specified in this Constitution will have no protections from their messages being shared freely without consent. Non-members accused of facilitating a |UGA| platform to harass our members can be freely punished according to the rules set forth on that platform and not those in the Constitution.

(iv) Context and Contextless PMs or DMs between two individuals can only be submitted for an Inquiry or official |UGA| capacity if they abide by the above provision and are contextless. For instance, if a member shares the dox of another member or explicit images directly to him or her. Any messages requiring context, such as a conversation, are subject to the risk of messages having been edited or deleted and will be considered invalid for |UGA| administrative action. In the case of allegations such as he-said-she-said in PMs or DMs, |UGA| will take absolutely no official action, and suggests that members block each other on that platform.

(v) Submission of Evidence Because all screenshots can be manipulated, screen-sharing will be required and viewable by no fewer than 2 witnesses in order for evidence to be submitted in an Inquiry or any other official |UGA| capacity.

(B) Spam of Any Kind Any spam perpetuated on our servers, whether it be our forums, TeamSpeak 3, Discord, DDoS attacks on our game servers, or any other sort of spam, will result in instantaneous punishment, unless exempted by Sovereignty Law.

VII. Exclusion

No member shall exclude another member from a game or discussion. If not all members will fit into one game, branch off into groups. Exclusions are allowed in sovereignty laws.

VIII. Community

No member shall partake in action that disrupts or weakens the community. This includes advertising to other servers.

IX. Sovereignties

This is an unratified section of the Constitution. For the last ratified version, please click this link.

(A) Sovereignty Law Sovereignty Law has as much weight as Constitutional Law, so long as the Sovereignty Law does not conflict with Constitutional Law.

(B) Sovereignty Rights Any member found to be attacking, demonizing, or deteriorating the stability or reputation of a |UGA| sovereignty, will be punished to the fullest extent as though it were an attack on the main body of |UGA|.

(C) Sovereignty Conflict Any sovereignty found to be attacking, demonizing, or deteriorating the stability or reputation of another |UGA| sovereignty will have its own sovereignty overruled and be fully investigated, with the staff of the offending sovereignty subject to demotion both in the sovereignty and in |UGA|.

X. Administration

Obey the admins and leave the administrating to the admins.

In a legal dispute, the ruling of the most senior (or consensus of the most senior) officer(s) will hold true until an appeal is filed (if filed) with the Supercluster Council.

All members must have a member of |UGA| added to one of |UGA|'s instant messengers for immediate conflict resolution.

Do not ask for admin, ask for officer, or try to create sovereignties without permission from the Supercluster Council.

As a leader of |UGA|, do not be biased, do not state your opinion first which will influence lower members (let lower members give their opinions first), and do not abuse your powers.

Structure

The Omniversal Triumvirate consists of (1) the Universal Admiral, (2) the Supercluster Commodores, and (3) the Galactic Commanders. The Omniversal Triumvirate is the administrative and governing body of |UGA|. The Supercluster Council is made up of the Universal Admiral as its head and all Supercluster Commodores. The Galactic Command Center is made up of a Supercluster Commodore as its head and all Galactic Commanders. Note that:

• Every Tier has the Powers of the Tiers below it.
• Every Tier has the Restrictions of the Tiers above it.

Universal Admiral - Tier 0

The Universal Admiral maintains |UGA| alongside the Supercluster Commodores.

Powers

• Banish a user permanently from TeamSpeak 3, Discord, all game servers, and the community.
• All powers necessary to fulfill the duties of the Universal Admiral that do not conflict with the laws of |UGA|.
• Immunity to all punishment and inquiries.

Duties

• Management of the |UGA| community.
• Management of |UGA| game servers.
• Management of |UGA| groups.

Requirements

• Must be a Universal Admiral.

Supercluster Council - Tier 1

The Supercluster Commodores are the second authoritative group below the Universal Admiral. They are usually sovereignty leaders or judges and command power over all lower members. The Suercluster Council must always consist of an even number so that, in addition to the Universal Admiral, votes are never tied. Supercluster Commodores are an appointed, not an elected, position.

Powers

• Fast-track the creation of a sovereignty
• Ban a users permanently from TeamSpeak
• Call inquiries that will be valid if a majority of Superclusters are present and in unanimous agreement with the punishment decision

Duties

• To give counsel to the Universal Admiral on issues of policy
• Must always wear |UGA| tags when acting as a Supercluster Commodore
• Must join TeamSpeak when online for the purposes of administration
• To judge disputes on |UGA| Constitutional law
• To judge appeals on |UGA| Sovereignty law (when the dispute cannot be contained within the sovereignty)
• Those of Galactic Commanders
• Supercluster Commodores break ties from the Galactic Command Center
• Supercluster Commodores cannot abstain on votes and must supply a reason for their votes

Requirements

• Belonging to |UGA| for at least two years and showing the capacity to judge disputes amongst both higher and lower members
• Recruiting three members (in addition to the previous two)
• Cannot be under the influence of alcohol during rulings or deliberations
• Must be adept at using and administering Steam forums
• Must be 27 years of age or older

Galactic Command Center - Tier 2

The Galactic Command Center is comprised of Galactic Commanders and Supercluster Commodores. Galactic Commanders are the third authoritative group below Supercluster Commodores. They are usually recruiters and command power over those lower than them.

Powers

• Create a sovereignty with the permission of the Supercluster Council
• Move users in TeamSpeak 3 and Discord
• Kick low-tier users from TeamSpeak 3 and Discord
• Ban low-tier users for up to an hour from TeamSpeak 3 and Discord

Duties

• Must always wear |UGA| tags when acting as a Galactic Commander
• Must join TeamSpeak when online for the purposes of moderation
• To lead sovereignties to the best of their abilities
• To police TeamSpeak 3 and Discord with the powers allotted
• Those of System Lieutenants

Requirements

• Belonging to |UGA| for at least one year and showing the maturity to handle administrative powers.
• Recruiting two members

Restrictions

• Galactic Commanders cannot make decisions on behalf of the entire |UGA| without a Supercluster Commodore's approval. For Sovereignties, a non-leader Galactic Commander cannot make decisions pertaining to the sovereignty without approval from a Sovereignty Leader.
• Must be 22 years of age or older.

Spur Officer - Tier 3

Spur Officers are veteran members of |UGA|.

Powers

• Extended permissions in game servers, subject to Sovereignty Law
• Move users in TeamSpeak 3

Duties

• Those of System Lieutenants

Requirements

• Frequent user of TeamSpeak 3 or Discord.
• Must be 18 years of age or older.

System Lieutenant - Tier 4

System Lieutenants are normal members of |UGA|.

Powers

• Extended permissions in game servers, subject to Sovereignty Law

Duties

• Those of Planetary Ensigns

Requirements

• Regularly joining the TeamSpeak 3 or Discord server over a period of a month.
• Creating an account on the forums.
• Must be 15 years of age or older.

Planetary Ensign - Tier 5

Planetary Ensigns are recruits to |UGA|.

Powers

• No powers

Duties

• Wear |UGA| tags
• Join TeamSpeak 3 or Discord regularly
• Participate in |UGA| games

Requirements

• Joining the TeamSpeak 3 or Discord server for a month
• Must be 13 years of age or older

Policy

Statuses

A member has one of three statuses at any given time:

Active

Members are active based on any of the following standards:

• The member regularly joins TeamSpeak 3 or Discord.
• The member regularly plays |UGA| games.

Hiatus

Members may go on a hiatus if they cannot access their computer or play a game for an extended period of time. This can range from a few days to a few months, and at most a year. To have Hiatus status, a member must post a comment on the |UGA| group's page specifying how long the individual will take off and for what reason, unless the reason has a private connotation in which the individual can simply say 'private'. Failure to do so can flag that member as Retired and removal from the group.

Retired

Retired members are members that fell off the grid, failed to comply with activity standards, or left |UGA| gracefully.

Banishment

The |UGA| banishes a member when it evaluates as a whole that the individual in question makes no contributions, negatively affects other members, and degrades the community. This individual will lose membership in the |UGA| group, banned from TeamSpeak, and ostracized.

Punishment

This is the current punishment system for |UGA|:

1. First transgression:
   1. If the member belongs to the group of the present sovereignty leader, the user must be Server Kicked with a warning message describing what the user did wrong.
   2. If the member does not belong to the group of the present sovereignty leader, the user must be Channel Kicked with a message describing what the user did wrong.
2. Second transgression: If the user rejoins and commits another offense or backtalks to the admin, an immediate 6 hour ban will be given.
3. Third transgression: If the user, upon rejoining TeamSpeak six hours later, commits the same or a similar offense, an immediate 24 hour ban will be given. The highest operating body of the Constitution will then meet to decide on ban extensions or reductions.

Chain of Command

The chain of command must be followed in TeamSpeak regarding bans, namely:

1. Sovereignty Leaders message their Sponsor if online, or the next available Galactic Commander, or channel kicks from their sovereignty.
2. Galactic Commanders inform the Galactic Center Commander if online or the next available Supercluster Commodore.
3. Galactic Center Commander/Supercluster Commodores notify the Universal Admiral of bans.

It is absolutely unacceptable for bans to occur while someone of higher rank is online, without having notified that person of higher rank. The forums are necessary for logging bans, but are a slow medium for communication, and ineffective when the reason for a ban needs to be communicated quickly.

Inquiries

Inquiries occur when a member has supposedly broken a rule. That member will be pulled into a private channel with the highest ranking officer present to which they will discuss what rule the member broke and not to break it again.

Rules

1. All inquiries must be recorded.
2. All inquiries are judged by three members of the Supercluster Council (with the Universal Admiral and absentee judges , claimant, and defendant (and optional witness).
3. Neither a claimant nor defendant may judge an inquiry. If either is a member of the Supercluster Council, the Universal Admiral or absentee judge must take his or her place.
4. All members of the Omniversal Triumvirate may witness an inquiry, but may only speak when requested by a judge or allowed after a request from the claimant or defendant.
5. In the inquiry, neither the claimant or defendant may speak unless given permission by the judge.
6. Inquiries are not a contained environment immune to rules. Any further rules broken during an inquiry will be assembled for another inquiry.
7. Most inquiries can be thrown out with a simple discussion and apology.

Schedule

1. Inquiry Start.
2. The claimant presents his or her claim first.
3. The defendant gives his or her account of the claim.
4. All evidence by the claimant is examined and determined to be valid or invalid.
5. All eyewitness accounts are heard and either deemed valid or invalid.
6. All claims are gone over in a rebuttal between the claimant and the defendant, and possible input from other Galactic Commanders.
7. The claimant makes his or her closing statement.
8. The defendant makes his or her closing statement.
9. The judges determine whether the claimant is guilty or not guilty, and then decide punishment based on the sum of offenses.
10. Inquiry Adjourned.

©2010-2024 Universal Gaming Alliance.
All rights reserved. All content on this page identifies as intellectual property of the |UGA|.
This Constitution began on 2010/07/13 23:14:00 GMT-06:00. Check the History for the last edit.