Hello Kinnies! A month or two ago, I mentioned in a post that I was planning on stepping down as kin leader (while staying active in the kinship), and that I had some suggestions for updating our charter and policy document to conform more to what our current practices actually were, and to what other kinships actually do. When we first adopted our charter last year, it focused on group leadership and decision-making, to make sure that everyone who was interested had a say in what we did. As time went on, I and others have found that some of the formality in our charter was probably not necessary, and over the last year we've kind of evolved to a more informal method of administration and appointing new people to leadership positions, which I think has worked well for us; it focuses more on getting things done efficiently while still taking into account the interests and feedback of the entire kinship membership.
Many people have given feedback to my original post (on the forums, in PMs and general chat), and we've had some further discussions in the officers' forum to discuss that feedback and put together a proposal for charter update and leadership transfer. Basically, the feedback we've gotten is that we should just kind of keep doing what we are doing now, and just update our charter to reflect what we have actually been doing in practice.
And, now, I would like to present this proposal to the membership as a whole.
First, I would like to thank all our officers who served over the last year for their efforts in getting our kinship started, in helping to organize our kin activities, and in representing our kinship to the Landroval community. One officer who has done a great job in organizing kin functions this summer and fall is our esteemed kinswoman, Bredhe. Her leadership qualities have shown us that she would make a great next leader for our kinship, and I plan to name her my Successor, and transfer leadership to her after a short period of transition. Bredhe has drafted, with feedback from the other officers, a new charter that I think nicely captures what our current practices and policies are, and we are now presenting this charter to the full membership for approval, in accordance with our current bylaws.
I would like to finalize leadership transfer and charter update within the next week or so, so please let us know what you think and if you have suggestions for changes in what we've presented. And, here is the proposed new charter:
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CHARTER
Welcome to Courserrim on the Landroval server!
Community
Courserrim is a lifespan 10 mixed kinship of mature players who share in-game support and interests while taking the Coursera class Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative. With a vibrant community of serious and happy-go-lucky players alike, we are a hybrid kin: Some of our members are kin in-game while others may be kin "in spirit," having registered here on our website.
We use the Coursera userchannel instead of the kinship channel, as our primary chatroom to stay connected, whether we are kin or kith (friend), main or alt, or even visiting from another server (three other servers have Coursera-centric kinships). A good number of our active members also have mains or alts in other kinships, which further enriches our network of players.
Kin and kith alike have access to our kin house at 5 Roaring Road, Trugorth, Thorin’s Halls Homesteads. Kin members also have access to the kinchest in our kin house.
History
Courserrim was founded during the first iteration of the Coursera class with members filling the ranks beginning September 23, 2013. In September 2014, we celebrated our first anniversary, with a graduation party for those completing the second iteration of the Coursera class. Professor Clayton attended the party, and our kin band, The Remediators played the Vanderbilt alma mater in honor of his wonderful tutelage! We look forward to the third iteration of the class!
Name
The name "Courserrim" is a combination of "Coursera" and the Sindarin suffix - rim, which means "crowd, host, great number," which go together to give us "the people of Coursera." It's also not a crime if you think of our name as a portmanteau of "Coursera" and "Rohirrim" /chuckle. Forth, Courserrim!
Gameplay
We strive for a casual and comfortable place to spend some free time with friends and enjoy the Tolkien-like world of LOTRO. Disruptive behavior is not tolerated. Game rules of conduct apply at all times (see Turbine policy). Taking part in instances, skirmishes, festivals, parties, concerts, attending events and engaging in informal or formal role play are all encouraged but not mandatory. Additionally, we also respect the intensity and focus of those working through higher levels and end-game content.
Membership
We do not have any requirements or limitations for those who wish to become members of the Courserrim. All enthusiastic players are welcome! When the Coursera class is in session, we do receive a large influx of new Members, some who are experienced players from other kinships or other servers, and some who are first-time players. We ask that all Courserrim who are around during these peaks to please lend a hand to our new Members whenever possible!
Players may become Members by contacting the Leader or an Officer in-game (via tells or email) or by applying here on the website. We do not have a waiting period for Recruits: All Recruits immediately become Members.
Inactive Members remain in our ranks until the roster limit is reached or they have been inactive for 180 days, whichever occurs first. Inactive members will then be dropped to Recruit status. Upon returning to the game, they may contact a current Officer and request reinstatement as a full Member, no questions asked. Bear in mind, this may happen to lesser-played alts of currently active Members who play their mains or other alts more frequently. Please do not be alarmed if this happens to you: Just get in touch with an Officer!
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure of Courserrim is simple. For the most part, we govern ourselves through making plans with one another and volunteering for roles in various activities and events (skirmishes, raids, questing, concerts, games, or parties). All interested players may volunteer to enact an activity or event, and anyone may post an activity or event on the Courserrim calendar on our website. They may also ask Officers to help advertise via the Message of the Day (MotD) or via kinship mail.
For administrative and communicative purposes, we have a single Leader who coordinates with Officers and helps provide insight, oversight, and support on various endeavours undertaken by Officers and Members alike. The Leader may appoint Officers who then serve in various capacities as needed.
During iterations of the Coursera class, more Officers may be appointed in order to help with recruitment and orientation. In between iterations of the class, the Leader may return Officers to regular Member status, or Officers may focus on developing activities and projects according to the interests of the kin and kith.
All Officers may recruit and promote new Members along with their alts. Both the Leader and the Officers may make kin-wide announcements via the MotD or kinship mail.
Once a year, between September and November, the current Leader should announce either the intention to remain as leader or plans to transfer the reins to a new Leader. The current Leader should wrap up all old business and transfer any necessary resources to the new Leader within a month.
Additionally, within the first month of leadership, the new Leader should designate a stand-by Successor (to take over as Leader in case of an emergency) and announce this to the kinship via in-game mail and the kin website. Said Successor should ideally be an Officer.
Given the demands of real life, the Leader may choose to transfer leadership at any time.
The Nitty-Gritty
Due to their ever-evolving nature, various policies and practices—such as appropriate use of the kinchest, procedures for the admission of new Members, the current list of Officers and other key contacts, collection and storage of valuable resources (including the kin treasury) and coordinating events or questing groups—will be addressed on an as-need basis in the forums and via in-game kinmail. Please be sure to monitor both sources of information on a regular basis.