New forums means, hopefully, a fresh start for all of us. With the culture of the realm expanding to encompass the new world PvP objectives and cross-server battlegrounds, there will be many temptations to act out and treat one another disrespectfully and/or impersonally.

The Kirin Tor realm has been good to me. The guild that I created has prospered, and I have made good friends even outside of the guild. The Intercontinental Coalition of the Horde is like an extended family, but I like to think that, even outside of this larger group, we on the server have a sort of kinship.

So now I make to you this covenant, and if you agree, you can join in.

I will treat my fellow World of Warcraft players respectfully on an Out-of-Character level even when they don't seem to deserve it. I don't know what sort of day they've had.

I will not respond to immaturity with further immaturity.

I will acknowledge and respect the roleplaying choices of other people, even if I don't understand them. This includes the choice not to roleplay at all. I do reserve the right to respond in-character how my character would normally react, even if that would not be positively, but I will bear no animosity to the player of the other character.

I will offer friendly advice and criticism, but back off if it is not wanted. You just have to tell me to do so.

I will listen to offered advice and consider it. I can't promise to follow it, but I won't dismiss it out-of-hand.

I will name all of my characters appropriately and according to RP realm naming conventions.

I will not use leetspeak, excessive abbreviations, "lol" or the like while in-character, as they could be damaging to other people's roleplaying mood.

I will try not to hold a grudge about loot or PvP. It's only a game. The character on the screen is not me, it's just a video avatar associated with a long string of semi-personalized numbers.

I will not go to another realm's forum and complain about their behavior on the Battlegrounds. I'd like to show some dignity and class so perhaps players from those realms will start treating us the same way.

If I am having a problem that I can't resolve myself, I will ask for help. There is no shame in asking for assistance, and a fresh perspective might be just what is needed.

I will play World of Warcraft to have fun. If I stop having fun, I will stop playing. If it becomes inconvenient to play due to real-life circumstances, I will stop playing. It doesn't necessarally mean that the other players on Kirin Tor have done anything wrong. No, you can't have my stuff, I might come back someday. Seriously. Sheesh.

I will respect the time and decisions of the game masters, designers, forum moderators, public relations representatives, and other employees of Blizzard, even if I don't agree with them. These people put a lot of time and effort into making our gaming experience worthwhile for everyone, and are just trying to do their job within the constraints given to them by the company, its parent's company, and the law of the land. If I have an issue which needs to be regarded, I will go through the proper channels.

I will abide by the various terms of use and service that I signed when first installing the game or logging onto the forums. I will remain good to my word.

I reserve the right to add or remove aspects of this covenant, and to respect the decisions of others with regards to the covenant. It must be, and is, a self-regulating code of honor. I will not look down on others for not ascribing to the covenant.

Collected players of Kirin Tor, thank you for your time, it has been an honor to play with all of you for the past ten months, and here's hoping for at least ten more.

Sincerely,

The player of Sesobael
alias "Simon Bale"
known as "High Proctor of the Poor Sages of Lordaeron"