Introduction
There are probably four main reasons why you ae reading this article. First, you might be someone who is interested in joining the "UO Seers" program; if so, this document should clear up many of your quests. Second, you may have recently been accepted to the program and want to find out exactly what your responsibilities are; if so, you will find that all below! Third, you may be a guildmaster or community leader and want to know exactly what the "UO Seers" program can do for you; if so, you will find that information as well. Fourth, you may just be curious as to what this program is about; well then read on as well.

The information outlined herein are the responsibilities, rules, proceedures, and purposes of the "UO Seers" program. It is worth your while to have a fairly good understand of exact what *is* and *isn't* allowed. We will begin with our statement of purpose this should give you a concise understanding of what we stand for.

Statement of Purpose
The "UO Seers" program is a private, unofficial, volunteer-based player organization within the computer game Ultima Online. Our purpose is to create ongoing storylines and events for the people of the Ultima Online Community. We do this in two primary ways:

1) We create and perform unique events and storylines.
2) We assist other players in the creation and performing of their own storylines.

Responsibilities
This is a volunteer organization, not a job. It should not feel like a job. However, that does not mean there are no responsibilites. The biggest thing you can volunteer is time. You always have a choice when a new assignment comes up -- yes or no. We do ask though that when you commit to something that you take the time to show up. If you cannot make it then please give ample warning. If there truly is an emergency then that is understandable and do not worry. What we would like to avoid is people volunteering, yet not keeping their commitments. If you are unsure, then simply say so. If you are going to be gone for the day, but find out that morning, then let us know that morning.

Our current goal is one event per week/per shard; however, this is by no means a strict rule. We will hopefully achieve this through the help of volunteers from all shards. At times you may be asked to assist another shard (so long as it isn't your regular non-"UO Seers" shard). You will assist by making a character to the requested specs and playing the role assigned to you. The person running the quest is responsible for providing any resources you may need.

At all times you should know what is expected of you. If it is too much, let your manager know. If you are going to be gone for a long period, simply let your manager know. Everyone will be given specific goals. How these are accomplished is up to you, we will try to achieve these goal to the best of our ability.

Tourbadour Tasks: Your job is simple. At times you will be contacted to play a certain role at a certain time -- you can then either accept of decline the offer. If more than one person accepts, then one will be chosen. This may or may not be based on whether or not the person has participated recently in an event. We hope to give everyone a chance to participate as much as they are able.

Seer Tasks: Seers are very flexible in their roles. The first task is to become acquainted with your home shard. This means that you should visit player-run towns, attempt to talk with community leaders, and find out what the general shard populous would like to see in the way of fiction. Every shard will have their own Lead Shard Seer, be sure to stay in constant contact with him/her. He/She will likely have various task for you to choose from. You may be asked to assist a local guild with their quest, you may have the opportunity to help another seer with a quest, or you may have the opportunity to design your own quest. You should regularly let your Lead Shard Seer know what you have been doing and what your plans are.

Elder Seer Tasks: Your tasks are identical to those Seer Tasks above; however, your mission is to concentrate more on the community interaction aspect of the quests. You will actively seek out guilds, rendering assistance when necessary. Keep in mind that you are not there to be a guild "lackey" though. You should advise guilds in their own quests and you should be willing to help play roles. You should not give resources, help collect resources, or be party to a guild war.

Ancient Seer Tasks: Your tasks are identical to those of the Seer Tasks above; however, your mission is to concentrate more on unique quest creation. It is likely that you have much experience in running quests and so you should have little problem coming up with interesting and exciting plotlines. Your task is also to advise and guide the Seers in the creation of their own events. You should encourage them and mentor them. By doing this we can create a talented and able team which should improve efficiency and allow everyone to have fun. Be sure to stay in contact with the Lead Shard Seer.

Lead Shard Seer Tasks: The Lead Shard Seers need to overseer and handle situations related specifically to their shard. The others seers will come to you seeking both help, and clarification. The Lead Shard Seers are the structural keystones of the operation. They need to be able to divide up tasks among the volunteers. They need to keep track of everyone's status. They need to handle problems and issues that will constantly be being raised. You should submit bi-weekly status reports to the head of the "UO Seers" Program, but you should also keep in contact with the head of the "UO Seers" Program. If you feel at any time that you are above your head then feel free to seek assistance. All seers of the shard should also report to you regularly as to their progress.

Volunteer DOs
The main idea is to have fun. This should not be a chore, or a job. It should be something that you enjoy and that allows you to make other people happy. Here is some things you should do:

1. Create fun, exciting, deep quests.
2. Actively seek talented individuals, who you think would make a great addition to the organization.
3. Have fun! and make friends.
4. Act friendly and with courtesy to others.
5. Feel free to participate in the events on the shard where your non-"UO Seers" characters reside, these events are as much for you as anyone else.

Volunteer DON'Ts
Our program requires a large amount of trust on both parties. In many cases we will need to work closely with players ingame and this means that we must have certain standards that we follow. We are judged by the actions of our membership

1. Do not use the shard you play on frequently as your "UO Seers" home shard. It is important that you have the ability to have free characters on your home shard.
2. Do not do anything you aren't comfortable with.
3. Do not pose as an official OSI employee/volunteer. We are a private organization with NO ties to OSI or parent company. If you are asked, answer truthfully that you are part of a player-run event group called "UO Seers".
4. Do not ask for payment of any kind. This is a volunteer service and should be done out of the goodness of you heart.
5. Do not give preferential treatment to any group or person, unless it is in the context of your role. That is, its okay to spit at members of a paladin guild if you are playing an evil archmage.
6. You are not to be used as a tool for one guild to "get back" at another. As such make sure all guild wars you participate in are for roleplaying purposes only.
7. You should not have to provide any guild with resources, and if you are assisting a guild with a quest they should provide you with everything you need.
8. Do not use this program for personal gain, in any form.

Harassment Policy
One of the biggest problems facing events today is player harassment. Luckily the creators of Ultima Online (OSI) has recently changed their policies to give us some relief from intentional, purposeless event disruption. Below is a exerpt from the revise harassment policy:

Also considered as harassment is any behavior that is incessant, inescapable, derogatory and directed specifically at you or your group. This includes the act of intentionally targeting and disrupting player events, which is never considered acceptable. An important point to note regarding this type of harassment is that a genuine attempt to alleviate the situation must have been made. This could be an attempt to leave the area or the offending player, or simply the act of asking them politely to stop. If a sincere attempt has been made to solve the problem and the offending player persists in the harassing behavior, it can be considered harassment, and the harassment tool should be used at this time.

What these new rules mean is that you should take the following actions if you are faced with a player who is intentionally disrupting your event:

1. See if you can avoid conflict. If you can move the event elsewhere, do so. We realize that many times this is simply not possible.
2. Ask the player to stop, for example: "[name], we are holding an event here and you are disrupting it in violation of the UO harassment policy, please stop." Be sure you mention the offending players name, that you are holding an event, and that he/she is disrupting your event.
3. If the harassment persists, you have given fair warning you may now use the harassment tool located in the help menu. When you are given the opportunity to enter a description say, "[name] is harassing my event and won't stop after being asked to". Be sure to include the player's name, and that he is disrupting your event.
4. If the GM responds appropriately the player will no longer be a problem (IMPORTANT: Always be respectful to the GMs even if they do not help.). If the GM is unable to help, then do the following: write down the GMs name, continue with your event as best as possible, and send an e-mail to the head of the "UO Seers" program with as much information as possible as to what happened. The head of the "UO Seers" program will contact the appropriate people. While this won't solve the issue immediately it will hopefully improve the future responses of GMs.

Rules Amendments
This document can and will change constantly to fit future needs and situations; it is by no means complete. As such, you should check back frequently for future changes as these changes may or may not be announced. All efforts will be made to inform volunteers of policy changes.