Primary Policies
A MATURE CREW
Online communities, in particular video game communities, have a reputation for negative and abusive behaviour which is not always undeserved. That isn't us.
Domestic Battery takes pride in being a crew for people who are mature. This means being able to treat each other with a basic level of respect, being able to cooperate during events, and being able to have fun together. We are all from different backgrounds with different life experiences. What we have in common is that we enjoy playing GTA5 in a social enviroment which is healthy and rewarding.
That said, misunderstandings can occur and disagreements do happen. What really counts is how you behave when one of these disputes arises. We believe you should be mature enough to tell a fellow crew member if they have said or done something you find hurtful, and equally you should be mature enough to listen if another member has concerns with something you have said or done. A polite chat about it in a PM or over voice chat is usually the best approach.
However if you feel you are the target of intentionally abusive behaviour, please let a staff member know immediately.
INACTIVITY KICK
If you are not active on our website at least once every 30 days without notification to a staff member you will be kicked from all XDBX gaming crews. We respect the fact our members have "real lives" and that things come up, but keep in mind we are not mind readers and have no idea if life has got you busy or if you simply quit if you do not provide some sort of notice.
NO CREW KILLING/ GRIEFING CREWMATES
If you are the sort that enjoys killing other crew members in freeroam or destroying their MC/CEO product then we are not the right crew for you. Accidents can and will happen, however most times experienced players can tell the difference. Obviously in combat jobs such as deathmatches the objective is to kill other players, however please follow any rules laid down by the member hosting the job.
That said, many of the members of our crew engage in playful and friendly combat with each other in freeroam. In these instances it can be confusing as a newer member, so we ask you to use your best judgement but also to err on the side of caution. Consider how well you 'know' the other members, and what the present situation is. If possible ask the members directly what they consider appropriate.
On a related note, if you are playing with friends who are not crew members, it is your responsibility to inform any crew members in that session who might see them as being valid targets, and your responsibility to keep your friends from attacking crewmates. It isn't practical for us to keep an up to date list of 'friendlies' so we have no rules about killing non-crew members. Use your own judgement and communicate with each other.
NO DIRTY RACING
We love racing, we love winning, but only by clean racing. Bumping and wrecks happen and is expected, but again seasoned players know... If you are a poor racer that is fine, you will get better. If you cannot race without problems due to poor skill let faster drivers around you and use the time to learn tracks and driving techniques to assist you with your skills. We have many top notch drivers and pilots who can give you more tips than you can imagine.
If you're in a Contact race and you wreck someone accidentally, the polite thing to do is to apologize and pull off the track to allow them to take your position when it is safe to do so.
MIC TIME
Many crew members use a mic and we love to joke around, feel free to join in, but give others a chance to talk. Don't be hogging all the mic time, most of those who do aren't all that funny anyways. Sexual comments towards female players will not be tolerated, nor will racial, homophobic or any other kind of slander. Our crew represents the world and most can take some light jokes about their homeland, but keep it light and think about how well you know that member before you do. The same goes for joking about mistakes other members might make in game - keep it light and don't shame anyone.
STONERS AND DRINKERS
A lot of people in the crew enjoy a bit of smoke or some booze, the crew does not need reminded every 5 minutes how good your weed is or how high you are. Enjoy your buzz and kick ass in game but be courteous about it and don't hog the mic time with it.
WARNING AND KICKING
The crew does not wish to have to resort to these actions, however if a crew member breaks crew policy they will receive 1 official warning from the crew Founder or a Commissioner/Admin. Further occurrences will result in a permanent dismissal from the crew.
If you are in multiple XDBX crews across different games, you will be kicked from all of them.
If you quit or are kicked from the crew, your account here will not be deleted for any reason. We will do you the courtesy of altering your profile information so you can not be contacted from anyone on this website through this website.
Any and all images, videos and text posted that is not under copyright from another website does become the intellectual property of Domestic Battery GTA.
XDBX AS YOUR ACTIVE CREW/CLAN
Relates to games with a crew/clan feature.
Once you are a vetted member of the crew you are free to switch your active crew/clan to others you may belong to. Note this this is monitored, and if it is noticed that you have not set us as your active crew for an undetermined period of time (typically a few weeks) then you may be kicked from the crew/clan.
Timeframes are not set in stone, quite honestly it is done on a case by case basis and we don't have someone who's job is to just watch crew tags.
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Vetting Policy
We have the vetting process in order to make sure we get quality, fun members. You don't have to be an all star player, racer, shooter, etc.....your level doesn't matter to us. We want good attitudes and mature players.
Our vetting process is a minimum 2 week period from the time you join the crew that will end on the Wednesday following your 2 week start date.
Your vetting may be extended by request due to real life issues (school, work, internet issues, etc..) provided you notify a vetting staff member before your time is up.
You are expected to know all the policies and guidelines on this page.
You must have XDBX set as your active crew for the entire vetting period.
Our process requires you to obtain 15 points during your vetting period.
You gain points by attending crew events and/or being "noted" by crew members. Notes are simply posts made by vetted crew members in which they share their experience with you in game. Events are worth 3 points, and a positive note is worth 1 point. A negative note is worth -2 points.
At the end of the vetting period, vetting staff will evaluate your notes before promoting you to "Vetted Member".
Some situations have come up in that someone does follow all rules, but in general are a pain in the ass to deal with. If you have a poor attitude then you may not be vetted, it is possible to do everything right and not get in based on being a "knob".
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Returning Member Policy
Past Vetted and Unvetted members who left the crew are welcome to return. By definition, leaving the crew is;
- Being kicked for inactivity, or
- Voluntarily quitting
To begin revetting simply post an introduction in the appropriate sub-forum. Returning members will be subject to the Vetting Process starting over from Day 1. Crew Rank will be Unvetted XDBX.
Every returning member will be reviewed by the leader and commissioners, who reserve the right to reject anyone without notice.
This is the baseline Policy for Reinstatement as of March 1st 2018.
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Calendar and Events
We are a very active crew with daily events of all sorts happening across multiple games. These events are easiest to find on the Calendar. Each event has a discussion thread which can be found in the events forums, or by clicking 'view topic' while viewing the event on the calendar.
In order to ensure your spot in an event you must RSVP for that event. If you RSVP and real life changes your plans be sure to UN-RSVP so the event host knows you will not be there. If you RSVP and you are not online at the specified time your spot may be given to someone else. Please RSVP as far in advance as you can to help the host judge the likely attendance and plan accordingly.
Be sure to read the event rules, if you are in attendance you are expected to know the rules that the host has specified. Failure to follow the posted rules may result in the host kicking you from the event and/or you being reported to the Management Staff.
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Website Rules
While we try to present ourselves as being a fairly laid back community, there are of course some explicit rules which are here to keep everything friendly and the forums running as smoothly as possible.
NO SPAMMING
Pretty obvious, but don't make spam posts. This includes posts of just a few words, or not relating to the topic in any way, posts containing just smilies, or just random nonsense.
NO FLAMING
This includes insulting, racist, sexist, or homophobic remarks. If your words were intended to hurt someone, those words aren't welcome.
NO PORNOGRAPHY
There is plenty of XXX sites for that. Members found posting links to or any pornographic media will be kicked from all crews and banned from the site.
NO WAREZ
Discussion about illegally obtaining copyrighted material is strictly forbidden.
NO CHEATS
We do not condone hacking (cheating) any game and do not allow the posting of the "how's" that show someone how to cheat.
NO MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS
Unless you have a legit reason for creating another account, you should not be using more than one to post here. Members found using multiple accounts will be disposed of.
NO ADVERTISING
Do not make topics/posts to advertise your website, or worse, advertise by PM'ing other members. Links in your sig are fine.
NO IMPERSONATIONS
Impersonating people such as R* employees or Bungie, or trying to disguise yourself as another member is not allowed.
NO STAFF BACK-CHATTING OR ORDERING
Don't order staff around with orders like "close this topic" or "delete this post please" - The staff already know how to deal with this and will take care of it. Also if a staff member tells you to, for example, remove your oversized signature, then you must do so. Please don't argue with them.
Staff members can suspend your ability to access any area of the site, and they are authorized to do so if needed until the Leader or Commissioners are able to be online to deal with the situation.
KEEP ON TOPIC
Try to keep on topic at all times, when you go off topic (OT) it makes other people go OT too and then we get a topic full of posts unrelated to the OP's (original poster). Posting OT can/will result in your posts being deleted or the topic closed.
BUMPING OLD TOPICS
If you've found a topic in which the posts were all made a long time ago, you should ask yourself this question before replying; 'Is this topic useful and/or will other members appreciate me bringing this topic back up to the first page?'
Now if the answer to this is yes, then you're fine so long as your reply is on topic and somewhat meaningful and/or insightful. There's no point bumping a topic and just saying "thanks for the info". If the answer is no, then there probably isn't much point replying.
Bumping old topics which aren't on the first 2 pages of a forum without a worthy reply will usually result in the locking of the topic, and/or your post being deleted. You'll be warned for repeat offences.
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Breaking any of the rules set out here can/will result in administrative or moderative action being taken on you and/or your posts. Generally your topic will be locked or deleted, and you will be warned for repeated offences. Depending on the severity of offence and habitualness of them, you may receive a suspension or a permanent ban. We reserve the right to remove you from the forums without giving any prior warning.
You should of course follow basic 'netiquette' when posting on these forums. i.e. you shouldn't be posting in AIM/MSN/txt speak or whatever. Just type in your natural English with the best spelling and grammar that you are able to. Remember we are an international forum, so not everyone speaks English as their first language and may have trouble understanding you. If you're new to forums in general, it's probably best you lurk for a while, just to get a feel for how things are done, before you start posting yourself.
Using the search feature should be your first action when you're looking for a quick answer to a question you have, or browsing the first few pages of the related subforum. Do this before starting a new topic, as this will make sure we don't get forums full of duplicated topics.
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The Promotion Process
Our website promotions are based on site activity, contributions and staff status, they do not match in game rankings in most cases.
Grand Theft Auto V has the ability to promote members beyond the base rank of Muscle. Promotion to Representative occurs periodically, and is awarded if you remain active within the crew.
There's no application process for promotions to management, these are offered by the leader and commissioners as required.
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Management Staff
Unlike most crews, our Leaders, Commissioners, and Managers are not promoted to those positions based on length of time in the crew or on friendships. They are promoted based on ability to manage an aspect of the crew and the willingness to do so. Each of these people also know that failure to do the task at hand may result in dismissal from those responsibilities. All staff members also act as forum moderators.
Currently the staff consists of:
LEADER
More of an organizer of the different departments and games we play to make our crew run as efficient as possible, to settle disputes as required, and to ensure the staff communication across the different departments. They also assist each department with anything needed to keep things moving.
ADMINISTRATORS
The administrators are among senior management and are involved in decision making as well as assisting with the technical management of the website and crew.
COMMISSIONERS
They're in command for their individual department (vetting, events, website). They assist in policy writing, ensure all aspects of their department are managed as efficiently as possible, address crew member issues, and assist managers as needed.
GAME LEADERS
These are the leaders of the crew in any game that is officially supported by XDBX that the Crew Leader is not personally the leader of. They are responsible for all aspects and management of the game they lead us in.
MANAGERS
The managers help to ensure the continual and smooth operation of everything from events and social media, to membership and vetting. They are each responsible for a specific task set out in the managers forum.
A complete list of current staff members can be found here.
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Domestic Battery GTA Contribution Refund Policy
Domestic Battery enforces a strict "NO REFUND" policy. This means no refunds and no exchanges. If you are kicked from the crew or leave of your own free will after making a contribution you will not receive a refund.
Advertisers will receive no refund, once your ad is on our website it is there for the duration of the purchased agreement and may not be altered.
PayPal Disputes
If any Advertiser or Contributor at any time ever opens a PayPal dispute for any reason under any circumstances, you will be permanently banned from Domestic Battery GTA and you will never again be able to purchase our products or receive any services of support for any products from here and you relinquish JustHatched and Domestic Battery from all responsibilities of doing any further work for you from the moment the dispute is opened.
As long as you use a bit of common sense when using these forums you should get on just fine. We want the forum to be clean and fun, so abiding by these rules will help in the continual running of this place. So enjoy the forums and enjoy the crew!
Last Updated: 1 March 2018