Reel Icons: Operations protocol

Section 1: Code of Conduct

The Reel Icons recognizes that its costumes/robots represent characters films, TV-series, comics, games and theater and as such, costume-wearers/robot operators carry the responsibility of portraying these characters professionally and tastefully while in public. For these reasons, all members are prohibited from acting in a manner disrespectful towards the image they are portraying, towards fellow organization members, or towards the public at large while in costume or operating a robot at any event where Reel Icons members are official participants.

The Reel Icons maintains that part of the fun of trooping is to be able to do so in reasonable safety. It is the intention of Reel Icons to provide an outline of behavior wherein it has a Code of Conduct for the safety and security of its members Reel Icons defines the behaviors thought by society to be violent, illegal, or anti-social in nature. It is not the intent of Reel Icons to abridge the standard rights or practices of the individual member, but rather to protect all members against suffering from the defined behavior. In any event, common sense must prevail.

Harassment is defined as the act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one member or a group of members, including but not limited to spamming, trolling, threats, and demands via phone, voice mail, forum, electronic social media or in writing of any kind. The purposes may vary, including but not limited to racial prejudice, religious prejudice, sexual orientation prejudice, personal malice, an attempt to force someone to quit the club, grant favors of any kind, apply pressure to commit an illegal act, or merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious.

Harassment takes many forms, and is not necessarily limited to the type of language used, but the intent. Repeatedly targeting a specific member with harassment can lead to more severe action. The idea behind this is to prevent any one member from consistently being uncomfortable in the forums or at troops. This category includes but is not limited to both clear and masked language, images, and/or links to websites containing such language or images which insultingly refer to other members or groups of people resulting in ongoing harassment to those other members or groups of people.

Threats are defined as a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, or harm against a person or property of an individual including but not limited to phone calls / voice mail, forum, electronic social media or in writing of any kind. Threats must be direct and unmistakable to the average person. This category includes but is not limited to both clear and masked language, images, and/or links to websites containing such language or images which refer to violence in any capacity that is not directly related to the costume/robot / fantasy world.

Spamming / Trolling is defined as, but not limited to, excessively communicating the same phrase, similar phrases, or pure gibberish, creating posts for the sole purpose of causing unrest in electronic social media or the forums, Examples include but are not limited to causing disturbances such as picking fights, making off topic posts that ruin the thread, insulting other posters, making non-constructive posts, abusing the Reported Post feature by sending false alarms or nonsensical messages, IBTL (In Before The Lock) comments, or any other fad statements.

Racial Prejudice is defined as, but not limited to, both clear and masked language, images, and/or links to websites containing such language or images which promote racial/ethnic hatred, are recognized as a racial/ethnic slur, or allude to a symbol of racial/ethnic hatred.

Sexual Orientation Prejudice is defined as both clear and masked language, images, and/or links to websites containing such language or images which insultingly refer to any aspect of sexual orientation pertaining to themselves or other members.

Religious Prejudice is defined as, but not limited to, both clear and masked language, images, and/or links to websites containing such language or images which negatively portray major religions or religious figures.

The council reserves the right to evaluate each incident on a case by case basis. The action the council takes may be more lenient or more severe depending on the specific situation. It is the intent of the Legion to give members the benefit of the doubt with regards to offenses and reduce the need to discharge members; however, the council reserves the right to deem any offense worthy of hearing where discharge is considered.

Membership in Reel Icons is a privilege granted by this private organization, not a social or legal right.

Major Offenses

Violent or threatening acts against a member of Reel Icons. These acts are defined as:
- Physically striking another member with the intent to cause bodily harm with or without cause, unless defending one’s self from a violent attack.
- Threatening harm against the person or property of an individual via phone/ voice mail, forum, electronic social media or in writing. (Threats must be direct and unmistakable to the average person)
- Cease and Desist orders or other legal action or documents issued by a member’s attorney due to justified and properly documented disciplinary action by the Commanding Officer or Captain of the Guard.
Participating under the influence of an illegal substance. These acts are defined as:
- Arriving to a troop under the influence of an Illegal substance.
- Use, distribution, or administration of an illegal substance during a Reel Icons event.
Violent or sexual acts against children. These acts are defined as:
- Physically striking a member of the public under the age of consent.
- Sexual advances, or sexual acts engaged with a member of the public under the age of consent.
Embezzlement of funds intended for charitable donation. While the Reel Icons’ official policy is that all funds intended for charity must be submitted by the donor directly to the charity of choice, it has been concluded that in some rare occasions, money will be given directly to a representative of Reel Icons. Embezzlement is defined as:
- Failing to ensure that funds are submitted to the receiving charity within a reasonable period of time following the event.
- Failing to ensure that funds are submitted to the receiving charity.
- Spending funds intended for charitable donations on personal or group expenses, including but not limited to patches, coins, cards, and personal expenses including and not limited to any expense which can be viewed as a “living expense.”
Undisclosed criminal history, which involve the following types of criminal history:
- Felony drug offenses
- Sex offender registry entry
- Felony embezzlement.
- Felony violent crimes

If a member is found guilty of any of the above listed items of the Code of Conduct, he or she has the option to submit an appeal to the Captain of the Guard within one week after notification of the termination of membership.

Undisclosed Criminal History will result in a default discharge upon presentation of incontrovertible proof of criminal history. Discharging the member for an undisclosed criminal history falls exclusively to the Captain of the Guard with the mutual consent of the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer. Discharge of said member must occur within a reasonable time frame upon discovery and confirmation.

Hearings for Major Offenses

If a hearing is required for a major offense, a poll will be set up in the hearing forum by the Captain of the Guard. The poll for this type of hearing will include the following options:

Discharge
Exonerate

A simple-majority of those voting will be needed to obtain a decision in a Major Offense hearing. If exoneration is chosen by those voting in the hearing poll, the member will automatically be placed on 1 to 2 year probation at the discretion of the Captain of the Guard.

Lesser Offenses

Conduct Unbecoming a member

Reel Icons members are expected to treat each other, our event sponsors and the public with common sense and respect. Examples of inappropriate behavior that may result in disciplinary action include, but are not limited to, the following:

Harassment of fellow members.
Merchandise and branding infractions
Abuse or violation of message board privileges
Inappropriate behavior during trooping or unit events
Inappropriate contact with an event host or sponsor
Misrepresentation of Reel Icons

Dispute Resolution

In an organization as large as ours, disputes and disagreements are bound to occur. With this in mind, the Legion requires that any disputes of a minor or semi-major degree must be resolved. Determination of the mechanism for dispute resolution resides with the Captain of the Guard, the Commanding Officer. The policy in reference to Alternative Dispute Resolution is contained below.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Alternative dispute resolution is used when a disagreement arises between two or more members that could escalate into a Charter violation. The Captain of the Guard or Commanding Officer may recommend moderated mediation. All parties involved must agree to actively participate in good faith in the process in order for Alternative Dispute Resolution to be effective.

The procedure for Alternative Dispute Resolution is as follows:

The Member(s) or Commanding Officer must submit a request for a hearing room in writing to the Captain of the Guard.
The Captain of the Guard and/or either or both Commanding Officer or Executive Officer will monitor and moderate all discussions occurring in a private hearing room on the Reel Icons Forum.
Members are free to discuss their issues without prejudice.
The Captain of the Guard, Commanding Officer, or Executive Officer will provide methods to enable resolution.
Resolution may be:
- mutual agreement of the parties involved
- an arbitrated settlement proposed by the COG, CO, XO and accepted by the Members involved in the dispute.
Failing Alternative Dispute Resolution, the command staff or the affected member may request a disciplinary hearing only after all other avenues have been exhausted.

Disciplinary Hearing Procedure

For Lesser Offenses, a Disciplinary Hearing shall follow the steps below.

A written complaint is filed with the council and the Captain of the Guard.
The Captain of the Guard will investigate and assess the merits of the charges.
The Captain of the Guard, upon satisfactory determination of merit, will open a hearing forum on the Reel Icons Forum.
The complaintant(s) or their representative will present the charges and evidence. Witnesses may be called to provide additional testimony.
The defendant will present their defense. Witnesses may be called to provide additional testimony.
A discussion phase will follow, where members in the hearing forum may address questions to the complaintant(s) and defendant.
At a time determined by the Captain of the Guard, the discussion phase of the hearing will be closed.
The Captain of the Guard will then open a poll for members in the hearing room to determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence. The Captain of the Guard shall abstain from voting in this poll.
If the defendant is found innocent, then they are exonerated of all charges, with no penalties. The hearing is concluded.
If the defendant is found guilty of violating the Code of Conduct, then a second poll shall be opened for members in the hearing room to determine the sentence. The Captain of the Guard shall abstain from voting in this poll. At the conclusion of the sentencing poll, the Captain of the Guard shall inform the defendant and the defendant’s local Commanding Officer of the sentence and shall carry it out, effective from the date of the sentencing poll’s closing.
Any sentence duration may be reduced by up to one half, at the discretion of the local unit Commander.

The sentencing poll shall contain the following options:

For a defendant’s first guilty offense:

Six month probation
One year probation
Six month suspension
One year suspension

For a defendant’s second or subsequent guilty offense:

Six month probation
One year probation
Six month suspension
One year suspension
Two year suspension
Discharge

Requirements:

All disciplinary actions taken by the Commanding Officer must have the approval of and notification provided to the Captain of the Guard.
The Captain of the Guard, Commanding Officer and Executive Officer must be made aware of any appeal in writing.
All hearings and alternative dispute resolution meetings must take place on the Forums in a private area sectioned off for such purposes.
Any member may appeal disciplinary actions at the local level to the Captain of the Guard.

Administrative Leave

In order to protect the Legion and its membership from involvement in real-world legal proceedings, the Legion will not be involved in any legal action between or involving members and may take action necessary to protect the safety of Reel Icons and the membership. Any such actions will be at the discretion of the Captain of the Guard with the consent of the Commanding Officer and may include placing members on temporary Administrative Leave and suspending Hearings until such real-world legal proceedings are complete.

Administrative leave will be the functional equivalent of “Retired Status” and will end when the member has finished their involvement in the legal proceedings. Once returned to active status, the member will have six months grace period to participate at events if they wish to remain on active status.

The use of Administrative Leave is not intended to impact a member’s status negatively or permanently and is only meant to be used as a temporary action to protect Reel Icons and its membership from undue involvement in legal proceedings.

Section 2: Membership

Active Members

An Active Member is defined as a member in good standing who meets the following requirements:

Meets all Reel Icons Membership Requirements (i.e. ownership of an approved costume/robot, is over 18 years of age, etc).
Has an approved membership record in the Reel Icons Membership Database
Maintains active contact with their CO or GML. Active contact and participation will be confirmed during the annual Census held each year during the month of October.
Maintains contact information/membership record in the Reel Icons database either through their CO or GML.
Participates in at least one activity per year while wearing an approved costume/robot owned by said member as recorded in the Census. One year is defined as the period from Census to Census. Examples of an activity include, but are not limited to conventions, charity events, or any activity designated as an official event by a coordinating administrative unit of Reel Icons.
Members who serve in military branches are exempt from activity level requirements if their service renders them unable to meet these requirements.

These Minimum Activity Level Requirements should be administered as justly and with as much common sense as possible.

A member may retain active status, even if they do not meet all of the requirements listed above at the discretion of their unit Commanding Officer or Legion Command.

Alternatively, if it is determined at any point during the year that more than twelve consecutive months have passed since a member’s most recent local unit or Legion activity, a local Commanding Officer may exercise their discretion to move that member to reserve status.

The Membership Officer is the final arbiter of a member’s activity status.

An Active Member is eligible to:

Vote in polls of the Active Membership.
Vote in elections.
Run for and/or hold elected or appointed offices in Reel Icons.
Coordinate/host official Reel icons events as designated or allowed by their unit leader.
Buy or create official Reel Icons / member-only merchandise.
Have their picture and/or profile displayed on the Reel Icons website(s) in the membership section.
Participate in official Reel Icons events (i.e. charity benefits, celebrity appearances, guest escorts, etc).
Have access to the Reel Icons forums and applicable unit messages boards.

Reserve Members

A Reserve Member is defined as a member in good standing who meets all of the requirements of an Active Member, except for the annual costumed participation in a Reel Icons event, as defined above.

A Reserve Member must still participate in a supporting role for Reel Icons at least once per census year as defined above.

Examples of supporting activities include, but are not limited to the following: armor parties, out-of-costume event help, and/or any other non-administrative support functions to be approved by their Commanding Officer as qualifying activities or contributions.

A Reserve Member is eligible to:

Have limited access on forums.
Have access to planning forums and public or semi-private discussion areas.
Have a picture and/or profile displayed on the membership and costume/robot designation pages, marked with a “Reserve Duty” indicator.

A Reserve Member is NOT eligible to:

Vote in unit or legion polls or elections.
Run for office or accept an officer or administrative position.
Buy or create merchandise.
Participate in limited access events or requests.
Retain full access on the Forums.
Access unit members-only forums. This is reserved for active members who meet the requirements of active membership at the discretion of the unit leader.

Retired Members

A Retired Member is defined as a member in good standing who (one or more of the following):

Does not have an active costume/robot or does not own an approved costume/robot.
Does not maintain active contact with his/her CO or GML, nor participate in the annual Census held each year during the month of October.
Has been listed as Reserve Duty for more than one year, and has not actively contributed to Reel Icons via non-costumed activity during that time.
Leaves Reel Icons voluntarily.

A Retired Member is eligible to:

Retain a displayable legion profile with .Retired. indicator.
Return to active status via a written request, re-approval of their costume/robot, and completion of or immediately pending completion of a troop.

A Retired Member is NOT eligible to:

Vote in unit or legion polls or elections.
Run for office or accept an officer or administrative position.
Buy or create Unit merchandise.
Coordinate official events.
Participate in limited access events or requests.
Access the main forum.
Access unit members-only forums. This is reserved for active members who meet the requirements of active membership at the discretion of the unit leader.
Have their picture posted in the Reel Icons website(s) membership section.

Suspended Members

A Suspended Member is defined as a member in poor standing as imposed by a governing unit leader during, or as the result of, a disciplinary action, administrative action or investigation. This status is meant to be temporary, pending either a return to active status or a change to Discharged status.

All event, forum, merchandise, voting, polling, administrative, election, and membership privileges are suspended, pending the outcome or any proceedings that were the catalyst for said status change, or at the end of the duration of the suspension that is established by said hearing.

Discharged Members

A Discharged Member is defined as a member in poor standing who has been removed from the legion based upon disciplinary proceedings or criminal offense or a member who leaves deliberately to avoid the loss of good standing or to avoid administrative or disciplinary action.

A Discharged Member is NOT eligible to:

Vote in any poll or election.
Run for and/or hold elected or appointed offices in Reel Icons.
Purchase or create official merchandise.
Have their picture and/or profile displayed on Reel Icons’ website(s).
Coordinate/host official events.
Participate in official events and functions.
Have access to the forums.
Members who are discharged shall have a record of the discharge noted in members profile.

Honorary Members

Honorary Members are special members who have contributed their time, skills and talents to a particular film, TV-series etc. in some special way and have been recognized by Reel Icons for their efforts and contributions.

Honorary members must be nominated by an active Reel Icons member to the council. An Honorary Member is eligible to:

Have their picture and/or profile displayed on Reel Icons’ website(s) in the honorary membership section.
Participate in official events (i.e. charity benefits, celebrity appearances, guest escorts, etc).
Have access to the message boards and applicable unit messages boards.
Purchase official / member-only merchandise.

An Honorary Member is NOT eligible to:

Vote in polls or elections.
Run for office or accept an officer or administrative position.
Run for and/or hold elected or appointed offices.

Section 3: Elections

The Commanding Officer is an elected position within Reel Icons. All other positions are appointed by their respective commander or leader. Only those in good standing are eligible to nominate, run for, and maintain elected or appointed positions. Elections for leadership positions are held once a year.

Reel Icons elections will begin at 12:01am CET on the 1st Saturday of February.
Nominations will be open for 5 days beginning on Saturday and concluding on the Wednesday immediately following.
At 12:01am CET Thursday, the question-and-answer phase begins and runs for 5 days, closing on the Monday immediately following. The next 24 hours are reserved for candidates’ closing statements.
Voting will open from Wednesday following the closing statements and be available for 5 days, ending on the following Sunday.
The remainder of the month is reserved for transitioning between administrations. Elected candidates will take office at 12:01am CET on March 1st.

Every active member in good standing may vote. Notice of upcoming elections will be posted on the forum at least one week prior to the beginning of the nomination period. Notification of any elections to individual members is ultimately the job of the Commanding Officer for members in their region. All elected positions are selected using the Legion forum for voting, and are selected by a simple majority (meaning any number of votes greater than 50% of the votes cast). In the event more than two candidates have been nominated and accepted for any election, a STV (Single Transferable Vote) system is to be used. For any elected office, every eligible voter, in respect of each respective candidate, may cast a single vote that is ranked from their most preferred to their least preferred candidate. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and each vote given to that candidate is transferred to other remaining candidates according to the respective eligible voter’s stated ranked preferences, in proportion to any surplus or discarded votes. The process is repeated by calculation to arrive at a winner that holds more than half of the votes thus cast. In the event an automated STV system is not available for use, a run-off system will be designated by the COG to address any election results where no candidate has more than 50% of the participating vote. In a run-off system, a second election poll would be created for the top two candidates and voting would restart without a new round of questions, within 24 hours of the first poll end.

If no one challenges the incumbent leader of a unit, an election may be waived.

If a member of a unit suspects impropriety in a campaign or subsequent election within their unit, a written appeal must be submitted to the Captain of the Guard, who may intervene or audit an election.

All administrative officers are appointed by the Commanding Officer, each of whom must be confirmed via a poll by the Council prior to taking office.

Qualifications

All offices require a member to be in good standing for the contiguous year immediately preceding election commencement and not have been previously recalled from that office.

Commanding Officer

Minimum of 1 year of Reel Icons membership.

Emergency Elections

In the event a Commanding Officer is unable to continue in office, that unit must conduct an immediate election for a replacement. The election will follow the schedule of 5 days for nominations, 5 days for questions and answers, and 5 days for voting. These time frames may be altered by the Captain of the Guard as necessary. During this time period, the unit’s Executive Officer assumes the role of the acting commanding officer or leader until the elections are completed.

If there is no Executive Officer or both the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer resign or are deemed unable to serve, the Captain of the Guard will assume the nominal role of Commanding Officer or Leader for that unit and will administer the election until it is completed. A determination of inability to serve may be deduced from either voluntary self-removal or a period of 30 days of unresponsiveness to communications from Reel Icons or its members.

Recall Elections

Any unit of Reel Icons may address problems in leadership by calling for a recall election of their elected leader. A recall election against a Commanding Officer requires three active members of that unit.

If a request for a recall election is made, the Captain of the Guard will assess the merit of the request. If the Captain of the Guard determines the complaint has merit, the unit Executive Officer will temporarily assume leadership of the unit. If the unit Executive Officer is unable to assume the duties of interim unit Commanding Officer then the COG, or their designated representative, will temporarily assume command of the unit in question

The Captain of the Guard will open a forum for 5 days to discuss the charges. After this, a poll will be opened for 5 days and a vote taken of the members of that unit, with no minimum number of voters required. A recall vote must pass by at least two-thirds of the vote, in which case the Commander is removed from office immediately. Otherwise, the Commander retains the office. If a recall election does result in a removal from office, the Captain of the Guard will administer an emergency election as described above. The recalled Commander is ineligible to run as a candidate for the office they were just removed from. They are not an eligible candidate for that office again in any subsequent election.

No officer may be subject to a recall election more than twice in a single term.

Other

Appointed officers serve at the discretion of the elected official who appointed them, and are subject to being relieved of duty once the officer who appointed them is no longer in office. The incoming officer will have the option of retaining or replacing them.

With any election, in the event of a tie, the poll will be reopened for three additional days in hopes that uncast votes will break the tie.

Section 4: Merchandise & Branding

This set of standards includes any item, print, or paraphernalia that bears the Reel Icons name, logo, or URL.

Any items bearing the words “Reel Icons”, the Reel Icons logo, or the club URLs are considered representative of the club. Such proposed items are to be submitted to the Merchandising and Branding Officer, who shall be responsible for the review and approval of any proposed. The Merchandising and Branding Officer may impose additional regulations governing the production and/or distribution of such merchandise and make them available to Reel icons. In the case of questionable material, the council has final word on approval.
Reel Icons items must be free of vulgarity.
Reel Icons’ items must be as free of copyrighted material from the IP owner as possible (including use of unmodified photos or artwork).
Reel Icons items must be sold only to members of Reel Icons and at cost except in sanctioned cases of fundraising approved by the Merchandising and Branding Officer and/or the IP owner.
Reel Icons items must not be advertised anywhere open to the general public.
Reel Icons items must not be tied to any outside commercial entity or venture without the express permission of the IP owner.
Reel Icons items must not misrepresent or misidentify its user/wearer in any role other than as a member or supporter of the Reel Icons fan club. No shirt will bear the label “Security” or “Staff” unless created with the full permission of an event organizer and labeled specifically for that event only.

Section 5: Unit Definitions

Local unit

The subdivisions of Reel Icons are the local units, which generally cover large regions distinguished by geography, language, or other characteristics or borders.

Section 6: Costume/robot approval process

When someone wants to apply with a character that is new to Reel Icons

Contact the reference panel to check if the character is considered well know enough for main character approval, support character approval or not at all. Main characters may appear in the photobooth alone. Support characters may attend events on their own but must be with a main character if they are to appear in the photobooth.
Contact the applicant with the results.

When Reel Icons receive an application

Make sure the applicant has sent in everything necessary for the approval process according to the “Join us” guide on our website. The pictures of the costume/robot and the reference pictures of the original need show all the details. If not, ask for more pictures/info.

Checking the application for approval

The ML compares the reference pictures of the original with the applicant’s costume/robot. The costume/robot needs to copy the original in great detail, within reason, to be approved. Are all props (weapons, gizmos and gadgets) present?

Reel Icons do not decide what is appropriate, only the reference pictures do. We only compare and judge the accuracy.

If the costume/robot is not approved

Give helpful suggestions how it can be improved to the applicant, to help them along.

If the costume/robot is approved

Update the membership roster with contact information and costume information.
Reply to the applicant that it has been approved. (Include a link to the member’s page on our web site and) attach the welcoming letter. Also add suggestion for improving the costume/robot if there were things that was approvable, but can be improved for even greater accuracy. Ask the applicant to register on our forum if it has not already been done. Also ask the applicant to join the NRI internal communications Facebook group.
Contact our web liaison to update the websites with the following updates:
1. Make the pictures for the Reel Icons website and forum based on the templates.
2. Update the Reel Icons website. Make/update the member’s own page, as well as add the costume picture to the collection on the member page that links to the member’s page.
3. Send forum avatar to Nordic Garrisons web liaison and ask for RI access for the applicant.
4. Post the costume picture on Reel Icons Facebook page in the “members’ costumes/robots” folder. When it is done, notify the membership liaison.