Mistress of Novices/Captain Manual

Author: Eleyan Teyal Al'Landerin

This manual has been superceded by the information in the membership manual and by changes to the membership structure and the site in general.

JOB DUTIES

WEBMASTER OF THE HALL OF NOVICES AND GARRISON

• You will have an assistant known either as the Quarter Master (Garrsion) or the Mistress of the Kitchens (Hall of Novices) who shall follow your direction in designing and updating the content of your section of the Tower.

• As a steward, you will be required to follow through with any requests for content or design change as requested by the Amyrlin Seat. She will make an audit of the site no less than once a year and request those changes needed to keep the integrity of the content and design in line with the rest of the website.

• You will relinquish all files, domain names, and access to this section of the site upon your retirement from this position. If you have paid for the domain name out of your own pocket, TarValon.Net will reimburse you for it when you hand over ownership.

FORUM MODERATOR

• You will be responsible for moderating the forums in your section of the Tower, and assigning helpers for specific tasks in specific forums (i.e. the Sparring threads). It is expected that you will keep the forums active, entertaining, supportive and in line with Tower Law.

MEMBERSHIP AND RAISINGS

• Once a Novice or Recruit joins you, you will track his/her progress. As they fulfil all requirements and expectations needed to raise to the next level, you should put them before the Hall. If the Hall accepts them, you may give that person the test to be raised to Accepted/Soldier.

• If the test is failed twice, you should give the applicant an alternative of your chosing (i.e. an essay test) with the intent that they should not fail provided they have read and have a basic understanding of the series.

• Accepted/Soldiers are still under your domain, but from this point on, the HoA or CC will oversee their raising. Should you see an applicant put forth before the Aes Sedai or Gaidin for raising whom you feel is definately not ready, you should contact the Amyrlin Seat with your concerns, and she will take them very seriously.

• The MoN and Capt. are expected to update the Who's Who when a new member is introduced to the Tower, and when they are raised to Accepted/Soldier.

MENTORS

• You are to set up a system wherebye you assign one mentor to each Novice/Recruit upon their raising. Your requirements and system are up to you, but it is requested that you try to involve everyone interested, spread jr. members out evenly, and that you communicate clearly with new mentors about what is expected of them.

• Mentors are expected to get to know the Jr. Member fairly well, be there to answer questions, help them study, help them fit into Tower life and understand our culture, and act as a low-level diciplinarian.

DISCIPLINE

• The MoN and Capt. are the first level of dicipline for all Jr. Members of the Tower. If the issue involves an Accepted or Soldier, the HoA or CC of the company they wish to join should be involved as well.

• All discipline issues should be black carbon copied to the Amyrlin, her assistant, and either the MaA or the Keeper depending on the gender of the member in question. If the member is part of an Ajah or Company, you should also notify the HoA or CC of that Ajah/Company

• The MoN and Capt. will make every effort to be fair and equitable in their decisions, and are asked to keep records of all exchanges and conversations on such matters and then forward them on to the Amyrlin's Assistant.

• It is noted that Jr. Members will get in trouble more often than not, and the MoN and Capt. are expected to make sound decisions as to whether or not an issue is in good fun or is serious, and to act accordingly.

• The MoN and Capt. are authorized to issue humorous punishments as well as low level official discipline to those in their charge.

REPORTING AND OTHER DUTIES

• You are required to file a report on the first of each month with either the Keeper (MoN) or the MaA (Capt). This report should include information about who has been raised, mentors assigned, any discipline issues that occurred, challenges you foresee, changes in your website, and general thoughts about the health of your group. If you feel that there is something more sensitive than usual, you may email it as an addendum directly to the Amyrlin.

• The MoN and Capt are expected to be fairly active in the Hall of Novices and Garrison as well as make appearances elsewhere on the site. People take their cues from their leaders, and we want to encourage activity in our members as well as be accessible to new members trying to meet us.

• The MoN and Capt. are expected to check the Admin forum with frequency (at least every few days), and to respond in a timely manner to requests.

• The MoN and Capt. are held to the highest standards of conduct and serve as an example to the rest of membership. Important rules broken by an Admin will carry heavier penalties than it would for another level of membership.

• The MoN and Capt. should encourage their group to be involved in all Tower holidays, and are encouraged to create and manage additional activities to encourage support and sorority/fraternity with their membership.

ADDITIONAL

• The MoN and Capt. are asked to work with the rest of the Admin team to present a unified front for our members. We will not always agree, but we have forums and emails to work those issues out. We are stronger when we support one another publicly and privately.

• The MoN and Capt. must take great care to protect the confidentiality entrusted to them. They may not use information, files, design aspects, news, logs, etc. to further another website, nor may they disclose confidential information to anyone who is not also an Admin and involved in the issue at hand.

• The MoN and Capt. are invited to an Annual Administrative Meeting and Party held at the Amyrlin's home.

• The MoN and Capt. may have an assistant to help them with paper work and discipline. They must take care that their assistant knows they are attached to them, and are not necessarily in line to take over the position should the MoN or Capt. Retire.

RETIRING

• You are requested to give at least 30 days notice of retirement unless there is an unforeseen emergency. During this time, you will train your successor and give them full access to your files, databases, etc.

• If you are not able to fulfill your job for a significant amount of time (more than is reasonable for a LoA), then it is your duty to step down and train a successor.

• As an Admin of TarValon.Net, you need to report anything that you feel the administration needs to know regardless of your personal friendships or feelings on the matter.

• If you plan on being away from your position for over 2 weeks, you must contact the Amyrlin about setting up a person to cover your duties while you are away.

• You may assign your own assistants with approval by the Amyrlin Seat. However, you do not have the authority to promise anyone an administrative position or give the impression than any single person may take over your position. Administrators for the site are chosen by the Amyrlin Seat. She will, however, ask you for your recommendation before you retire and consider that seriously.

• Any position that is considered abandoned for over 3 months without a leave of absence may be assigned after reasonable efforts to contact you. This however will not affect your membership.

• Any Admin who retires amicably following these guidelines will be eligible for rehire in the future.