What you need to know.

Integration vs. Merger: we will differentiate the two terms by defining them.

Integration is defined as bringing a whole, new alliance into SHADE as a separate entity within SHADE. 

Integration of a whole alliance will be limited to those with 25+ active members. Exceptions may be made depending on the circumstances. 

Merger is defined as bringing members of an alliance or group into the various alliances already within SHADE.

SHADE cannot guarantee that all members or a merger will be placed in the same alliance, but transfers are allowed as spots open up and members can request for transfers within SHADE.

Both options are tough and require tough choices. To help manage your expectations here are a few things that commonly occur after this event:

1. You will most likely lose some members. There is really no way around this. SHADE is a big place and some people don’t like it. Some don’t like discord. Some don’t like our rules. And some just don’t like change, so they will go to a different new place. 

2. You will feel out of place for a while. This is common with any major change. With time, things will become normal.

3. You will wonder if you made the right decision. Only you can answer that.

We do require a lot of our Leaders and Officers. We have formal Leader and Officer rules. We expect our Leaders and Officers to conduct themselves better than normal members, both in chat and in-game.

Committing to SHADE is committing to a new way of doing things.

Our promises to you:

1. We will support you as long as you conduct yourself according to the SHADE guidelines.

2. We will help you build whatever alliance you bring or merge into.

3. We will ALWAYS protect SHADE as a whole before any individual alliance. 

   1. I feel like I should explain this one a little more in-depth. The leaders of SHADE are here to take care of SHADE as a whole. No one single alliance is better or more important. If that means we come to a decision that the best interests of SHADE are for an alliance to separate from SHADE then that is what we do. 

   2. No one individual is more important than SHADE. So if a leader or officer acts contrary to our rules and guidelines they will be asked to leave or removed from the server. 

What happens next:

During Integrations (after your alliance has decided to proceed), the following happens:

1. The current leaders of SHADE will vote to accept or reject the integration.

   1. We collect details about your alliance (AQ, AW, Battle Grounds, etc…)

   2. We take that information and present it to the current Alliance Leaders in our Leader Chat.

   3. The Leaders discuss and ask questions.

   4. The Leaders vote to accept or reject the offer.

2. If the Leaders vote to accept, then the following happens:

   2. 1. You request an Alliance Tag change to match our current Alliance Tag standard and possibly a name change if your current alliance name is outside SHADE standards.

      2. We create chat channels and all the Discord roles required for you and your alliance.

   3. We offer our custom War Tool to be used for placing defense.

   4. We create advertisements for you. These include video and static graphics.

   5. YOU run your alliance (within the confines of SHADE rules) how you see fit.

      1. Major decisions that might affect SHADE as a whole are discussed in our Leaders only chat. This is required!

   6. We may require you to bring in one of our current members and promote them to Officer to ensure you have a smooth transition into SHADE.

   7. The SHADE discord server will become the main communication tool for all members of your alliance. 

      1. Thus, every person in your alliance is REQUIRED to join the SHADE discord server. They must remain in this server the entire time they are in your alliance in-game. This is non-negotiable. Anyone that declines to join the server must be removed from your alliance in-game.

During Mergers (after your alliance or group has decided to proceed), the following happens:

1. We help sort your members into appropriate SHADE alliances based on their current roster depth.

2. We introduce you to various members of SHADE to help you feel comfortable.

3. We will do everything we can to keep the bulk of your group together if you so desire, but there is no guarantee. 

4. Every person that joins a SHADE alliance in-game is REQUIRED to join the SHADE discord server. No one will be allowed in any SHADE alliance unless they join and remain in our discord server.