about the Gallifreyan code of conduct
Gallifreyan culture, at least within the Citadel, was as a general rule rather more formal than many contemporary cultures on Earth, and especially more so than what is typical in most online environments. As part of New Gallifrey’s effort to be as authentic as possible in our reconstruction of Gallifreyan culture, certain spaces and occasions within New Gallifrey are designated as ones where a formal code of expected behavior, known as the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct applies. The aim of the Gallifreyan Conduct spaces is, as the name implies, to bring members’ behavior within those spaces in line with the conduct that would typically have been expected on Gallifrey.
As a general guideline, primarily social spaces and activities can be fairly casual but within the Academy and other official channels the standards of Gallifreyan Conduct apply and members should strive to behave as one would have in a similar situation on Gallifrey.
Formal Gallifreyan Conduct can temporarily apply even in otherwise casual settings if a member of the High Council, a Patrician, or a Senior Healer needs to address someone in their official capacity as a leader within New Gallifrey. In these cases, the ranking individual invokes the standards of conduct by addressing the person to whom their remarks are directed by their official Gallifreyan rank and name (as explained below) or, if making an announcement addressing a group, by signing their message with their official rank/title and name. Once Gallifreyan Conduct has been invoked, members are expected to reply in kind if a reply is necessary and to abide by the standards of the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct for the duration of that specific conversation.
Upholding the standards of Gallifreyan Conduct in all appropriate spaces and situations is considered very important in New Gallifrey in order to be as authentic as possible with all cultural reconstruction activities. Members are expected to do their best to learn and apply these standards. However, as always, New Gallifrey’s guiding principles of respect for all, radical acceptance, and inclusiveness take precedence and accommodations will be made such that no member is unfairly held to standards which do not align with their capabilities.
Formal Gallifreyan Conduct can temporarily apply even in otherwise casual settings if a member of the High Council, a Patrician, or a Senior Healer needs to address someone in their official capacity as a leader within New Gallifrey. In these cases, the ranking individual invokes the standards of conduct by addressing the person to whom their remarks are directed by their official Gallifreyan rank and name (as explained below) or, if making an announcement addressing a group, by signing their message with their official rank/title and name. Once Gallifreyan Conduct has been invoked, members are expected to reply in kind if a reply is necessary and to abide by the standards of the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct for the duration of that specific conversation.
Upholding the standards of Gallifreyan Conduct in all appropriate spaces and situations is considered very important in New Gallifrey in order to be as authentic as possible with all cultural reconstruction activities. Members are expected to do their best to learn and apply these standards. However, as always, New Gallifrey’s guiding principles of respect for all, radical acceptance, and inclusiveness take precedence and accommodations will be made such that no member is unfairly held to standards which do not align with their capabilities.
standards of behavior
The following standards of behavior are expected under the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct:
- Proper forms of address & appropriate use of ranks/titles
- To the extent of each member’s abilities, use of proper spelling and appropriate capitalization & punctuation
- Writing in a tone and register suited to an academic or official environment rather than a casual social one, again to the best of an individual’s abilities. This includes avoiding excessive use of slang or internet shorthand.
Titles, Styles, and Forms of Address
Since Interested Members do not yet hold an official rank, they may be appropriately addressed simply by their preferred name. Formal address is expected when speaking to people of the Student/Healer rank or above, and is also considered polite when addressing Candidates. One of the following forms of address may be used, as appropriate:
The most typical way of addressing someone within formal conduct guidelines is either (1) simply by their rank, or (2) by their rank and name, in the form [rank] [person’s preferred name].
Examples:
By rank - “Good morning, Candidate/Trainee Healer/Healer/Student/Graduate/Senior Healer/Patrician.”
By rank and name - “Good morning, Trainee Healer Bob/Candidate Alice/Student Amara/Healer Eli/Graduate Kathi/Senior Healer Elena/Patrician Alex.”
A special note for the Patrician rank:
Patrician is both a rank and a gender non-specific title. Those who have reached Patrician rank can be called Lord/Lady [name], or Patrician [name]. Patrician may be used to refer to a person of any gender. Someone who is formally addressed as Lady [name] or Lord [name] may also be appropriately addressed as Patrician [name]. Someone who prefers neither Lord nor Lady would instead always be addressed as Patrician [name].
Formal Address by Title
An alternative form of address for those who hold an office for which there is a specific title is to address the person by (1) the title of their office, or (2) title and preferred name.
Examples:
Advisor, Cardinal, Castellan, Chancellor, and Councillor are all titles that can stand alone for formal address. "Good morning, Chancellor [or any of the preceding list]" is perfectly correct.
Alternately, the person's preferred name can be added after their title of office, as in: "Good evening, Councillor [name], Cardinal [name], etc."
Note: Since individuals who hold a titled office have two appropriate forms of address, by rank or by title, the form of address to be used should be selected based on the context of the interaction. Students, Graduates, and Healers should be addressed as such in class, and Senior Healers who hold a titled office should be addressed as Senior Healers when in a context where they are acting in that capacity. Otherwise, the form of address used should generally be the style of highest distinction to which the individual is entitled.
Addressing the President
Although the Presidency is a titled office, it is intentionally not among the offices listed in the above section for which the name of the office can appropriately be used as the holder's titled form of address. The President of the High Council of New Gallifrey holds the office of preeminent distinction within our society and the special forms of address used for this individual mark the high esteem in which the position and its incumbent are held.
The President may be addressed as Lord/Lady/Patrician President or as Lord/Lady/Patrician President [name].
Alternate styles which will be accepted, as seen occasionally in Doctor Who, are Your Excellency, My Lord/My Lady or Madam President (if appropriate for the current holder of the office).
Additional conventions of formal address under the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct
When referring to another person, the person should be called by their formal rank or title.
Amongst individuals of the same (or corresponding) ranks - a group of all Students, all Healers, or Students and Healers since those ranks are equivalent in seniority just on separate tracks - it is sometimes appropriate to forego formal address even in Gallifreyan Conduct spaces as long as a respectful tone is maintained in the discussion. For example, although the Panopticon is inherently a formal space, Councillors will sometimes address each other - although rarely if ever the President - familiarly, provided it has been established that the addressee would be alright with being on such casual terms with the speaker.
Since Interested Members do not yet hold an official rank, they may be appropriately addressed simply by their preferred name. Formal address is expected when speaking to people of the Student/Healer rank or above, and is also considered polite when addressing Candidates. One of the following forms of address may be used, as appropriate:
The most typical way of addressing someone within formal conduct guidelines is either (1) simply by their rank, or (2) by their rank and name, in the form [rank] [person’s preferred name].
Examples:
By rank - “Good morning, Candidate/Trainee Healer/Healer/Student/Graduate/Senior Healer/Patrician.”
By rank and name - “Good morning, Trainee Healer Bob/Candidate Alice/Student Amara/Healer Eli/Graduate Kathi/Senior Healer Elena/Patrician Alex.”
A special note for the Patrician rank:
Patrician is both a rank and a gender non-specific title. Those who have reached Patrician rank can be called Lord/Lady [name], or Patrician [name]. Patrician may be used to refer to a person of any gender. Someone who is formally addressed as Lady [name] or Lord [name] may also be appropriately addressed as Patrician [name]. Someone who prefers neither Lord nor Lady would instead always be addressed as Patrician [name].
Formal Address by Title
An alternative form of address for those who hold an office for which there is a specific title is to address the person by (1) the title of their office, or (2) title and preferred name.
Examples:
Advisor, Cardinal, Castellan, Chancellor, and Councillor are all titles that can stand alone for formal address. "Good morning, Chancellor [or any of the preceding list]" is perfectly correct.
Alternately, the person's preferred name can be added after their title of office, as in: "Good evening, Councillor [name], Cardinal [name], etc."
Note: Since individuals who hold a titled office have two appropriate forms of address, by rank or by title, the form of address to be used should be selected based on the context of the interaction. Students, Graduates, and Healers should be addressed as such in class, and Senior Healers who hold a titled office should be addressed as Senior Healers when in a context where they are acting in that capacity. Otherwise, the form of address used should generally be the style of highest distinction to which the individual is entitled.
Addressing the President
Although the Presidency is a titled office, it is intentionally not among the offices listed in the above section for which the name of the office can appropriately be used as the holder's titled form of address. The President of the High Council of New Gallifrey holds the office of preeminent distinction within our society and the special forms of address used for this individual mark the high esteem in which the position and its incumbent are held.
The President may be addressed as Lord/Lady/Patrician President or as Lord/Lady/Patrician President [name].
Alternate styles which will be accepted, as seen occasionally in Doctor Who, are Your Excellency, My Lord/My Lady or Madam President (if appropriate for the current holder of the office).
Additional conventions of formal address under the Gallifreyan Code of Conduct
When referring to another person, the person should be called by their formal rank or title.
Amongst individuals of the same (or corresponding) ranks - a group of all Students, all Healers, or Students and Healers since those ranks are equivalent in seniority just on separate tracks - it is sometimes appropriate to forego formal address even in Gallifreyan Conduct spaces as long as a respectful tone is maintained in the discussion. For example, although the Panopticon is inherently a formal space, Councillors will sometimes address each other - although rarely if ever the President - familiarly, provided it has been established that the addressee would be alright with being on such casual terms with the speaker.
situations in which the gallifreyan code of conduct applies
Adherence to the Code of Conduct is expected:
- Within the channels under the Academy heading, including study groups and all classes
- Within the channels under the Serious Channels heading, wherein one specific channel has even been set aside for practicing how to interact under the standards of formal conduct
- By Councillors within the Panopticon, generally.
- In private conversations with Councillors, Senior Healers, and Patricians, unless the individual of higher rank has already indicated that casual conduct is acceptable
- At any time the Gallifreyan Conduct standards are invoked by a Councillor, Patrician, or Senior Healer addressing anyone in official Gallifreyan style
- In the unfortunate event that one of our members should need to be spoken to in accordance with New Gallifrey’s disciplinary procedures, formal Gallifreyan Conduct is an expectation at any stage, ranging from private warning to full trial.