OSFA Articles of Confederation
We, the undersigned parties, hereby form a coalition in recognition of our mutual interests and common goals. The Ambassadors of these Squadrons have come together and agree to certain articles of Confederation and union between the Association members. The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate cooperative efforts among Federal-aligned Squadrons within the Orion Spur.Article I. The Association
This agreement establishes the “Orion Spur Federation Association”. This agreement does not impose statutes nor prohibit agreements of any Squadron that is not a member of the Orion Spur Federation Association, nor does it prohibit Association members from creating or maintaining agreements with Squadrons that are not members of the Association. Each Squadron retains their individual sovereignty and has the inherent right to remain independent in all Squadron affairs. The Association shall make no governance, nor amendment to this agreement, that inhibits or infringes on the Squadrons within nor the members of those Squadrons.
Article II. Purpose and Objectives
The primary goal of this association is to provide mutual support, cooperation, and assistance amongst its members within the Orion Spur region. This includes, but is not limited to; providing aid in areas such as technological development, resource sharing, joint operations and defensive strategies against hostile forces, group events and networking for the betterment of all members.
Article III. Membership
1. Membership in The Association is open to Squadrons that claim allegiance to “The Federation” superpower (formerly The Federation of Star Systems). All members are entitled to equal representation within the Association, each allowed and required, two (2) voting representatives. Prospective members wishing entry will be admitted upon receiving a majority affirmative vote from Associate members.
2. Membership is divided into two categories, Associate and Affiliate, with separate criteria and powers granted for each.
Associate: A full voting member of the Association.
i. Squadron must have an in-game Squadron established that is aligned to “The Federation” superpower with a squadron age not less than 75 days.
ii. Squadron must be ‘Related’ to an in-game faction or have an established Player-Minor Faction (PMF).
iii. Squadrons must have an active player base. Associate Squadrons with no active players will not retain Associate membership.
b. Affiliate: A recognized, non-voting member of the Association. Primarily for squadrons with no Background Simulation (BGS) participation or with infrequent player activity.
i. Squadron must have in-game Squadron established that is aligned to “The Federation” superpower.
ii. Affiliates may request Associate status upon meeting all criteria and receiving a majority affirmative vote.
iii. Squadrons with prior Associate status may be reinstated, unless that status was revoked due to punitive action, upon meeting all criteria and receiving a majority affirmative vote.
3. All members of the Association are permitted access to discussions and coordination channels for BGS objectives.
4. All members, Associate or Affiliate, enter this agreement freely and therefore shall not impress upon any other member a requirement for financial or other payment for participation in coordinated efforts or objectives. Squadrons retain the freedom to offer, freely and of their own accord, incentives or payments to other parties outside of the Association as they so choose. Payments and promises are the responsibility of the issuing Squadron. The Association will hold no obligation to provide for in any part, or participate in, any agreement made by an Association member to any outside party.
Article IV. Voting
1. All Associate members, regardless of Squadron size, are allowed one (1) vote per Squadron. A vote may be cast by either representative of the Squadron at the discretion of Squadron leadership. It is preferred, but not required, that Squadron representatives be Squadron Commanders, Deputy Squadron Commanders, or Ambassadors granted permission by their Squadron leadership to vote on behalf of the Squadron.
2. Any Associate may motion for voting action at any time. Once a motion for voting action has been seconded by a separate Squadron representative, a Witness will forward the action to Referendum for official voting by Associate members.
3. All Voting action will have a timeline of not more than 72 hours. Associates may call for a shortened voting time window, with concurrence from the seconding party and Witness, for matters that are time sensitive in nature. Votes not cast by the close of the voting action will be considered ‘No-Vote’ and counted as neither ‘In Favor’ or ‘Opposed’. If more than 50% of Associate members are counted as ‘No-Vote’ then the voting action will be called ‘No Contest’ and no action shall be taken.
Article V. Powerplay
1. The Association is not a Powerplay party. There will be no formal requirement for Powerplay participation upon any member, individually or in whole, within the Association.
2. No member of the Association will call upon the Association for matters concerning Powerplay participation. Members may individually participate in Powerplay however they chose, and may work with other Squadrons within or outside of the Association, but such coordination will be conducted outside of Association channels.
3. Any or all Powerplay leadership may be contacted and communicated with by the Association if there is concern by Associate members that operations sanctioned by the Association will impact Powerplay parties. Such contact will be mediated by a Witness, with all concerned parties invited to attend discussions.
Article VI. Collaboration and The Background Simulation
1. Association members may call for collaborative effort or request support from the Association at any time via the appropriate role forum. Such requests are not limited strictly to BGS matters and may include community events, wing missions, community goal participation, and other neutral actions not listed.
2. Association members retain the right to conduct warfare in their owned space, or against any other non-member parties, as they deem necessary without need for voting action or approval from the Association so long as a Call to Arms is not made regarding the conflict. Associate members will not make Call to Arms to instigate hostilities, conduct first strike actions, violate agreements or treaties, or any other action deemed unbecoming to this Association.
3. To maintain the appearance of the Association, Association members making a Call to Arms should provide, to the best of their ability, evidence and or explanation of the reason for the start of hostilities. All Association members retain the right, and are encouraged, to question the evidence provided. Members making a Call to Arms will provide, with full transparency, all actions conducted by the squadron regarding the Call to Arms.
4. Association members reserve the right to remain neutral and or refuse to participate in part or in full to any Call to Arms or Event brought forward by another member. Squadron leadership is responsible for if, when, how much, and in what way their Squadron supports any effort brought to the Association.
5. Participation in a Call to Arms does not restrict, nor make any guarantee on behalf of the participating Squadron or Squadrons, to any continued participation or refusal to participate in any further Call to Arms.
6. No Call to Arms or Event brought forth by an Association member will be deemed higher or lower priority in any official capacity by the Association via vote or legislative change. All Call to Arms and Events will be treated as equal by the Association and individual Squadrons retain the authority to decide and act, of their own accord, where the individual Squadron deems most important.
7. No first strike hostile action will be made by one Association member against another member. Association members who suspect hostile action against them may bring forth evidence of such actions to a Witness for review and action from the Association. Hostile action may include but is not limited to;
a. Affecting a Member Squadron’s influence in their controlled space against the wishes of the owner Squadron.
b. Affecting the influence of any other faction in a Member Squadron’s controlled space against the wishes of the owner Squadron.
c. Blockades or attacks on independent pilots (Ganking, piracy, interdictions, etc.) in another Member Squadron’s controlled space against the wishes of the owner Squadron.
Article VII. Roles and Responsibility of the Witness
1. The Witness is a non-voting, neutral, administrative moderator to facilitate the continued operation of the Association’s communications network.
2. The Association will have not less than two (2) and not more than five (5) Witnesses.
3. At no point will any Member Squadron have more than one (1) Squadron member hold the position of Witness.
4. The responsibilities of the Witness is as follows:
a. Enforce this Agreement without favoritism or subjectivity.
b. Appropriately role squadrons in accordance wih Article III.
c. Determine eligibility requirements and monitor compliance for member squadrons in accordance with Articles III, IV, and VI.
d. Facilitate voting action in Referendum in accordance with Article IV.
e. Act as mediator in accordance with Article V, or when deemed necessary by the Association.
f. Review disputes in accordance with Article VI and execute proper voting action in a timely manner.
5. If, at any point, a Witness’s neutrality or ability to properly execute their responsibilities is in question, the Association may vote to remove them as Witness by an unopposed vote by all Member Squadrons excluding that of the Witness in question.
6. If a Witness is removed, or leaves of their own accord, the Association will nominate and a vote conducted to replace the Witness that departed in accordance with Article VII Sections 2 and 3.
Article VIII. Amendments and Termination
1. Any changes or amendments proposed to this Agreement must be approved by no less than two-thirds majority. ‘No-Votes’ will not be accepted in voting on amendments to the agreement, therefore the time limits in Article IV Section 3 will not apply. Approved amendments will be added as an enclosure to this Agreement.
2. This Agreement can only be terminated by unanimous vote of all Member Squadrons. ‘No-Votes’ will not be accepted in voting on termination of this agreement, therefore the time limits in Article IV Section 3 will not apply.
3. This Agreement shall be reviewed at a minimum of at least once every year, and such reviews shall begin on a specified and agreed-upon date and time.
Article IX. Waivers to Voting Action
1. Association Members, per Article IV Section 1, may vote ‘Present’ to waive the Squadron’s vote on a matter in Referendum if the Squadron does not have sufficient interest in the topic to vote ‘In Favor’ or ‘Opposed’. ‘Present’ votes will not be counted as ‘No-Vote’, per Article IV Section 3, and will not contribute to the No Contest action.
2. Association Members may, at the Squadron’s discretion, choose to waive all voting action for the Squadron for a time not greater than 180 days. Squadrons may enact this waiver status via communication to an active Witness. The waiver status may be ended at any time, determined by Squadron leadership, through notification to an active Witness. Squadrons in a waiver status will not lose Associate member status in the Association and are free to vote on any item in Referendum while in waiver status.
3. Any voting action in referendum, per Article IV Section 3, that does not reach a majority affirmative vote of all Association members, regardless of waiver status, will remain open for the entire 72-hour duration before votes are tallied. ‘No-Votes’ from Association members not in waiver status will still be counted towards a ‘No Contest’ action.
4. In the event of extreme voting inaction, a Witness may place a Squadron in waiver status after the following actions are completed.
a. A Witness will send communications via all available channels, to include the Squadron in question’s discord/comms platform, Inara direct message, Discord direct message to the Squadron representatives, and messages via the OFSA communications network.
b. If a Witness receives no response via any communications path for 15 days, the Witness will place the Associate member Squadron in a waiver status until communications are reestablished.
Know that we, the undersigned representatives of our respective parties, fully and entirely ratify and confirm the stated Articles of this Agreement. And that all Articles thereof shall be observed by the Squadrons represented