MANIFESTO AND
FD CLAN CHARTER

FD is built on mutual respect: the clan provides support, development, and transparency, while the player contributes dependability, reliability, and compliance with the shared rules.

3.1. Rights of an FD member

Every full member of our community has the right to:

• Transparent decisions: Know who is responsible for a particular area—tactics, lineup, or logistics—and receive clear information about all changes in clan life.
• Respectful feedback: Receive constructive analysis of their gameplay mistakes without personal attacks or insults.
• A discussion about their place in the lineup: Ask those responsible for selecting the match roster directly why they were not included in the main tournament roster and find out which skills they need to improve.
• A fair hearing and an appeal: State their position openly and challenge a disciplinary penalty if they believe it is unfair.
• Development: Participate in available team training, lectures, and practical sessions for a role that interests them, from rifleman to tank crew or artillery.
• Time off: At any time, announce that they are taking leave or are temporarily unable to participate in clan life for personal reasons.

3.2. Responsibilities of an FD member

Everyone who wears our clan tag must:

• Follow the rules: Strictly follow this Charter, FD’s internal rules, and the external rules of the tournaments in which we participate.
• Represent the clan: Behave respectfully both within and outside the community. Do not discredit FD through toxic behavior on public servers, in media spaces, or on third-party Discord servers.
• Protect tactical confidentiality: Do not disclose confidential clan information to third parties, including match plans, tactical diagrams, position maps, or recordings of closed training sessions and reviews.
• Uphold competitive discipline: Categorically refuse to use any prohibited modifications, cheats, macros, third-party overlays, or other tools that violate the principles of fair play.

We value competitive intensity in battle, but draw a firm line between effective communication and personal disrespect. The rules in this chapter are mandatory in the game, on Discord—including direct messages—and on all public platforms.

Strict prohibitions (grounds for removal from the clan)

• Bullying and insults: Personal attacks, deliberate humiliation, and threats against clanmates or other players.
• Discrimination: Any offensive statements based on race, nationality, religion, or gender.
• Internal sabotage: Deliberately provoking conflicts, inflaming disputes, or scheming within the community.
• Unsporting behavior: Cheating, stream sniping, exploiting bugs, and intentional team killing.
• Information leaks: Publishing clan members’ private information or FD’s confidential tactical materials.
• Unauthorized representation: Presenting a personal opinion as the clan’s official position on third-party platforms.
• Nazism and racial hostility: Any expressions, slogans, symbols, propaganda, or adherence to Nazi or fascist ideas, or to racial or national intolerance. None of this has a place in FD.
• Political discussions: Discussing any political topics, news, or conflicts, or promoting political views in clan channels is strictly prohibited. The clan stays out of politics.

Competitive communication standards

• Criticize actions, not people: Discuss only gameplay mistakes—timing, positioning, and logistics—not the person.
• Communication discipline during matches: Arguments, shouting, and personal disputes are prohibited during play. All discussions must wait until the post-match review.
• Orders take priority: In battle, the Side Commander’s or Squad Leader’s decision is final. Carry out the order silently and save any criticism for the post-match review.
• Clear communications: Spam and extraneous noise in voice channels are prohibited during official games.

Management in FD is based on a separation of responsibilities, not the authority of particular individuals. One person may hold several roles, but their powers remain distinct. This prevents confusion and makes tasks easy to hand over.

Appointment to and removal from roles

All key leaders are appointed and removed by the Clan Leader.

Any officer may voluntarily step down by giving the Clan Leader 7 days' notice so the team has time to find a replacement. They remain a full member of FD.

Discussion in FD may be collective, but responsibility for the final outcome always rests with an individual. To avoid disputes between leaders, all decisions are divided among the responsibilities of four key roles.

To prevent internal conflicts, we clearly distinguish three separate things: membership in the clan, inclusion in a tournament roster, and participation in a particular match.

Three levels of participation

• Clan membership: All members of the FD community who share our values and are eligible to take part in internal events.
• Tournament roster: The list of players registered for a particular tournament (for example, an ECL season) who meet its eligibility rules, such as age requirements and having no league bans.
• Match lineup: Starting players and substitutes selected by the Competitive and Strategic Staff for a particular map, side (Axis/Allies), and opponent.

How the match lineup is selected

We do not use a first-come, first-served approach for official games, because it undermines tactical coordination. We do not select players based on favoritism either.

The Strategic Staff selects the lineup using transparent performance criteria.

Match selection criteria:

• Role specialization: A player's readiness and experience in a particular in-game role: Squad Leader, machine gunner, tank crew member, or artillery crew member.
• Participation in preparation: Attendance at briefings and training sessions specifically devoted to the map and strategy in question.
• Attendance reliability: A player's dependability and record of not unexpectedly missing games after confirming availability.
• Unit coordination: How well players work together within a particular infantry squad, tank crew, or recon unit.
• Communications discipline: A player's ability to communicate clearly and concisely using the FD communication formula, without cluttering comms.
• Fit with the plan: The needs of the specific tactic. We may need a player with a particular style for a defensive or assault task, rather than simply someone who is a good shot.

A crucial FD rule:

A player may be stronger individually but still miss out on a particular match if another member works better with the crew/squad or fits the map's tactical plan more closely.

Not being selected for a match is neither a disciplinary punishment nor a judgment of a person's value to the clan. It is a tactical necessity aimed at securing victory for the whole team.

In Hell Let Loose, victory is forged through discussion before the match, but secured on the battlefield through iron discipline. During an official game, FD follows a strict single chain of command. Competing command structures and arguments over comms lead to immediate defeat.

FD's sanctions system is not designed to show how strict the leadership is, but to ensure predictability and equal treatment under the rules for all members. Neither past achievements nor personal friendships with officers exempt a player from responsibility. Discipline is based on a progressive approach.

Classification of violations

Minor violations

• An isolated breach of organizational procedures.
• Repeated failure to confirm attendance in the channel on time.
• Minor spam in tactical channels or minor breaches of communication rules without serious tactical consequences.

Sanction: A preventive conversation or a verbal warning.

Moderate violations

• Repeated minor violations after a verbal warning.
• Repeated failure to attend a match after confirming participation with a positive response in the poll, without a valid reason.
• Abusive or toxic behavior in the clan's Discord channels or direct messages.
• Deliberate disruption of teamwork, including arguments during a game or ignoring minor orders from Officers.

Sanction: An official written warning. A further warning results in temporary suspension from clan activities for a period of 2 days to 1 week.

Serious violations

• Using cheats, macros, prohibited overlays, or stream sniping.
• Deliberately violating league rules, such as ECL rules, in a way that puts the entire FD clan at risk of disqualification.
• Threats, harassment, Nazi or fascist propaganda, inciting political conflicts, or publishing members' personal data.
• Direct sabotage of orders from the Side Commander or Senior Officer on the battlefield, or intentional teamkilling.
• Actions or public statements capable of seriously damaging the clan's reputation.

Sanction: Immediate removal from the clan (kick), without going through intermediate stages.

FD does not tolerate bureaucratic chaos, and the leader always has the final say:

Exclusive decision-making authority: Every disciplinary sanction, from a minor verbal reprimand to an official warning or removal from the clan (kick), is decided exclusively by the Clan Leader, regardless of the severity of the violation.

Disagreements and misunderstandings are a natural part of a competitive team, but a conflict is not the same as a Charter violation. FD has a clear and safe dispute-resolution process that allows every player to be heard without turning disagreements into a public crisis or behind-the-scenes intrigue.

Dispute resolution procedure (step-by-step rules)

If a clan member strongly disagrees with the actions of a fellow member or Officer, a lineup decision, or a disciplinary sanction, they must strictly follow this sequence:

• Direct dialogue: As a first step, the player must try to discuss the situation calmly and with reasoned arguments through direct messages with the person whose actions they question, whether that is another player, an SL, the Captain, or a Moderator.
• Referral for arbitration: If direct dialogue reaches an impasse or is inappropriate, the player has the right to take the issue directly to the Deputy Clan Leader or Clan Leader through direct messages.
• No public discussion: Throughout leadership's review of the conflict, both parties are strictly prohibited from holding parallel public discussions of the situation, gathering factions in off-topic channels, arguing in shared voice channels, or taking the conflict beyond private communication with the administration.
• Final ruling: Since the clan's highest judicial authority rests with its leader, the Clan Leader makes the final decision. The ruling and a brief explanation are communicated to the member privately, after which the dispute is considered closed.

Distinguishing types of conflict

We clearly distinguish between different kinds of disputes and take different approaches to them:

• Disagreement over game tactics: If a player believes that the plan for an HLL map or orders from the CMD or SL were wrong, the matter must be addressed exclusively during post-match analysis or in tactical text channels. Personal grievances have no place here.
• Disciplinary appeal: A request to reconsider a warning or punishment. It must be sent privately to the Clan Leader, with arguments or evidence of innocence, such as a video recording of circumstances beyond the player's control.
• Personal conflict: Everyday arguments or personal dislike between players. Officers are not babysitters: players are expected either to resolve the matter themselves through direct messages without disrupting the team, or simply to avoid one another during events. If a personal conflict begins to harm the competitive roster, the Clan Leader has the right to suspend or remove the instigator.

FD's reputation in the wider community directly affects our relationships with other communities, server administrators, referees, and league organizers, including ECL. Any actions by a player wearing our tag are seen by others as representing the entire clan. We do not control members' private lives, but we firmly stop behavior that damages FD's name.

Areas of responsibility and the scope of the rules

The basic rules of the Charter and the Communication Rules apply on any external platform when a member uses the [FD] tag, identifies their clan membership in their profile, or participates in official events. This includes:

• Public and third-party Hell Let Loose servers.
• Discord servers belonging to other clans, leagues, and tournaments.
• Tournament chats, streams, and social media comments.

Rules for representing the clan externally

• Official statements: Only the Clan Leader, Deputy Clan Leader, and appointed Tournament Manager have the right to make public statements on behalf of the clan, comment on FD's internal affairs, agree to league terms, or enter official disputes. An ordinary player's personal opinion in public must not be presented as FD's position.
• Communication with referees: During official matches, all complaints, protests, and disputes with referees must go through the Captain or Tournament Manager. Ordinary roster players are strictly prohibited from spamming referees with direct messages, arguing in shared tournament chats, or challenging technical decisions outside the official procedure.
• Sportsmanship and the “Fifth Column”: Any organized or individual harassment of opponents (toxic trash talk) is prohibited, both before and after matches. We win on the server; after the game, we say “GG” and behave with dignity, regardless of the result.
• Behavior on public servers: A player wearing the [FD] tag on any HLL server must set an example of reasonable behavior. Public profanity-filled arguments, insults directed at administrators of third-party servers, and deliberate trolling of players are prohibited. If someone provokes you, take a screenshot and pass it to leadership, but do not sink to the offenders' level.

The Charter is the clan's stable foundation. If it is changed on the spot for short-term convenience or to suit a particular conflict, it will no longer protect members against arbitrary decisions. Changes must be carefully considered, transparent, and predictable.

Procedure for changes and amendments

• Proposals: Any member of the FD clan may propose an amendment or change to the Charter. The proposal must be submitted in writing to the Deputy Clan Leader or directly to the Clan Leader through direct messages.
• Approval: All amendments are reviewed by the staffs, but the final decision to change the Charter's text is made exclusively by the Clan Leader.
• Urgent tournament adjustments: If a league, such as ECL, makes an urgent change to external rules that requires an immediate response from the clan, the Strategic Staff introduces the change through temporary regulations. The Charter is not urgently rewritten for this purpose. Leadership later decides, without rushing, whether the rule should be added to the Charter permanently.