3. In-Game Complaint Process

Before filing a complaint it is worth contacting the HDM of the server mostclosely related to the incident that gave rise to the complaint. Often an informal solution can be reached if the complaint does not concern any blatant violations of the rules in Chapter 2. The ALFA Representatives can also serve as mediators to help negotiate such an informal solution, but note that if no request for informal mediation is made they will treat every case as a formal complaint, and the rules in Chapter 4 will be followed. To submit a complaint, the complainant must make a request directly to the Player Admin or one of the ALFA Representatives. Note that public posts do not constitute complaints: the request must be made directly and privately.

3.1 Submitting A Complaint
Any player or DM who believes that another player has violated the rules of ALFA may submit a complaint against an ALFA player. DMs may only be the target of a complaint if the complaint concerns actions involving the DM's player character. General DM discipline falls under the DM Admin's domain, and thus such complaints should be submitted with the DM Admin. ALFA players cannot be punished for their actions on non-ALFA servers.

3.2 Who May Submit A Complaint
Any member or non-member may submit a complaint against an ALFA player. The Player Admin may also initiate investigations without a complaint being submitted.

3.3 The 90-day Rule
Complaints must be submitted within 90 days of the behaviour or incident upon which the complaint is based. Accordingly, investigations will generally only be allowed to look at behaviour that occurred within 90 days of the date the complaint was submitted. The 90 days are counted backwards from the day when the complaint is submitted. The length of the investigation is thus unimportant, since prescription will always be counted from the day they complaint was submitted, not from the day when the investigation was finished.
Some offences are exempt from the 90-day rule, and indeed from any other rules in this document, if the majority of Admin vote for such a decision. These offences are listed in Section 4.2.2 of the ALFA charter.