I have been asked by the recently joined members what the hierarchy of GONAD is and were they fall in it. Well it is like this.
The 3 Sections
There are 3 sections to the Order.
An OU is the lowest section where the general membership exists and they are grouped together by location. For example I am in the Belfast OU of the Order.
OU's cluster together into O's For example the Belfast OU is in the Irish O of the Order. O's then are clustered in the Global GONAD Domain.
This can be expressed as Belfast/Ireland/GONAD
Everyone in the order is at a "degree" this defines your level in the craft.
The OU Section has 7 degrees of the craft starting at 01 as an "Undoubtedly Worthy Acolyte of the Oblate Yellow Sphere" you then move up one of the two ladders of skill. One for Developers one for Admins to the 07th degree. for a developer this would be "Worshipful Code Commander" for an admin it is "Worshipful Certifier Authority". These degrees are attained by raw ability and the support of your peers.
Once a 7th degree GONAD your time has come to move up to the management level of the order as a 8th to 12th degree GONAD you help run an O. Movement thru your chosen O is attained by the advanced craft skills of bum licking and toading to those that are above you.
Having achieved the 12th degree you can then gaze up and the heady level of the domain managers
who run the order as a whole. There are some particularly difficult rites and extreme bribery to pass but if you do then degrees 13-17 open up to you.
Here is a list of the degrees (Click on it to get a bigger image)