"It is my pleasure to announce that Frontier 1859 plans to implement an in-game template system whereby Tribes, secret societies, labor unions, vigilante groups, outlaw gangs, and military outfits are enabled to effectively organize and interact with members across various time-zones around the globe. I firmly believe that this solution will provide the best possible community service by helping players improve organization, and author duty, mission and quest objectives for their group."

Read the official Dev. Diary post:
http://frontier1859.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=436