You can be nobles/militia from other places but you cannot be so from Greyhawk or Ford Keep and you cannot claim authority over others by virtue of your job description.
No authority over others is granted to any patron, IC or otherwise. So no one can go about telling others what to do, attacking or arresting them, etc, and claiming to be a noble/militiaman/watchman of Greyhawk or Ford Keep setting itself. Note that this doesn't stop your usual storylines at all.
The incident that sparked this had characters portraying Ford Keep militia. Setting officials are not played by patrons but by Magi, who are the only ones with the authority to evict or toss people from the rooms in any way.
On rare occasions a patron might be asked to represent a setting official under supervision of a Magi, as has been done in the Tavern when the Baron and Baroness have made appearances. Very rarely, under supervision, and only under tight restrictions for one off events. No, I won't say who was playing Their Excellencies, though they have done a hell of a job I must say.
Knights are not setting officials, they are simply knights.
Under no circumstances whatever does character type, alignment, or concept override the CoC and Setting rules.
Hope that clears things a bit
Siani
