These past two months I’ve been all over the place.  There were various games, a plenitude of communities, and a swarm of  guilds of which I’ve dipped my toes into.  It has been quite some time since I’ve been able to experience first hand the strong effects of differing leadership styles which populate internet gaming.  And here we were, simply listening to my one man (and girl) show about our lonely guild management troubles.  “DIVERSITY!” the people cry, “LET US SEE FREELY!”

IRL Guild Officers

-Close knit leadership team, or exclusive guild clique?

I’ve recently had the joyous opportunity of becoming included in a guild ran by IRL (In Real Life) friends.  If my recollections do not evade me, I would say there were 40 members- 8 of which holding the officer position.  Progression was fairly current and the gear was prevalent in the “group” of IRL friends, as I’ll now refer to them.  Now rather than turning this into a grand ole story time and risk upsetting the few of you who hadn’t thought to pack their blankets, I’ll cut to the nitty gritty of my observations.

Benefits

• “Group” contained key raiding roles, and knew how to efficiently communicate together.
• Guild utilized a /roll system for loot disbursement to avoid any outlandish claims of favoritism.
• Stable leadership without shifts or loss in personnel.

Failures

• ‘Friend-only’ leadership team left members without an unbiased source to speak with concerning issues.
• Inside jokes became normal conversation and isolated the remainder of the guild from community bonding.
• Raids = 8 chiefs, not enough Indians.  Ever try raiding with 8 raid leaders giving you different orders mid-fight?
• Separation of IRL and in-game.  Problems from their personal lives became apparent in online leadership squabbles.
• Vague favoritism.  Raid invites given priority to buddies, regardless of: Gear, Skill, Performance, Attendance, Punctuality.
• 20% Officer:Member ratio.  Woah.     Too many jobs -> promote officer.  RIGHT!      Promote officer -> find a job?  WRONG.

One bad apple ruins the bunch

Take note, that every guild and group of friends hold different attributes and styles.  This particular guild, however, seemed to have plenty to work on.  While they thought ahead by utilizing a /roll system for 10m raids, I fear that 25m content will bring problems with proper gear placement in accordance with progression of the raid.  While the old adage rings true (Always gear up tanks & healers first) I would suspect that those tanks and healers would be their buddies instead of those who have shown proven skill, attendance, and commitment to success.  It’s hard enough being a GM and having your officers whispering in your ear in-game, but to have it consistently in person as well?  It can be easy to falter your equality and justice.

If a guild were to remain objective and focused upon the guild as a separate being instead of a virtual hangout spot, I could foresee this sort of situation working.  In fact, I would be willing to place more speculation on my experience as guild management inexperience and lack of control rather than point a finger at “IRLeaders”.  Being the case, this still brings an issue to the table worth us all recognizing:  How is your leadership team being perceived by the rest of your guild?

One may not be aware of how comfortably they have set into their habits in a guild environment.  The older a guild becomes, the easier it is to forget what it is like being a new member in such guild.  Inside jokes run rampant, players have formed their cliques, raid groups & invites are predetermined…  It is VERY easy for a newcomer to feel shunned and left out of the group.  Hell, I’ve seen new members of my own not even get hello/good-night  replies when they come & go.  Unacceptable.  Remember and remind your team – There is a person behind each name, and they are all working towards the same goals you have set for your guild.  Real life friends or not, you are a team of people, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I’m still off doing that wacky Ph.D application thing, but I wanted to throw this out there.

It’s not all raids.

Every now and then, it does help to kick back, relax and give out some money for nothing. At least once a month a run a guild event that’s got nothing to do with a raid, and gives out at least as much money if not more. I thought I would share these events because it’s cute and because you really want to spend time with your internet friends and not just advance your character and bounce to a better server…right?

First things first, money or prizes can come from the guild bank or from a personal stash. The set up of your guild depends on how much you want to offer. I’ve seen guilds give away mechanohogs and those nifty 20k gold mammoths. I’m not quite there yet. I give out a thousand gold in cash money to first, second, and third and then probably rare pets because we seem to like those. Give away anything, get creative. Hell, give away your officer team for a night of whatever heroics the winner wants. Give them the ability to take an under geared toon to a raid you’ve got on steamroll.

Now, onto the events.

1) Scavenger Hunt…with a twist.

The standard “Go bring me 30 of these” isn’t bad, but it looks too much like a quest for me. The first rule of my scavenger hunts is no mage ports and no 8 minute hearths, because that gives two classes a really distinct advantage. Other than that, let it fly! Do a staged scavenger hunt with multiple legs and make them get nuts. For my last scavenger hunt, I had my group scavenge up wedding dresses and tuxedo suits…but then they also had to recite four lines, in yells, of Romeo and Juliet with point given for accuracy. I took them to the arena, made them get naked and beat each other blue. I made them beg a single gold off a stranger (the stranger had to then whisper me and tell me they gave the gold and each whisper was sent a thank you note with five gold attached, just so you don’t think it’s okay to scrub the server). If you are doing three places, give three points for first, two for second, and one for third. That seems to keep it pretty even. I would also randomly demand that they stop, jump in place, dance or spin in circles and then carry on.

2) Clue

Take the lot of you to a dungeon where it would be generally hard to wipe. I used Kara, but it turned out to be a bit too easy. I’d try Naxx next time, but you know the level of your guild better than I do. One person moderates the event and the other nine (or 24) are playing a game of clue. At the start of the dungeon, pick one person and whisper them that they have from now until the first boss to wipe the raid and get away with it. If they wipe the raid and no one can figure out who did it, they get X gold (I did 50). If someone figures it out, they have to say who did it and how they did it, such as “Solanum in the hallway with misdirection!” Allow them only one guess, to prevent people from just going down the raid list. If they bust you, you get 50 gold. As a caveat, if the murderer manages to wipe you before the boss, announce who it was and carry on to kill the boss. This prevents you from having to stand in one hallway, dead over and over, for three hours. If you don’t manage to get wiped or they get figured out, set a new murderer after the boss and carry on.

You might want to allot repair funds for that one. It’s all well and good until someone makes 50 gold, but has to spend 200 gold on plate repair bills.

3)Race you!

For a prize, make a race hard. I have this one coming, but I was thinking of having everyone roll on a PvP server and getting a blood elf from silvermoon to the Exodar. No tricks, no ports, no flights. Or make them race somewhere even more out of the way. I wonder who can get from the Exodar to the entrance of Sunken Temple now…

Keep it light, keep it fun, keep morale up! If you’ve done a really nifty guild event, let me know in the comments. I totally want to steal the idea.

One big happy family!

Whether you are in Warcraft looking to down 25 man content, or Aion, in search of demolishing a heavily defended fortress, you will need a large pool of aptly skilled individuals.  Some of us have it easier than others, and we’ve built our guilds to contain exactly the players we need to get the job done.  Others, however, need to continue looking for help outside the familiar tabard.  Behold!  There is a plentiful stock of guilds looking for exactly the same thing as you.  The trick is to fine the ones of similar goals, tastes, and personalities to keep your runs in sync and smooth.  After all, no one wants to attempt bosses between arguments and QQ…

Control Freak

The biggest issue in any alliance you may form, is having to answer to somebody else.  Now in theory, it’s easy to set up this wonderful alliance where everyone are equals and contribute in exactly the same way.  Sadly, this is not the case in real world examples.  Different guilds put forth varying levels of effort and attitudes, making an equal-level alliance quite difficult.  Not to mention, without a director, organization and motivation would be in a chaotic state while trying to get the ball rolling.

So everyone agrees and you vote somebody in charge of your alliance.  Awesome!  Are all other guilds accepting the terms of following this player’s lead?  Do they understand that being the GM of their own legion does not give them free reign to control and direct the alliance as well?  Perhaps this alliance includes all members as well, and thus forming an officership council of each guild’s leader.  Regardless of it’s structure, order always needs to be in effect with each involved party on the same page for the alliance to be a success.  It may be hard to yield your magical guild sovereignty to a greater good, but bite your tongue and wait for the results before you’re quick to condemn decisions you don’t agree with.

What’s the point?

Obviously, everyone wants to improve their characters, progress through the game, and celebrate victories.  Sometimes we don’t have the player resource required to make those dreams happen within our guilds.  When multiple guilds with these issues combine together under an alliance title, successes can once again be had by all.

Failures

When you have an alliance where each guild involved refuses to contribute equally, a breakdown in order can be catastrophic.  Who “deserves” rewards can become strewed and distorted in each player’s eye.  Every member needs to pull his or her weight and support the group in a like manner.

Successes

A successful alliance is a beautiful thing.  Goals can be accomplished more efficiently all around, and the members involved will have a higher morale because of such.  This is the true point of combining to begin with.  Get objectives reached, move forward, and perhaps make a few new friends in the process.

Always think carefully before binding yourself to such a commitment.  Examine the goals, the stipulations, and expectations of the group to ensure they match your own.  An alliance is not merely about winning or losing, but also will reflect on your guild through it’s reputation.  Weigh pros & cons before making a decision, and keep the best interests of your guild at heart.  When everyone is determined to succeed, it’s bound to happen.

One of the few joys of leading a guild is feeling that “rush” when everything goes right and you meet one of your goals.  The enthusiasm exuberated from your members provides a euphoria which surpasses just about anything else the game has to offer.  Whether it be downing that boss after weeks of attempts, finally stabalizing a core group of solid players, taking that PvP zone once and for all, obtaining that long sought after piece of gear, or simply reaching a certain member cap, meeting set goals greatly improves guild morale around the board.

What happens when during the midst of your celebration and rejoice, things take a huge step backward?  Unforseen events will always happen; You can’t predict them.  Let’s say that this event was conspired and planned beforehand?  A player swooped in, took advantage of your guild’s current needs to suit their own, and took off for greener pastures.  Say hello the the “Leapfrogger”, also occassionally known as a ‘Guild Jumper’.

Example 1 – Classic Loot Theif

You and yours are progressing through the latest raid dungeon, and come to the furthest point of completion for your guild.  Maybe tonight will be your lucky night, and all those hours of wipes, learning, studying, and instructing will finally pay off!  You give it an attempt, and …success!  The energy is high, the laughter is flowing, and you all feel proud of what you’ve been working to accomplish.  Now for the glorious epics!  You notice a few awesome pieces that will really benefit the stats of your raid.  As per your standing loot policy, it goes up for a roll as usual.  Hmm, the newer raider just won the piece.  Not really the desirable recipient choice, but fair nonetheless.  Sure, they haven’t spent a lot of time raiding, just having reached the level cap and all, but you’ve put some effort into gearing them appropriately.  So be it.

…wait, WHAT?!

The next morning you notice that this player has quit.  Upon a little investigating, it seems they have become accepted into a more advanced guild under the reasoning that yours, “Wasn’t progressed enough to suit their tastes,” or what have you.  Perhaps they just needed a few of those upper-notch pieces to make themselves more desirable to other raiding teams.  Either way, your guild has been dumping effort into someone who planned to get up and leave as soon as their “stats” allowed them a better opportunity.  What a dick!

(There are many reasons a player may quit a guild, thus remember this could simply be coincidence.)

- Collective Skill Loss

Using the above example while tying into the next one, you’re also faced with losing a raid asset.  Improving upon each player’s gear and technique just enough to move forward is awesome, but when a player abandons his team, it throws them down a few pegs.  No longer will this individual be around to carry their weight and fulfill their job.  They have effectively just broke a link in the chain holding together your new found success.

Example 2 – Core Group Dismemberment

This happens often throughout leveling and when you first hit endgame content.  Over the months, you all have learnt to depend on each other to be there, do their job correctly, and return the support given.  Often enough, you’ll end up bringing in a new member who fills a vital slot of your group composite.  They’re putting forth 100% and the group is moving along at a quick pace.  One may be surprised to find, however, that when the opportunity arises for that player to step into a group a little better off than yours, he bolts for the opportunity.  There is no community, no friendships, no atmosphere.  This player is only concerned about their progress in the game and will use/group/party with whomever necessary to reach the top.  The more players trampled, the better.  This complete disregard for others burnishes the familiarity bond that’s required between teammates in mmos.  The beginning is when guilds need to build trust, consideration, and friendships that their raids will rely upon in the future.  Leapfroggers have no regard for such, as their only looking out for themselves.

Example 3 – Guild Member Diversity

Aspects under this catagory refer solely to leveling guilds.  You find pride in having a member base diverse in players of many levels and skills.  It’s inevitable that you will recruit certain folk who will join, use your members to pump themselves up, and book it.  Whether it be only to help them complete a bracket’s worth of questing or instancing, they will use your community to bolster their own gain before they’re of quality to climb the server ladder.  This is frequently seen in cases where a lower leveled player will join, befriend the guild to help them catch up, then join another guild a few steps higher to repeat the process.  The inability or laziness to progress on their own fuels their objectives.  In more harsh situations, they will also convince your upper tier of players to follow suit and bail on your guild as well.

Simple Answer

There is none, as you can not predict the future.  It is extremely hard to forsee a player’s intentions with you or your guild.  Everyone has their own motives and agendas, so become accustomed to the traits of those who are genuinely supportive of your group.  Limit your handouts and reward effort put forth in hopes of driving out these leeches before they begin to drain too much.  Everyone aspires to be the best they can be, true, but the general consideration of give & take is what’s being examined here.

Some players may not fit in well with your guild and search out a new home for pure reasons.  Others, however, only desire to suck resources and time from your group to raise them to the next level of acceptance for other guilds, where they can then do the same.  Now, I know this is a tricky topic and it is extremely hard to determine why someone would quit to begin with.  I have no solid guidelines to offer or ‘tricks’ to look for.  Throughout the course of leading a guild, you will become more and more accustomed to pinpointing these players and learning how to deal with them.  If unchecked, they can easily damage your guild’s morale up to  and including a disband.  Be careful!

Always make an effort to get to know your members and familiarize yourself with them for best results.  Create the friendships and bonds that help guilds grow and succeed, as that’s half your responsibility as a GM.  The more effort your put into your guild, the better returns you can anticipate from your members.  If you don’t care about them, they won’t care about leaving you.  Keep involved and ensure that everyone is on the same page towards your goals as a whole.  This will reduce the amount of Leapfroggers who reach demoralizing proportions and will in turn keep your atmosphere a happy and successful one.

Every now and then, you come across someone who is playing…in a really interesting way, possibly to the detriment of the raid.  Or the heroic. Or the dungeon. Or the BG. Whatever it is, they aren’t pulling their weight and when you’re trying to get somewhere, it’s got to be a team effort. That means the team has to bring everything they’ve got.

Rather than accuse, it’s often better and nice to offer suggestions. You can’t hold someone’s hand, but you can point them toward
the resources to get what they need. Call this your cheat sheet for a handful of common issues.

1. WTF Gear

There are two WTF gear issues that a GM and RL will deal with on a pretty regular basis; low level gear and poorly itemized gear.

The first thing to understand about low level gear is that there is often a perfectly good reason for people wearing it. Trust
me, I’ll probably be killing Arthas with my trusty Arrowsong. I have just had awful awful luck with bow drops. One of my tanks
has repeatedly refused a pair of high level pants because they come with no defense and he’s got no way to make that up. Crappy
luck and funny loot systems in no way represent a player’s ability and if they are a boon to your team, you can fix them up
pretty fast.

Poorly itemized gear is harder. The first thing to do is to ask the player why they are wearing it. Maybe I just have a very
experimenting group of people, but it’s not uncommon to see a hunter of mine in +sp gear for the day just to see if that really
DOES make Mend Pet more effective. See if they are just messing around or seeing what different stuff does. You can ask them to
not experiment in your raids and go about your merry way. If it’s poorly itemized gear with no thought behind it, you are going to want to find your favorite character blog and hand them the link. It’s two seconds of google work.

2. WTF Spec

WTF spec tends to fall into the same categories as WTF gear.  Ask someone about their spec.  I have a pally who debated specing
into Judgements of the wise to heal to see if he could become a self-sustaining mana battery and allow his gear and the rest of
his spec to carry his heals (it doesn’t). But the point is that someone who has a reason for what they are doing is thinking
about what they are doing, and players who are thinking are good players. Even if they are thinking a bit wrong, thinking outside
a cookie cutter spec is not a crime.

“I happen to draw the line at telling folks how to spec.”

71 point specs are generally the same as poorly itemized gear with no thought behind it. Two seconds of google work and hand
off a resource. Even better if you keep a guild forum or blog and then you can have resources right there for everyone. The same
thing if you have class leads.

I feel the need to mention that frost mages, BM hunters and the like are not, necessarily, WTF spec. They are built for something other than raiding and I happen to draw the line at telling folks how to spec. I don’t believe that everyone has to max/min to make a raid work. A 71 point BM hunter…maybe pull them aside, but if they want to raid as BM, I say either let them or let them find a guild who will. I have yet to meet a dps in any spec that was performing under the tanks by reason of spec alone.

3. WTF Are You Doing

Ah, raids. I have to say, the reaction time that most 80 level raids expect is amazing. The lot of us are well set up for second
careers dismantling bombs. And yet, there’s always that one fellow who drops in the fire, hangs out for the flash freeze, stands
in the dust cloud or…yanks agro off a tank. Here’s your true story for this one. One one of our Malygos farm runs, I find
myself suddenly staring a dragon in the face and being breathed to death. One of my warlock (who has a death wish to begin with)
said, “I don’t know why, but I suddenly thought that Malygos didn’t have an agro table.” D’oh!

Your first raid RX for standing in a fire to make sure that Projected Textures is turned on in the video menu, under effects. You’d be amazed what you can see with that on with a minimal amount of lag. In fights with a lot going on, DBM can be a huge help to warn you when something is coming or honk a horn in your face to move. You also want to decide if you want to penalize players with older computers or not. Lag is lag is lag and you can’t get out of the fire if you can’t move. The same goes for player with just plain old slower reaction time. It’s up to you and the direction of your guild whether or not you want to deal with it. I say before benching someone, give them a chance to change video settings and throw in an add on or two.

A team is only as strong as its weakest link and if you’ve got one, you can’t just expect that the right answers are going to fall out of the sky and bonk them on the head. You’ve got to get proactive as a GM.

And maybe I’ll be nice and put together that list of links for you.

Tue, Oct 13, 2009

Hey Sedge,

Here’s one for you.  Recently my guild had a member return to the game after a few months on break.  He was a good member typically, helpful if not too talkative or generous.  Here’s where it went bad.  Apparently after a few BG’s (not guild pre-mades) where he had a losing streak, he felt it necessary to exclaim the deficiencies of the Alliance within /Trade chat.  Complete with profanities.  One of our officers happened to be in /Trade at the time and asked him to stop. Response was to the effect of, “You cant tell me how to behave.”  Discussion became heated and led to guild member removal.  Said member then logged on to an alt, told us all that he hoped we failed and how basically we were all chicken excrement.

For a little background, we are a mostly casual guild that does some raiding 1-2 nights a week as a guild, maybe every other week or so.  But many of our members raid much more frequently as PUGs.  We try to make sure that members of our guild are not “those” pugs, so that if someone needs a fill in they have no doubt that if they pick one of our members they will not be sorry.  (Skills may vary, but the attitude won’t).  We have a list of guild rules that prohibit flame wars within Guild Chat, but never thought to extend it to General or Trade.

Is it too much to ask of members to not troll in public channels as well?

Whateva!  I do what I want!

Isn’t it always a lovely day when you wake up or get home from work and have to play the evil dictator?  All of a sudden, you do nothing more than tell people how to act, what to say, how to play their character, what they can and can not raid, what to eat for dinner, who to date, etc etc.  It seems that when a player decides to act out and do what he/she wishes, any and all guild rules are now constraints upon their freedom.  No longer are the guild rules about order, respect, and civility, but instead are part of an evil scheme to keep the player down and prohibit them from progressing.  Ever.

To easily answer your question:  No, it is not too much to ask of members to refrain from

• -spamming
• -trolling
• -crying
• -whining
• -bitching
• -complaining
• -flaming

in trade or global game chat.  Not only are you providing a favor to everyone else on your server by saving garbage from being strewn about the channel, but you’re securing your guild’s image as well.  We all make the assumption at some point while playing:  If this guy is an idiot in chat, I bet he’s an idiot in the raid.  No body wants to take additional chances that they might not have to.  If two players are available, and one does nothing all day but piss everyone off in the chat channel, most likely the opposing character will be invited.  It’s not a surprise, we all make those evaluations on a daily basis.

In your situation, you decided to confront the member about their actions in order to correct the behavior.  Great job!  The member became irate that you were too controlling, and further decided to carry on with his antics within your guild.  Removing this player was a wise choice, as I would only foresee further problems forming due to this, whether inter-guild or server-wide.  Always keep an eye on your chat, and as you unfortunately found out, always keep the other eye on global chat.

It’s not easy wearing so many hats to all the roles you play, so be sure you  have a well-establised group of officers to support your rules and policies.  You will have a wide spectrum of members, some great and some horrible.  Hold your ground, explain your reasoning, and keep your members accountable for their actions.  Those who are worth keeping around will abide by your guild’s mantra, and those who aren’t will soon find the door themselves.  Such is all part of rolling GM in the first place, enjoy it.  ; )

I am always wary of guilds that take players with no application process. I mean, sure, if you throw enough crap at a wall, some of it might stick…but then you still have a giant pile of floor crap on your hands.

Whatever, I’m tired. It made sense in my head.

Your method of guild application is up to you. I personally interview all applicants via whispers. I find that easiest, as I’m a WIM devotee and it means I can interview while farming, doing heroics, running a raid, whatever.

But if you want in, here is what you have to do:

1) Answer my questions honestly.

I’m not trying to be the Spanish Inquisition (everyone expects such of me anyways) but if you say, “I want to raid six nights a week and world first kill Arthas,” then I know you are not for me and we are both going to be happier. I can point you to a friend of mine in the nearest raiding guild with my blessing and you don’t have to suffer through my guild crying that you can’t sit on the summon-able mailbox during a raid.

2) Know what I’m about.

There are probably 300 guilds on my ridiculously small server. Why do you want to come with us? It can be simple. You could have pugged with us. You could have just liked my forums post. You can think the name is hilarious. Any answer to this is generally fine with me, because having any answer shows me that you’re thinking.

3) Being combative during the application process is a ticket to a pass.

I haven’t even put you on probation yet and you’re trying to fight with me? This is even worse if it’s a website application, because now you haven’t even spoken with me and you’re picking a fight. If you don’t agree with a guild philosophy…why do you want to join anyway?

4) Be prepared to answer questions about your last guild/s.

Know that I’m probably going to contact your GM. I have never found a GM who was bitter enough to sabotage someone who just left because it was a bad fit, but if you blew up the drama bomb and then robbed the guild bank, I will find out.

5) Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

I am happy to answer them and I don’t think it makes anyone sound like a pain. Don’t you want to know how we do loot? Do we penalize new recruits? What’s our average age? What times we are active? Better to find out now than later, no?

This goes for everyone, probably every guild with an application process. Ask questions! Be prepared! Put your best foot forward!

Oh heck, you could call this a guide for life in general.

Throughout the course of playing any online game, you’re bound to meet and create friends, acquaintances, and people who you truly enjoy socializing with as if they only lived next door.  As we all know, situations are destined to come about while you trek on through that journey of virtual entertainment.  What becomes of these e-relationships in which we have built?  Do we simply turn off the monitor and walk away from months, or even years spent laughing, teasing, and working with each other?  If things were to take a bad turn, is it acceptable to forget the other person as if they never existed?  These are strange times we live in, with even stranger circumstances revolving around the e-company we keep.  Some light that bridge to old friends afire, and some do everything in their power to retain a connection.  Do you light that match or blow it out?

Your virtual smile is beautiful.  ; ) 

We meet players online, as they filter in and out of our guilds, alliances, pugs, and friends lists.  The nature of online gaming has us depend upon one another and spend hours upon hours socializing, relying on, and learning about the people who surround us.  We often become attached to these players.  We learn to care about their day, their lives, and their moods.  We’d like to see them happy, enjoying themselves, and reciprocating the same.

After all, a guild is a community based upon the members it contains.  The group as a whole develops the atmosphere upheld for each and every one of you.  As a GM, you help direct the progress to further benefit the community.  Naturally the players will locate their cliches and separate off into squads.  Is this bad?  Of course not.  This simply means that friendships & relationships are being created amongst the members.  Bonds are being built and the guild is strengthening.

What if something were to happen to these bonds though?  Perhaps a member becomes disgruntled, or a misunderstanding takes place.  Could you lose more than a member?  Could you lose a friend as well?

My lonely avatar cries to the moon.  :’ (

When you lose players, it not only disrupts the logistics of your guild’s scheduling and planning, but also your member’s state of mind.  As a team, you’re partying, instancing, raiding, PvPing, building, etc, for months or years on end.  You have grown to understand who these people are and the quirks they hold.  When the situation presents itself that forces a member out, your entire guild may very well feel the hurt of the lost person.  It is not uncommon for e-buddies to miss each other and gravitate to another guild to reclaim their companionship.  Always be sure to keep a careful eye on your members after the removal of a valued individual.  Many may hold feelings of resentment, guilt, or anger that must be worked through instead of kept bottled in.  These are people that we play a game with, not robots out there in cyberspace.

I believe we have all experienced such involvement with developing inter-game relationships, and then having the ties pulled apart.  Whether it be a friend moving on from said game, leaving the guild, or perhaps just drifting apart, it’s a rough time when a close internet pal you’ve never met moves on with his/her life.  The connections have been made, but the personal interaction is always a monitor apart.  Would the situation be any different if this person lived down the street?  If you’d have gone to school together?  What defines the importance of a friendship- be it virtual or not?

I contemplate with gas can in hand.  >: (

Regardless of what brings you to the footsteps of goodbye, you better get used to it.  It will happen numerous times as long as you remain involved with online gaming.  Let’s take an example, and evaluate possible courses of action.  Say you recruit a sociably quirky girl into your guild, and develop and intricate friendship with her.  She’s a skilled player, a smart individual, and challenges your mind.  You spend months upon months chatting it up and getting to know her.  One day, for some reason or another, she’s left with the decision of no longer playing the game.  Here, you are faced with two very distinct options:

On one hand, you can cut all the ties between the two of you.  Turn off the computer, stand up, and simply go do something else.  Remind yourself that it is just a game and not to think twice about those pixilated characters running across your screen.  They are just random people elsewhere who are only there to play a game, as you are.  People move on with their lives and that’s just how it is.  She was an interesting and unique part of your gaming experience, but that’s where it ends.

On the other hand, you can attempt to maintain contact with her.  It has been known for players to meet upon a raid and fall in love, only to follow up with marriage.  Say you express concern with her departure, and opt to maintain communication through other means.  Emails turn into phone calls.  Phone calls turn into a visit.  Next thing you know you’re moving in together and beginning a life, due to a simple mmo.

Yes, I understand that’s an extreme.  Perhaps it’s something as easy as keeping a hold of someone to talk to.  Maybe it’s the guy who would lounge with you in the Ventrilo server all night, bullshitting about how horrible the Chicago Cubs are.  The possibilities are endless.  Relationships are built when people are placed in these inter-dependent environments.  Just because you’re staring at a monitor all night, does not mean you aren’t staring and talking with other living people.

Examine the bonds you’ve created with these individuals you spend your nights with.  Is it worth losing a friend merely because they’re located at some remote location over the interwebs?  Is it worth cutting ties with these players you respect, who respect you, and burning the bridges you’ve build together?

; )  Will always remember you.

I’m sorry sir, but we’ve all taken a vote and have come to the conclusion that you are no longer in charge of this guild.  We are prepared to offer you a handful of options to ease this transition:

1. Promote a member of our choice to GM and play under his/her rule.
   
2. Simply quit the guild and leave it to us.
3. We’ll all quit out from under you and create a new guild (bringing all your members in the process)

We know you’ve worked hard on your guild, and we appreciate that.  Things simply are not working out to our liking, as we enjoy having things go our way.  Simply put, you aren’t in charge anymore.  We are.

Mutiny!

I’ve recently had a nice conversation with a friendly guild master who’s going through just this.  She has spent months building a guild from the ground up, and finally developed a stable raiding team with considerate people.  Soon enough, however, a bad seed was recruited who did not care much for authority, and had a track record of breaking apart guilds.

Upon being let into this guild’s raiding scene, he promptly took control of what he “allowed” to happen.  Through means of degrading members, whispering behind management’s ears, and creating rumors & doubts, this member created the cracks in which he hoped would cause the dam to burst.  What is a GM to do once these motions have been set in place?  How can she win back her guild before this hooligan destroys all she has built?

• Remove the problem
• Assert Authority
• Take Control

Throughout leading a guild, we’ve seen players of all shapes and styles.  There have been great players, and horrible ones.  Those who we wish we could hang out with and enjoy a few beers, and some which we would like to kick in the teeth.  As a guild leader, your concern lies with what is best for your guild.  It’s easy to notice that the asshole disrupting your chat isn’t a good fit, but it takes a skilled leader to wipe away a tear and remove that e-best friend who is just horrible at everything.  It is you who is in control and responsible for managing your guild.  Never let someone steal a foothold into this domain.

Players who refuse to recognize authority and/or scheme mischievous activities can cause serious harm to a guild.  One needs to lay down the iron fist in the face of opposition.  There are hundreds of other guilds, this one is yours.  Your way or the highway.  When players can not adapt to your rules and regulations, there’s a simple answer:  Leave or be kicked.  If the next two words out of your mouth are not “Good Bye”, my trigger-finger is clicking the GTFO button.  How you choose to word such is a matter of preference, but the intentions are the same.

Get problem players out, confirm that you are in charge with the rest of the guild, and make sure it remains that way.  Leaders who can not manage this will find civil unrest in their communities.  Members will whisper when you’re away.  Alliances and co-operations will be formed to take new control.  Guilds NEED authority, and if you can not provide it, someone will surely step up and try to take it.  You are not always a “friend” or “mentor”, so never be afraid to crack a few eggs in order to save the farm.

If not, you may as well have a “For Sale” sign on your guild.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!  The guild now requires 100 gold coins from each man, woman and child per fortnight.  Any unwillingness or inability to meet these standards will find themselves REMOVED AT ONCE!

That would be rough, eh?  …Or would it?  Requiring a weekly/monthly stipend from each of your members could yield vast guild resources, or a complete mutiny.  As we dive deeper into the world of guild management, more and more situations come up in which there is no right or wrong answer.  The more educated and prepared we are for issues that do arise, the better leaders we end off becoming.  You decide which path you wish to take:  That of English King with your tax demands, or one of a homeless food shelter- complete with moths.

All for one- one for all!

It may sound like a grand ol’ scheme- this taxing your guild.  All the members quest, grind, level up, and farm the lands, and proceeds from all this work line the guild bank’s coffers.   Currency is always available, needs are always met, and wants are usually permitted.  Everybody pitches in for the collective benefit of all.  Sounds almost like a fairytale, does it not?

Most guilds go about this by setting a standard amount per level range of their members, and collecting either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.  The tax expectations are made known upfront upon a member’s recruition, so there are no surprises to be had.  As the higher level players can afford to contribute more, their quota is much larger, as to keep the tax percentage similar for everyone.  The benefits of this system usually involve guild supplied potions, consumables, repairs, enchants, loans, etc.  With the incoming funds arriving on a regular basis, this allows you to create a budget and allocate expenses.

No taxation without representation!

Be sure not to instill a tax policy without discussing the benefits/consequences with your guild.  More than a few will become outraged if you were to spring this upon them.  Believe it or not, many players work for their own profit and usually have plans for where their coin will be going.  They will not be as thrilled to hear about your money making scheme, and will most likely be sure to make it known… loud and unruly.

One of the more difficult portions of running a tax, is justifying it for each and every member.  Sure, you’re providing potions, repairs, food, enchants, and all that jazz for your raiders.  That’s awesome, and they’re more than happy to mail you a small chunk of change to do all the work for them.  Hold on a second, what about that little chunk that came from your struggling level 30?  He’s online every night trying his damndest to reap that xp so that he might be able to join your ranks of destruction some day.  How is this poor fella benefiting from his taxation?  Are you running him through each instance he needs?  Buying him gear upgrades, complete with enchants?  If you instill a required fund from each member, be sure that each members is reaping a benefit from the guild.  No one wants to pay into your pocket, just for the hell of doing so when there are hundreds of other guilds they could be a part of.  Make it worth their while, this is not a profit organization for you.

Retirement?

Ok, you’ve got everyone to agree on how great this taxation thing works.  Awesome!  A week or so goes by, and you collect your very first payment from the guild (You’re remembering to pay into it as well, aren’t you?).  What are you going to do with all that glimmering gold?  You could start buying up all the materials you can for crafting, maybe reward a few players with a nice chest-equippable treat, or simply… Save it!  Yes, you will have quite a pile of coin quickly, but that is no reason to start writing e-checks.  Let the pot grow and grow until the day you need it.  Hell, you may never need it, but is that really a bad thing?  Perhaps at that point, you might get creative and introduce a few rewards/achievements your members can compete for, with jackpot prizes.  Regardless, do not let the coins burn a hole in your pocket.  Use this situation as a chance to be responsible with currency, even as virtual as it may be.

Your members are counting on you to be successful with your money management skills… and they’re the ones paying the bills.