My guild experiment v2 seems to be going along nicely. A community that can function as family rather than what most guilds do, where anything can be said or done to another person. The whole reason i wanted to form a guild with the crew of Taverncast back a year ago was to create a community of friendly people, like the fanbase of the show was. As the guild grew and the fanbase grew, the show got more corporate and the guild reflected that too. NOone wanted to be choosy about applicants, people started shady cliquish things...while it hurt me to leave the guild, i cant say that im sorry, personally, for doing it. NOt only that, but after reading some blogs of members of the current iteration of TPP...i see its turning into exactly what i didnt want it to be.
One reason is that I have this sinking feeling in my gut. A feeling that social dynamics in raids and in the guild are going to take a turn for the worst. Not that they have been going bad as of now, but little hints keep warning me. Latent hostility between groups of guildies, the subtle formations of clicks, etc. I'd rather not be caught in the crossfire when this all goes down.
"I don't want the loot." I found myself saying this last night when asked about the giantstalker drops. I know that it is important to be there if I want to get the loot, but if I don't want the loot then why am I there? Spending time with cool people in a big instance is awesome but why am I there if I am ignoring and passing on loot for my class.
Secret chat channels. This kind of ties in with my first reason. I don't mind chatting about random things or strategy in the hunter channel in raids. But when there are private channels being formed to keep guildies oblivious to actual happenings in the guild instead of sorting things out publicly, there's something wrong. I don't want to part of this when it all blows up.
Its too bad that seems to be happening. Cant say im suprised. I wished them the best, but it was on its way of being an elitist culture/fanboi worship group. When the officers of the guild are treated like celebrities, there is little to no check in place. People seem to follow whats going on in an effort to get in good with them. Currently, thats my main concern. I never have thought i was infallable, nor officers. However, as officers of the current guild, we ensure that our actions are questioned and our policies discussed.
There was a comment response from another guild member in that post as well, that i find faily interesting.
I've noticed a shift in TPP to be honest. Once upon a day no one in TPP would of passed up going out and celebrating someone buying their first level 40 mount. Not anymore... people are too busy raiding or gearing up for raiding or talking about what they are going to loot while raiding.
Nowadays... its the raiders in their chat channel and the rest of us being silent in another.
TPP is by far not a bad guild, but the change is there and it is obvious for anyone that has been around a while.
PS I haven't played with TPP on a regular basis in a couple months because of my wedding and getting school started, but I've kept up on everything.
Seems to be turning into what we didnt want from the beginning. Im sure this isnt the whole story, and im not claiming it too...im just saying that i find these sentiments VERY interesting after what has happened. It was the foundation of the guild a year ago that this would not be the case. However, seems times are changing.
Flash forward to now, where the 2nd iteration of the guild experiment is doing well. Been building it since may, and im not going to say its been all milk and honey, weve had our bumps. However, the work is starting to pay off. We asked ourselves a few fundamental questions.
1. Is it possible to have a guild that is successful doing end game content, while not trampling people both in a relationship sense and community sense.
The answer, yes. HOWEVER, it is very difficult to build and manage. The key is recruitment. While most people i find who are interested in a community setting are looking for it for a simple reason. Conflict avoidance. People want to play to have fun, not have to deal with more clashing egos like in the real world. Yet, anything you do with other people(i like to use the softball team analogy) is going to have people, therefore different personalities. The difficult process is ensuring that the people that you bring into the guild fit this persona. Finding people that mesh with the flow of the guild is key. We found out the hard way how putting progression in front of the community can not only create issues for officers, but for members as well. I.e. we brought in a warrior who was in full tier 2 who claimed he was looking for a relaxed environment where he could raid a few nights and pvp the rest of the time. In the end, he came into the raid, was pretty abrasive verbally and didnt fit the feeling of the guild. All in all, what im trying to say is that this is very possible, but the officers MUST be willing to turn away applicants and kick out members who dont fit the guild. No way around that.
2. Is DKP evil?
Of course not. A LARGE point of contention with the old guild. They had it set in their minds that DKP is the tool of the devils ding dong. Again, ignorance is bliss. I was opposed to it at first, but after doing research, i decided to see how it was used. IN my time in end game raiding guilds, ive seen 3 different systems. Zero sum, fixed and a bidding system. All 3 are different, all 3 have pluses and minuses. I honestly feel that fixed is the easiest and fairest way to go to ensure that the people who work hardest to help the raid progress get rewarded and geared properly. Loot is not a present. Loot is a tool to help progression. One thing i stress with my guild is that if you are here for loot, go join another guild. Our focus is on PROGRESSION. NEW CONTENT. Loot is a tool to help us get there. Until there is a way for blizzard to institute a system different than just pure /rand...dkp is a tried and true way to distribute loot. In my experience...those who bitch most about dkp are those who rarely attend raids. Ive NEVER EVER seen someone who works hard for the guild by attending raids say...damn, you know, this system is so unfair.
3. How do you officiate a guild?
Another HUGE issue with my old guild. Its clear that there needs to be a final say in all decisions. We have found that the best way to do it is through a true guild master position. Officers have say and input, core officers even have a vote. However, the GM is the leader, and as such makes the decisions for the guilds directions. Its just like a government. Its his job to keep the people happy. If he doesnt, hes going to hear about it, and eventually something will be done. Ive distributed alot of authority among a core group of officers, and the utilization of class officers. It has worked incredibly well. Maturity and experience are 2 things that i looked for in officers. Something i was seriously lacking in some officers in the old guild.
All in all, its going well. Havent even been in MC a month and we have started ragnaros attempts. No, we arent full of tier 2 transfers. WE are mainly new rerolls on this server and some people who got sick of raiding on the alliance side. Its been going well.
As for me, i miss some old friends. However, i just have to think about how it went down, how nothing has happened to try to bridge that gap since then and how i must have really not mattered to them. Its amazing how fast some people can turn their back on you.
*cheers* aretaics. Ragnaros goes down this week.
