Curse

Haldir Quindiniar · Mar 27, 2006, 02:50 PM // 14:50

Im trying to follow your advices and i think im succeeding in most of them.
My guild has a forum and we use a public ts server. Barely anyone was active on the forum so i started to kick those that refused to register on the forum. Now we first were a PvE guild and just recently changed to a more PvP/GvG guild. Me and the officers started to recruit more people for PvP/GvG and those ofcours want to play alot of guild battles. Now the problem is that they often arent online at the same time and we end up with something like 6 members to play.

Now my question is: should we play with 6 members and 2 henchman then? If we lose and lose rank some will be dissapointed but i think those that played would be happy because we played. Rank isnt such a big deal for most of the members since we have some less experienced players who can learn the game then and ranks will be reset soon anyway.

Grtz,
Haldir Quindiniar

BellyFlop · Mar 28, 2006, 10:59 AM // 10:59

Quote:

Now my question is: should we play with 6 members and 2 henchman then? If we lose and lose rank some will be dissapointed but i think those that played would be happy because we played.

Well I am not an expert but the way I do is like this;
I don’t run Guild Battles every day, but I use the forums to promote any event for example; I open a topic and say something like "we doing Guild battle (or whatever you want to do)... on Saturday(or any other day of the week) 19:00 GMT, sign you name if you can take part. Like this I know what I can expect. Sometimes there more than enough people online and I ask anyone for a GvG? On the sign up you nickname I always advise to write what build they are bringing for we don’t end up with 8 warriors or some crazy thing like that.

When ever we are short I/We don’t do GvG and go for some group farming even if some places you can farm with 2-3 people I don’t mind going with 5-6 as long everyone is having fun.

I love the Thread well build.

Quote:

If we lose and lose rank some will be dissapointed but i think those that played would be happy because we played.

That’s why I think information in the forums is important and the people that are disappointed will at least know that the event was going on. And try to come up with a day were everyone is available, its only 8v8 wait until 12v12

(j/k).

shadex · Mar 29, 2006, 07:31 PM // 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnoc

But some inflexibility is not always a bad thing.

A little aside:
I've run guilds in other games. I realized over the last two years that I really don't have time for it anymore. I'm a software engineer by day, gamer by night; husband and father full time. My oldest daughter is a better MMO (non-PvP) player than most people I encounter, and in many ways has more time to play now that I do. Anyway, as a former "guild leader" from other games, I may be one of the more difficult members for some guilds. Still, I think I bring a lot to the table too.

What am I inflexible about?

I expect any guild I join to be somewhat tolerant of out-of-game lifestyle choices. I enjoy a debate as much as anyone, and out of game I’m far from “politically correct”, but intolerance is out of place in cyberspace. I may (or may not) privately dislike the beliefs of some real group, be it a religion, political party, or T.V. show fan club. I’m not, however, going to carry it into game because, in the end, it doesn't just hurt the game for a handful of people; it damages the entertainment experience of those totally uninvolved in any situations that may arise.

I don’t expect the tolerance to be limitless. In fact, I’d require it not to be. No tolerance for intolerance is a good motto. Racial slurs, sexual orientation slurs, the use of race indicator slang terms, etc. cannot be acceptable. I’m constantly disheartened by how many guilds don’t take a stand against these things. Last night I witnessed anti-Semitism to an extreme in public chat, and heard only one other person make negative comments about the offender.

My advice to those forming a guild:

Spell out some guidelines over what is and is not acceptable and stick to it.

What i was more refering to is that everyone wants to be recruited in a rank 100 or better guild, with atleast 15 active members on at all time, and to gvg on the days that they play. Realisticly you will never find that. And those players that demand stuff like that, or constant help as far as items go, generally they turn out to be rank XX players from IWAY farming, who arn't very good, and don't contirbute.

I'm far more interested in if you fit in to my guild when recruiting. I mean sure feel free to demand stuff, but have something to give in return. I would rather have someone who is on once a week, and talks in guild chat then a guy who is on every day that you have never met, who's the greatest GVG'er in the game. Your inflexable about real world stuff. Alot of these players are inflexable about stuff in the game, and what the guild should be. They always end up in a guild that lies to them, and then they try to find another guild.

Ryn Tyn Tyn · Apr 12, 2006, 11:59 PM // 23:59

Excellent advice, this really should be stickied. All guild leaders and officers should read this and anyone who thinks the job of being a leader or officer is easy should too

.

[DE] · Apr 13, 2006, 03:20 AM // 03:20

Great thread. Alot of useful information you got in there. The only thing I'm curious about is what you consider the best place to recruit for your guild is. I've noticed that Ascalon is overrun with guilds trying to recruit there and while many people in presearing are eager to join, they are just as eager to leave. So where do you consider the best place for recruitment?

Marodac Evilbane · Apr 13, 2006, 10:24 AM // 10:24

I'd say don't actively recruit. We just recruited the players we played with in a PUG that seemed to fit in well. Doing a mission with half a guild and half PUG's is a good way to see who fits in and who doesn't. I remember starting Abadons mission and bonus with 2 guildies and winning it with 5. That's 3 new members that asked to join us

Having a forum also greatly helps. Our recruitment thread is currently at it's 4th page, and all we have to do is see who seems to fit in.

The guilds you see spamming in cities are desperate for members, which is not a good sign in my opinion. I'd rather have a guild I've seen in action and that seems to work well together. I prefer quality over quantity.

It will be a slow start, but you'll get good members this way. Word will spread, and soon you'll grow so fast you have trouble remembering everyone's professions, location etc.

Cymboric Treewalker · Apr 14, 2006, 08:43 PM // 20:43

That is a good rough idea...

To me a good leader "attracts" people and the guild forms around him. The success of the guild then depends on the leaders ability to choose officers and deal with "drama".

Gmr Leon · Apr 18, 2006, 07:19 AM // 07:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marodac Evilbane

I'd say don't actively recruit. We just recruited the players we played with in a PUG that seemed to fit in well. Doing a mission with half a guild and half PUG's is a good way to see who fits in and who doesn't. I remember starting Abadons mission and bonus with 2 guildies and winning it with 5. That's 3 new members that asked to join us

Did you look for people that weren't in guilds to join your PUG or did you just find them while looking for a group? (asking because I may try that method of finding people to recruit)

Also,I tried something similar to that,but I would look for guildless people to do a mission with and at the end ask if they would like to join my guild.

Marodac Evilbane · Apr 18, 2006, 10:53 AM // 10:53

I just did a normal PUG, without looking who was in a guild or not. A lot of members mentioned that their guild was dead, inactive etc. If you see a player you want in your guild, you can ask them to join.
Lately, I have found that I have more players asking to join my guild rather then me asking them. I think this does increase the quality of your members, as they actually want to be in your guild. Seeing several capes together and having fun with a group can make a lonely player want to join fast.
You can also steer the conversation to guilds (if you cleared Abadon's and are waiting on the ghost you have plenty of time). You'll find out soon enough who is in a good guild and who is still searching for a guild that fits him/her.

Don't expect every PUG to become guildies. A lot of them aren't what you want in your guild, and (thankfully) a lot are in good guilds already. But if you are doing a mission as a guild and need a few more, consider using PUG's instead of hench. As long as your guild can carry them if needed (still no guarantee that player knowns what he is doing), you can take your chances.

A lot of our guilds members have been found this way. Several we asked to join us, and dozens asked to join us. Everyone wants to join a guild that has fun, knows what it's doing and is friendly. Act the way you want them to act, and see what you can find

Gmr Leon · Apr 18, 2006, 09:16 PM // 21:16

Thanks for the reply.^^

Daemon Dremora · May 06, 2006, 03:54 AM // 03:54

really good post...this is very helpful.

Talinna · May 06, 2006, 08:31 PM // 20:31

I'm looking forward to the release of
How to be a good Guild Member

Zepher · May 13, 2006, 03:15 PM // 15:15

Very good information...

I have just started up my own guild, and i have found it hard so for now i don't have anyone in my guild but me. Right now im working on getting a guild hall, which opens up alot of opportunites. I also Am going to start on a guild website. But I know how to do all of that, but this helps me on a daily basis when i will start to get members. Thanks alot for the tips..

drew2355 · Jun 05, 2006, 01:57 AM // 01:57

hi i have a guilg thats been around for about 7 months and until recently we havent actively recruited.this site has been very helpful as i am the guild leader and i am very active and always willing to help . becuz of the helpful tips and great feedback we r up to 10 members in 5 days mostly due to myself and my 2nd in command officer.the problem that i am facung is now their r ppl who havent been on in 2 to 5 days and they just joined do i kick them out and lose members or do i let them stay and give them warnings ?
i want my guild to b fun active and comuntiy friendly but i want loyal active members as well is this ti much to ask

Marodac Evilbane · Jun 05, 2006, 03:11 PM // 15:11

That would depend on how active you want your guild to be (daily activity, a little casual or casual?).
I think you need to establish a cut-off point, and let that point be known. Kicking people without them knowing what they did wrong might backfire, but following your rules usually does not. As long as everyone knows the rules, and as long as you follow your own rules, you should be found.

A Guild announcement can be the key, but I really recommend using your forum to lay down the rules on. This way everyone can look at them and comment, without any info lost. I'd put the adress of the forum in the guild announcement until it's known enough.

RP, as a PvE guild, has a core of 30-40 member on daily, but also a lot that skip a few days (exam period now - may affect your members too!). We have a 3 months cut off now, but we will look into that because we are nearing our limits.
I'd suggest to be as lenient as you can while still sticking to what you had in mind forming the guild.

Spirit House · Jun 09, 2006, 04:07 PM // 16:07

Thank you for this post. It will help my guild alot we are reorginizing the guild since we had up to 24 players on the guild and half would be away for 2 months or more. This did not help keep active players so they would leave. THus the only active players basically became me and the officers and a couple of regular members. I started kicking the ones that left for wow and AOC that were off for 2 months. Of course warnings were on the website and ingameguild anouncement Now we are rebuilding. I hope to have some dedicated PVE players soon. I wish I could do GVG now, but that will take a while to grow into.

Again thank you for this helpful post

drew2355 · Jun 13, 2006, 04:50 PM // 16:50

i was in your exact same postion only a little while ago this site has also helped me more than i could say.my guild went from 15 to 5 now back upto 27 members that have been very active.but i mostly owe it all the the hard work of one of my officers who i was lucky enough to have recruited .her name is silvia nightblade and when i recruited her she was also having the same problem with her guild as i was having with my guild.after we had talked for a while and i dont know what i said but she asked if she could join up with us and the rest is history.i made her our guild recruiter and she hasnt let me down she has taken us from 6 members to 27 mebers in no time at all.i told u that so that i could tell u this dont get discouraged u r only 1 really good member away from going where u want to go in your guild.i gave my officers jobs because it will help them feel wanted and important as well,and i am no different.so good luck to you trust me with a little work and a little luck it will get better.

pindun · Jul 12, 2006, 10:17 PM // 22:17

I think there is one thing that can help with nearly all the questions asked here is having a strong definition of the guild you want to be. This is far and away where the most time should be spent. Define what you want the guild to be and make sure people know. Explore the implications. If you want to be small and play regularly then the members need to be very active. If you want to explore lots of build and battle styles then members need to have well developed characters (and lots of unlocked skills if you are PvPing).

Now recruiting is easily. Recruit the kind of people who would be members of that guild vision. Tell them what you expect very clearly up front and what you expect to be able to offer them. If you don't know exactly how you want the guild to be and what kind of members are required to make it a reality then its like drawing numbers out of a box. One thing I always tell new recruits is that the guild will not likely be perfect for them and I expect them to work hard at making the guild and its membership successful. Recruiting in a hurry is usually a mistake. Don't misrepresent the guild to your recruits.

Now firing is easy too. Remove people who don't contribute to the vision (and it doesn't have to be nasty either). If you expect players to be friendly, or play regularly or play with the guild or PvP when called etc, then if they don't do it then they are not really part of the guild anyway. They will probably be happier elsewhere. The only hard removals are for things that are hard to define. Removing people because they just don't fit or can't help but fight with other members is the hardest because you have to make a decision that can't be arrived at by pure logic. Thats the hardest. In all cases never do it emotionally. Be friendly, you liked them well enough to invite them once, you should like them well enough to wish them the best wherever they are going.

The second most import thing is know that a guild is never finished. A successful guild will always have a list of aims that its working towards. The members will know what those aims are and whats expected of them. But you will never arrive at the destination. Because as you arrive there, there will always be another goal to chase or another problem to overcome. Member X will always be upset with what member Y said about their build or something.

Running a guild can be a very rewarding experience. But it can also be very depressing and even lonely. You might have to remind yourself of the good times when you are down.

Hope that helps somebody.

Cheers,
pin

Age · Jul 30, 2006, 09:08 AM // 09:08

I would like to point out Guild Leaders to need to take time out and do real life commitments especially if you are an adult.They may play a few other games as well so they want a week or few days to play those and not to mention their health.That is why you have officers as I am a Super Moderator on one of the oldest and biggest gaming sites that deal with Star Trek Clans.It is no differerent than being a Mod or Admin on this site.

Vincent Valentine · Aug 05, 2006, 09:19 PM // 21:19

Thank you for this guide. My friend and I are starting a guild soon and this guide has given us great advice.