No matter how much you might like to, you should never allow yourself to go off and tell an officer to take their dramatic pause and go fuck themselves. Because whether you realize it or not, they're usually pretty good about absorbing your own little dramas.
So when a guy needs to flake out and take a break, you let him do it. You let him do it without bullshit, without overmuch comment beyond what you know is acceptable in your relationship, and you just ride it out. If it's the sort of officer break that's going to affect the guild, start thinking about how to adjust to it. It's about all you can do.
In the end, it's just a game. The friendships, relationships, and emotional investments are real - value those. The rest of it? Eh, whatever.
2.26.2009
2.21.2009
Surviving your own guild/Getting others to put up their own runs
There are a few things you might think about for personal ground rules. Delegation is always a big thing; you should always be willing to take another step for the guild if someone is in need, but nor should you be always shouldering every damn thing when there's others that can help.
The other thing to remember and keep in mind is that you are not everyone's personal savior. You cannot fix every damn thing that comes up, and you cannot solve everyone's issue. If it's guild related, something you had damn well better be working on anyway, then you ought, but you're not running a finishing school, either.
Case in point: I have a few guild members who are very nice people, but who will not make their own efforts to find an instance run. Nor will they frequently speak up for runs when others make them available, and then these members fret at their inability to get badges for their gear upgrades. I'm sorry, I am not willing to help this beyond a reasonable point. Personal responsibility comes in at certain points, and you cannot hold everyone's hand. If it's a novice, someone very new to the game, you ought consider a little bit of Charm School on their behalf to help them out and get them acclimated, but sooner or later that little chick's gotta fly on its own.
To these, I say: Communicate. Want to get into an instance? Pick one, start with the daily if possible and have an alternate selection. Then check the guild roster - is there a known tank on if you are not one? A healer? Either ask on /g or whisper them politely to see if they're onboard. Take note if they're already in an instance; if they're finishing, which you can ask, again politely, if they're willing to team up for another now or in a while. Prepare to suffer LFG if it's a quiet hour. All guild runs are generally optimal (you can pick your poisons and usually know the team), but sooner or later, you're gonna get a pugger. Hope for the best, have a drink handy for the worst.
Be courageous, and if someone turns you down for the run you want to do, don't take it personally. That's best for ANYTHING WOW: never take anything personally. Especially on /trade.
But for heaven's sake, move your pugs. I'm not a Russian matchmaker. No guild leader is meant to be at all times. Thank you.
The other thing to remember and keep in mind is that you are not everyone's personal savior. You cannot fix every damn thing that comes up, and you cannot solve everyone's issue. If it's guild related, something you had damn well better be working on anyway, then you ought, but you're not running a finishing school, either.
Case in point: I have a few guild members who are very nice people, but who will not make their own efforts to find an instance run. Nor will they frequently speak up for runs when others make them available, and then these members fret at their inability to get badges for their gear upgrades. I'm sorry, I am not willing to help this beyond a reasonable point. Personal responsibility comes in at certain points, and you cannot hold everyone's hand. If it's a novice, someone very new to the game, you ought consider a little bit of Charm School on their behalf to help them out and get them acclimated, but sooner or later that little chick's gotta fly on its own.
To these, I say: Communicate. Want to get into an instance? Pick one, start with the daily if possible and have an alternate selection. Then check the guild roster - is there a known tank on if you are not one? A healer? Either ask on /g or whisper them politely to see if they're onboard. Take note if they're already in an instance; if they're finishing, which you can ask, again politely, if they're willing to team up for another now or in a while. Prepare to suffer LFG if it's a quiet hour. All guild runs are generally optimal (you can pick your poisons and usually know the team), but sooner or later, you're gonna get a pugger. Hope for the best, have a drink handy for the worst.
Be courageous, and if someone turns you down for the run you want to do, don't take it personally. That's best for ANYTHING WOW: never take anything personally. Especially on /trade.
But for heaven's sake, move your pugs. I'm not a Russian matchmaker. No guild leader is meant to be at all times. Thank you.
2.20.2009
I'm in a mood.
My how-to posts suck. I'm going to stop doing them. They vary between some good info and opinion and then into bare-bones suckage. Frankly, there are a billion how to blogs out there on the mechanics of how to put a guild together. The mechanics are not the issue.
The issue is how to build a guild and NOT SUCK. Work on that part, guys. It doesn't matter if you have the coolest or worst name on the server, it doesn't matter what your tabard looks like, or if your banner was just stolen off a random google image search - what matters is what YOU want from your guild and how you're going after it.
Reputation matters a lot. You cannot police everyone every moment of every day, and there will be things that slip by you. Maybe you're okay with people regarding your guild as made up of a bunch of flaming douches - that's you're prerogative. One of the top raiding guilds on my server is famed for being a bunch of cocks - but that's okay for them. They have a stable group, they get server firsts, and they appear to be having their brand of fun. Okay, then. *I* wouldn't piss on one of them if they were on fire at this point, but they have their scene and it works.
Your mileage will heavily vary. Put it another way: There are guilds formed every day and a great many of them will gain a reputation for being loaded with either noobs (acceptable, you were a noob once, too), or assholes. How will YOU attempt to avoid this?
First thing to accept: You will have to be involved. Hands on. An available presence. Being a good guild leader means, in my opinion, that while some think they spend too much time dealing with the game, you will be spending A LOT of time dealing with the game. Time management vs your real life will be critical, and you can do a lot simply checking emails, posts, and private messages, but fact is, this is a time consuming job.
Yes, job.
It is not always shits and giggles.
If you don't like responsibility, DITCH YOUR GUILD NOW. We already have two hundred of your kind per server. Eat the bullet.
The issue is how to build a guild and NOT SUCK. Work on that part, guys. It doesn't matter if you have the coolest or worst name on the server, it doesn't matter what your tabard looks like, or if your banner was just stolen off a random google image search - what matters is what YOU want from your guild and how you're going after it.
Reputation matters a lot. You cannot police everyone every moment of every day, and there will be things that slip by you. Maybe you're okay with people regarding your guild as made up of a bunch of flaming douches - that's you're prerogative. One of the top raiding guilds on my server is famed for being a bunch of cocks - but that's okay for them. They have a stable group, they get server firsts, and they appear to be having their brand of fun. Okay, then. *I* wouldn't piss on one of them if they were on fire at this point, but they have their scene and it works.
Your mileage will heavily vary. Put it another way: There are guilds formed every day and a great many of them will gain a reputation for being loaded with either noobs (acceptable, you were a noob once, too), or assholes. How will YOU attempt to avoid this?
First thing to accept: You will have to be involved. Hands on. An available presence. Being a good guild leader means, in my opinion, that while some think they spend too much time dealing with the game, you will be spending A LOT of time dealing with the game. Time management vs your real life will be critical, and you can do a lot simply checking emails, posts, and private messages, but fact is, this is a time consuming job.
Yes, job.
It is not always shits and giggles.
If you don't like responsibility, DITCH YOUR GUILD NOW. We already have two hundred of your kind per server. Eat the bullet.
2.17.2009
Web Sites - You Should Probably Consider One
One of the things you need to sort out in your head before you undertake guild creation is whether or not you need an external web presence. It isn't mandatory, it isn't crucial in all cases, but you do need to be aware of its uses.
If you are simply waking up in the morning going 'o hai I want a guild!' then you probably don't need to worry about a site for your impending fail.
If you are pulling together a bunch of family/close buddies/college dudes and have other forms of social networking, a site becomes a lot less critical.
If you plan to: Raid/run lots of instances/intend to do a lot of public recruiting/grow a mid to large size social guild for psychological experiments/are attempting any sort of bizarre social confluence - you probably want a site.
At first, you are best advised to go as el cheapo as possible. There are a large number of free and idiot-proof options available: Guildportal and Guildomatic, Guildhosting, etc (Note: I do not personally endorse any of these services, although my guild presently maintains an upgraded site via one of these services. YMMV) will all offer a basic free template service to get your feet wet. Ideally you want forums for people to chat in, a calendar to host your events, and down the line, you will probably want to consider springing for a Vent setup depending on guild needs. None of this is tricky or difficult to do. All of it can be set up via template addons through the big sites.
If you are more creative, have minimal coding, a buddy with a server, or some patience, you can, of course, really branch out. I have seen guild 'sites' that are simply a spider's web of interlinked forums and message threads. I have seen, much to my delight, Wiki-style guildsites that make members feel that much more involved with the thing. I have seen custom sites to beat the band. Even knowing a dude that can GIMP up a good banner for you can make a huge difference.
In any case, this gives you a presence - a thing you can point at when you trawl the official forums, when you hit up /trade to blurb your guild. A place you can properly store your FAQ and loot policies (YOU HAVE THOSE, RIGHT??) and put up guild achievements you can be proud of.
A place you can have drama, flamewars, photoshopped pics of your members in compromising positions, and shoutouts to jerkoffs you have known. C'mon, without a good site, where is WoWinsider going to get its best drama posts from?
If you are simply waking up in the morning going 'o hai I want a guild!' then you probably don't need to worry about a site for your impending fail.
If you are pulling together a bunch of family/close buddies/college dudes and have other forms of social networking, a site becomes a lot less critical.
If you plan to: Raid/run lots of instances/intend to do a lot of public recruiting/grow a mid to large size social guild for psychological experiments/are attempting any sort of bizarre social confluence - you probably want a site.
At first, you are best advised to go as el cheapo as possible. There are a large number of free and idiot-proof options available: Guildportal and Guildomatic, Guildhosting, etc (Note: I do not personally endorse any of these services, although my guild presently maintains an upgraded site via one of these services. YMMV) will all offer a basic free template service to get your feet wet. Ideally you want forums for people to chat in, a calendar to host your events, and down the line, you will probably want to consider springing for a Vent setup depending on guild needs. None of this is tricky or difficult to do. All of it can be set up via template addons through the big sites.
If you are more creative, have minimal coding, a buddy with a server, or some patience, you can, of course, really branch out. I have seen guild 'sites' that are simply a spider's web of interlinked forums and message threads. I have seen, much to my delight, Wiki-style guildsites that make members feel that much more involved with the thing. I have seen custom sites to beat the band. Even knowing a dude that can GIMP up a good banner for you can make a huge difference.
In any case, this gives you a presence - a thing you can point at when you trawl the official forums, when you hit up /trade to blurb your guild. A place you can properly store your FAQ and loot policies (YOU HAVE THOSE, RIGHT??) and put up guild achievements you can be proud of.
A place you can have drama, flamewars, photoshopped pics of your members in compromising positions, and shoutouts to jerkoffs you have known. C'mon, without a good site, where is WoWinsider going to get its best drama posts from?
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