guild-departures
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The Guild Counsel: Help, other games are stealing my members!
I have to start off this week's column with a hearty show of sympathy for current guild leaders because in some ways, it's much harder to manage a guild now than it was a decade ago when MMOs were just in their infancy. When I first created a guild in EverQuest with a friend, we had the luxury of knowing that "our way or the highway" really did apply. If you got booted or chose to leave, your choice was to join another guild (which was pretty hard to do if you were a problem because word got around) or basically hang up your MMO hat for good. Now, there are more MMOs to choose from than ever before, and with the flurry of game launches over the past year, it's sometimes hard to manage the ebb and flow of guild members on the roster. Guild departures are a fairly common problem, but what if the reason for the departure isn't a "grass is greener" guild but a "grass is greener" game? In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at what to consider when treating the issue.
The Guild Counsel: How to leave a guild gracefully
Last week, we talked about ways to leave with extreme drama and much messiness. One thing I intended to add in that column was the "right way" to leave a guild, but it's really something that deserves a column of its own. MMO players are really good at knowing how to push buttons, get under skin, and create drama. But what if you joined a nice guild and it just wasn't the right fit? How do you leave without looking like the bad guy? In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at ways to leave gracefully.
The Guild Counsel: Five ways to burn bridges with your guild
There are ways to leave a guild, and then there are cringe-worthy, horrifying ways to leave a guild, burn your bridges, and never, ever leave the door open for a possible return. We've all heard tales (and sometimes witnessed them firsthand!) of people leaving guilds in ways that defy humanity (leaving right in the middle of a raid is one of my favorites). Surprisingly, there are some guild departures that succeed in severing ties and are unfortunately all-too-common. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at a few ways to really do it wrong when it comes to guild departures.
The Guild Counsel: What makes a guild leader miserable?
Guild-leading can be a very enjoyable and rewarding activity, but it's not always a walk in the park. In many of the columns here and the discussions that follow, the most common theme is how leading guilds is both the best and the toughest role in the game. When things are all falling into place and everyone's clicking, it's extremely satisfying to see it all come together. But when it's not, it can be extremely frustrating and stressful. We've often looked at the benefits of running a guild, but in today's Guild Counsel, let's look at a few areas that can sometimes make guild leadership almost seem not worth it. Hopefully by discussing and recognizing these moments of misery, guild leaders can find some solace in knowing that they aren't alone, and members can help make life easier for their leaders.
The Guild Counsel: Why not all guild departures are equal
"I'm only a tell away." The line is one that MMO players see all too often, and it signals the departure of a guildmate. I used to joke with one of my guildies about that line, and while we went through the motions and said good luck, deep down inside we resented the fact that someone chose to bail on our guild. For us, the line smacked of insincerity, and it probably would have been better in our eyes for the person to just not have said anything at all. Through the years, the MMO landscape has changed a lot, and so has my feeling toward the phrase, "I'm only a tell away." In this week's Guild Counsel, I'll look at how not all departures are equal.
