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Officers' Quarters: Leading as a teen
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. How young is too young to lead a guild? What do you do when your guild doesn't even know your true age? This week, a teen guild leader wonders how long he can keep things going. Hi Scott. I'm a fifteen year old teenager who loved Wow. A couple of months ago I joined this guild, it was a level three guild full of nice,social players. I loved the guild as it had a brilliant atmosphere. I joined there raid team and rose through the ranks to become an officer. In August, I took two weeks off and when I returned the two guild leaders were absent. Neither of them had been online in a few days and members were leaving the guild. So, I took over the guild and have begun rebuilding it. It is now a level 10 guild with nearly a full raid team. But, I am worried about a few things surrounding my leadership.
The Guild Counsel: Damion Schubert remembers Meridian 59 at GDC
Last week was the final GDC Online, as the yearly convention moves out to Los Angeles next year under the new name GDC Next. Coincidentally, developers gave several postmortem talks about some of the classic MMOs of years ago. Among those was Meridian 59, and BioWare's Damion Schubert took us back in time to look at what it was like as the game prepped for launch and the first few years. What stands out are the incredible stories that came from player interaction and guild rivalries. Whether you're long-time fan or someone who wasn't even born yet when those early games emerged, this trip through the time machine is definitely worth a look!
Officers' Quarters: DPS the vote
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. As some of the insane political tactics in recent weeks remind us, we're less than a month away from election day in America. On. Nov. 6, nearly all Americans will have the opportunity to vote. Guilds don't often work that way, but should they? This week, one officer wonders whether his new guild leader is giving too much voting power to the masses. Dear Scott, I recently stepped down from being the leader of my guild due to obligations outside of World of Warcraft. Before I stepped down, I placed a new system in effect that is very similar to a city council at the request of the existing members. I selected our five current officers and myself as councilmen. I appointed a trusted friend of mine as the new guild leader/council chairman, and he has some pretty colorful ideas as to how our guild's structure should work. My friend feels that our guild should allow members who have been active to become councilmen, like us, giving them an equal vote on all issues. Quite frankly this scares the heck out of me.
The Guild Counsel: The ethics of gaming
As I head to GDC Online for its final hurrah in Austin, I can't help but think about the many panels each year that talk about things like monetization, marketing, and mechanics, and I wonder whether the industry somehow veered off course. Because the developers are speaking to one another, you usually get a much more candid look at what goes on behind the curtain, and lately it reminds me of Jurassic Park. There's a scene in the film where Ian Malcom questions the rationale behind cloning extinct species of dinosaurs and then building a theme park to make a fortune. As he points out, you spent so much time figuring out whether you could that you didn't stop to think whether you should. In other words, the ethical questions of Jurassic Park weren't addressed until the last boat left the dock and Newman had corrupted the system and was hopelessly lost in the jungle with a shaving cream can of dino DNA. When it comes to MMOs, there are ethical questions that the industry needs to consider, and some of them are questions that MMO guilds also need to address. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at the ethics of gaming in MMOs, before there's a Jurassic Park catastrophe.
Officers' Quarters: 9 suggestions for a new guild leader
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. This week's email is short and to the point. A player who wants to take the plunge into guild leadership is nervous about the prospect. I have some suggestions for him that I think can also apply to just about any officer, but first, the email: Hello Scott, I've been playing WoW for an extremely long time, a shameful amount of time to be fair... but I've never been happy with the guilds I've been in, so I'm thinking about starting my own guild. I'm willing to put the effort and money into making it work. I mean, I've got a crazy amount of ideas I'd like to implement to create a sense of community and loyality into the guild but I'm absolutely petrified about starting off. The recruitment for example just seems so damn daunting! I'm scared Scott :( but I'm afraid I won't be able to see the content the way I like to see it if I don't do this though. From Craig of Azjol-Nerub EU Hi, Craig. I'm always thrilled to hear about players who are ready and willing to lead. I'm happy to help you. Also, I love your lists. Here's mine. 1. Have a vision. Hundreds of people a week, I'm betting, say to themselves, I want to start a guild and do things my way. But what they really mean is, I want to start a guild exactly like all the other guilds out there, but I want to be in charge this time. When you say you want to see content "your way," that sends up a red flag to me.
The Guild Counsel: What to do when the old guild leader returns
So often, a guild's success revolves around a good guild leader. In fact, we've talked before about how a guild tend to take on the personality of the person who's running it and that when a great leader leaves, there's a risk that the entire guild will break up afterward. But what if a guild leader leaves and then returns to see that his guild is doing fine or that it's even better than when he left it? Apart from the obvious "awkward" moment, let's consider a few potential issues in this scenario, from the perspective of both the returning guild leader and the guild as a whole. Power struggle or cause for celebration? This week's Guild Counsel will tackle the subject!
Officers' Quarters: Leaks in the ship
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. You know things are bad in your guild when a newly appointed officer decides to leak private officer information to nonofficers. This week, an officer/raid leader seeks advice for a guild that feels like its sinking. Hi Scott I belong to a small social guild with less than 400 on the roster. Given that a lot of people have alts the number of players is going to be a lot less than that, though I'm not sure of the actual figure. Recently the GM posted on the MotD that the guild needed new officers and could people please send him recommendations. The next day I logged on and saw 4 people being congratulated on their promotion. I'm a senior officer in this guild and I had thought that it would go to a vote before anyone was promoted. . . . I asked the GM why we needed more officers and what their responsibilities would be. His response was "we're down to 16 and need more for advisor's and to help the guild". None of the officers currently have specific duties and everything falls to three of the senior officers, myself and two others. Most of the officers don't even attend the meetings he promoted them to advise at. This morning I logged on to drama as the new promotion (that I'd had reservations about) had leaked some officer notes to their friends in the guild. These notes I admit weren't flattering but they were accurate of their behaviour which is why there were there.
The Guild Counsel: Dealing with returning members at the dawn of a new expansion
The launch of an expansion is always an exciting time. There's new content to explore, new features to check out, and for guilds, a sudden influx of new and returning players. Some of those fresh faces were once on your roster, and it's not that surprising that they're suddenly showing up on your doorstep again, ready and willing to get back into things. On the surface, the sudden roster boost might seem like a welcome scenario, especially for raiding guilds. But in reality, it can turn into a disruption that has the potential to add drama and headaches for the guild leader. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at a few things to be mindful of when you're faced with a sudden influx of returning members.
Officers' Quarters: 4 radical ways to help your guild stand out in Mists
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Today we stand at the precipice of a new era. In less than 24 hours, Mists of Pandaria will usher in what could be called the Fifth Age of WoW. The long wait through 2012 has been hard on guilds, but that time is now over. If your guild has made it this far, you should be proud of that, but this is not a time to rest. This is a time to ensure that your guild will thrive. In this new era, the best method to recruit players will not change: finding ways to set your guild apart from the dozens of others on your server. Here are four ways to do just that -- but be warned! These are not for the faint of heart. 1. Offer tutorial runs of the new dungeons. Blizzard's new guild mentoring program is a great idea, but just because your guild wasn't selected doesn't mean you can't be a force for good on your server. This strategy requires patient guild members who have run the dungeons in beta or who get a lot of practice in the early weeks of the expansion. Start an initiative on your server in which, one night a week, you offer to run players through dungeons while teaching them the boss mechanics. Players will very much appreciate the chance to learn the runs in a low-stress and constructive environment rather than the merciless meat-grinder boot camp of the dungeon finder.
The Guild Counsel: Can guilds save the economy?
Wait! Before you hit that comment button about the absurdity of the title above, hear me out! A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a video that touched on this very topic, and I felt it was a perfect discussion point for this column. The video is actually titled How World of Warcraft could save your Business and the Economy, and it's a commentary by John Seely Brown that's part of a series called Big Think. What Seely Brown argues is that he'd prefer to hire an expert World of Warcraft player over someone who graduated from Harvard with an MBA, and he goes on to explain why businesses can learn from the way top players and guilds function in game. It might sound crazy, but it's worth considering, and in this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at the topic both from Brown's WoW point of view and from a broader view of MMOs in general.
Officers' Quarters: Five ways to spot scam guilds
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Internet scams are nothing new. They're as old as the Web itself. MMOs have opened up new channels for scammers to operate, and WoW is no exception. As we approach the launch of Mists, unscrupulous players may try to take advantage of the influx of players by setting up fake guilds. This week, one reader wants to share a scam story from her server in the hope that it won't happen to others. Let's take a look, and then examine how you can spot one of these scam guilds before it's too late. Greetings, The following was posted to our server forums. I was hoping that maybe, with names redacted, you might address this in a future officer's quarters: Edited by [name] on 9/6/12 4:22 PM (PDT) [Player 1], [Player 2] and how to scam Guildies and Maximize Profit. We all know by now the sad story of what happened to . According to legend, [Player 2], booted everyone from the guild, took everything out of the guild bank, leaving a lot of members confused and wondering about what happened to their guild and their friends. Blizzard did nothing. Fast forward to the present day, we have [Player 2] bragging about his exploits and his mount in general chat / trade, flaunting the results of his ill gotten wealth and guess what? Blizzard still does nothing. was a guild created by [Player 1], promising members fast progression and offering PVP, raiding and a stable community. Recruiting was fast and furious, with [Player 1] and his alts spamming general/trade all hours of the day, and baiting players of all levels to join what would be a huge guild with progression in every aspect of the game. Under that promise, the guild expanded fast, never quite achieving the kind of raiding success that would make it noteworthy in that category (3/8 HDS), but still sucessful enough to garner a sizable amount of members. All seemed well for a while.
The Guild Counsel: Dealing with the Backseat Driver
Lots of MMOs these days have handy tutorials, pop-up tip windows, and highlighted marks to show you where to go and what to stab. Unfortunately, there are no advice windows that show up when you have to make a tough decision as a guild leader (although that would be a great addon!). Instead, leaders have to rely on past experience and a little bit of gut instinct and then hope for the best. Of course, if you're faced with two paths, and you choose path A, you can pretty much guarantee that someone will voice his support for path B, and that can lead to no end of headaches and potential drama. Let's take a look this week at identifying and handling the "Backseat Driver."
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.
Officers' Quarters: Are you Napoleon?
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Napoleon once said, "I can no longer obey; I have tasted command, and I cannot give it up." It's not a reassuring sentiment, but I respect the guy for being honest about it. The launch of Mists approaches in just a few short weeks. Many guilds are in a holding pattern right now, waiting for new content, new raids, new battlegrounds, and new achievements. It's the calm before the storm, and in that calm I would like every officer reading this to ask themselves, honestly, whether or not they should still be an officer when the expansion goes live. Would Illidan fire you? Think about your role in the guild from a business management perspective. Imagine you had a WoW boss. For no specific reason, I like to imagine Illidan as my WoW boss: wearing a suit, reading glasses delicately perched over his blindfold, reviewing Black Temple budget reports. If Illidan were paying you to be an officer, would he be satisfied with your contributions? Are you doing enough to earn a paycheck? If Illidan had reports of all the work that you've done on the guild's behalf lately, would he give you a raise, or would he fire you?
The Guild Counsel: Lessons from you
Each week, I tip-toe to the sidewalk and plant my soapbox to pontificate on the trials and tribulations of guild life. I'm a little biased, obviously, but I really enjoy the social side of MMOs, and apart from a few brief months when I first started gaming back in 1999 (trying to figure out what the heck it was all about), I have always been involved with guilds. For every frustrating moment, drama-filled clash, and annoyance of management, I can cite 10 moments when being a part of a guild has made MMO gaming more enjoyable and satisfying for me. But each weekly topic has brought a wide variety of opinions from all of you, and while not everyone agrees, there have been some valuable comments. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look back at some of the hotbutton topics of the past and highlight some of the advice and commentary that the Massively readers have had when it comes to guild management and guild life in general. The soapbox is all yours!
Officers' Quarters: 5 ways to retain members in Mists
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook. Mists of Pandaria represents a unique and unprecedented era for guilds. It will be the first time in WoW's long history that a player can see all of the game's instanced raiding content without a guild, by simply queuing up in the raid finder. Many people mock the raid finder experience. It's easy to make light of it, but to underestimate its impact on the game could cost your guild dearly. Guilds are no longer the gatekeepers to content. To keep those members who are on the fence about staying, you need to offer more. You need to add value to their WoW experience and make sure that members have confidence in the guild's leadership. Let's look at five ways to help you do that.
The Guild Council: Why you should diversify your guild roster
More than once in this column, I've tried to hammer home the point that it's important to recruit players who match up well with your guild. So much guild drama spawns from a situation in which one player just doesn't fit in with the culture of the guild. But you don't want to lead a bunch of sheep, either, and while there are certain traits that you want to see match up (like playtimes, game style in general, and chat preference), it's worth it to carry a roster with some diversity. In the past, we've looked at a few good player types to seek out, but in this week's Guild Counsel, I'd like to look more closely at some of the more subtle personalities that are good to have on board.
Officers' Quarters: Guild raiding identity
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available from No Starch Press. In past columns, I've talked about how most drama is the result of expectations that differ from reality. In this week's email, we have a perfect example of that. Good morning, afternoon, evening Scott, We've recently run into a unique problem in our guild. I've previously been a guild leader and officer elsewhere, and have taken up the chief raid leader position in my current guild, and this problem is unlike anything I've encountered before. We're a relatively new startup guild (only 5 months old), comprised mostly of people who are just returning to the game after trying out a few other failed "WoW killers." I met most of the current leadership in these other games, so when they asked me to be the raid leader for them in WoW, I jumped at the chance to return. The structure was set up so that I would lead a progressive-minded raiding core of 25 raiders, while more casual raiders would have both a weekend and weekday 10-man option. We even built in a casual officer who organizes other games, old-school raiding, fishing contests, etc. The idea was for everyone to have something to do if they wanted, while all contributing in some way to each others' successes.
The Guild Counsel: Five essentials of guild management
We've seen a recent wave of new MMOs launch, and in just a few more weeks, we'll probably see the launch of one of the most anticipated titles of the year, Guild Wars 2. That, along with the upcoming launch of World of Warcraft's expansion, means there will be many new guilds springing up, some of which will be headed by brand-new guild leaders. Everyone wants a roster full of happy pandas, but sometimes that's easier said than done. There are lots of issues to deal with when it comes to running a guild, and there's a lot of nuance that factors into whether a guild is successful in the long run. We've looked at many of them in this column, but in this week's Guild Counsel, we'll highlight five of the essentials that must be considered when you're leading a guild.
Officers' Quarters: A closed guild opens its gates
Every Monday, Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. He is the author of The Guild Leader's Handbook, available from No Starch Press. This week's email presents an interesting case: The leaders of a guild that hasn't recruited anyone in four years want to open up its roster again. And one of them just might have stumbled on a brilliant recruiting pitch! Dear Scott: Recently I was promoted to a pseudo-Guild Lead (I have all the power but not the title). Not a Co-GL, a pseudo-GL. The founders of the guild are still keeping all of their power and titles of GL and Co-GL, but they aren't as active anymore and want the guild to go in a different direction. So below them and slightly to the left is me, the pseudo leader, trying to take the guild in this new direction while at the same time bring back a lot of our current members. Now to explain. About mid Wrath a lot of the guild members transferred their mains to a different guild in hopes of getting better gear ... Things got worse early Cata. I'm not sure what it was like on other servers, but on my server and in randoms there was a lot of bullying and people just being mean. And I'm not talking about the everyday mean you can encounter online, I mean guild members were brought to tears because of the harassment and haven't played since. About 80% of the guild dropped off. I'll be honest, because of the harassment I faced, I haven't done a heroic or raid since.
