I've tried not to post. I've erased looooooong posts about this, not wanting to ruffle feathers, then end up writing new ones. I think I have to post, so forgive me in advance for any uproar, upset, or malcontent.
Even though I write for a living, I'm having a hard time deciding how to organize the things that I want to say. But I think I should start with this: the guild cannot be all things to all people. It just can't. There aren't enough of us, and, for reasons I might explore later, our potential for growth seems limited. Therefore, it is my strong opinion that the officers of this guild need to have a meeting with a preset and fairly rigid agenda. Highest on the agenda should be attempting to answer the question, "What do we want this guild to be?"
I see some optional answers. If we want to be a casual guild where players with all different interests can come together to socialize and enjoy our friendships, great! fantastic! But then perhaps things like... oh... say... a Karazhan raiding schedule should NOT be sponsored by the guild itself. If 10 guild members coincidentally enjoy running kara and want to organize themselves and run it, then more power to them, but if the guild isn't working as a unit toward being a raiding guild, then the guild, its officers, and its GM should not be burdened with the bitches, petty and great, of members who aren't invited to go or who aren't given enough support by the rest of the guild in getting geared to go, or whatever the hell else. However, in addition, if the guild decides to be a casual gathering of friends with both related and unrelated interests, I think that we should then be prepared to lose some members, and possibly officers, who want to pursue one aspect of the game more heavily than can be absorbed by our own guild. The other possibility would be that the guild officers would discuss and vote to make the guild more dedicated to one aspect of the game or another, to work toward raiding or pvp or being a broadly membered group with players of all levels, or whatever else. If this is the case, however, again I think that we must be prepared to lose some members and/or officers who might want something else from their guild. It is my contention, regardless of what the eventual outcome is, however, that we must define ourselves, even if it's to say we proudly lack definition, so that there is a clear idea of what the guild represents, and whether or not individuals want to remain a part of it. We need a rudder on this boat.
Now, I'll be the absolute first person in the "I love Listra" line. I do love her very much. She and I share quite a lot in common and have an easy understanding of one another. I, like Hooker, have grown sad and tired for her, knowing that she is under a great deal of stress and harrassment by guild members who are unhappy about one thing or another. Please remember that Listra did not spend her days dreaming of starting a guild of her very own. When Liege Lords dissolved, Listra stepped up for all of us so that we could remain together. Now, it seems, the price she is paying is high.
I would, therefore, recommend a new approach for the officers in the guild. It is my belief that acceptance of a position as an officer in a guild automatically brings with it a deal of responsibility in terms of service to the guild. I have tried to meet my own commitment to service in many ways, by helping out members in game with instances, materials, advice, gear, but also by creating and promoting the guild website and forums, which has entailed a great deal of my time. I think that McManager also felt this obligation to service and did everything he could to do his share. Now I enjoy every single one of our officers and consider you all my friends. But I do believe that it is time for all of us officers to lay on the line what it is that they are willing to contribute as officers to this guild. I think we need to determine what responsibilities belong to whom. Don't get me wrong. If you don't think that you want any responsibilities for the guild, I am all for that. We all pay to play and WOW is supposed to be our leisure time. I get it. But my response is this: If you want to play and just have fun without any requirements of service, perhaps you might not be the best person to be a guild officer.
If, however, you agree to take on some responsibility, then in my opinion you damn well better see it through. If you all recall, at an officers meeting two weeks ago we decided that officers would sign up on the calendar to be "on call" to help other members during blocks of time so that we could be supporting our members, but during time that we set out ourselves. Do you know how many out of our... what? 12 officers?... went forward with this plan in two weeks? 3. 3 officers. Listra, myself, and McManager, who is now gone. There are no officers scheduled to be on call at any time in the future. We decided at that meeting, too, to have a guild vote for the raid name for Karazhan. You know how many people voted? 7 total. That means that with combined officers and guild members alike only seven people total cared enough to vote. Which is fine, whatever, except that it was something that the officers ALL AGREED UPON, yet did not even support themselves.
I believe that the time has come for Listra to consider what it is that she needs from the officers, and for the officers to determine what contributions they believe are necessary and/or possible, and for a new structure to be put in place to which people adhere. I
am going out on a limb saying these things, and I know this is the case. However, like McManager, I have become weary and saddened by the lack of smooth function in the guild of late. I can't believe all the bickering and nastiness that came as a result of the Kara runs. It's so hard for me to understand because I genuinely like everyone I can think of in this guild, and the majority of you I downright adore. But some of you are acting like spoiled children. I say this with love.
I've been upset since hearing that McManager left the guild. I can't imagine many guildies who wouldn't be upset by this. Mc was, in my opinion, selfless almost to a fault in terms of his efforts for this guild. Raid leader, it turns out, is a thankless job. He worked extremely hard to make it work, but was not even able to get people to follow a structure in an environment that screamed for structure. Instead, he just got bitched at behind the scenes. He couldn't even convince people to bring their axes to grind here on the public forum. Or to post four words for any given Kara raid night, "I want to go." Instead he had to put up with the private whinging of... just about everyone. I'm so saddened by his departure and I think that we lost a fundamentally good, altruistic, intelligent, talented asset when he quit. But before we promote someone else to be a guild raid leader in his place, once again, I believe it's time for us to decide if that is the trajectory we want for the guild. Are we a raiding guild? Or are we just a guild that has some members who are talented and want to raid together? One other thing.
If we do decide that we want to be a raiding guild, even a "casual" raiding guild, but that the raids are what we want to progress and what will continue to bring us together, then we need to be willing to, as a guild, ask for minimum performance from people who raid. I know, I know, elitist. But the high end raids are ELITE CONTENT. Not everyone can go and perform. I think that Mc and some others are right in expecting people along for DPS to meet a minimum threshold. Tanks must be able to hold aggro and healers need to keep the ship tight. Karazhan nights end up costing me usually in the neighborhood of 20g-30g for potions, consumables, reagents, and repairs. The 30g end of that range happens when we wipe. Everyone has these same pressures in relation to raiding. Hell, my armor is leather. Can't imagine poor Crow's bills and Bricco's. I'm not saying everyone who wants to raid MUST spec a certain way. They can spec anyway they want to as long as their job gets done as far as I'm concerned. But if someone is not able to meet a certain threshhold, I don't want them raiding with me. I'd rather go out and run instances with them for a while to get their gear upgraded, or whatever. If we decide we're not a raiding guild, but a more general kind of guild that has some members who like to raid together, then the raiding group can work these questions out amongst themselves. But if the raids are guild sponsored, the guild should then probably think about working toward a standard.
All of this is my opinion. Some of it may be inflammatory and for that I apologize. But I simply had to say it. I had to get it out there. I think that it is time for a change. If you all disagree with me, that is completely fine, but I may then have to make a change for myself based upon the larger desire for inaction at this time. You all are some of my favorite people. I just adore you as a group and as individuals. But we have to get about the work of making this group functional before it falls apart.
That's it for me. Sorry for the novel. Peace.
