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MikesterBrau
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| So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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This is a hot topic in various forums and though to bring it here to GameAmp for our own special touch. Even though this is in the EQ2 section this really applies to most games. Ok so I will prequalify some of this by saying I feel fairly capable of speaking to this particular subject having done this for a couple of decades starting in the play by mail and pen and paper era to the present.
So here are my cardinal rules for making a guild that will last and everyone is welcome to add comments and suggestions
1) Plan it in advance most games require a certain number of people that must be grouped in order to form a guild so have them lined up before hand. Let everyone know what time and location to be on hand for the guild formation. If a cash amount is required to register the guild have that on hand or make sure people know to bring cash to fund the effort.
2) Know in advance what kind of guild you want (Hardcore, Casual, Raiding, Roleplaying) before hand and recruit people who have that same play style. A mismatch of desired play styles can cause a lot of headaches.
3) Do NOT mass recruit over open channels. This is very tempting as it seems the quickest and easiest way to build numbers but you will also face lots of player turnover and spend your time dealing with player issues more than enjoying the game or providing any leadership.
4) Be mentally prepared for the many sacrifices this role will require of you. It is very easy to fall into the trap of finding the role of guild leader so much like a job that you begin to hate the game you once loved. Also you will most likely have to group with folks, answer questions, and play parent at times when you really want to play.
5) Have basic rules of conduct available to players in advance. If people know what you expect of them and each other this will actually add to their satisfaction and cut down on headaches for you.
6) Be flexible. You have to be ready to accept that at times you may have to sacrifice your own objectives or desires for the greater good. You may also have to accept and promote some memembers that you may not personally care for but know will be good for the guild as a whole.
7) Identify leaders based on performance, loyalty, and personality and start sharing power. One of the worst things some new guild leaders do is that they make everyone who helps form the guild an officer position and soon regret it. Like the rules mentioned before, criteria for promotion should be decided in advance and aheared to.
8) Take time off and realize you do not have to have the best toon with the best gear. A big bear trap lots of leaders fall into is feeling self pressure to have the highest level toon with the best gear in the guild and that kind of pressure tends to either burn out guild leaders in droves or cause resentment from the membership.
Well this is just a start but the what I feel are the most important things for new and even old guild leaders to keep in mind.
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| 07/31/07 14:12 |
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Tyrlien
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Great post Mikey.
This is all very good information and advice. It is not only things that new and old guild leaders need to keep in mind but also guild members need to realize just how many things guild leaders deal with in a game.
A few more tips that might help include:
- consider a "trial period" where new members can try out the guild to see if it fits in with their playstyle. this also gives the guild an opportunity to see how the person fits in as well.
- realize that some of your decisions will not be viewed by every member as being unbiased. so decide in advance on concrete criteria for guild membership, rules of conduct, and promotions, and post it on your guild website.
- listen to and be open to the opinions of your officers. you made them officers for a reason so at least consider what they have to say.
- not only take time off from the game to keep your perspective, but take time IN the game for yourself or you may end up resenting all the demands on your playtime.
Tyrlien Darkwynd
Skara Brae Guild - Co-Leader
Everquest 2 - Half Elf Swashbuckler
Vanguard - Half Elf Rogue
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| 07/31/07 18:35 |
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Xaviak
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Pin it, plx?O.o
AmpWoW<-- Check it out if you need to find something. ^^
WoW@GA is looking for new staffers! More info HERE!
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| 08/01/07 05:34 |
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MikesterBrau
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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You bet and at sometime I hope to turn it into a full blown guide but have 3 or 4 others in various stages of completion I hope to implement first. Thanks for the reminder to pin it. :)
Founder of Skara Brae (Meta) Guild
http://everquest2.gameamp.com
Skara Brae Main Page: http://www.bardstavern.net
Sig by Tyrlien
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| 08/01/07 08:19 |
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Artagus
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Greetings all,
Excellent topic Mike, there are so many gamers, new and old(okay no reference to age here *cough* *cough*) that love a good in-game community. As a Guild Leader, there are so many things that need current attention.
Good points by all and a great topic to build on.
/cheers
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| 08/04/07 15:12 |
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MikesterBrau
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Thanks Artagus and so great to see you stop by. One things I should have included is that in order to lead you must first know how to follow so for most potential guild leaders I would suggest serving as an officer in a guild before starting your own. Another thing I do that suprises most folks is that I know I can still learn a few things and also to keep perspective I generally keep another toon on another server as just a plain ole guild member in a guild so that I do not forget what that feels like. To avoid any problems I let my guildmates know this and the Guild Leader in the other guild. Once you have your guild on a good footing do not be afraid to work with other Guild Leaders and share events or perhaps even set up some lines of communication as the general open channels can be overwhelmingly noisy at times.
Founder of Skara Brae (Meta) Guild
http://everquest2.gameamp.com
Skara Brae Main Page: http://www.bardstavern.net
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| 08/06/07 08:18 |
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Drucila
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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This makes me wish there were still good guild leaders in wow....****tear*** now everyone with gold can start a guild, I tell people if you aint got ten friends you dont deserve a guild! (thats what you need for the charter lol) but alas people will sign their lives away and then /gquit.
Anyway this is a wonderful post IMO and I read it before but reread it now when I had time to comment. Great idea, I think you may have to post it over as a tip and hint on the wow side.
Dru
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| 08/06/07 09:33 |
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Artagus
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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| QUOTE | | This makes me wish there were still good guild leaders in wow....****tear*** now everyone with gold can start a guild, I tell people if you aint got ten friends you dont deserve a guild! |
I agree Dru, its a shame that people have to weed through so many "I got gold we got a guild" types. A solid foundation is very important, it's rare to find a good guild with Charter members that have only known each other for 2 days.
Another good point that Tyrlien made,
| QUOTE | | take time IN the game for yourself or you may end up resenting all the demands on your playtime. |
This is very important to keep in mind.
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| 08/08/07 01:22 |
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Tyrlien
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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On the other hand though, some people just want to start a guild for their friends or family to play together, or so they can avoid all the blind spam guild invites that go around at times. :-)
Just a thought on having a toon on a different server (or even the same server) that guild members may or may not know about... it's important that guild members respect your need for "time off" from the guild and that they don't interrupt your play while you have that toon logged in.
While guild leaders ultimately hold the keys for the success of a guild, the guild members also need to take notice of the role they play in guild dynamics.
Tyrlien Darkwynd
Skara Brae Guild - Co-Leader
Everquest 2 - Half Elf Swashbuckler
Vanguard - Half Elf Rogue
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| 08/08/07 11:21 |
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MikesterBrau
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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So now you have your guild going for a few weeks and it has not imploded. Unfortunately your work is not over in fact far from it. This is about the time the intial joy wears off and folks start asking for things like message boards, voice chat, a web site, and you might even be dealing with inter personal issues between members, and finally they probably want some scheduled activities. With EQ2 we are pretty spoiled in that SOE provides us with a free and decent Web site, forums, and roster tracking but with other games you really should give this some thougt in advance. Also it is important to identify a guild member or officer with design or artistic talent. Also some games even provide voice chat so the techinical part is easy.
Now for the harder stuff, the technical issues are pretty easy really but interpersonal issues and event planning. Ok in a broader sense this is one time where you may need to delegate at least some of the worker regarding event planning. This can be terribly challenging if you are trying to learn the game at the same time as your members and yet still meet the expectation for guild events. Dealing with the interpersonal conflicts is not really anything that could be address effectively on a message board other than to say you will be in much better shape if you have some common situations addressed in you mind in advance and identify issues early. Most issues are temporary and some even such that you should let them play themselves out and not act if not called upon too. It is important to realize that everyone including yourself will have a bad day from time to time.
The overall message to this thread is that planning your guild in advance and being aware of the types issues that come up are essential to not have the typical guild that only lasts 3 weeks and then falls apart.
Founder of Skara Brae (Meta) Guild
http://everquest2.gameamp.com
Skara Brae Main Page: http://www.bardstavern.net
Sig by Tyrlien
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| 08/14/07 10:58 |
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Tyrlien
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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| QUOTE | | Now for the harder stuff, the technical issues are pretty easy really but interpersonal issues and event planning. |
How do other guilds deal with interpersonal issues between members? Having been a guild leader/co-leader for several years in different games, there have always been the potential for ruffled feathers (and yes I've had my own share). The game world is much like the real world. There are personality conflicts and not everyone "gets along" no matter how "mature" they may be. I don't mean age here. I've known a good share of teens and young adults who are far more reasonable than some 40-50 year olds!
Event planning is something else entirely. Should it be the guild leader's responsibility? How do you share it without "losing control"? How does it work in your guild?
Inquiring minds want to know! :-P
Tyrlien Darkwynd
Skara Brae Guild - Co-Leader
Everquest 2 - Half Elf Swashbuckler
Vanguard - Half Elf Rogue
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| 11/10/07 18:09 |
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Skeksis
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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This is a great post. I would like to see more info guild events and recruiting. Like I see guilds recruiting, saying that they have a lottery. How does a lottery work? Are they buying tickets? lol. Anyways I think you have the solid core basics down. One question. How do you send game mail to guild members without rewriting every letter to every person. I feel there is a way, cause when you hit the "u" key and hit the ranks tab, there is an option in there to check/uncheck Send Guild Mail. I tried typing in the guild name Goodtimes with Test as the title. And it sent. So I was like great it worked. Come to find out, I asked a few people in the guild if they got it and no one did. Looked up Goodtimes on eq2 under Characters, and sure enough, someone made a toon named Goodtimes on Butcherblock server. Lol. Anyways any help with this little issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Skeksis
Goodtimes
Butcherblock Server
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| 11/27/07 20:41 |
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Skeksis
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Wow, sorry for the muliple posts. Triple clicked the add post button. Sorry. :)
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| 11/27/07 20:43 |
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Tyrlien
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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To send mail to your entire guild, put Guild in the name box. You will have to have your guild options set for whichever ranks you want to be able to receive the mail.
Tyrlien Darkwynd
Skara Brae Guild - Co-Leader
Everquest 2 - Half Elf Swashbuckler
Vanguard - Half Elf Rogue
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| 11/27/07 21:59 |
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MikesterBrau
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| RE: So you wanna be a guild leader... |
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Good to know and I have fixed the multiple replies issue that can happen when things lag a bit. Good luck with your guild. As far as guild communications go, if you need to get information across to the whole guild and time is short changing the "motd - message of the day" is probably the best way to get a message to your guild mates quickly and with the least amount of fuss. Also don't forget that SOE gives your guild a free basic web site to use and some nice forums to share info and schedule events and if that is not to your liking GameAmp also gives registered guilds forums here.
Founder of Skara Brae (Meta) Guild
http://everquest2.gameamp.com
Skara Brae Main Page: http://www.bardstavern.net
Sig by Tyrlien
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| 11/28/07 08:14 |
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