Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, especially after the Wrath of the Lich Kingbeta went live last week. In many cases, hardcore raiding guilds just aren't making the Big Push anymore. Many have simply disbanded. Prior to the expansion, there really isn't much reason for raiders to keep going at the same pace, unless there's still content they haven't seen. So what are all these raiders doing in the meantime? Some, much like salmon, are instinctively returning to the ancestral casual guilds where they first spawned. But should those guilds take them back? This week's e-mail asks exactly that. Hello Scott:
I am a high ranking officer in a casual raiding guild on Khadgar.
Recently several top raiding guilds on my server are dissolving. Our guild is a casual raiding guild that are slowly progressing in SSC. We received several requests from former guild member that express interest in coming back into the guild. Most of them said they miss the friendly and fun environment our guild provides while still doing decent raiding.
Tank Talk is WoW Insider's new raid-tanking column, promising you an exciting and educational look at the world of getting the stuffing thrashed out of you in a 10- or 25-man raid. The column will be rotated amongst Matthew Rossi (Warrior/Paladin), Adam Holisky (Warrior), Michael Gray (Paladin), and Allison Robert (Druid). Our aim is to use this column to debate and discuss class differences, raid-tanking strategies, tips, tricks, and news concerning all things meatshieldish.
This week in Tank Talk I'm covering the various stages a tank exists in during their time in a guild. Yesterday in Part I of the column I talked about the recruitment and applicant stages. These stages help clarify the beginning life of a tank within a guild. While talking about what these stages are and what they mean to the tank, I also covered how the guild can keep them happy while ensuring the best tanking possible is done.
The job of keeping a tank happy is arguably unique task when compared to non-tanks in that they are the ones which everything eventually comes back to in the game. If a ranged DPS dies, they're going to feel it in a longer encounter. If a healer dies they'll notice the healing start to lack. Finding a way to communicate everything to a tank and taking in their unique situations can be a challenge, but it is a necessary one.
Lets resume our look at the last few stages of a tank's life within a guild, starting with the raider tank stage.
I've recently been pondering if, and when, I should retire from raiding. Playing with 24 other people to accomplish a common goal is a wonderful thing. The teamwork and exhilaration from downing a boss for the first time is something that's hard to put into words – it's fun, challenging, frustrating, and all around a great time.
But when is it a good time to stop?
Everything eventually gets old and dies. Yes, one day our beloved WoW will no longer exist; even though that might be a couple decades from now (although I have my doubts WoW will ever truly go off-line, but that's another article). What I want to be sure happens is that I leave this activity I love so much on a high note – and not leave when it's become a pain and something that I'll look back disfavorably upon.
Right now my life allows me to raid. I have classes and WoW Insider work during the day, and at night I have time to raid for a few hours and hang out with the girlfriend and other folks as well. That strikes a good balance in life – allowing both things that I want to do by myself (WoW), and things that I want do with others (girlfriend, friends, etc...)
Yesterday my guild was getting ready for our nightly foray into the Black Temple (we downed the first five bosses in 3 ½ hours, not too bad). Out of the blue, a member who has been having some "issues" as of late decided it was high time to leave the guild. And he didn't just stealth gquit, he went out in style.
Instead of being adult about it, which everyone in my guild is, he posted a long winded and rambling message to the guild and then left. His tantrum was quite good, one of the most epic I've seen. But the epicness of his lack of class wasn't the best part. The best part was that he had enough foresight to do it all with a macro. So after a bunch of us got done laughing about him leaving on ventrilo I thought to myself, "Self, I should post this on WoW Insider tomorrow. After all, a gquit macro sounds like a good idea!"
Take a look after the break to see some screenshots of this ex-guildie's gquit macro, and how you too can make your own gquit macro!
Here on GW, we mostly focus on guild drama, obviously -- every week, we hear about GMs /gquitting with as little style as possible, ninjas cleaning out the guild bank, and friction between guild members. But guilds are really only a part of the ingame drama -- people can find silly things to fight about all over Azeroth. Think the fishing tournament is tame enough to avoid an argument? Think again.
That story, and more, are in this week's GW, which you can read by clicking the link below. And don't forget to submit your own tips to us, whether they be drama, downed, or recrutiing news. Wowguildwatch@gmail.com is the address, and any tips you send to it will be much appreciated.
Here at GW, we love even the small downs (heck, this week, we reported on a downing in the Stockades -- although it was by the Horde), but when other guilds are able to clear out the whole endgame in the time it takes you to go from one endgame boss to another, it's probably not the best idea to go on to the forums bragging how great your progression is.
That story and many others in this week's GW, which starts right after the break. Your tips fuel our column -- please send any and all tips about drama, downed, or recruiting guild news to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Click the link below to read on.
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
Most guilds see members come and go from time to time. It's never a pleasant feeling to see someone leave, but in most cases you know why they're leaving. That gives you and the other officers the opportunity to fix the problems that led to their departure, so you don't lose anyone else for the same reason. By far the most frustrating gquits are the ones where people just disappear with no explanation. That's what the author of today's e-mail is facing.
Hello Scott,
(Insert Random Pleasantries Here)
I have a question for your column, which I read regularly.
I'm an officer in a progressing casual guild. Over time some of our key faces have changed as real life, drama, and other events weathered the shape and nature of the guild. Up until now players either gave clear reasons for leaving, or had been so apathetic and uninvolved that none were needed.
Recently we discovered two of our original raiders, highly esteemed members, had vanished from our roster. We checked the guild log and found no trace of them quitting or being booted. Months ago they had drastically reduced their playtime (less than a couple hours a week, if that) due to real life concerns. Worried that maybe their accounts had been hacked, we attempted to track them down.
After a little sleuthing, we found them on a different server and in a new raiding guild.
Inspired by this thread on the official forums, I have a pretty simple question: How do you view guild quitting? Is it possible to gquit with dignity? Is it possible to leave behind a guild with no bad feelings and as little malice as possible on the part of the quitter and the guild?
Unfortunately, it happens to the best of guilds, sometimes things just fall apart and EVERYONE leaves at once. It's also true that a lot of us know of at least one spectacular /gquit that spawned a multi-page "grab the popcorn" type thread on the server boards. Sometimes it's over loot. Sometimes it's over repeated wipes or perceived lack of skill or dedication on the part of a raid group or raid members. Sometimes it's over emotional issues or personality clashes. Sometimes, even if the /gquit seems relatively benign, there ends up being some underlying problems that come to the surface and explode at some later date, like a ticking time bomb.
Now, myself, I believe it's possible. I've seen friendships survive gquits, as much as all the drama that makes it to server boards and blogging sites would suggest that that isn't possible. Sometimes you just need a new experience, or your goals and your guild's goals diverge, and there's nothing wrong with that. With enough grace and aplomb from both sides, you can simply agree to part ways, and go on. Heck, sometimes you can even continue grouping and pooling resources even while you have separate guild tags. Of such things are guild alliances formed!
What do you think? Is drama nearly unavoidable when it comes time to /gquit? Who's at fault when it crops up? And how do you avoid it?
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. Quitting a guild that you've been with for a long time is usually a difficult experience, but it's much worse if you happen to be an officer. An officer giving up and leaving can be one of the most demoralizing events that a guild must endure. In many cases, it sends a message to the members that the leadership is fractured or impotent, and it's only going to get worse. Hence, the opportunities for drama are legion. This week, one reader shares her experience and asks how you can quit as an officer without stirring up too much trouble.
I read WoW Insider all the time, and never thought I'd actually send in anything, because I was so happy with my guild. We were a wonderful nice little social guild. We helped each other with instances, some of our higher up members (myself included) would run lower toons through instances when we weren't doing anything else. We were even starting to attempt to break into raiding.
I was excited to say the least. I was an officer, and I loved my guild quite a bit. I still love the members. I think they're all very smart, wonderful players. We had a raid set up. Simple, practice raid. Nothing to fancy schmancy. Zul'Gurub. On a Monday we'd all gotten together, and decided that it would be Saturday at 1pm. We're all looking forward to it. We are all excited about it. Then Saturday comes.
I don't know what Vashj did to you guys, but there must have been something, because she is getting dropped more and more often lately. Nobody likes the Naga, I guess. And Kael is pretty much shaking in his boots-- nearly every guild that has downed Vashj is throwing him angry looks for being next.
This week's GW starts right after the jump-- click the link below to check the week's drama, downed and recruiting news, all tipped to us by you, dear readers. If you have news for Guildwatch (especially drama, because who doesn't like that?), send it along to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Enjoy!
If a guild mate logs in at an hour when most of the guild is sleeping (or simply nobody is around) and /gquits, is it a stealth /gquit?
Amanna over at Adventures in Azeroth (who I have to wonder might be the first appliance-spec druid judging by the name) asks this question after having done this exact thing. Many times over the past couple of years I have been tempted to do this myself. There is always such a recoil when you leave a guild, even if you try to take the high road and make it as drama-free as possible. No matter how many people there may be that irritate you in any given guild, there are always two or three -- or twelve -- that really like you and don't want you to go. Thus, your planned drama-free departure is suddenly less drama-free.
How can you get out of a guild and make a clean break? Have you ever performed the stealth /gquit personally? Was it successful?
(And yes, I watched Mr. Deeds the other day, and it was foremost in my mind when I created the accompanying picture. Does it show?)
Who are these poor souls who lead our guilds, who gladly (in most cases) take on what is definitely a part time job (if not full time) in order to outfit 25 people with epic gear and provide an online social outlet? Who are these folks, that they bend over backwards to make everyone they've /ginvited happy and sometimes get so stressed that they, for lack of a better term, flip out and /gdisband? We don't know where you guildleaders get your drive from, but from signing the charter to /gkicking everyone and ninja-ing the guild bank, we salute you.
Time once again for Guildwatch, your weekly look at drama, downed, and recruiting news from around the realms. As always, your tips fuel this space-- send them (anonymous or otherwise) to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Click the link below to see today's GW.
I never, ever thought this would happen, but apparently people are actually trying to be the biggest Guildwatch drama story now. Someone emailed a tip in hoping that his drama would be highlighted here on the front page, and unfortunately, while his tip was good (a massive PvP battle after a forum flame war), it just didn't match up to this mega ninja/ gquit/ game quit from Barthilas. But better luck next week, drama queens!
This week's GW starts right after you click the link below. And don't forget: the place to send all your info about drama, downings, or recruiting notices is wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Onward!
I had a great time at the Stormwind Stampede yesterday (and pictures and videos from the event should be up soon). But here's a little tip we all picked up from running almost 500 Tauren around the world: to shut down all the yelling, you can just right click on the title of your open chat window, and then go into the "Channels" menu to shut down /yells just like any other chat channel. You can also turn off Guild chat this way as well, just in case your guildies start threatening to spoil Harry Potter, but you don't actually want to /gquit to get away from them. Unfortunately, turning off yell won't get rid of the big red text bubbles when people are near, but all you have to do then is just turn around.
Of course, /ignore still works, and my little level one Tauren now has a bigger /ignore list than any of my other toons, thanks to some rowdy spammers yesterday. And /leave General will get you out of Barrens chat (just as /join General will get you back in when you finally arrive in Ashenvale). And I don't have that much of a problem with this stuff (only when I group up with 500 cows), but if you're really tired of chat spam, Devnull might be an addon worth looking at.
It's not real complicated-- those of you who are experts at chatting (or have just been given a headache before by all the yelling) probably already knew it. But it was definitely a helpful little tip yesterday to sort through all the spam in the channels.
Our little guild has been steadily losing members and momentum for a while now.It's not new, this is the sort of thing that happens to guilds, but what is new is my reaction to it.I searched hard within myself for what problems I felt I was having with the game, and came to the conclusion that I want to raid.
Now, I've been on various raids as PUGs or in alliances before the expansion came out.I got a chance to see most of Zul'Gurub and to wrench a couple of pieces of Arcanist Regalia out of Molten Core.This taste of raiding gave me an appetite for it, an appetite I thought would be satiated when our guild got enough people keyed for Karazhan.And we have, only they keep leaving because we're not raiding (ironic, don't you think) despite the fact that we set the runs and they just don't show.
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership.
I've recently been pondering if, and when, I should retire from 
Yesterday my guild was getting ready for our nightly foray into the 
Inspired by 
If a guild mate logs in at an hour when most of the guild is sleeping (or simply nobody is around) and /gquits, is it a stealth /gquit?
I had a great time at 
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