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?

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?)