Vegeta's post :
Prince.Vegeta wrote:alright, heres my 2 cents. befor i even started playing conquer Carlos told me bout the initiation from befor. and i totaly agreed with him, that definatly tested the trust factor. plus it was very hard core roleplaying, withs is what the rpg's are all about. i think the oath isnt a bad idea either. yes its kinda corny but we are playing a game here. you cant take everything too seriously but, there must be a decree of trust, respect and honour. im not sure about the website. tho i like josefs ideas about profiles for our conquer pc's, and about the whole no ranks, thing, thats all well and good but there really should be some sort of seniority level, like the older members have to be able to keep newcomers from screwing around and making us look bad, or getting our guild enemies, and such. im not sure what to suggest here but its also nice to see something other than 'guild member' next to your name once you've been with the group for a while, u know, makes u feal more important, respected, needed...etc. anyway, im blabering on about nothing now arent i?...haha. wel thats too much tyoing for now, tell me what u think of my incoherent mumbling.
alright, my 49 cents
A system that I liked, for the most part, was one I saw used when I played WoW. This was back with the SSC mind you, and not our current SSX divisions here. 4 main ranks that consisted of: A guild leader; guild moderators; guild members; and initiates. Everyone except the initiates were guild members (for obvious reasons :P ).and about the whole no ranks, thing, thats all well and good but there really should be some sort of seniority level, like the older members have to be able to keep newcomers from screwing around and making us look bad, or getting our guild enemies, and such.
One guild leader, but only because the game mechanics required there being one to create the guild. He/She didn't serve any capacity other than as a figurehead and an ambassador. They were the person other guilds would approach formally for help, complaints, teaming up, etc. Members could approach the guild leader as a quicker method of spreading an idea or suggestion to other members for consideration. Decisions were made by general consensus of the members, and critical ones put up to vote.
Then there were the Moderators. Typically just a few, but increased as guild size increased. Their role being just to keep order and, well, moderate any bad behaviour. The only decisions they were permitted to make without consulting the whole guild were regarding small matters of discipline. i.e. whether or not a person was misbehaving, and if they needed to be warned/chastised (in private preferably). If problems didn't get resolved, then any bigger solutions were brought before the guild members. Usually kicks, bans, blacklists, or seeking other possible options to resolve the problem.
I suppose the Mods could be viewed as seniority you speak of. I don't prefer senior players only being given the position though. Only people that are level-headed and willing to put up with that much more stress. I should add as a side note, however, that this did not happen in the SSC WoW guild several times. Old SSC'rs who decided to buy/play WoW after we were well established were occasionally made Mods right upon joining. Whether or not they were qualified for the job.
This is one big reason why I dislike the idea of "seniority". It doesn't always translate to "qualified". In fact, one such person ended up causing more problems in the process (and headaches for me when I had to clean up after him). It was an ugly situation that I didn't want to participate in as it would've resulted in several broken friendships. Ultimately one of the many reasons I decided to leave the game. That and there were more ranks within the guild than I would have liked. Seven or more I think... it's been a while. Gave the feeling of "I'm more equal than you", but I digress
I really liked the "Initiates" to "Members" transition. Signifies that a person has become accepted and trusted enough to join the rest of the guild. I suppose you could replace "Guild Member" with "Respected Member", just as long as all members are ranked that, heh. Keep everyone equal, and there will be fewer problems down the road. Less opportunity for resentment OR favoritism .im not sure what to suggest here but its also nice to see something other than 'guild member' next to your name once you've been with the group for a while, u know, makes u feal more important, respected, needed...etc.
Anyhow, I can only speak from my experience and make my suggestions. I've yet to come across the perfect guild system to make things run smoothly, and keep everyone happy at the same time. I've found this one to be the best that I've experience so far. Ultimately, of course, the decision remains in the hands of you fellows forming the division. Especially since I haven't played this game (yet), so am not quite sure of it's mechanics or the atmosphere.
Damn, this post turned out bigger than I thought it would. Guess I had a lot on my chest . I imagine that I'm preaching to the choir for the most part, but hope this might be insightful to some newer members. Please pardon the length(/spam), and I hope the viewpoint helps.
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In the off chance anyone reads this post and objects to my observations (you know who you are), this is my attempt to "lawyer-ify" what's been said. You know, the whole trying to keep some people from taking this the wrong way, because it /always/ happens *sigh*. If you don't know who you are, it's not you. Feel free to ignore this part as it has no bearing on you whatsoever. Thank god.
I only posted what I didn't like about the guild system to give my experience. To show why attempting certain ways to run the guild might fail or cause problems. In no way, shape, or form am I attempting slander at the SSC WoW guild. Notice, for example, the lack of names being supplied. If you don't agree with what I saw, too bad. My opinion is my own damn opinion, and I call it how I see it. If you saw them differently, good for you. Feel free to *PM/IM* me to clear anything up. That being said...
Most of the mods there did a better work than could be expected for being human. Damn great, in fact. I can only hope that I was somewhat decent when I had the same job myself. I made many friends in the game and enjoyed myself immensely. For the most part, anyway
(wonder if I should even bother anymore...)
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