Changes to the Stormrage Guild system

[Tal]

Again, I must emphasize that the Lurker Lounge is not a guild and that the only reason we have these in-game "guilds" is to make it easier for Lurkers unaffiliated with a guild to find one another in game.  These "guilds" are meant to be casual affairs.  If a person wants a more rigid structure with a more formal vetting process for new members, then that person should join a more formal guild like the Amazon Basin.  Our goal here is not to duplicate the work of the Amazon Basin or any other guilds.  Instead, we are a site dedicated to bringing together players of all guilds and backgrounds together to intelligently share information and ideas with one another.  If we formalize some sort of guild structure that looks too much like a formal guild, it could look to others from the outside that we are simply yet-another-guild-site.  I want to avoid this strenuously.[right][snapback]64280[/snapback][/right]

I can understand where you're coming from completely and wish to avoid this as well. However the guild is growing by leaps and bounds and I don't wish to limit folks to not inviting their friends or people they have met in game. Requiring them to make themselves known at the Lurker Lounge before becomming a Lurker in the guild seems counter-intuitive to not being just another guild site. My feelings are that if they are a friend of a Lurker than they are a friend of mine. I certainly do point them to the site for discussion and strategy but it isn't in my something they are required to visit to keep playing with us.

It's here I don't understand.  What is the difference between these two groups and why does there need to be a distinction between them?  As I read it, the officer group has the additional ability to set the motd and promote people.  But if we can't trust a person to be able to handle the responsibilities that come with those abilities, then would you want to play with them?  If you don't trust them to be responsible members in the guild, then don't invite them into the guild in the first place.[right][snapback]64280[/snapback][/right]

My intention is for the Guild MOTD to be utilized to set up Guild dungeon and raid groups. It is also to be used to spread information that the entire guild needs to know, such as the cross-guild chat channel we share with the Basin. I do NOT want it to be used for "Eat at Joes" type of Spam. While I can't guarantee that it would be used for that purpose - just because I don't want people playing with the shiney toy does not mean I don't want to play with them. I also wish to avoid the problem of "vetting" people folks meet in the game based on a few encounters. We've already had some issues in regards to the sharing of loot, lack of understanding of what it means to be a Lurker (ie the person was not being entirely honorable in their play), etc. My hope is that rank will not be an issue at all that we will still remain a collection of friends playing a game we love and not a Guild. The idealistic side of me was hoping that folks would see it less as a change of structure but a shifting of responsibility from my shoulders to the shoulders of people inside the guild.

It's this differentiation between some "better" officer group and the general Lurker group that makes me queasy.  What is your justification for making this seperation?[right][snapback]64280[/snapback][/right]

There is no "better" group here. One has been asked to serve as mentor's, mediators and assist with guild events. The other has been asked to have fun in the game and continue to invite their friends and family as they have always done. There will be some from the latter who are asked to join the former but not as a distinction of "favor" but more to help me with the guild.

I see no difference between these two groups.  Both are new members whose only priviledges are being able to read and write to the guild chat.[right][snapback]64280[/snapback][/right]

There is no distinction between these two but I don't think that Blizzard's in game tools allow me to delete the rank. Or at least the last time I tried it wouldn't. I'll try again tonight since I was successful in deleting the joke rank "Sex Goddess".

Here, I agree strongly with LavCat.  If you feel a person is Lurker material, then that person should be encouraged to look at the website and become members of the forums.  That person should not be recruited into the "guild" first.  Only after the person joins and participates in the forums should they be encouraged to join the "guild."  Members of the "guild" should only be those Lurkers who are known quantities on the site and to a lesser extent close friends and family.  The focus of the Lurker Lounge is the website and forums -- not the individual "guilds" on the individual servers.
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You're sending me a mixed signal here Mongo. You want the emphasis to be upon the site and to keep guild issues seperate. Yet you want these folks to become known quantities on the forums before they can play in the guild. To me this seems like a step in the direction of the LL becoming yet another guild site. My intention with this rank system is handle guild issues on Stormrage in the game rather than on the forums.

Again, my intention with these ranks is not to add additional structure and make things inflexible but to keep the low-key friendly feeling we have shared since Beta while still having the means to protect the interests of the Lounge. The only "power" that was taken away was the ability to promote. If someone is a known quantitiy (say Ghostiger joins us on Stormrage) or a friend of a present Lurker (Roane invites a friend from DAoC) they will be promoted to full member. If someone is only known by a few folk from inside the game then they stay a Lounge Lizard until we know them well enough to promote to full member.