Changes to the Stormrage Guild system

[Tal]

Not really.  Within the "guilds," there should be little or no seperation between the players, because all players within the "guilds" should be trusted to begin with.  The in-game "guilds" should not be the means by which we recruit new people.  People in these "guilds" are walking advertisements for the Lurker Lounge, so those wearing the banner of the Lurker Lounge should already be known quantities.  We should not need an in-game initiation process, since that vetting should have happened before the person was invited into the "guild."[right][snapback]64296[/snapback][/right]

This would cut 90% of the Stormrage guild population as folks have invited family and friends to join. For the most part these people are great and welcome additions to the guild. But by the same token we have some folk who post on the lounge that I wouldn't necessarily say are good "Lurkers". They don't exhibit the spirit of fun-loving, sharing, legit and honorable play that exists in the Stormrage Guild. I'd much rather folks feel comfortable inviting their friends to the Guild and encouraging them to read the forums than make it a requirement. My way seems less restrictive than yours in this case.

It's one of those "you know it when you see it" things.  Basically, if you feel you can trust that the person can be trusted with the responsibilities of being a "Lurkers" person, then they should be allowed to join.  If one doesn't trust the person enough to do that, then they shouldn't be invited.  If Tal feels that a subset of people in the guild are best able to judge who can be so trusted, then I'll be willing to go along with that.[right][snapback]64296[/snapback][/right]

This is moving far beyond my thoughts on these ranks. Lurkers are presently trusted to invite friends and family and folk they think would make fine additions to the guild. Our "officers" are intended to be mentors on how the game is played, assist if there are disputes between Lurker members, and help set up Guild Events. They also may promote unknowns to full members if they feel that the person has proven to be "Lurker" material. It would be great to remain as we were in Beta, just folks from the Lounge meeting in game for fun, but reality has intervened and we need to be proactive to retain our reputation as a fun, legit, group of good players.

The Lurker Lounge is not a guild.[right][snapback]64296[/snapback][/right]

No but its members have formed a guild on Stormrage and have invited their friends. Asking someone to post regularly on the boards as a vetting process just adds noise to the signal in my opinion. We have quite a few folk who play regularly in the guild that have been long time lurkers with a handful of posts to their name. We have some Lurkers who read the site now that they know of its existence who never (or very infrequently) post. We're losing sight of what the "Lurker" part of the name means in this discussion.

There is no right or priviledge to being in a Lurker Lounge in-game "guild."  There is, however, a responsibility that comes with being a part of a Lurker Lounge in-game "guild" in that one becomes a walking advertisement for the website, The Lurker Lounge.  As the designated WoW site administrator for the Lurker Lounge, I feel that it is reasonable to ask that those who advertise and represent the Lurker Lounge in-game be active members of the Lurker Lounge -- whether by being active posters or by just being active readers of the site.  You seem caught in a guild mentality, which is likely where your confusion comes from, so let me use the Amazon Basin (guild website) vs Lurker Lounge (non-guild strategy website) comparison:

Amazon Basin:  The focus is on the in-game guilds -- membership of those guilds, interaction within those guilds, and events planned within those guilds.  The website is designed to support and foster better communication within those in-game guilds.

Lurker Lounge:  The focus is on the website and forums -- the strategy guides, game news, game formulae, general venting and game discussion.  The in-game "guilds" are designed to support the website in that they help people who come to the website and forums find each other in-game.[right][snapback]64296[/snapback][/right]

It is very difficult to determine if someone is reading the site on a regular basis and I 'd rather stay away from the idea of letting someone be a walking advertisement for the Lurker Lounge based on the fact that they have registered for an account. After all we still have folks who register simply to ask for maphack, make trade threads or post pictures of Tub Girl. I also don't want some of our folk to leave because their friends don't post on the lounge and therefore are not able to be part of the guild. My reason for these changes is precisely to maintain the standards of the Lounge without making the Lurker Lounge a guild website.

So, the answer to your question of what to do if you find a great player you enjoy partying with is to do what I do:  Add that person to your friends list, and invite that person to group with you often.  My friends list is filled with people like this.  It has to be, since Bolty scared off most Lurkers from trying out the PvP server (j/k).  You can even let that person know about this great site called the Lurker Lounge that you love so much that you walk around with a banner over your head proclaiming your fondness for it.[right][snapback]64296[/snapback][/right]

My friends list is also full of good folk that I have grouped with. Only a few have I grouped with often enough to make me consider extending an invite to them. Asking them to read the Lurker Lounge prior to being guilded seems coutner productive to the idea of the Lurker Lounge being more than a guild website. I'd much rather point them to the site while making them a Lounge Lizard and encouraging them to post strategies, questions, game findings here.

But it would be wholely inappropriate to have a person who is not in any way participating in the Lurker Lounge -- even by just being a passive Lurker -- to walk around with that same banner over his or her head.  It's not a matter of being snobby.  In fact, I strongly encourage all Lurkers to branch out and meet new people.  I wish well on all those who join official guilds, and I frequently repeat the mantra that we welcome players of all guilds to join in the discussion here.  However, I do not feel that it is appropriate for a person to represent the Lurker Lounge in-game, when the person is not in fact not a member or participant of the Lurker Lounge.
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If we followed these statements I would have to turn out a majority of the Guild. I'd rather keep to the present means by playing with these folk and encouraging them to read and post on the forums. My intentions with my "changes" is to preserve the idea that the Lurker Lounge is not a guild but still allowing folks to represent the Lounge in game through honorable play thereby bringing more people to the site to read strategy, game mechanics, etc.