Player Associations Archive

Greetings all,

Well, our guild leader has unfortunately been offline for quite awhile, and it looks like I'll be taking over via 'Set Alligience.' My thanks to all the recent posters who answered all my questions regarding this particular function, and the FAQ stickyed(sp?) at the top helping me with the mechanics of running a guild.

What I'd like to know is, what are some of the usual problems that are encountered, what are some of the ways to promote unity within the guild, what are some activities veteran guild leaders have found popular...basically, the intangibles, the thingsyou don't discover until you'vebeen a guild leader. SWG is my first MMORPG, and this will be my first time at the reins of a PA. Any advice, warnings, things to look out for, ANYTHING you can think of that you wish you knew when you started running a guild would be very appreciated.

My thanks.

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I'm a player who plays.
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--Stern Synex-- --Master Commando-- --IDI Forces----Proud Commando of 42 Months-- --Last Commando Correspondent--
We fear no enemy...we are the few, the proud, and the brave. We are, Commando!
Pyro Games

Argh, I had typed a huge list of suggestions when the forums went down. I'll try to keep it to some general phrases...

Know your purpose - What is the guild about? Think on this topic and write a mission statement, even if you don't share it with anyone (though it is probably a good idea). This can help guide youthrough all of the situations you face.

A guild that is not growing is shrinking - Make sure to give some serious thought to recruitment policy, and be willing to revise the policy as needed for the health of the guild.

Leader burnout is a guild killer - Ifit is starting to feel like "100% work, 0%) fun then its time to delegate. What is something you do often that you think another member could handle? Give another member the responsibility, and a title to go with it.

Don't promote/give titles without giving responsibilities - If a titledoesn't mean anything then everyone will want it and no one will respect it.

You'll get lots of advice so I'll limit mine.

The hardest part is getting to know your guild culture. I discoveredpainfully that my guild likes me to have a calendar of events. This does not mean they will showup for said events,but they like to have a consistent schedule. All initiations and promotions done this day, all money hunts done this day, all city business done this day. They like consistency.

This does not work for every guild but it has really helped mine.

Also, a message board or website for two-way communication has been invaluable for us. We're largely working adults with outside interests, so it's nice for us to check the message boards rather than having to go ingame to find out what's happening.

Good luck.

You can't please everyone all the time. Don't drive yourself crazy.

Having one or two people that are responsible underneath you is a big bonus. They can hold weekly guild events, and organize raids to keep things interresting without you having to do all the work.

HAVE FUN.

Juliya/Pwned

Biggest piece of advice is don't try and go it alone - and get some good friends in the guild to be official helpers, councillors or whatever now before the members get used to relying on you for everything.

Don't be afraid to kick troublemakers.

Keep a close eye on your galaxy forums.

Try not to get so bogged down that you don't have time to be active in /gu.

Be very careful about recruitment.