Player Associations Archive
Thread: keeping guild members
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zygoat
Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:47 pm
#1
ok i have started and help start many guilds on alot of diffent servers. many have failed and many are still there to this day but on each one i have always had a problem keeping members even if we did have new events every week to keep people involved. every day we would have one player leave but two players join (on average) is it every guild that is like this if anyone has ideas to help me keep members it would be most of help thanks
-asakura- Bria server
TrevorVanth
Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:02 am
#2
It certainly can seem that way, sometimes.
In our previous guild, we had a fair number of members who kept requesting more guild events.
Except, when we'd schedule events...those members wouldn't show.
In my experience, it's ultimately the members who really enjoy one another's company who keep coming back, whether you schedule activities frequently or sporadically.
Kevin1514
Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:29 am
#3
Thats been my experience too for the last year. The people that complain the most and leave are the ones who never participate.
Rothin
Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:19 am
#4
The key to retaining members is not constant events, handing out weapons, armor, or credits. The key to keeping the members boils down to one word. Friendship. The goal of a good guild leader and a successful guild is to make all members feel welcome and important to the overall success of the guild. If you develop friendships with your members and encourage them to do the same with other members you make them feel closer and they'll want to stay together to enjoy the game much more. Once you have that foundation laid, then you make the guild more fun.
That isn't to say don't have events etc.. because those are the best way to get to know your other members and become their friend. By helping them out with tactics or just generally chatting, through events you'll know each other better and the bond will form. Then as you have more events you can invite non guild members to them, get to know them in the same manner and the retention rate in your guild will be a lot higher.
My guild has been going strong since pre-beta. Overall, we've only had maybe10 orso people out right quit and a few forcifully removed in over 18 months. The main way we've lost people is them leaving the game altogether, which is beyond the control of the guild itself. We've always kept the guild close, watched who we recruit to make sure they fit in with what we're about, and then make our friendships and the people stay and do the same. If you think about guilds on this level I think you'll find much more success. Just make sure you develop an overall goal for the guild and choose people who will help you work toward the goal to help build the foundation I mentioned above.
imodi
Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:23 am
#5
TrevorVanth wrote:
It certainly can seem that way, sometimes.
In our previous guild, we had a fair number of members who kept requesting more guild events.
Except, when we'd schedule events...those members wouldn't show.
In my experience, it's ultimately the members who really enjoy one another's company who keep coming back, whether you schedule activities frequently or sporadically.
I find this a lot, i have a core group of loyal members, the people that chat on guild chat, and enjoy each others company, those that don't get involved in the guild are generally the people that get bored and leave, to go be anti social in another guild 
Its not all about what events you can arrange, yes everyone likes something fun to do as a group, but this isn'tusually possible for all members to take part. Its the social group that holds it all together, everything else is easy.
imodi
Arg0nus
Fri Dec 31, 2004 11:51 am
#6
Rothin wrote:
The key to retaining members is not constant events, handing out weapons, armor, or credits. The key to keeping the members boils down to one word. Friendship.
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with this.
Bribes will only get you so far. To maintain a guild, you have to have common interests.
My guild started way back in 2003 before SWG was public. We started in Freelancer. There are still Ryders from those early days, because we became friends. The Ryders that joined in after I came to SWG, have also all become friends. I value all of my guild members, they arelike family.
We've had some people show up and join that didn't fit in, so they left. Or they just quit the game and never really became friends with the guild. We lost over 80 people this way. 
Oh well. The ones that remained are true friends. They've stuck by the guild thru thick and thin. We are a guild of friends. I talk to many of my guild members while I am at work. They keep me company when I am bored at work. lol
A lot of guilds don't seem to have built up friendships, and a lot of those guilds tend to fail. Build friendships, and you will build a strong guild.
If it wasn't for the fact that my guild has members from pretty much every continent (except Austrailia...for now) We'd all be hanging out even out of game.
Rothin
Fri Dec 31, 2004 11:59 am
#7
Just to continue on the friendship route, I've known some of the people in my guild for over 10 years and we've played many, many games together. The ones I've known that long I've even met in real life and we're friends there now as well. Not that I'm advocating go out and meet everyone in your guild, but it just goes to show that if you form a real friendship with someone even online it's going to make your guild much stronger.
Guilds are what keeps more people in games longer than content every could. Because of guilds and the creativity of individuals in those guilds, they supply their own content and make the best of what's available to them.
In my guild, we've had times where we didn't have a single guild event in 2 months and no one complained. There are times where we have a guild event every other day. It's the friendships that we have that keep everyone together. We have our 'core' group of friends and then some who are halfway social, but they still enjoy the company and they participate. I try to welcome all people and over time it has truly paid off. You get a bad apple every now and then but the closer knit your group is, the less it will effect it.
We've never offered incentives to join our guild, but once you are a member you find out that we always take care of each other when we can. I have several people who were concerned about our guild not having a Chef, or our Armorsmith who left the game and they've taken it upon themselves just to grind out those professions to make sure the guild is taken care of. Not because we're a guild or they need / want the credits, but because we're more like a family and want to help each other out. Most people in my guild don't even sell items, they just provide for the guild for free.
Everyone contributes so the system keeps working well. We've lost a lot of people who have quit the game. If we had retained all those we'd probably be at 300 people. But, by not being that large everyone can have better friendships. Being the largest guild or having the best 'loot' or being the most elite PvP guild doesn't make you the best. It's the people in it that make you the best.
Arg0nus
Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:03 pm
#8
Agreed, Roth.
Quality > Quantity by far...unless you want that <censored> shuttleport back, when your city is way out by Jabba's Palace and no quick way to get there unless you are a Privateer that is allowed to land at Jabba's Palace. lol
ExarVaughn
Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:29 pm
#9
You could hand out a free large house with 100k in maintenece, bags of sliced composite armor and weapons, free buffs, and loads of other freebies but at the end of the day, if they decide they like the freebies more than your group, they'll likely cut and run...
I've been to hell and back more times than I would like to remember, but the BEST people to have in your group are those who stand beside you because you are not a "toon", you are not "the great and almighty whatever".... you are their friend.
Friendship is basically what everything boils down to and to all those who consider me their friend, whether members of the NSO or not, I consider it an honor.
atytula
Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:16 pm
#10
Like Rothin says, if the members in your guilds create a bond of somekind, it makes it harder for them to leave the guild, because of what they are leaving behind. The only problem that you could face is a mass exidous of members (all friends of eachother) to form there own guild. My guild had this happen a year ago, but after about 8 months, they all changed there minds and at least 50% of them are back.
You will always see people leaving guilds, but unless we are talking about guilds of more then 200 players, having 1 leave a day means you are doing something wrong. I find in my PA of around 40 players, 1 will leave a month if that.
Now, before guild leaders say "What am I doing wrong to have so many people leave" understand that recruiting practices also define the leaving patterns. I find when I go out and recruit a bunch of random players I meet in the game, about 50% of them leave the guild within a few months (usually within a few weeks). If you employ the recruiting pattern of developing a friendship with the player then recruiting him, then he is most likely to stay, but your recruiting rate will be much slower. In the end, you will probably still end up with the same number of active players in the guild, just one way has a higher attrition rate.
Hakai
Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:02 pm
#11
well i can personally say that my guild is one of those "lifer" guilds.
The guild i helped found "Modern Chivlary" lived up to it's name last year.
When my mother passed away, one of they guys found out about it, and everyone pitched in to help me out in some way (either in game or RL). You wouldn't believe how many people paid up all of the maint of my ingame items becuase they knew i wouldn't think about it, and how many of them gave mea call to help me out when i needed it.
Right now, i really don't have much of a worry of any of us quitting the guild before quitting the game.
Focus on making your guild your family, and you won't have a problem.
(MoC stayed around 15 members for a year period, and didn't move up or down for a LOOOONG time).
Recently we've been recruiting more members due to personal referrals by members.
Message Edited by Hakai on 01-05-2005 04:04 AM
SlaveI
Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:16 pm
#12
great stories from all of you, is nice that on some levels it should be taken as more then just a game, is weird when i don't see a guildie online for a week and i start to worry whether or not they are ok, not something i am use to from playing online football but an experience I enjoy none the less. And as everyone has stated once you get the core group of players and become friends it does not matter if your guild has 1000 or 10, you stop caring about numbers and just enjoy the game more. I would say the 2 reasons i stay with swg the most or the potential it has and for the friends i have made, I have logged in only to stand in the middle of naboo doing nothing except chatting in guildchat for 6 hours and had more fun then running around doing missions or themeparks. cheers to all those who have found true friends in swg that stretch outside of the "online" gaming aspect.
but an experience I enjoy none the less. And as everyone has stated once you get the core group of players and become friends it does not matter if your guild has 1000 or 10, you stop caring about numbers and just enjoy the game more. I would say the 2 reasons i stay with swg the most or the potential it has and for the friends i have made, I have logged in only to stand in the middle of naboo doing nothing except chatting in guildchat for 6 hours and had more fun then running around doing missions or themeparks. cheers to all those who have found true friends in swg that stretch outside of the "online" gaming aspect.
kayber76
Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:21 am
#13
It's hard to please the majority but if your a family you tend to believe in your guild. We lost a lot of people in the past, the numbers dropped a lot. At first you start think what am I doing wrong? Then you realize your core people are still there you know your not really doing anything wrong. People come and go, new games are born, people get bored or changed factions. You just need to find yourself the loyal family memebers that stick around through thick and thin.
I would suggest just trying to talk to each person in your guild. See what they want, see what thier about. Just try to listen. Isn't much you can do really other then be a friend.
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