Player Associations Archive
Thread: Guild Advice
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Clajo
Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:22 pm
#1
Hey guys, I am considereing starting a guild and I wanted some feedback from you about my thoughts before beginning.
Basically, I want to know if more requirements than faction or living in a guild city tendto have a hidden (or not so hidden)positive effect.
In a way, my friend and I thought it would be a nice experiment. Since we both come from several guilds that have failed and consequently those guilds had no requirement other than being of a specific faction or living in the guild city. Only later did those guilds try to introduce new ideas and requirements, which of course didn't set well with some current members which escalated to complaining about other issues--a domino effect of negativity spread and resulted in total breakdown.
As an example, I often have seen members of the guild <TKO> on the Bria server wearing orange colors. This is aguild that seems to have been around for a while and I'm sure there areothers. Also I have heard of the guild <LFD> having guard duties and such for new recruits. As another example, I participate in PvP a fair amount of the time and have noticed that <LFD> is quite organized and can gather numbers for a counterstrike on rebels relatively quickly. That guild has also been around for a while. We were discussing the effectiveness of various requirements and how they effect the longevity and functionality of a guild and decided to start with something as simple as appearance.
The way I see it is, I want members to enjoy being part of the team, and teams have uniforms and guidlines. I want them to "want" to do these things for the pride of the guild. Of course above all else I want the guild to be based on friendship and I think having people who are less negative about this-or-that and willing to adhere to the requirements will be more "easy going" and contribute to everyone getting along and wanting to stay in the guild.
What are your thoughts?
Clajo
Adrir
Sun Feb 06, 2005 11:11 am
#2
From my experience in player associations, I can tell you that the more compact, regulated and active your guild is, the more successful it will become.
Before you commit to anything, I would reccomend asking yourself:
Why do you want to run a guild?
What do you intend to get out of it?
Why should you be the leader?
Once you've got this in perspective, you can create the foundation of the guild with a degree of clarity, and with this, plan a strategy as to how your guild is going to operate. Write everything down and make sure it makes sense and is easily understandable.
It is critical that all members know exactly what the guild is about!
I would also reccomend that you do not organise meetings or form a democratic system. Spending hours in discussion, or boaring people with instruction, is not much fun and will eventually lead to discontent. While in its infancy, decide everything yourself or with your friends (co-founders). As it starts to flourish, maybe then setup a small council if thats what you want. Always remember to listen to your guild members, they can give you good advice and will be very informative, but dont be afraid to give in to dominating individuals or say "this guild isn't really for you" if they have too many problems.
Before you commit to anything, I would reccomend asking yourself:
Why do you want to run a guild?
What do you intend to get out of it?
Why should you be the leader?
Once you've got this in perspective, you can create the foundation of the guild with a degree of clarity, and with this, plan a strategy as to how your guild is going to operate. Write everything down and make sure it makes sense and is easily understandable.
It is critical that all members know exactly what the guild is about!
I would also reccomend that you do not organise meetings or form a democratic system. Spending hours in discussion, or boaring people with instruction, is not much fun and will eventually lead to discontent. While in its infancy, decide everything yourself or with your friends (co-founders). As it starts to flourish, maybe then setup a small council if thats what you want. Always remember to listen to your guild members, they can give you good advice and will be very informative, but dont be afraid to give in to dominating individuals or say "this guild isn't really for you" if they have too many problems.
TrevorVanth
Sun Feb 06, 2005 1:24 pm
#3
We've got "expectations" and requirements.
"Expectations" are conditions that we request, but don't require.
Our expectations are:
- Have fun
- Contribute dues as able to maintain hall upkeep (less of an issue, when a member who left the game donated 1 million creds to hall upkeep before going...at last check, we're still good for about 480 days).
- During all official guild representation, wear our colors (blue/white or blue/black).
- Check our web site regularly.
Our requirements are:
- faction
- citizenship in our "home town"
- abide by our Code of Conduct (basically, don't be a jerk, don't rip off our clients, and abide by SOE's TOS)
- when asked (and have available lots), place a harvester/factory/etc. on behalf of the guild, to keep our artisans in resources (haven't had to invoke this one yet...the same member who donated our maintenance also donated a great many resources)
- attendance at guild meetings (or advance notice that you won't be able to attend)
- have fun (yeah...it's a requirement, too :smileywink
So far, we haven't had any problems, and the requirements aren't so strict as to strangle the fun out. As we grow, they may become a bit tighter, and we've also got an evaluation system in place to implement when the time is right. Although, my Executive Board and I are considering making updating of member dossiers on the web site a requirement, as they help in scheduling meetings/events and organizing guild hunts, missions and jobs.
Message Edited by TrevorVanth on 02-06-2005 02:26 AM
Mercerian
Sun Feb 06, 2005 1:36 pm
#4
A good way to keep the guild activety up is by having a hunt/overt raid/tournament/race every week or month. This gives the players something to look forward to in which they can show the rest of the guild their skills.
masterbahumet
Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:44 pm
#5
this might look a little bold but these rules have held our guild together strong on bria server. Its about the best advice i can give you. I came here to SWG in august after leaving a game that got closed called earth and beyond. I was a guildleader there and we used these simple rules and it has worked well.
GUILD RULES:
1) No fighting or starting fights on chat or amongst members. you will be kicked out no questions asked with no hard feelings. We are here for fun.Arguing and starting trouble on guildchat channel is unacceptable due to the fact that it disturbs other members that are busy communicating, learning or doing missionswith others.....(OUR GUILD GOLDEN RULE)
2) be resourceful and independant and help each other whenever you can and just have fun and take part in the growth of the guild as a whole. its all for fun.
CONTACT:CALAZUREvia in-game email if interested.
P.S.
we arent making any special offers, only offering a guild for players to get together and have lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!! At (MIDCO) we view the act of having to give away things to new members to get them to join us is really not worth it because players only then expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Although, Ido spend the majority of my time teaching new members things to help them get established in the game. Also you will find that the majority of our members are friendly and just real fun to play with.
Calazure
Founder Midnight Coaition Guild
Master commando
Colonel of the Rebel Army
Bria
masterbahumet
Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:57 pm
#6
Adrir wrote:
From my experience in player associations, I can tell you that the more compact, regulated and active your guild is, the more successful it will become.
Before you commit to anything, I would reccomend asking yourself:
Why do you want to run a guild?
What do you intend to get out of it?
Why should you be the leader?
Once you've got this in perspective, you can create the foundation of the guild with a degree of clarity, and with this, plan a strategy as to how your guild is going to operate. Write everything down and make sure it makes sense and is easily understandable.
It is critical that all members know exactly what the guild is about!
I would also reccomend that you do not organise meetings or form a democratic system. Spending hours in discussion, or boaring people with instruction, is not much fun and will eventually lead to discontent. While in its infancy, decide everything yourself or with your friends (co-founders). As it starts to flourish, maybe then setup a small council if thats what you want. Always remember to listen to your guild members, they can give you good advice and will be very informative, but dont be afraid to give in to dominating individuals or say "this guild isn't really for you" if they have too many problems.
Very nice post!!! also be careful not to make to many demands or expected things for the guild i have found that if you put too many demands on the players it will take away from their overall game enjoyment. Keeping it simple stupid will help you more than anything but at the same time have a goal and meaning about your guild like what is posted here above. also you can create a free forum for your guild at http://s7.invisionfree.com. thats a good thing to have to discuss things outside of the game about the guild or just genral suggestions of improvement etc. Next problem you are going to have is probably the fact that your guild will likely get infiltrated by other guilds of opposite faction so that they can take over all your good works or simply tear your guild apart from the inside. I have seen this happen to 3 guilds on bria server. the very first thing that will happen is they will mangae to slip a charcter into your guild to start fights etc. So keep that in mind. It will also help you to not be the sole leader of your guild and have goodfriends you know you can trust to help delgate tasks too also.. For instace: one person be leader of the pvp group, one person be leader over the artisans, and so on. superfy and simplify.
Calazure
Founder Midnight Coaition Guild
Bria
Clajo
Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:30 pm
#7
Thanks for all the helpful advice. I feel more confident now about what I need to keep in mind.
Clajo
Boscohark
Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:14 pm
#8
I would add to all the above the following:
1) Pick good people: quality over quantity helps immensely.
2) Encourage communiccation: Make sure people are free and willing to talk on guild chat, or teamspeak or ventrillo. This makes the game more fun as you are grinding away.
3) Events: either planned or spontaneous. Getting people involved in group endevours is great.
4) Communication from Leadership: Let the membership no what you are doing. Keep in personal touch if you can.
5) Respect: Always the guideline. Even if there is a dispute, treat each other with respect.
6) Willingness to work. Find people that are willing to pitch in and help and are not just looking for a handout.Also realize as a leader it will take work on your part to keep the guild running. Guilds with absentee leaders can have problems.
I just became one of the leaders of my guild and am experiencing some of the joys and frustrations first hand. But the joys far outweight the frustrations in my mind.
Cheers!
UJA
Thu Feb 24, 2005 6:26 am
#9
well it sounds good but remember not to be too demanding. but heck just have fun.
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