Creating Your Own Guild

[Eliza Creststeel]

Understand this - If you want to run a guild, be prepared to spend more time on, but less time actually playing. This is NOT a bad thing, if you're expecting to spend a little more time answering questions, making announcements, settling disputes etc.

My own philosophy for the ETC has been - as FEW rules as possible. That's not to say no guidelines. At some point, a charter was set down and agreed to by the officers. It simply stated our recruiting requirements, which are minimal and the method to promote.

For officers, as you grow - they will be come critical. You should NEVER promise a recruit an instant promotion (NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL THEY ARE!). I have several 20-30 level officers who run rings around some 35+ level members as far as getting the job done. The job IS earned because it does involve extra effort.

Officers are your reputation, your recruitment force, your mentors and teachers and the first members to respond to a member in need - CHOOSE THEM WISELY. You do NOT need 50% of your guild to be officers. The ETC runs at 10% (Around 30 for 300 pirates), but they are guys and gals I trust implicitly.

To stem the tide of players wanting promotion - we created a virtual promotion for active members by granting them invite codes. Who they bring to the guild and how they manage their recruits will determine if they become an officer. And we vote - I don't declare. Though I do nudge.

You can't be a dictator. But, you have to be the guiding force. If you just say, 'I don't know what do you guys want to do?' - you will get dozens of conflicting answers and nothing gets done. Give options, but you have the last say.

And think about WHY you want the extra headaches? Just like being a boss? Like having a support system? Like being social? For me - I truly love watching a crew work together to accomplish something big. Taking down bosses or plundering ships enmasse is something I still find thrilling about this game.

Lastly - just a suggestion to ease stress on you and your officers. We had a problem with members crying for help but only a handful officers were responding and feeling burdened. We created an Officer of the Watch system. Like being on patrol duty, officers rotate being the first response for help or recruiting. They only do it for a short while, but it frees up others to actually be able to play - guilt-free and no one gets overworked.

[Captain Del]

The success of your guild isn't determined by what some if not many people believe in. A successful guild isn't a guild with the most members, it isn't a guild thats on the leaderboards every day, its not a guild that can be called part of the, "in-crowd." Now, I'm not saying these aren't good things, but it requires more than that to be a good guild.

First of, the Guildmaster. Being a Guildmaster is NOT an easy job, I can tell you that. But with its hardships, comes its many rewards. I applaud any and every Guildmaster that has ever sailed these seas, because only they can know how hard it is.

To be a good Guildmaster, first of all, you need to be able to handle stress. When your a Guildmaster, especially when your guild is starting out, you will have to deal with alot of trial and error on how your going to run your guild. Just remember, no matter what may happen, you need to keep your head up high and keep sailing towards that horizon.

Next, you need to make sure you are very delicate on how you treat your Officers and Members, as well as selecting them. I'll tell you this once, and this is very important. You NEED to make sure you completely, 100%, without a doubt trust every single one of your Officers. You NEVER want to rush somebody into Officership, no matter what level they are, how long you've known them, etc. The only exception that comes to mind is unless you are transfering members from and old guild, and you want the old members to keep their previous positions. If you automatically give somebody the role of Officer, the outcome could be disasterous. Also, you need to make sure your Officers can always set a good example for the guild, as well as uphold it in the Guildmaster's abscence. If something happens, and the Guildmaster is not present, the you need to make sure the Officers will be ready to act in your place. Your Officers are your backbone. They not only are there to aid the Members, and the guild, but the Guildmaster themself. They are you advisors. They are your support system. They are part of your team, and they all serve and extremely vital role.

Also, about the members. You need to make sure you treat every single one of your members with respect, dignity, and equality. You can't run a guild where a certain group of members can do this, but other can't just because you don't like them. No, that doesn't work. You need to make every single member as though they feel at home. Be their friend, help them if they need help, be there for them.

Next, we come to leadership. You need to show you are able to run your guild, yet your NOT power-mad. Be firm like a rock, yet soft like a pillow. Be wise like an elder, yet look for information, like a humble student. Instead of trying to lead the guild by yourself, and make all the decisions, why not try to look for advice, suggestions, etc. from your Officers? In PNC, and the old PIC, every once in a while we would have guild meetings where all the members, Officers, and Guildmaster could come together to talk about the guild, take in suggestions, etc. Also, in PNC, we have meetings that are Officers only, and then the Circle of Trust. Those are the kind of meetings where we share information and talk about topics that are very delicate, and require alot of discussion before we vote on them. What I'm saying is, you need to make sure you have grip on your guild where you still have a firm grip where everything is under control, yet not so much pressure as that you have absolute control.

And my last point.... make sure the guild is, of all things, fun for all! Try to make it where ever so often you have parties, events, etc. Make your guild fun, play games with the members in your spare time, try to get everyone involved. Always show your ready to have fun, and your guildmates will look foward to coming online.

Be strong, yet be sensitive. Be firm, yet be soft. Be a leader, yet be a citizen. Be hard-working, yet be fun-loving. Be proud to be a Guildmaster, and always look foward to the adventures which lie on the horizon.

[furballbuckeyes3114]

When I founded Raging Redhawks, it was so nerveracking in this hard of times ( for guilds ) My steps for a successful guild:

Not EVERYONE has to be good, but usually everyone needs help.
If you are just trying to have a bunch of basic people for numbers, it doesnt work.
Dont make everyone an officer. Take time to get to know them first
You ARE the leader, however this should not be used in a '' You have to listen to me '' form
People will look to you first for advice and help usually.
Dont neccissarily have a '' purpose '' for the guild. SvS and Pvp guilds are strictly that.
Dont be too strict on rules

[Captain Charles]

1.When I was a GuildMaster of a guild (2 times) in order to get members to start out with I created lots of accounts where most or all of my pirates on that account will be in the guild. (Short story, make all of your pirates in your guild)

2. Make good rules that everyone can follow. If you have good rules, your guild will be good and more people will be nicer so then after people who are not in a guild when they want to join they understand that they have rules to follow and if they break them they could get out. (Use the 3 strikes your out thing. If people break a rule more than 3 times they should be kicked out. First one is a warning, second one is another warning (be careful you're in the danger zone of getting kicked out). And finally if they break one more which is the 3rd they get kicked out. No member has to stay in the guild, it is a privilege to be in one.)

3. At the beginning (the first couple of days) you should make everyone an officer. But before you make them an officer you have to let them be in the guild at least 1 day or a couple hours to prove that they can handle the rules and be nice.

4. After a couple of days (I'd say a week) you can stop making everyone an officer. This helps draw more attention to the guild and it can get you more members if a lot of people are an officer and then you have some members because then the members of that guild will tell their friends and then the officers will guild them.

5. Create guild ranks such as Co. Guild Master, First Mate or Officer, something like that. No pirate can be the best rank right away unless it is the guildmaster. They have to go their way up.

6. Stay in your guild. If you stay in your guild more pirates and get your guild more popular. If you stay in your guild you could create a Section on here or you could create a website. (I say you should do both if your guild is a sucess, and you want it to be really more popular.)

7. Stay connected. Keep in touch with your friends that are in the guild and keep in touch with ones outside. If you do that you will get even more guild mates! So that means more popular and lets say just a little more work.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm not saying this all will work. But I am hoping that most of it can work. Sadly the 2 guilds that I have managed have not been able to stay long. But, I am going to create a new guild soon so then there will be alot more pirates that I will get to know.

Hope this helps!!!!!

~ Charles

[William ORoberts]

This isn't much of advice, just a comment, anybody that's never had a guild that is very active, has NO idea how many people want to talk to you and need something. Whenever I log inn the chat looks like this:
hi will
Hey William
Will can you tp?
Can I tp?
William, come here
Ahoy will

Sometimes it almost makes me regret installing the ask before teleporting rule, as people always want to teleport to me. Just remember a s a guildmaster, you are likely to get these things, and as a member, be patient with your gm, as he or she probably has a dozen people wanting to talk to him or her.

[Countainer7b]

"If you are just trying to have a bunch of basic people for numbers, it doesnt work."

I disagree my guild is almost entierly basic 60 members and and at least 4 on at a time. Not all basic members log on once and then never log on again I have lvl 12-14 members maxed out on lvl for all weapons (lvl 7 for basic) that can take on anything and live. They als do a good job as officers so stop insulting basic members.

[Sven Osymthe]

"If you are just trying to have a bunch of basic people for numbers, it doesnt work."

I disagree my guild is almost entierly basic 60 members and and at least 4 on at a time. Not all basic members log on once and then never log on again I have lvl 12-14 members maxed out on lvl for all weapons (lvl 7 for basic) that can take on anything and live. They als do a good job as officers so stop insulting basic members.

The post said "for numbers". That means, don't go out there recruiting tons of basic members just because you want your guild to be larger. Not all of them go inactive, and some even upgrade to unlimited. That still doesn't change the fact that they are people too, and shouldn't be used just to up the total number of members in your guild. Recruiting a lot of members to play the game with is one thing, recruiting members just to up your total is completely different.

The quality of the member (basic or unlimited) is always better than the quantity.

[JM Ohara]

Here's something I learned as just a member. For a guild to really work well all members should ideally be at least semi harmonious, if even if not always agreeing about things. Let's face it, we are all different, we won't always agree on everything. It's ok to disagree at times. But out and out unintentional or worse, deliberate dissension can break any guild, no matter the size. Members have to be able to get along. If they don't, your guild is just not gonna make it.

From an officer standpoint, while I haven't been an officer in a large guild very long at all, I have picked up a few important things. Being an officer isn't about the title, or the supposed power. It's about helping your guild work as a cohesive whole. It's about helping your fellow guildmates, and supporting your GM. It's not a power role. It's a supporting role. It's not being Batman. It's not even being Robin. It's being Alfred, back at home, making sure Batman and Robin have everything they need.

On your officers. They should be people you trust to run things while you are not there. People who will do the right thing. People who will tell you when something isn't right, and work to make it better. Don't constantly undermind or overrule them. They are your right hand men and women. Respect them, or you could end up with a very big problem. Know that sometimes they will come to you with things that you need to handle as GM, and you need to be willing to make the lousy call.

Being a GM isn't really about power. It's not about getting to be the boss. If you take the I'm your GM I'm the boss track, you will drive people away after a while. A good GM listens not only to their officers, but to their members in general. They are willing to take suggestions, and to make changes if someone comes up with a really good one. I've seen this in action. You know you've got a good GM when he pays attention to what all of his guild members say. Just making arbitrary rules to suit you isn't a great way to build a guild.

A solid guild isn't built on a million rules. I think We Are The Night has like 4. You have to be an adult, you have to ask to tp, you have to be willing to help and be helped, and you have to follow D rules. See, I'm just a GM, that's all. I tell my new guildmates, I am not your mother. I will not tell you what you can and can't do. I will not tell you what you can and cannot say in chat (hence being adults only). I am not here to hold your hand. I'm here have fun, and to help others have fun as well.

One last thing. Being a GM is, as some have said, a massive time commitment. Sure, there are times RL takes over all of us. That's the way it should be. Pirates is just a game. RL should come first. If you aren't in RL complications, you need to put in the time to be on. And not just hop on go AFK, or go off on your own little projects. An absentee GM is no GM at all. If you make a guild you need to be willing to see it through.

And that's my 2 (ok maybe 8 or 10) pieces of 8 for the day.

[Jose HookHound]

thnx for these good tips guys and gals i hope with these my guild can become a successful one

[Countainer7b]

I know what he ment but for the record could people say people instead of basic members we were all basic members at one point so stop insulting them.

[thedixielilly]

I'm guild master of Skully's Xbones. When we started the guild, we said you did not have to ask to teleport to someone, but did so at your own risk.

Well recently as soon as some of the officers logged on, we were bombarded with people teleporting to us. Even in the middle of officer's meetings they would teleport after being told we would be in a meeting.

The officers and I finally implemented the asking for permission to teleport rule. Some of the younger players tell us we are being mean.

We are finding we are spending all our time reviving people because they have teleported to us and are much lower level.

I would love to hear what other guild masters have in place and how they deal with this.


Skully

[William ORoberts]

Originally Posted by thedixielilly

I'm guild master of Skully's Xbones. When we started the guild, we said you did not have to ask to teleport to someone, but did so at your own risk.

Well recently as soon as some of the officers logged on, we were bombarded with people teleporting to us. Even in the middle of officer's meetings they would teleport after being told we would be in a meeting.

The officers and I finally implemented the asking for permission to teleport rule. Some of the younger players tell us we are being mean.

We are finding we are spending all our time reviving people because they have teleported to us and are much lower level.

I would love to hear what other guild masters have in place and how they deal with this.


Skully

This happens to East India Republic all the time, although we also have an ask before you teleport rule. Whenever someone does not ask and they have been told before, what I do is in guild chat, say "BOB PLEASE ASKBEFORE TELEPORTING" this will usually stop them from doing it. And if you have a bunch of people teleporting, but only one person asks, I usually say in guild chat "why yes, Joe, you may tp, thank you for asking!" That will usually make them listen.

Next is, if they do tp, I usually just ask them nicely to leave. That usually works and if not, I usually let them stay. If we are fighting enemies too high for them, most likely we have a bunch of lower levels with us too, so with teamwork, they don't get knocked out too often. When they do get knocked out, I revive them, and hint that they shouldn't be there. The next time they KO, i do the same, but the third time I will just tell them that this place may be too high level for them, and I can't revive them anymore. It usually doesn't resort to that in my guild, because when one lower level is fighting with us, usually we have quite a few, so they revive eqchother before I get a chance.

Now about problem teleporters. I have two people in the guild that have some sort of problem with the teleport rule. The first one is obvious, a person who just won't ask before he teleports. I ask him time and time again using the methods I listed in the first paragraph, but he never ever stops not asking before he teleports. I have considered kicking him from the guild, but i don't want to have to do that for such a wee little crime. Whic brings me to my next problem teleporter. This one, just questions the ask before you teleport rule in general. He thinks it is stupid, why would you have to ask before you teleport? He has obviously never been a guildmaster of a larger guild before. Anybody ha e suggestions as o what to tel him, why it is important to ask before you teleport?

Those there are my experiences and suggestions for the ask before you teleport rule. I can wait to hear from other guildmasters about this.

[Dog Firestack]

This is one of my quotes for guilds:

It's not the quantity but the quality.

[Sven Osymthe]

Originally Posted by Countainer7b

I know what he ment but for the record could people say people instead of basic members we were all basic members at one point so stop insulting them.

Calling people "basic members" isn't really an insult. Is that not what they are in the game? If you are talking to a single person who is basic, and call them by "basic member", yes, that can be insulting. But when you are talking about a broad majority, you use a simpler term, in this case, basic members.

That being said, recruiting anyone for quantity is not the way to go, as it will more than likely lead to an unsuccessful guild. Not to mention it's insulting to use a member just to increase the total number of members in your (in general) guild. Recruiting for quality though is better for both the guild and the member.

[JM Ohara]

Originally Posted by William ORoberts

Now about problem teleporters. I have two people in the guild that have some sort of problem with the teleport rule. The first one is obvious, a person who just won't ask before he teleports. I ask him time and time again using the methods I listed in the first paragraph, but he never ever stops not asking before he teleports. I have considered kicking him from the guild, but i don't want to have to do that for such a wee little crime. Whic brings me to my next problem teleporter. This one, just questions the ask before you teleport rule in general. He thinks it is stupid, why would you have to ask before you teleport? He has obviously never been a guildmaster of a larger guild before. Anybody ha e suggestions as o what to tel him, why it is important to ask before you teleport?

I have yet to encounter a serious problem tper as GM. I have seen one or two just random tpers in general as an officer. Almost every time a simple whispered "please ask to tp" does wonders. For your particular random tper who won't ask but has been reminded, there are really just 2 solutions. You can let him stay in guild and put up with the random tps. Or you can boot him. Personally, I would boot the person. Random tping isn't really a little thing. For a high level pirate it doesn't create the possible ko'd situation. But it is in a way an invasion of privacy. You don't know what the person you are tping to is up to. As you said they could be in officer meetings. They could be with out of guild friends. The could just be somewhere they want to be alone. I take random tps very seriously. If I had a repeat offender despite my guild rule against it, I wouldn't hesitate to show them the door.

As for the person who questions the tp rule, that one is a little iffier. I would say that as GM you need to have a serious (private) discussion with this person. Explain your stance on the tp rule. Let them know that it is just plain polite to ask before suddenly appearing. If it is someone who was there before the ask to tp rule was implemented, ask them how they would have felt having someone random tp into an important meeting. Gently remind them that you are in fact GM, and you and your officers all agreed to this rule. I doubt you can change the person's feelings on this. But they need to know that they cannot be allowed to constantly debate guild rules. This can lead to problems with other members. If this person of yours has such a huge problem with a rule instituted with good reason, ask them if they think they are in the right guild for them. With this person as well, were they in my guild I would have pretty much exactly that chat with them, warning them gently that I will not put up with open protest of guild rules. I would tell them that the next time they start going on against a guild rule they are gone. It's just not good for any guild to have members who believe they know better than the officers and the GM making broad statements that could create an argument. If this person of yours insists on being a consistent disruption then you have to ask yourself if they are really a worthwhile guild member.

Both of those instances are what I meant earlier about having to make the hard choices. Sometimes you have to let an otherwise decent player go because they can't follow guild rules. It doesn't matter how nice the person is otherwise, it's just not a good idea to allow anyone to circumvent your guilds rules. Sometimes you have to remove one guild member for the sake of the guild as a whole. It's not easy, but sometimes it just has to be done.