Post by Lady Severn on Mar 6, 2012 0:34:32 GMT -6
Originally posted on UOForums.com by Corvak.
The link for this post was sent to me a few years ago by a friend, and it's all around good advice. I thought I would share it here, and I'll make comments throughout the post explaining how this directly applies to NWJ and the leadership here.
DISCLAIMER: Guild management is very subjective! Everyone's opinion and preferred policies are different!
So you have a bunch of people, and you're fixing to create a guild. First step, is to have 25000 gold, and fill out the form in your paperdoll. You need a name and an abbreviation - Abbreviations are unique to the server and can contain four letters max. This is what is shown at the end of member's names, if their tags are turned on. The name can contain spaces, and I believe it is 25 characters maximum.
Unlike many MMOs, guilds are almost entirely player driven content in UO. The game provides you with a name, a tag, and a simple five tiered rank system.
As a rule, a player of a given rank can only be removed or have their title set by a player of a higher rank. The sole exception here is the Guild Master's title, which can be set by the guild master him/herself.
REMEMBER: Guild members can steal and attack in ALL facets, with no guards called. Be aware of this while recruiting, and remember to leave new members at Ronin for a period of time.
Guild Titles are a player created title shown under your name when your tag is toggled on.
Ronin: Entry rank. This rank is to provide increased security should you have issues with a new member.
It seems the game has changed a bit, and members can no longer kick ronins. In NWJ ronin is used to mark who our newer members are.
Member: Standard rank. The majority of your long time members should be here, people that you trust not to go on a PK frenzy within your membership when the officers and leader are offline.
Emissary: Officer rank. This rank should be limited to those who show leadership and who are trusted by the guild leader. This rank can add new members to the guild.
Emissary's make up the Ruling council of NWJ and are trusted to act as guild leader when I am not online. I will back my Emissary's fully.
Warlord: Officer rank. While higher than Emissary, Warlords may not kick members, recruit, or change titles. They along with the Guild Leader are the only ones able to declare war on another guild.
In NWJ Warlord is used to note the second in command
Guild Leader: Self explanatory. There can only be one character at the leader rank, and it is the only character that can promote to emissary, or change an emissary's title.
Many guilds use an entirely different rank system, via guild titles (especially RP guilds). You can also provide services to your guild members, such as accepting donations of armor/weapons/resources, or crafting items for free. These are all done outside of the guild system. Do not give anyone access to a box in your house unless you trust them!
=========
5 Steps for a drama-free guild.
1.- Have a good set of rules. While some may take a big list of rules as a sign of mistrust, it can assist greatly in deflating drama down the road. It gives you a document to refer back to should an argument ensue, if someone is breaking them. Keep them simple and easy to understand.
2.- Arm's Length! - Cannot stress this enough! Playing favorites as a guild leader or emissary is a recipe for inevitable drama. If you catch someone breaking rules, you cannot let one person get away, then kick another. Guild Leaders, you also cannot favor emissarys over others. Playing favourites is a recipe for an eventual splinter guild.
I mostly agree with this. While I fully agree one should not play favorites, it's not as easy to do as it sounds. And the longer you game with someone, the more you trust them, and a stronger friendship is formed.
That said, when ever there has been a disagreement, or issue, as long as all involved are willing to give their side, everyone will be listened to, and it is understood that we are all human, often with strong personal opinions and emotions, and that we all make mistakes, Emissary's and guild leaders included. And from there we move on, we don't hold on to the mistakes made.
3.- Trust - This is probably the biggest thing to look for in both emissarys and new members. The inability to trust your membership leads to their inability to trust you. Keep no secrets from your members, and keep your decision making out in the open, even if you don't run your guild democratically.
Yes and no again. It really depends on the situation. Anything pertaining directly to the guild and how it's run, I fully agree with that statement. In a situation where say two members have an issue, and work it out, well, it really isn't anyone else's business other than those two and any leaders involved in resolving it. There's a fine line between expressing an idea, or change, and finger pointing, and finger pointing can easily lead to the blame game. So it's something to be careful of.
In NWJ, As much as possible, complaints are dealt with directly, but not so much publicly. If a complaint or issue leads to a change in rules, or how we do things, this can easily be expressed in a generalized manner. But anyone who has any questions may ask the guild leader, warlord, or any emissary in private.
Also, for those who do not know, the Complaint/Praise section of the boards is accessible by any guest to the boards. Meaning you don't have to be logged in, making a post with your name, to post there. You may do so anonymously.
4.- Advice - Pride is not a virtue in Britannia, and it should not be one in real life. Be willing to accept advice from another member or even just from another person.
Now this I fully agree with. We will always listen to any suggestion or idea. May such ideas and suggestions have lead to our current rules and how things are done. However, just because we are willing to listen, does not mean that an idea or suggestion can always be used, and even if it can be used, it doesn't always mean we can make the change right away, it may take some time.
5.- Focus on the fun, not on the paperwork - If you let running your guild consume your time, you will get burnt out on UO, because you find you have to deal with questions and problems incessantly.
Okay, obviously I actually like the paperwork part of it....and after 6 years, haven't burnt out yet. But yes, for many, that is a valid point.
=====
Leadership Styles
Democratic - This can be hard to do, but will build trust between your members when done correctly. You must hold regular meetings, or provide a way to discuss changes within your rules such as a guild forum or website.
Monarchy - No, you can't be King But this basically means you run a guild as if you were. You make all the rules, and ask your emissarys for advice. Smart leaders accept advice from anywhere, however.
NWJ is actually a bit of both. For most things, it's a Monarchy, but everything is voted on by the council, guild leader, warlord, and emissary's. Though if the topic is large enough, or important enough, such as when we joined factions, and when we moved shards, the whole guild is consulted. And honestly, even if a matter was voted on by the council, if the guild as a whole, felt strongly enough against what was voted, unless there was a very good reason not to, we would change our vote.
Topics such as this are not only mentioned to players in game, at guild meetings, but often times voted on the boards, and it's the vote here that will count. And thus being signed up on the boards is so important. As a general rule, it's a good idea to at least check the boards once a week.
=======
Finally - should the worst happen - and some of your members cause drama and/or form their own guild - Bury the hatchet. Dwelling on drama just leads to less enjoyment of the game. Perhaps this is a good time to suggest an alliance. It will give you the same global chat channel, but still keep you separate. Drama takes away from everyone's fun and generally makes people not want to log in if it's persistent.
The worst does happen, and yes, you leave the past in the past, learn from your mistakes, and move on.
Hopethis helps explain NWJ some, and for any who form guilds in the future, may this help you as well!
The link for this post was sent to me a few years ago by a friend, and it's all around good advice. I thought I would share it here, and I'll make comments throughout the post explaining how this directly applies to NWJ and the leadership here.
DISCLAIMER: Guild management is very subjective! Everyone's opinion and preferred policies are different!
So you have a bunch of people, and you're fixing to create a guild. First step, is to have 25000 gold, and fill out the form in your paperdoll. You need a name and an abbreviation - Abbreviations are unique to the server and can contain four letters max. This is what is shown at the end of member's names, if their tags are turned on. The name can contain spaces, and I believe it is 25 characters maximum.
Unlike many MMOs, guilds are almost entirely player driven content in UO. The game provides you with a name, a tag, and a simple five tiered rank system.
As a rule, a player of a given rank can only be removed or have their title set by a player of a higher rank. The sole exception here is the Guild Master's title, which can be set by the guild master him/herself.
REMEMBER: Guild members can steal and attack in ALL facets, with no guards called. Be aware of this while recruiting, and remember to leave new members at Ronin for a period of time.
Guild Titles are a player created title shown under your name when your tag is toggled on.
Ronin: Entry rank. This rank is to provide increased security should you have issues with a new member.
It seems the game has changed a bit, and members can no longer kick ronins. In NWJ ronin is used to mark who our newer members are.
Member: Standard rank. The majority of your long time members should be here, people that you trust not to go on a PK frenzy within your membership when the officers and leader are offline.
Emissary: Officer rank. This rank should be limited to those who show leadership and who are trusted by the guild leader. This rank can add new members to the guild.
Emissary's make up the Ruling council of NWJ and are trusted to act as guild leader when I am not online. I will back my Emissary's fully.
Warlord: Officer rank. While higher than Emissary, Warlords may not kick members, recruit, or change titles. They along with the Guild Leader are the only ones able to declare war on another guild.
In NWJ Warlord is used to note the second in command
Guild Leader: Self explanatory. There can only be one character at the leader rank, and it is the only character that can promote to emissary, or change an emissary's title.
Many guilds use an entirely different rank system, via guild titles (especially RP guilds). You can also provide services to your guild members, such as accepting donations of armor/weapons/resources, or crafting items for free. These are all done outside of the guild system. Do not give anyone access to a box in your house unless you trust them!
=========
5 Steps for a drama-free guild.
1.- Have a good set of rules. While some may take a big list of rules as a sign of mistrust, it can assist greatly in deflating drama down the road. It gives you a document to refer back to should an argument ensue, if someone is breaking them. Keep them simple and easy to understand.
2.- Arm's Length! - Cannot stress this enough! Playing favorites as a guild leader or emissary is a recipe for inevitable drama. If you catch someone breaking rules, you cannot let one person get away, then kick another. Guild Leaders, you also cannot favor emissarys over others. Playing favourites is a recipe for an eventual splinter guild.
I mostly agree with this. While I fully agree one should not play favorites, it's not as easy to do as it sounds. And the longer you game with someone, the more you trust them, and a stronger friendship is formed.
That said, when ever there has been a disagreement, or issue, as long as all involved are willing to give their side, everyone will be listened to, and it is understood that we are all human, often with strong personal opinions and emotions, and that we all make mistakes, Emissary's and guild leaders included. And from there we move on, we don't hold on to the mistakes made.
3.- Trust - This is probably the biggest thing to look for in both emissarys and new members. The inability to trust your membership leads to their inability to trust you. Keep no secrets from your members, and keep your decision making out in the open, even if you don't run your guild democratically.
Yes and no again. It really depends on the situation. Anything pertaining directly to the guild and how it's run, I fully agree with that statement. In a situation where say two members have an issue, and work it out, well, it really isn't anyone else's business other than those two and any leaders involved in resolving it. There's a fine line between expressing an idea, or change, and finger pointing, and finger pointing can easily lead to the blame game. So it's something to be careful of.
In NWJ, As much as possible, complaints are dealt with directly, but not so much publicly. If a complaint or issue leads to a change in rules, or how we do things, this can easily be expressed in a generalized manner. But anyone who has any questions may ask the guild leader, warlord, or any emissary in private.
Also, for those who do not know, the Complaint/Praise section of the boards is accessible by any guest to the boards. Meaning you don't have to be logged in, making a post with your name, to post there. You may do so anonymously.
4.- Advice - Pride is not a virtue in Britannia, and it should not be one in real life. Be willing to accept advice from another member or even just from another person.
Now this I fully agree with. We will always listen to any suggestion or idea. May such ideas and suggestions have lead to our current rules and how things are done. However, just because we are willing to listen, does not mean that an idea or suggestion can always be used, and even if it can be used, it doesn't always mean we can make the change right away, it may take some time.
5.- Focus on the fun, not on the paperwork - If you let running your guild consume your time, you will get burnt out on UO, because you find you have to deal with questions and problems incessantly.
Okay, obviously I actually like the paperwork part of it....and after 6 years, haven't burnt out yet. But yes, for many, that is a valid point.
=====
Leadership Styles
Democratic - This can be hard to do, but will build trust between your members when done correctly. You must hold regular meetings, or provide a way to discuss changes within your rules such as a guild forum or website.
Monarchy - No, you can't be King But this basically means you run a guild as if you were. You make all the rules, and ask your emissarys for advice. Smart leaders accept advice from anywhere, however.
NWJ is actually a bit of both. For most things, it's a Monarchy, but everything is voted on by the council, guild leader, warlord, and emissary's. Though if the topic is large enough, or important enough, such as when we joined factions, and when we moved shards, the whole guild is consulted. And honestly, even if a matter was voted on by the council, if the guild as a whole, felt strongly enough against what was voted, unless there was a very good reason not to, we would change our vote.
Topics such as this are not only mentioned to players in game, at guild meetings, but often times voted on the boards, and it's the vote here that will count. And thus being signed up on the boards is so important. As a general rule, it's a good idea to at least check the boards once a week.
=======
Finally - should the worst happen - and some of your members cause drama and/or form their own guild - Bury the hatchet. Dwelling on drama just leads to less enjoyment of the game. Perhaps this is a good time to suggest an alliance. It will give you the same global chat channel, but still keep you separate. Drama takes away from everyone's fun and generally makes people not want to log in if it's persistent.
The worst does happen, and yes, you leave the past in the past, learn from your mistakes, and move on.
Hopethis helps explain NWJ some, and for any who form guilds in the future, may this help you as well!