Expectations

Originally written by Talmud

I feel it behooves me, in light of feedback I have been receiving, to clarify the stance that the Guild of Mages takes in reference to its members and new applicants. For those of you who have characters in many Guilds/Orders, this note should make a little light go on in your head.

What is a Guild or Order? It is a group of people who share a common bond, and who work together to help each other and make their Guild/Order a better place for all. Each new member should bring some quality with them which will benefit the group as a whole.

You have a responsiblity to take an active role in your Guild/Order. A responsibility to your fellow members, and the organization as a whole. If you are "just another name on the roster", then you are not fulfilling your responsibilities. I had one person tell me this: "I just have my Ranger guilded for the cool Guild container". This kind of thinking slights the Guild and the members who take an active role in the Guild.

Some people feel that each class of character they have should be in a Guild. If someone has a Ranger/Warrior/Druid/Mage/Cleric/Paladin/Augurer/etc... and they all belong to those respective Guilds, how can this one person take an active role and fulfill their obligations to all these Guilds? It is an almost impossible task. What usually happens is that a person plays their "Main" char most of the time and just uses the others for runs/CR's/etc. They are active in the *one* Guild or Order that their main char belongs to, or at the most perhaps two Guilds or Orders, and their other chars remain chan -guild. This is not to say that ALL people who belong to more than one Guild/Order act in this fashion, just that MANY people do.

Many people I have spoken to who have chars in different Guilds and Orders do not even take the time to read the note boards in each Guild/Order. I have even spoken to some people who have no idea who the current Leaders are in a Guild that they belonged to. Why even bother being a member? Unless it is only for a selfish reason (Guild/Order items/equipment/donation rooms/recall spots/etc.. Even "just because I want that char Guilded" is a poor reason at best.

So we at the Guild of Mages ask these simple questions:

1. Will you take an active part in the Guild? Read the note board, know the rules and laws, attend meetings, help others, ask and offer help and advice on Guildtalk, give your input on ways to improve the Guild, spend time getting to know your fellow members?

2. If you belong to other Guilds/Orders, how can you reasonably expect to fulfill your obligations to the Guild of Mages? How do you plan on dividing up your time so that we all may enjoy the benefits of our mutual membership?

While I do not speak for the other Guilds and Orders in the Realms, I have a feeling that they also would expect nothing less from a member. We do not feel that this is being unreasonable, and these are fair questions to ask.