Seriously, you turn your back for a few seconds, and shit goes crazy.

I'm not asking for a HE SAID SHE SAID OMG. I know Lux locked some threads -- rightly so -- and I'm going to see if I can do this without stirring shit back up. But dammit, I wasn't here, and I want to know what happened, because this affects me too. This sort of affects all of us.

So let me see if I have this right.

There's been some low-level resentment simmering for a while. Some people don't like other people's typing styles. Whatever, it's a text-based medium. How you present yourself via text is the only way (barring vent conversations) that you'll be seen. Text carries personality but it also reinforces an atmosphere of intelligent conversation. So, valid points on all sides of this one.

Recent complaints have been made about chat on the guild channel, leading Killian to ask people to tone it down there. This caused controversy, as people weren't sure what he meant by 'tone it down,' and have been on the defensive the last week or so...not just because of Killian's post, but because they don't know what they might be saying on /guild might be offending other VS members, leading to complaints, leading to scolding, etc.

One of our recent recruits has been too consistent with the d00dspeak and not consistent enough with typing like an intelligent human being, and it's made some people question if he's right for us. In this conversation, a couple people slipped in barbs at current VS members.

Those barbs turned into outright fighting.

Both threads got locked.

People left the guild -- Sherica over the argument on the new recruit thread, gleja over...Killian's post, and the fact that he didn't run it by the other guild leaders? And everyone else over the resulting drama? I'm trying to figure this out.

And the people still remaining are either kind of confused, like me, or still pretty upset.

Do I have this right? Or did things happen in-game that I've completely missed that factored in to the situation and made it worse? Because this alone just looks...small, and points to resentments and frustrations that must have been growing for a long, long time. You don't stomp out of a guild you've been in forever because you don't like the fact that one person goes 'Squee!' a lot, or because somebody made a rash post.

Do people still secretly resent each other? Can we get that out in the air and strip down and have a big old orgy and fix it? AROLAIDE, you suck because your lewtz are phatter than mine. AGNES, you don't post jpgs of your bewbs enough. NAOMEE, dammit, you're too cute to be a warrior, so I keep thinking you're a rogue until you show up in warrior gear with a rage bar. Stop being cute! I...uh, man, there's just not anybody I don't really like. I got nothin'.

Stand-by. Addressing everything and I want to post before anyone else.

What happened in a nutshell...

A handful of people, including myself, had issues with the way some people in the guild have acted in the past and the direction that guild chat and other things were going. Some felt WAY more strongly than others and it got ugly. I should have tried harder to stop the bickering but when you have different camps yelling and pressing on you, you just want to step back and say "ya know. why don't we all just tell each other how we feel?" and that's what happened.

Most of this came from the older guild members feeling that VS had grown into something they didn't care for and had hopes of trying to change it back. In the end, everyone realized that VS is much bigger than just its cliques and everyone, including those that have been around since day 1, needed to do what was needed for the good of VS. Sometimes that means leaving, stepping down or just reminding one's self that it's just a game.

Sherica left, Gleja left, those that hate drama left and I can think of a couple of other people that will probably leave before everything is said and done. Regardless, VS isn't going anywhere. We'll continue to be one of the greatest guilds in the game and hopefully this recent D-Day will help blow in a breeze of fresh air.

Now this is just an informative post. What's been said has been said and there's no sense in going back to yesterday so happy posts only here. Drama will be deleted because I'm an evil Führer and I am the ruler of this evil land. ;)

Helps if I unlock it.

- AGNES, you don't post jpgs of your bewbs enough.


Whoa, what thread did I miss?!?

Cool, thanks, Killian. Eh, that's understandable. Guilds grow, and not everybody is looking for the same thing out of them.

Pity about the drama. And the lack of bewbs. AGNES, GET ON THAT.

I have pictures of Agnes' boobs for sale.........

100 G Ingame gets you RL pics of her boobies!

Another 50G will get you pictures of The Don's ass.

<searches through pockets and only finds lint> dang!

In all seriousness, I have to say I'm happy I missed the whole blow up; I wholeheartedly agree that "it's just a game", and that's why I love it, and love the guild.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some vritual couch cushions to search through to see if I can pony up gold to Brown ;-)

I'll be taking up a collection for those pics post-haste!

In the meantime...how about some hint at to what was pissing people off? Not to point fingers at anyone, but I would really like to know if my actions/chat/postings were in any way bothersome to people.

I'll be taking up a collection for those pics post-haste!

In the meantime...how about some hint at to what was pissing people off? Not to point fingers at anyone, but I would really like to know if my actions/chat/postings were in any way bothersome to people.


You're fine, Rubrick. Really this was no specific thing. The discussion about managing guild chat is what blew the lid off the kettle, so to speak, but it had been bubbling for a LONG time. Killian's explanation above is pretty much what happened, in that it was the result of different viewpoints on the guilds direction and leadership structure.

Jamisia, thanks for that. It was after I posted this that I saw the thread Killian had locked, so that explained it for me.

Rubrick, you need an icon! ;)

I'd just like to reply because I hardly ever check in on the boards anymore and I really am in the same boat as Stranger, here.

I had no ide any of this was going on, either, until I got a PM from someone when they were leaving. And I NEVER get PMs on this board because I just don't do enough on here. I'm sorry that it all happened and part of me is very glad I missed it. Any large group of people is bound to get into a tiff eventually, but one of the things I think we can all agree on is that we're more mature than most of the rest of WOW.

As in any battle, you have casualties and survivors and sometimes even survivor guilt.

But anyway I know that I don't play very much anymore and I never was a pillar of strength or guidance to anyone in this MMORPG (I still have to think when I type that as it's not part of my usual acronym list) but I really do feel as though I know people on a family level. Meaning that I may not be BFF with everyone or gossip about this or that... heck, I barely ever say good morning or goodnight in chat because I'm just too tired or busy or shy. I barely even do instance runs because I like having the option to say no... but you get used to being around everyone in your family, tolerate that everyone has their own set of foibles, but you appreciate and become reliant on their presence because it's a part of your life and you ultimately feel comfortable with them.

I think the whole fact is that VS is a kind of guild that even allows such a rapport amongst any of their members, and that's why I'm still here.

/soapbox

Most people missed it, I think, the topic in question was active for only a few hours.

Well said, Schmoo. I'm glad you missed the angerthon.