Guild Drama and Server Changes
Yesterday, I did something I'd never done in my time playing WoW. I typed /gquit. I've been with the same guild since the launch of the game, but yesterday that guild became an unacceptable home for me, so I walked away.
Let me explain a little. The Shattered Ravens was built on two things:
- The idea that who you were playing with was more important than what you were doing. This lead to our "friend of a friend" recruitment system, whereby you had to be a friend of an existing guild member to get in.
- The idea of mutual support - we are a non-elitist guild, whose central theme is helping everyone to experience as much of the game as we are able. People who wanted more than we could offer were free to join raid alliances and/or other guilds.
Yesterday morning, a Kara run I'd arranged was all but destroyed by one of the guild choosing to set up a competitive heroic. People pulled out, leaving us down a tank. We got it sorted, and managed to start a productive discussion about how we might improve raid access right across the guild. Hurrah.
But then...
..the same group unilaterally declared that they were running
Kara every week with the same seven people, and we were invited to
apply for the additional slots. Now, this is common practice in many
guilds - but it is exactly the opposite of what the Ravens were created
to do. And, to add insult to injury, the Ravens are small enough as a
guild that this meant the effective end of Kara for most of us, unless
we went begging for the extra raid slots.
Normally, I'd have stayed and fought my corner. But, following my bereavement just over a month ago, I'm somewhat more emotionally volatile than normal, and I decided that it was best for all if I took a month's holiday somewhere.
One /gquit and £15 later, and Leafshine is now on Bloodhoof EU. Why there? Well, it could be that there are some very nice people over there. And, indeed, they have made me feel very welcome.
So, new home, new guild, new people. It's a brand new Leafy day!
Oh, and after running dozens of battlegrounds on my old server, winning 10, and not getting the Spirit of Competition pet, I ran one Alterac Valley on Bloodhoof - and got my Medallion. Good omens FTW.
