It should go without saying that when you offer someone an invitation to join our guild you have taken a few moments to ‘interview’ them as to ‘why us’ and ‘why them’. Find out what their definition of ‘a good guild’ is. Everyone has different expectations and definitions of what a good guild is and just because ours is ‘according to our expectations’ it does not mean that it is according to theirs. Find out what they expect. If you do not have the time to find out, do not invite them into the guild. If they do not have the time to explain or answer, do not invite them into the guild.
When they leave the guild, either if I see it when I am online or by checking the log that I see as guildmaster, I follow up with them to find out why they left. What I am finding more times than not, is that they have left because we did not meet their expectation of giving them run through after run through and leveling them up, giving them all the gold they need and giving them withdrawal privileges from our guildbank. These departures are entirely avoidable by simply not inviting them into the guild in the first place. Most recently, I watched Heinkel (70) spend an hour helping someone (23) in Duskwood only to watch them quit the guild once he helped them finish their quests and he logged off.
Do not be too shy to ask them if they expect to be leveled, run through instances non-stop, funded, and given our guild bank keys. If they say ‘yes’ to any of those, there are perfectly good guild matches for them and we are not one of them – so do not invite them to join us. It just means that our folks waste time and resources on them which could easily have been used to help you instead. i.e. When Heinkel was helping that person in Duskwood, he was not helping someone else, who is likely a good match for our guild, simply because he cannot be in two places at the same time. Let’s use our resources and time wisely by not wasting them on poor recruiting choices.
Be *selective* when recruiting. Take responsibility for the people you recruit into the guild. Ensure that they are introduced to the membership and officers, that you tell them to read our website and the guild message of the day (and guild information). Find out if they need anything and ask an officer to help them with it – in case they are shy or do not want to ask themselves having just joined. Certainly if they are significantly below you in level, consider yourself on “run through” duty if they ask for one and you were their recruiter.
We are not trying to curb your recruiting drives! We are trying to reduce the revolving door syndrome and the waste of resources that can go along with that.
Finally, this is a social ‘club’ just like any other in RL and I would expect you to take responsibility for anyone you bring into the guild in no less a manner than you would in any RL social club. I expect you to help them and support them to the best of your capacity for their first several weeks until they become full rank Members. While they are Initiates, you are the first and most familiar person to them – do not just “drop them off” into the guild with an invite and then leave them to find their way in our culture or on the doorstep of officers to take care. It *is* one of the duties of Officers to assist Initiates as needed and reasonable; however, it is first and foremost the responsibility of the person who extended to them the offer to join our guild.
This will foster a stronger guild community and by extension a stronger guild.
