Lions and Tigers and Mergers, oh my!
Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:46 am
Ok, so here we are "the day after" and what have we learned?
Well, we have learned that people take what others say out of context, thats for sure.
With that in mind I would like to clarify my concerns in regards to this recent merger and I would hope that at least HALF of the members who kept me in tells all night last night with similar concerns also speak up.
I think this merger came as a surprise to many because in the last couple of weeks the discussions have been about trimming down, placing a minimum level of 50 on all new applicants and even limiting application consideration to needed classes only.
There has always been concern and countless talks about getting our shit together, organizing what we have and re-learning how to function as a whole again as we once did.
All of which I would like to say that I agree with and doubt anyone would disagree with.
So flash forward to yesterday, we log in and BAMM we are now merged with ED, not just with the ED members that we may have known/played with in DAoC but with the collection of players that have been invited since release.
We now have more members that we dont know than members that we do know and for what? To be able to sit back and say "well, we have the numbers now to do A and B" but can you really say that? If you answered yes I dont see how you could.
Do we know the playstyles of these people? No. Do they play the hours needed to raid? Who knows?
Give me a guild conformed of 40-50 players who know their shit and play tight together and I will put them against a guild with 100+ members who just "play" any day of the week.
This is not a numbers game it is a quality of player game, more is not always better, infact more can easily equate to more problems.
There is no more "who is XXXxXXX" and expect to hear that is X's alt. We are now a guild of strangers and have no doubt bred clusters of cliques that will have to be dealt with.
We were told "dont worry, if they suck they will be booted" as if that was the golden pacifyer of spoken words to calm us.
Oh and let's not forget the mighty "If you dont like it, you can leave to" option.
Now, already I know I'm probably being misunderstood and I should probably just clarify my main point which is; This was a HUGE decision/move for this guild and the members were not even given the opportunity to voice their opinions regarding it.
You know anyone that says "I will speak to D" about this or that gets shit for saying that. We are told "BWC is not Dwayne" "It's sad that you think D is the guild" along with other shit Im sure no one will opt to.
But you know what I never said Dwayne was the guild. I am fond of him as a person, yes, and I think he is an awesome leader when he plays. He motivates others to play and tries to incorporate fun into that which is a nice change from being called an asshole and being treated like shit by others. It is for those reasons that he is respected as a leader and held in fond regard by this guilds member base.
Now you can say "oh she is kissing ass now" if you want to, but Im not. I am telling the truth, nothing more. I have no problems telling D when I disagree with him or anyone else for that matter.
I believe this guild, any guild for that matter, is a reflection of it's member base and their abilities.
I also believe that in this situation things were not handled correctly. This should've been brought up to the members of the guild and discussed. Hell, that discussion may have ended with Dwayne, Jay and Kim's reply posts being "Listen we understand your concerns but we really want to give this a shot, so work with us" and the merger still happen. But we werent even given that and that is where I think the error was made.
This has nothing to do with ED, I have nothing against Monty or their members, how could I, I dont know them.
This is about us as a guild and this is about at least pretending to value our opinions on how this guild will move forward and develope.
I have always been very proud to be a member of BWC and I have the highest level of respect for it's members as they are some of the best players I have ever come across.
Major decisions like this should be made by the guild in it's entirety as it effects all of us.
I hope I have come across clearer today than I may have last night.
What's done is done and we all have to adjust to it at this point. I'm sure we will do our best to get to know all these new people and work together, but that doesnt change the fact that I believe this situation could have and should have been handled differently.
I wish you all good gaming.
~Somber
[P.S. I was asked by several people to post this as I think alot feel there needs to be a place to vent their thoughts on this matter, so vent away]
Well, we have learned that people take what others say out of context, thats for sure.
With that in mind I would like to clarify my concerns in regards to this recent merger and I would hope that at least HALF of the members who kept me in tells all night last night with similar concerns also speak up.
I think this merger came as a surprise to many because in the last couple of weeks the discussions have been about trimming down, placing a minimum level of 50 on all new applicants and even limiting application consideration to needed classes only.
There has always been concern and countless talks about getting our shit together, organizing what we have and re-learning how to function as a whole again as we once did.
All of which I would like to say that I agree with and doubt anyone would disagree with.
So flash forward to yesterday, we log in and BAMM we are now merged with ED, not just with the ED members that we may have known/played with in DAoC but with the collection of players that have been invited since release.
We now have more members that we dont know than members that we do know and for what? To be able to sit back and say "well, we have the numbers now to do A and B" but can you really say that? If you answered yes I dont see how you could.
Do we know the playstyles of these people? No. Do they play the hours needed to raid? Who knows?
Give me a guild conformed of 40-50 players who know their shit and play tight together and I will put them against a guild with 100+ members who just "play" any day of the week.
This is not a numbers game it is a quality of player game, more is not always better, infact more can easily equate to more problems.
There is no more "who is XXXxXXX" and expect to hear that is X's alt. We are now a guild of strangers and have no doubt bred clusters of cliques that will have to be dealt with.
We were told "dont worry, if they suck they will be booted" as if that was the golden pacifyer of spoken words to calm us.
Oh and let's not forget the mighty "If you dont like it, you can leave to" option.
Now, already I know I'm probably being misunderstood and I should probably just clarify my main point which is; This was a HUGE decision/move for this guild and the members were not even given the opportunity to voice their opinions regarding it.
You know anyone that says "I will speak to D" about this or that gets shit for saying that. We are told "BWC is not Dwayne" "It's sad that you think D is the guild" along with other shit Im sure no one will opt to.
But you know what I never said Dwayne was the guild. I am fond of him as a person, yes, and I think he is an awesome leader when he plays. He motivates others to play and tries to incorporate fun into that which is a nice change from being called an asshole and being treated like shit by others. It is for those reasons that he is respected as a leader and held in fond regard by this guilds member base.
Now you can say "oh she is kissing ass now" if you want to, but Im not. I am telling the truth, nothing more. I have no problems telling D when I disagree with him or anyone else for that matter.
I believe this guild, any guild for that matter, is a reflection of it's member base and their abilities.
I also believe that in this situation things were not handled correctly. This should've been brought up to the members of the guild and discussed. Hell, that discussion may have ended with Dwayne, Jay and Kim's reply posts being "Listen we understand your concerns but we really want to give this a shot, so work with us" and the merger still happen. But we werent even given that and that is where I think the error was made.
This has nothing to do with ED, I have nothing against Monty or their members, how could I, I dont know them.
This is about us as a guild and this is about at least pretending to value our opinions on how this guild will move forward and develope.
I have always been very proud to be a member of BWC and I have the highest level of respect for it's members as they are some of the best players I have ever come across.
Major decisions like this should be made by the guild in it's entirety as it effects all of us.
I hope I have come across clearer today than I may have last night.
What's done is done and we all have to adjust to it at this point. I'm sure we will do our best to get to know all these new people and work together, but that doesnt change the fact that I believe this situation could have and should have been handled differently.
I wish you all good gaming.
~Somber
[P.S. I was asked by several people to post this as I think alot feel there needs to be a place to vent their thoughts on this matter, so vent away]