How to Avoid Avoidance by nyri |  |
KIKO LAKE - When I am considering joining a guild I mainly look for: a main
focus, active leaders and members, originality, order, and honesty.
This is also known as M.A.O.O.H. (pronounced may-oh). This article is mainly
for people who want to know what to look for when searching for a guild to join
and a sort of checklist for creators of a guild who wants to attract new members.
Main focus - What is the guild based on? Is it a role-playing guild
or a fan club? If you join a guild that is centred around something you have
no interest in you will be unhappy there and, if you don't end up leaving, will
most likely become an inactive member which can clog up the guild and deter
new members. Many times you can tell what sort of guild it is by where it is
located. Most of the guilds found in the Lenny Library, for example, tend to
deal with education, schools, and informing others. The interests of the guild
will affect how many and what type of members they attract. Picking a popular
theme, such as Shoyrus or moneymaking schemes will appeal to a majority, while
one pertaining to Tcheas may appeal to only a small percent.
Active leaders and members - Do the leaders encourage guild members
to be active by having contests, projects, etc.? Do the leaders do what they're
supposed to do, i.e. the treasurer keeps track of all the NP being saved for
annual bake sale? Now even the most active guild will have "filler" members
-- members who just join to have a guild on their profile, who don't participate
on the message boards or anything at all, who are just there. But don't worry
about that unless it's most of the members. If the rest are joining to actually
have some fun and help others and to keep the place alive, then you're fine.
Try not to join guilds where the leaders let everyone get away with everything,
i.e. have several people who cheat but not suspend them or force them to leave
the guild.
Originality - There are thousands of guilds for role-playing, Lupes,
and the Battledome. This isn't bad because role-playing, Lupes, and the battle
dome are all very cool things and there are some very well formed guilds for
them. However, if
the guild you're considering is exactly the same as all the others and
doesn't stand out in any way, why bother joining? Join a place where they do
things that make you go, "Wow! I never would've though of that!" or just has
a good amount of imagination. There are a few really innovative guilds, like
an Illusen's Glade guild, a Lost Desert one, The Neopian Times Appreciation
Guild, and quite a few others. Now just find one that suits you but is still
innovative enough to keep you involved and your eyes open.
Order - I, for one, would rather join a guild that says "Hi! Welcome
to So-and-So Guild, a place where Neopians and Neopets of all kinds can meet
and have fun at the same time! We are a Faerieland role-playing guild, but we're
open to any suggestions from the members" than one that says "WaZ^ JoYN M*y
gULd! Wee Gote Gr8 FREE StUUFFFU!!&!!?%^ :)~ :o) 8-D "The latter shows that
1, the person doesn't really care enough about their guild to make it look presentable.
2, what sort of stuff? Do you give out faeries or just bottles of sand? And
how are we supposed to get this free stuff? Do you do collective donations to
the Money Tree? Do we have to move up in the ranks and are then rewarded accordingly?
Or do we get prizes if we win a guild raffle? This person didn't tell us, so
we don't know.
Also, order has to do with how the leaders are managing the guild. Is it just
starting out, with a few members, a few contests, a few gifts and packs? Is
it one of the mainstream and popular guilds with hundreds of members and plenty
going on? Are there hackers posing as members, trying to get into other members
accounts? Is everyone acting like civilised people or do they remind you of
a first grade classroom with the teacher taped to the chalkboard? Are the leaders
handling it all? Do they enforce the rules and deal with the ones who break
them effectively?
Honesty - Nothing stops a scammer from forming or joining a guild
(before they get caught of course). If they claim to give away codestones, faeries,
paintbrushes, etc., either check with the leader or examine the terms of the
guild. How are you supposed to get these items? Do they come in newbie packs?
Are you supposed to win them in contests or do you just give them out? And do
they "require" any information to send them to you? If a guild says they need
your password or anything else personal, then it isn't true. All they need to
send you anything is your username and they already have that. If it sounds
too good to be true, then it probably is. Guilds that advertise cheats and have
headlines such as "Earn a Trillion NP in One Hour!" you shouldn't bother joining.
Cheating is against site guidelines and the guild will most probably be deleted,
and if you are a part of it, your account may be frozen as well. Never pay a
guild to join them. Whether they ask for items or ask you to refer people, it
shouldn't be a requirement. It's not worth it. If a guild revolves around spamming
and insulting other guilds you shouldn't be there. Verbal harassment ruins the
whole point of having a guild -- which is to have fun together. Healthy guild
competitions in which both parties are polite and kind to each other but may
compete in the battle dome and so on is fine. Spying on other guilds and trying
to report them on false charges is not.
And what, you may ask, will abiding by all these rules do for me? They aren't
rules, but guidelines. They just help you to be an even better Neopian and have
a good time while doing it. |
