How to Be a Guild Member

However, we aren't all just born into this family. We don't just make an account, log in, and see that we are in a guild. No, we search out, find, and enter in to a guild that most suits our wishes and ambitions. Joining makes us a member.

Now, I'm not trying to attack anyone with this (Moneybagsreturns says I need to be more polite); I am merely creating a guide detailing how to be the proper guild family member, all while I attempt not to ramble and babble too much (Rhinolab says that mustard bottle glue would do the trick to stop that).

So let us begin, shall we?

Do NOT (yes, I realize that putting "not" in all caps was a tad over dramatic) ever join a guild and expect to be instantly promoted to council, slapped with admins, given control over the guild, handed prizes or freebies, or receive a paint brush.

It should be noted that giving prizes away, also known as giveaways, is against the rules. So shame on you if you do give prizes away.

Secondly, just expecting things to be given to you is a form of greed. And while greed is absolutely horrifying and hopefully prompts your pets to slap you with their paws or fins, it also takes away the greatest joy of guilding; hard work. You see, it may take a while to fulfill your dreams if you have to work hard, but it is so worth it. Just imagine, going to your guild day in and day out and helping everyone, sending them little smilies, achieving rank up criteria, posting, participating, and having fun. It's a great image, is it not? Add to that image the way your heart will gush, explode, and become overwhelmed when you are told by your respected guild leader that your hard work hasn't been unnoticed, and you have been promoted to the next rank, or better yet, Council. Hard work, my friends, is the key to bliss in anything.

The next item on the docket for being a guild member is simple. NEVER INSULT OTHERS.

I know I caps locked that entire sentence, but my pets agree that it was for a good reason. Being mean to someone is the lowest of the low. Neopets, Neopia, this wonderful world, was created and exists because of kindness, compassion, respect, integrity, and happiness. Bashing someone, insulting them for anything big or small, tarnishes Neopia as a whole, and affects all of us, newbies and seasoned veterans alike. Absolutely nobody has the right to ever make somebody else feel small or unimportant, as we are all equals here, pets and pet owners alike. No one person is beneath the rest, and no one person is valueless. If you go to a guild, a place with people you've grown to know or want to get to know, and start attacking and hurting those around you, it is a safe to say that you will probably be thrown out or reported, as you deserve. Keep your guild a place of wonder, not a place of anger.

The third item on the list is the most basic of all. Stay active.

When you join a guild, do not join to just be another number and statistic. I hope that's not why you join. It would degrade you and your pets to join a guild with open arms and people waiting to embrace you and welcome you aboard, only to find that you joined to never speak again, or to speak for a few days and never return. This, is sad, and as a leader of quite a few guilds, I can tell you that the deleting of inactive members is a sorrowful day. I often wonder...why didn't they come back? Where are they? Are they alright? You don't want to make your leader worry about you, and you don't want to, in the process, neglect your pets and other things on your account as you slip in to inactivity. Stay active, and if you do get busy, make sure your guild knows what you are up to and your pets are well kept and well fed.

Our fourth good member point is another basic. Participate in activities.

Every guild that can claim decency has things to do, which hopefully are rule abiding and fun for members. Anyway, people take time out of their day to set up these activities, to come to the boards and talk, to create pet pages of fun and games, to make puzzles to test your mind, and to, most importantly, provide you with an amazing guild experience. Do not let their hard work go to waste. Check their pages out, skim through their activities and read them, neomail them with answers to the puzzle even if it's just a guess. Take part in the fun and happiness. Why on earth wouldn't you want to? Adrylan personally loves a good riddle every once in a while, and I'm sure your pets and your brain would too.

Finally, the last point on this rant about good membership, love your guild.

This is, honestly, the most important thing there is. The other points pale in comparison.

You have to, and I mean have to, love the guild you are in. Why be in it if your heart isn’t in it?

I have a philosophy, you see. It’s simple, and all of my pets agree one hundred percent with it.

If you love your guild, if you honestly and truly love it, then you will love the people and hold them dear and make them your Neopia family. If you love your guild, then you will love the activities and participate in them day after day after day. If you love your guild, you will WANT to stay active. Coming on Neopets will mean coming to your guild to see who has posted, what they’ve said, and what you can say back, and you’ll sit in your seat excited and anxious for a reply from your Neo-brother or Neo-sister. You’ll know their pets by name and they’ll know yours, and every slight color change or petpet attachment will never go unnoticed. If you love your guild you won’t need greed and won’t expect things, and the thought of hurting or insulting one of the members will never cross your mind, because your heart wouldn’t let you hurt those people who are your friends, and it won’t let you ever take anything, power or privilege, without hard work.

I’ve been around the guild world for my entire Neopets experience. To me, it is the driving force behind all of it, for all of us, no matter what we do. We meet up with people possessing common Neo-interests, or we meet up with people who just want to make the Neopia experience just that little bit better.

And I’ve learned something.

Being a member isn’t easy, not by any stretch of the imagination. It takes patience and hard work, determination and dedication, and, most of all, love for the guild you are in and for each and every member, as they make a family. And that is something that can never, ever be taken from us.

Being a good member starts at day one. From the first “Hello, I’m new here” to the moment when you realized that joining was the best decision you and your pets ever made.

Membership, my friends, is becoming part of a great Neo-family.