Guilds - Unfathomable or Misunderstood?

by divinityblooms

"guild n. (also gild) a society for mutual aid or with a common purpose"

This is the very first time I've decided to write for the Neopian Times and the reason why I've never thought of doing so previously is because there wasn't anything that I felt so strongly about or wanted to express my opinions on. But being the founder of a guild myself, the increasing prominence of guilds these days has inspired me to pen this article. And hopefully, will help shed some light on these associations called 'guilds'.

Guilds are undoubtedly taking off swiftly in Neopia nowadays, and there are guilds of almost every kind and size. Ranging from focusing on a single pet, bizarre themes to those that target certain age groups, there is a diverse spectrum of guilds to suit everyone's needs. But the irony is that there’s still a considerable portion of NeoPet players who don't have a clue as to what they are.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my perception is that there are 3 main categories of people who decide to join guilds.

Firstly, the kind that want to get rich fast, and they believe that the guilds can provide them with a short route to success i.e. becoming a virtual millionaire in no time. These people usually judge guilds by their leaders. Whether the latter seem to be worth fortunes is the primary factor they use to determine if they ought to join in the clique.

Secondly, there's this group who have no idea what guilds are, yet either can't be bothered to figure out what they are, or are too embarrassed to ask. They are like sheep in a sense, being herded around by simply assuming that joining guilds is the coolest thing in town to do.

Finally there's this rare breed of people who truly understand the meaning of a guild and the purpose it serves. They are filled with zest, enthusiastic in helping out and very much valued by all guilds.

Having analysed that, I'd like to address a fourth group of players who have no intentions of joining guilds at all. To me, that's understandable, since I used to be guilty of such thoughts prior to starting my own guild with my sister, lil_liz. Unable to fully grasp the notion of guilds, I naturally adopted an unreceptive stance, ignoring every single guild invitation I received. I’m sure many of you out there do this too, but I would like you to at least give yourselves and some very fine guilds out there a chance. Joining a guild can be an enriching experience, but only if you are willing to open yourselves to others. Only if you put in effort, then will you be able to feel a greater sense of belonging towards your guild.

However, what I find irksome is that within the fourth group, there is another class of players who do not wish to join guilds yet take pleasure in fooling them. What I am trying to say is that from keen observation, I’ve noticed that a lot of those messages, though not all, posted in the Guilds are extremely insincere and disrespectful. People go around claiming that they desperately need a guild and some even go to the extent of demanding welcome gifts. Predictably, they are swamped with offers from guilds scouting for members. But if you check up their info a couple of days later, they continue to remain ‘guildless’ or have probably joined a guild and left after getting their welcome gift. Some of you may give them the benefit of the doubt that they could not find any guild suitable for them, but well, I certainly think otherwise. My opinion is that they just want to be noticed and be showered with attention, thus resorting to such low-down tricks. Such behaviour cannot be condoned and I sincerely urge all guild leaders to take a preventive measure against these people who are constantly 'guild-hopping', so as to not waste any more precious time on them.

On this note, I would like to end my article by saying that guild leaders do not owe you people out there anything. Sure, there may be guild leaders out there who try to ‘scam’ members and prove to be dishonest, but that is unavoidable since there tend to be black sheep in every field. Before you condemn me as trying to flatter myself, all I want to get at is that guild leaders do put in a lot of effort in running their guilds. I’m not saying that we are altruistic or anything like that, but if you think about it, we hardly get back anything tangible in return for running guilds. We organise contests for the members, help the poor of Neopia by having donation drives and have to work doubly hard to be able to continue funding guild activities. Not to mention the criticisms or insulting remarks we get from sending invites or even our very own members. So please treat your leaders with a little more respect and if you aren’t in a guild yet, do pay the guild a visit the next time you receive an invitation all right?