hey Beau,
Listening right now, enjoying immensely. Wanted to comment on guild recruiting.
One of my assignments as a guild officer is to seek out people who would be a good fit for our family. I have great sympathy for folks that get attacked by groups of "guild vultures", but I also want to point out that those guilds REALLY DO want to help new players and get them involved. It's not just a numbers game.
That said, I try really hard not to be one of the vultures. But in order to find people I have to meet them.
So I say hi to passing strangers, help them if they need help, and generally try to be friendly. If they seem receptive I'll converse a little more, try to get to know them a bit. Having done that, if they seem like someone who might be happy in our family, I'll talk about it a bit. Never pushy, and NEVER spamming /ginvites.
I remember well my first two days on the mainland. I never really met anyone on Silan, as it was largely empty... that was during the changeover from Nevrax to GF. My very first day on ML some friendly guy named Beau showed me around, threw heals as I attacked low grade cloppers and stingas, and offered to get a Ballistic Mystix officer to invite me. The next day I met a Pegasus Foundation officer at the Fairhaven stables (hi Jez) and learned about PF. I found a home and a family, and that has made all the difference for me. I was lonely on Silan, and likely would have soon quit playing had I not fallen in with such great people. I'm sure I would have had fun with BM, too, but we'll never know.
I'd encourage guild recruiters to take it easy on people, but I'd also like to let new people know that we really do care about getting to know them, we're not just trying to "suck them in". Some of us just get a bit carried away.
Remember, these are people trying to give away gear and dappers and help and advice. They're not trying to get anything from you.
We've had several people join our guild recently, and I've been really really enjoying getting to know them and watching as they level right on past me...
OK, so I'd better wrap up this aimless ramble...
New people, be aware that you are likely to get offers from a number of guilds. Don't be afraid, don't get angry. Get to know the guilds, like they are getting to know you. Find a family that feels right and join in. Or feel free to give all of them a miss if none of them fits you.
