Shoutbox

The State of the Guild Upon My Recent Return

It’s amazing to me how Kinslayer has held together over the years. YEARS, dudes. That’s huge. In our time we’ve seen dozens of guilds come and go, and the fall of many premier guilds. Somehow through all the changes to the game and to our roster, we held it together. My latest absence was no different. Hats off to all of you but particularly Mona and Mazz for running the ship while the Captain was away! However, I must be honest- it doesn’t look like my guild anymore.

I really wan’t satisfied with the way things were headed since Cata- I had a differenty idea of how the guild would grow, and I Think its my own fault. I grew this group, I steered it and allowed it to steer itself at times. This is where we are. And its not a bad place at all, just not the one I had in mind. The recent changes seemed to make this dissatisfaction resonate within me. I felt shitty about the anxiety, after all, it’s not like the guild is falling apart- far from it! And, while some of the structure I had in place is gone, it was structure that wasn’t needed. Trim the fat, as they say. Outstanding!

The first change I noticed when I returned was the guild rank titles. I understand that the change was enacted in the spirit of the democratic socialist goals of the guild; that is to say that we always put the needs of the guild above any individual. I approve the change insofar as it was beneficial to the membership at the time, but it really clarified the distance I feel is between me and my vision for the guild.

Now, please consider the following.

When I first got to this server I was excited by the RP that went on and found it enjoyable. When I formed the guild my vision was for a guild which kept RP alive, and the guild titles were the last vestige of that dream- a dream which is all but dead. I want the dream back, and I for one am going to try to resurrect RP on Steamwheedle Cartel- at least within my guild, and I hope that at least some of you are with me.

We are on an RP server. Granted, it has the least RP of any server I’ve ever been on, but we ARE one of the bigger guilds and we are well known on our server. Since this is all true, we have an opportunity to touch many players- some who may want to RP but cannot find anyone willing to do so with them and have not paid for a character transfer yet.

Laugh if you like, I’m sure you won’t be the last to do so, but also imagine being a member of the guild that changed the face of an entire population of players! Imagine what people around the country will be saying about our guild-YOUR guild: “Yeah, buddy, go to Kinslayer. They’re the major RPers on the server!” Think about that on our guild resume. With everything else we’ve accomplished, that would be the icing on the cake.

And make no mistake, we ARE well known as a judgement-free, open minded guild. We are the safe haven, the sanctuary for casuals in a game growing ever more hostile to us. The 733t guilds may demolish us in DKP, but we have unity. We are not a second job. We respect the lives of our members.

So here’s my plan. I’ve already changed the titles for GM, Senior Officer and Officer. I’m going to leave them that way for the time being to help figure out certain aspects of the guild site. Send Kithkanan an in-game mail concerning how you feel about the old titles. For those of you who joined after the change, here’s the breakdown:

The Ranks of the Fortress-Monastery of Kinslayer

Cloister Master: (cloister, n,[kloy-ster]; a monastery not open to any but the order it belongs to)The head of ceremonies of the monastery. Leads the membership in living the ideals of the guild. Has the last word on all matters within the guild.

High Inquisitor: (n,[in-kwiz-it-ur]; one who asks searching questions) The senior officers. The CM’s closest, most trusted and wisest advisors. Those who serve the guild and enforce its rules when the issues are complex or sensitive.

Inquisitor: Officers. Those who lead the daily, high level activities of the guild. Enforce discipline.

Epistolary: (n, [ee-pis-tow-lair-ee]; one who keeps record of a monastic or sacred history for the benefit of future generations) Officer alts. A way to show respect for the officers not on mains and also a way for other members to identify them when not on mains. Largely honorary rank.

Reclusiarch: (n, [ree-clew-zee-ark]; one who spends their idle time in contemplation, usu. within a building of spiritual significance) The champions of guild ideals. Those dedicated to that which we all strive toward. The soul of what it means to be a guildmember. . Modified from original purpose to reflect new use of dedicated rank. I propose this rank be used for any who have filled in as GM uinless current rank supersedes.

Celebrant: (n, [sel-eb-runt or sel-eb-rent]; ne who participates in an act of spiritual communion with a divine being, idea or mission) The Higher level lay members of the guild. They do the non-administrative high level tasks like rated BG, guild challenges and more. Our backbone.

Postulant: (n, [pahst-yew-lent OR pahst-chew-lent]; one who applies and is proving oneself to a monastic order) The members who are not new but have not spent enough time with the guild to be entrusted with our collective fortunes. Our more junior members.

Seeker: (n, [see-kur]; one looking for truth. A novice in a monastic order.) The new recruits. Everyone spends a little time here so we can all determine if we fit together. You must register on the guild site and have read its rules to advance out of this rank.

And I propose another lower rank, that of Penitent (n, [pen-ih-tent]; one who seeks absolution from sin or wrongdoing) to match the rank of see Mona/Mazz we currently have in effect. It’s flowery, to be sure- but that’s role playing, it’s something that sets us apart from other guilds and it’s kinda cool in my opinion.

Chew on it.

Kithkanan Sithelbec, aka Kith- your CM.

Kith here. I'm coming home. I still have a ton of things I have to take care of, but some of my IRL friends have told me that I ought to come by and see what's going down. I have not recieved details, but I trust everything is okay.

I will see you soon.

Hey, Kith here. As you have no doubt noticed, I've been gone for a while, and I intend to remain gone for a while till. I'm crawling out of a divorce and have a ton of legal tuff to do, and in the meantime I'm re-discovering the best parts of me which lay dormant for the past 15 years.

I may pop in from time to time, usually at the end of a long day of fighting fires and programming my soon to be hit game. It's just what I'm doing right now.

I have full faith that Mona will be a great leader in the interregnum. Please give her the respect that you have given me.

We'll talk sometime soon!

Welp, the new expansion has arrived, and I thought we'd have a new look to the website. Of course, I am no pro at this stuff, and I plan on more tiny modifications as time goes by, but this is the bulk of the change. Enjoy.

INQUISITORS: I need your choices for your secondary responsibilities. Please have your choices in to me by no later than next meeting.

I know we've had some upheval as of late, but I think the majority of us made it through with the dignity and grace that I want Kinslayer to exemplify. Well done.

Moewmixx could still use some help with the writing in his new program; anyone who can help should contact him with their submissions.

-Kith