A lot of guilds advertise in their recruiting announcements that they are "drama free." That's a load of bullshit from a manure salesman. Let's face it, what we're talking about here is a group of people, and anytime you get such a diverse range of people together in one place there will be the occasional dispute or outright argument.
And as Guild Leader you are often the person placed in the middle of the dispute and asked to take sides.
There are steps you can take to prevent much of the drama and provide guidelines for what you can do when drama rears it's ugly head.
Lay down the rules.
Whatever kind of guild it is you're trying to run there will need to be some ground rules. Unless of course you're going for complete anarchy, in which case why are you running a guild? Keep in mind the kind of guild you want to run and then make rules for the guild that fit that mold. But remember the cardinal rule when doing anything, K.I.S.S., or Keep it simple stupid.
Things you might want to consider rules for:
- Looting rules - this clearly lays out what you expect to see happen whenever major loot drops, the kind of stuff that people fight over.
- Guild donations - if the guild needs any resources you might consider making them mandatory donations, or donations of in-game currency as dues for remaining in the guild.
- Recruiting - laying down rules about what kind of player can be recruited, age, level, access to guild VOIP, etc. narrows your focus to exactly the kind of guild you're looking to run, and goes a long way toward making sure new recruits fit in.
Eventually someone will violate one of your guild rules. To establish your lead you must be prepared to handle the infraction with appropriate action, whatever you feel that to be. I would refrain from using the /gkick hammer over smaller, less meaningful infractions, however.
Punishments you might consider:
- Demotion - appropriate for officers or other ranked members.
- Deny access to guild resources/runs. Great for ninja looters. "So you accidentally rolled on that huh? Well that's fine, but you get no more runs this week."
- Guild Kick. Reserve this for more severe, or continuous infractions. Some rules may require this as an automatic punishment.
This is really the simplest thing you can do. If there are clear rules prohibiting some behavior, and the member has agreed to those rules, then take the appropriate course of action ASAP. If it happened while you were logged then make it your first priority when you log in.
Make no exceptions. If you treat one person a certain way over a rule then treat another a different way, you're playing favorites and are likely to lose members or lose whatever authority you may have had. Make sure that every member, officer or not, is subject to the same rules.
A side benefit to the guild knowing that certain actions will not be tolerated at all is that if there is a member that would violate them they'll usually remove themselves for a guild they are more suited for. Eliminating you from having to do it.
Kicking someone from the guild is the ultimate course to take, and it may have repercussions if the player was popular within the guild. Stand fast, the guild may not like it much, but they'll respect you for having the balls to do the right thing.
Get Everyone on The Same Page
However you choose to do it, get everyone on the same page. If your guild has a forum make a thread that clearly lays out the rules, and have every member /sign it. Otherwise make sure through some kind of intake policy that every member is aware of the rules and agrees to them.
Follow these guidelines and you'll eliminate much of the drama you'll run across in guild. Not all drama is predictable, but if you act decisively about it you'll go a long way.
