My apologies to Fimlys of Asleep at the WoW, and to his guild.  Many thanks for being so welcoming, and I enjoyed my time with you.

But…

It just wasn’t meant to be.  If you remember, dear readers, I contemplated moving to Fim’s server full-time for a number of reasons.  Draenor is a West Coast server, so it would be more compatible with my play times, for one.  There are also more than a couple bloggers that are playing over there as well, including Lady Jess and Awlbiste. So in early June I moved my highest level alt, a level 52 Shadow Priest over there.

I had some good times over there, sure, and Fim’s guild was more than welcoming.  They are also progressing nicely, running Kara quite a bit and even stepping into ZA and some 25 man content.

It just wasn’t meant to be, though.

I’m a part-time player, hence the blog title, and splitting my part-time play-time in two was just not going well.  I only play about half as much as most people, and then try to split that half into quarters spread across two servers and 3 characters…well…you get the picture.  I found myself mostly ignoring my priest over there, and my priest also happened to be my highest level alt.  Aside from that, the priest is a high level enchanter and tailor, and I don’t have a replacement back on my “home” server.  I’m already tired of vendoring high level greens.

So a decision had to be made.  For this to work, all my characters must be together.  It was time for me either to go whole hog or go back home.  Sure, we their play-times aren’t 100% compatible with mine, but I love my guild.  It’s a great group of people, and in case you haven’t noticed I even got to raid the Black Temple recently.  The decision seemed all too easy.

So it was that I tucked my shadow priestly tail between my legs and went back home.  I completed the transfer back to Whisperwind with my priest this morning.  I do have a couple low level alts still on Draenor, though.  And one of them has a fantastic name for a Gnome Warrior (Halftime) and a fully tricked out, enchanted to the hilt set of white gear.  He’s one bad-ass level 10 warrior.   Maybe I’ll just play him from time to time to still hang out with Fim’s awesome guild and the other bloggers.

Anyhow, sorry I couldn’t stay, but thanks for being so kind.  Just don’t ignore me if I ask for a run through the Deadmines sometime soon! 

If you happen to be looking for a new guild, there is a refrain you’ll hear over and over again.  “No drama allowed.”  It seems guilds that are looking for members want to assure people that there won’t be any real conflicts, whining, or general mean-spiritedness within the guild.  This is something that is impossible to guarantee, and also something likely impossible to achieve, but that’s beside the point.  Is it possible that guilds and the people in them actually thrive on guild drama?

Classical Theory of Guild Drama

By the traditional way of looking at things, guild drama is nothing but deadly.  Many a guild has been torn asunder by intense storms of drama.  Big guilds, small guilds, high profile guilds, PvP guilds, you name it, many of them has fallen victim to intense drama.

Therefore, one big job that guilds have undertaken is the avoidance of drama.  Smart guilds have very specific policies to try and quiet arguments.  Very specific loot systems are set up to assure a “fair” distribution of loot.  Many guilds also have detailed interview processes and trial periods before accepting new members.  In the end, all of these serve to keep things peaceful and humming along.

Does that mean there is no place for drama?  Is there any way in which drama can be helpful?

Drama is Essential

Stop and think about this for a second:  where would we be without guild drama?  The various loot systems, for instance, would there be so many detailed systems if everyone automatically “got along?”  People have put a lot of work into various DKP systems to try to make them as fair as possible.  Would they have bothered if everyone could automatically get along?  Probably not.  Are we better for having these systems?  Yes.

Think about your guild message boards for a second, if you have them.  (And if you don’t, why not?)  My guild happens to have a very lively message board.  We talk about all things WoW and a lot of other things besides.  We’ll talk about nearly anything, excepting of course, politics and religion. (Though honestly I’d love it if we did.  I’ll argue anything.  I’m a secularist who supports Obama, if you must know.)

Even our lively message board, though, never gets as “fired up” as it does when there is some kind of drama at hand.  If we start arguing about guild direction, for instance, everyone seems to come out to play.  Lurkers suddenly make their stances known, and the more vocal members go at it in post after post.

This doesn’t mean it gets downright mean, it never does, but our guild “drama” posts are always the most lively.  They bring out the most responses, and guarantee a great deal of guild interaction.  Is that a good thing?  Yes.

Also, let’s face it.  People in some way enjoy guild drama.  Don’t kid yourself.  Some deep, dark part of you just likes it when things get a little heated.  Just look at the way that tales of guild drama spread.  Look at the success of shows like Jerry Springer.  Isn’t that just a different form of guild drama, after all? 

Break it Down to Build it Back Up

Sometimes this is the only way.  Think about it like a house – sometimes you can throw on a new coat of paint and make a few repairs, and it’s as good as new.  Sometimes, though, the studs are rotted out, the ceiling is ready to cave in, and you need to start fresh.  You need to bulldoze the thing to build it stronger than it was before.  The same could be said of guilds and their policies.  Sometimes, it’s necessary to tear the whole thing down to make it anew.  By this I don’t literally disband the guild, but sometimes you just have to throw everything out the window.

What causes that to happen?  A lot of the time it’s guild drama.  Sometimes things just won’t change for the better without vocal dramatists to bring it to the forefront.  There are often very serious issues that linger below the surface, and if you quash all sense of guild drama, you prevent them from surfacing until they get so intense that they tear the guild apart.  Isn’t it better to allow a bit of guild drama to take place once in awhile?

Heck, you could easily argue that the good old US of A was founded on guild drama on a grand scale.

Besides, do you want a Brave New World-esque totalitarian guild where you can’t voice your opinion for fear of rocking the boat?  I sure don’t.  I’m argumentative at heart, and I imagine a lot of other people out there are too!  Isn’t a perfectly peaceful guild just a little…boring?

Conclusion

Guild Drama does serve a purpose, and it does have its place.  That doesn’t mean you need to go all Jerry Springer, but you shouldn’t have an irrational fear of drama either.  Also, any guild that says there is “no drama” is probably lying.  If they haven’t had it yet, they will.  It’s just the way people are.  Eventually someone is going to be unhappy about something, and maybe in the process they can make your guild even better.  The strongest guilds are those that can weather guild drama, and use it to their advantage.  So don’t automatically fear those that might bring a little drama to your guild.  Maybe they just want to make it better for everyone.