Bringing Back The Guilds- What Do You Think?

Tallonenx · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 1:46 am

Should We Bring Back The Guilds of D'ni or not?
History (and Yeesha) show that the Guilds help bring about the fall and the pride. So, is it worth the risk?

LaReh · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 2:06 am

I'm against it. It contributes to jealousies and elitist behavior among explorers. It didn't work for the D'ni, why repeat their mistakes?

mYstAddict · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 2:16 am

I agree with LaReh. Guilds will harm the strength of D'Ni, as they did in the past. We must keep D'Ni strong.

Nyrphame · **Joined:** Wed May 10, 2006 3:13 am **Posts:** 724

Some of them have never left...

I am speaking of course of the lovely and delightful Guild of Squishers

:squish:!

See!

Eleri · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 3:34 am

We already have dedicated people who have started Guilds of Cartographers, Linguists and more. It's just one more way for people to share their talents with other explorers.

Anna Catherine · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 3:51 am

My answer isn't any of the ones listed. Some people just have to be difficult, I guess.

I would say sure, why not, but only if they're optional.

I think that would be a perfectly valid story path for someone to take, but it's not one that interests me personally. D'ni is fascinating, but I have no desire to be D'ni, or to be involved in something so structured.

Maybe some people could be in guilds if they wanted, and others could follow a more research-oriented path, like the DRC? Just exploring, without being part of any sort of organized group?

Basically, I don't want to have to be in a guild, but if other people feel it's fun for them, I certainly have no problem with them doing so.

Annacat

Sinkadus · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 6:54 am

I totally agree Anna Cath there.

We can never fully recreate the Guilds. They were the basis of the D'ni social system, but we have our own.

Any guilds now present or created can adopt the old names/functions or create new, modern ones and share their passion and knowledge with others, (as they are already doing, yay for those dedicated individuals!!!) but they shouldn't be made the kind of selective, almost holy institutions that they were back in the good ol' D'ni. Everybody willing should be able to take part in their work.

Morningstar · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 3:52 pm **Posts:** 295

I agree with Annacat and Sinkadus.

A storyline involving guilds would be interesting, but a too tight guild system or a mandatory membership to a guild would result in making Uru too similar to an online RPG. Unless the folks at Cyan come up with a wonderful idea like they always do to keep things interesting! :wink:

FreeLanZer · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 7:44 am

^
|

What the last three said..

Stevecrox · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 8:20 am

I'm all for it, the group I'm with has some recognition but I've noticed a lot of good fun comedy acts plays and events which happen in the cavern that don't get the attention they deserve.

Creating a guild gives a focal point for people, a guild board with the events of the day would be brilliant, you would have addeed help of a large group to help and support you. Which is the only reason TCT has done so well, things like the Alcugs and Volcano project are other good examples of what can happen when a large enough group can come together.

I can understand some people suggesting that we should keep with the current groups, however there is more than one Uru related podcast out there and I'm betting not everyone knows about them, Sambase's radio is a good example. People don't mind signing upto a guild that represents their interest but not everyone wants to be a part of one of the modern groups, they are artistians or writers but may not wish to be CCN or Volcano related, they may want to start their own project.

Gadren · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 12:35 am **Posts:** 747

I'm all for it. It would be an enjoyable way to meet people with similar interests and goals, and to be able to join up and have fun together.

Those who say that guilds will only cause conflicts in the community miss the fact that the community has no trouble getting conflicts to start, even when there is no system of organization. Systems don't cause conflict, people do. Most people, regardless of the systems being made, will act in a mature way. There will always be the few troublemakers and trolls that, no matter what system we have, will try to stir things up.

Ian Atrus · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 10:28 am

Modern guild make more sense. After all, Greeters, TCT, Cartographers etc. are already guilds of sorts, with their internal rankings. What I would like is the possibility to join more than one guild and/or Neighborhood, as it's evident that many of us participate in more than one project.

LaReh · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 11:26 am

Gadren wrote:

Systems don't cause conflict, people do. Most people, regardless of the systems being made, will act in a mature way. There will always be the few troublemakers and trolls that, no matter what system we have, will try to stir things up.

While this is a very true statement, why give them more targets to aim at?
I know from personal experience that Guilds can be big trouble, especially behind the scenes in the "management" of them. It can get to be a big mess, believe me. Good ideas can go horribly wrong and you end up offending some people who resent your attempt at helping. My new attitude is if someone wants help, let them ask. There are plenty of good people waiting to help others and they don't need anyone's stamp of approval or Guild membership.

domahreh · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 2:09 pm

Part of what needs to be thought about is what, exactly, we mean by guild, I think. The D'ni had their guild system, which, as has been pointed out, had some big problems. UruLive in 2002 inspired some communities to formalize a bit and call themselves a variety of things -- Guild of Greeters, D'ni Explorers Guild, Guild of Cartographers. The D'ni Linguistic Fellowship, which I co-founded with Jerle way back when, was definitely a part of this trend. Part of our name choice was to shy away from the connotations and hierarchy structure of the traditional guild; but then, I think most of the Guild-like groups that have formed don't rest too heavily on hierarchical structures.

It's important to remember that any social structure or system, period, creates a situation where some people have more power (I mean this in the sense of social influence, authority, responsibility, voice) than others. Sometimes this is good (Liaisons, betatesters, for example) sometimes this isn't so good (no good MREDU examples I can think up -- what does that tell ya?

)

If we think about Guilds not as the rigid organizations of authority and deference that tend to come to mind, and rather redefine the Guild concept for ourselves (as I think GoG, DLF, et al have already largely done in practice) with the aim of community building always in mind, I think it can be a great opportunity for explorers to discover new interests, learn new skills, meet new friends, and get more out of the cavern experience...

Zardoz · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 2:56 pm

Another potential problem would be deciding who gets the "rights" to certain Guilds, should the model be the set of official D'ni Guilds. As we saw with the liaison election, creating privileged positions is one of the fastest routes to community meltdown, and restricting Guilds to a single group (except in special cases, like the Guild of Greeters) would be suicidal. (Of course, I'm wondering if the liaisons feel they are privileged or whether they are being punished . . .

)

That doesn't mean these groups would be explorer-supported only. Cyan could have official support for clubs, fellowships, associations, whatever we want to call them. They could offer special clothing choices to particular groups, as well as the ability within the game to customize neighborhoods in ways that give such organizations some character. But a key feature of this system, IMHO, would be competition. If someone doesn't like the DLF, they are free to start their own linguistic club. This would create more opportunities, more inclusiveness, fewer opportunities for corruption, and a richer environment.

Bringing Back The Guilds- What Do You Think?

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