AduialOfWrA

AduialOfWrA

14p

10 comments posted · 0 followers · following 1

13 years ago @ Kiss My Alas - On getting into the ri... · 2 replies · +1 points

I'll admit I almost didn't read this tonight and was about to sort it into my things to read tomorrow, but I'm glad I did read it. It's one of those little reminders that come out of nowhere, that remind you why you do what you do, why you shouldn't just cave in and give it all up because of a little (okay, huge in my case) drama.

Plus, I needed the little giggle I got out of "neurotic person who checks the guild log first thing upon logging in to see what – if anything – has happened" since that is something I do... even to the point of trying to on banker toons or whatever that aren't even guilded.

13 years ago @ Kiss My Alas - Tugging threads · 2 replies · +1 points

Just wanna say, I love the way you put things a lot of times, and this needed to be said and you said it well (even though I did post about RealID myself and privacy concerns and such, but I don't expect many to read over it, especially with others covering it).

Still so very glad I found my way to your blog here, definitely truly interesting reads at times like these, though now you've gone and reminded me that I need to go update -my- blog roll...

13 years ago @ Kiss My Alas - Letter of the Law vs S... · 0 replies · +1 points

Bit of a late post on this (been reading for a while and really should put you in my RSS feed so I can keep better track of your posts rather than reading in chunks..), and I've only read the first few comments before I decided to post before I forgot what I was going to say, but I've had a similar(ish) situation in my guild a long while back. We had a member who would -rarely- do things with the guild, while for about a week took his max withdrawals from the guild's funds in either repairs or flat out gold and usually any items permitted to him. I ended up demoting him when it kept on until he couldn't access the bank, at which point he inevitably threw a fit. The most this person did was afk throughout the majority of instances then come back and pull random mobs which would wipe us. We ended up defining every single rank in the guild, what priviledges it has and responsibilities, and what it took to get promoted, and made him read them, at which point he shut up... Until the next time he ran something with us, or rather just one of the officers, and ended up insulting us to the PUGees and the PUGees themselves, at which point our officer patiently through him to the curb and told him not to come back.
Our overcomplicated, overly detailed rules ended up being more hassle than they were worth, in the long run, as well, and aside from people who weren't a benefit to the guild anyway, weren't necessary. We ended up wiping the rules completely for a couple months then instating the One Rule we have now, which is basically DBAD, and for clarification purposes linked to here http://wyrmrestaccord.net/content/our-cardinal-ru... which phrases it oh-so-much better than I ever could (also I'm not sure if this thing uses BBCode, HTML, or what, so just copied/pasted the link as is rather than failing... though I suppose I do anyway?). We also put up that that if any action seemed dickish than any officer or myself had rights to demote/kick without warning depending on severity, and it's worked out wonderfully for us (and there's so much less yellow tape for our officership to waddle through trying to deal with any issues there were).
Not sure how much that would help or fit your guild at all from your point of view, but it's another option you might not have seen yet that could be worth trying out.

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cth... · 0 replies · +1 points

Oh, man.. *many hugs*
I totally understand. I think some of the best guild leaders/staff (including the leader of the one I'm in now) I know of would be able to understand that.
It can be really rough. I've seen positions of power turn people into things they otherwise wouldn't have been, horrible things, I've seen it just show us the real person they were from the beginning but we were blind to before, and I've seen it just eat away at people's sanity, like some sort of parasite. There's actually a lot of hope for the latter, though.
One of my fondest memories from my days running Tattered Legends, when I knew it was worth all the hassle.. We had Naxx on farm, at that point, but my warrior still had this wimpy little old green bow she'd picked up in her early seventies (UK, actually, I think). I know, I know, a bow, not a big deal for a warrior, except.. It had a huge chunk of defense on it, and I just -couldn't- get rid of it and stay defense-capped. And one day about 45 minutes prior to raiding, the guy, who was an officer by that time, noticed.. And discussed with the officers, and they decided it was time to get me a new ranged weapon. Asked one of the guild engineers if he could make one, and -every- single guild member online pitched in, flying around WG or Sholazar farming the mats for an ilvl200 epic bow for me. Within 30 minutes, the 7-8 of us had all of the mats, and I was standing there watching one of my guildies craft that pretty little gun for me, out of mats the whole guild scrambled to put together. It was one of the few times I was actually in tears over the game, I just couldn't get over how everyone pitched in, took time out of their own schedules, to help me.
Every one of my officers has seemed to have similar moments, when it just clicked... It's worth it. Leading can be a big pain, and it's harder on the people in power than most people ever realize until they get the position themselves, but.. There are moments that'll be worth it, where the little guild you've worked so hard for, sacrificed so much for, go out of their way to pay you back, if you stick with it long enough.
My recent post Getting back into the swing of things isn’t as easy as it seems

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - A very srs quandary or... · 0 replies · +1 points

Talbuk! Just have to say, talbuktalbuktalbuk. Or, uh, more easily understandable... I would recommend looking into getting a Talbuk for poor little Calidore. The ones I've seen just about always make the riders look rather, ah.. well, worldly doesn't seem like quite the right word, yet it is, so there you go. That's my recommendation for -that- at least.

Flying mount, uh... Well, I think he could look spiffy on one of the little gryphons but err, that's.. well, honestly, that's about -it- for my knowledge of Alliance flying mounts =/. And since I don't have high enough level Alliance toon with that kind of money and refuse to splurge on something I don't consider a necessity for myself, well... I'm afraid I don't think I'll be able to give a recommendation there (until Cataclysm at least, maybe...) if you're wanting an epic flyer. Sorry!
My recent post Nothing is One Size Fits All

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - I Gerald (Chapter II) · 1 reply · +1 points

I was really, really excited when I saw this come up in my feed reader, and was definitely not disappointed! Awesome chapter, Tam, really wondering how the fight turns out for Gerald and the poor Murloc now!

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - a post in stories · 5 replies · +1 points

Note to self: Multitasking while reading a Tampost will never happen. Stop trying. You will fail.

Note to Tam: You rock. End of story.

Semi-on topic.. One thing I learned when I was young, and I can't even remember how learning it came about, was this, in regards to having the right to "free speech" in the US (and just about any other right, I suppose): You only retain your rights when you are not infringing upon someone else's rights. In context, your speech is only free when it doesn't hinder another's right to happiness.

Oh yeah, now I remember how that came about and mutated in my head to become the generality stated at first. I learned to curse at a bit of a, err.. early age, and tended to cuss like a sailor because some of the adults around me did and I didn't quite see how I shouldn't be allowed to do the same. One of the older ladies (don't ask me who, could've been anyone from a teacher to my own grandmother.. though likely not the second) told me I only retain the right to curse when it's not directed at and/or offends someone else, because I'm taking away their right to happiness by abusing my right to free speech. She of course said it much more eloquently and, uh, understandably to a child, but I've carried it with me to some extent ever since.

On the subject of how the GM handled it, saw a comment far above me about how there is no right way for the GM to deal with it at that point... I dunno about that. I didn't like when things fell on my shoulders as a GM but I dealt with it, and interpersonal issues when they did land on me as mediator tended to work out fairly well, if there was an option at all. But then again I went about it differently (got each side's story independently then tried to get each side to see the other's and where each was wrong and how they should have handled it better, and they usually did if the issue arose again).. and I've been told I have an odd knack for that, so maybe it really isn't in the arsenal of most GMs. But I think there is at least one 'right' way to deal with every issue that gets up to the GM: whatever choice best furthers the goal of the guild with as little friction as possible.

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - fuckingfuckingaojdahdo... · 2 replies · +1 points

Oh, man.. I hate to say it, but I knew it had to happen at some point. At least it wasn't the healer himself trying to offtank (yet) at least, right? (I've had a few of those that got upset when I -did- taunt off them...)

One of the hardest things I've had to learn on my tanks is that it's -not- part of my job to put up with the bull and the stress that some DPS insist on providing. If the DPS insist on pulling, or tanking, or standing in bad, and they won't stop--feel free to whisper the healer, 'don't heal X when they do Y.' You'll have some healers that will anyway, and DPS that won't get the picture, but in those situations bring it to a votekick, and if that fails and things continue, "/p either X goes or I do." Not the easiest thing to do, and you will have groups more willing to part with you than the DPS, but you didn't sign a contract to put up with all that, just to do your job to the best of your abilities (which for most tanks don't include being a doormat for their DPS).
My recent post Uncovering talent

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - the fun dictator · 0 replies · +1 points

A lot of these problems (aside from Huntardface) sound surprisingly familiar... And it's never fun being the bad guy that makes people leave, whether they fit the guild or not. I was bad about that, always figured they'd take it personally, and I didn't want them to, and... yeah. Thankfully my officers ended up being just what the guild needed in that department, 'cause I sorely failed.

I know exactly what you mean about starting late with raids. We'd send out invites 15 minutes before, would be lucky to have everyone that signed up on by the designated start time, would usually PUG the last spots about 45 minutes after the start time... It was rough, and we never really did find a way to fix it, though by the looks of it most small guilds seem to go through it in their younger days. Current guild has people start getting ready for the raids up to 3 hours before, and at the start time if they have openings, the message goes out, "If you want in X raid, tell me now, at 15 after I'll pull from trade." So far it seems to work, so I'm fairly confident it's not impossible to get past the starting-everything-late stage, just takes some patience and (of course) willingness to enforce any rules that apply.

I'm sure you guys will get the hang of it eventually, sounds like you're off to a good start with the officers.
My recent post Uncovering talent

13 years ago @ Righteous Orbs - I Gerald (Being the un... · 1 reply · +1 points

I have to admit, this may be my favorite post of yours yet. Absolutely epic in its amusement-causing factors.

(And I finally got up the nerve to quit lurking and comment on one of your posts!)