Hello, all, ![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Now that we know who we are, it's a good time to think about where we want to go.
Disclaimer: as before, this is my own vision. Although the officers have weighed in on the contents of this post, it still reflects my own opinion. As such, it does not constitute guild policy.
Disclaimer 2: this post is even longer that the Philosophy 101 post.
Introduction - A Grand Vision
My vision for The Haven is for us to be the guild with the best overall reputation on Scarshield Legion.
I don't see us the best PvE progression guild on the server and I don't see us as the most feared PvP guild, either. I don't see us as the largest community guild or the most tight-knit group of friends, and I don't see us as the boldest RP guild, either. But, I do see us as a known and respected guild in each of those areas.
Strategy literature calls this kind of grand, sweeping statement a BHAG, short for Big, Hairy, Ambitious Goal.
BHAGs have no meaning without some sort of plan behind them. While a full plan is beyond the scope of this post (way beyond, in fact), it is, nonetheless worth considering the direction we might take along each of those aspects.
Community
The Haven as a community guild is already well liked and respected throughout the server. I know this because I've been told so many, many times, both by people in the guild and people outside the guild:
(That's not to say that things are always rosy. In a decently healthy community guild of any decent size, conflict and drama are bound to crop up, every once in a while. What sets us apart is not how we avoid or deny it, but how we embrace it and choose to deal with it. Expect a post about just this issue soonish...)
As guild counselor, I feel that this is the aspect of the guild over which I have the most responsibility, though, and as such, I don't just want to rest on our laurels.
So, here are my criteria and goals for what a healthy community guild looks like:
Some of these are more obvious than the others, but all in all, we're on a good path regarding these issues, I feel.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Raiding
The Haven is not and hopefuly will never be a hard core raiding guild. However, we do raid, and we are rather serious about our raiding.
Now, when talking about goals, I could start to wax poetic about ten-man and twenty-five-man and Ulduar and whatnot, and most if not all of you would understand me.
Grantedly, those are exactly the sort of goals our raiding group needs to be thinking about right now. However, as far as long-term BHAGs go, it would all be incredibly short-sighted.
What I want is for The Haven to maintain a core raiding group that can withstand the test of time, rising to the challenge of each new expansion and each new Blizzard blunder with flare and gusto.
If the next expansion calls for 60-man groups, we'll build that up. If the expansion after it calls for 15-man groups, we'll either dial it down or organize 4x15 raiding nights.
If the group goes through growing pains, I want us to deal with it, with fairness and directed purpose in mind.
And, I want the raiding group to have succeeded in overcoming every single raiding challenge put before us, by the time the next expansion rolls around.
Hardest of all, I want for the raiding group to achieve all of this while not overwhelming other guild activities, like PvP or RP. (See below for more on that.)
Of course, that's what I want for the raiding group itself, but here is how that affects our reputation:
We were very much there during TBC, and while things may have gotten a bit... interesting, lately
, there's absolutely no reason we can't get there again.
PvP
The Haven has quite the reputation, PvP wise, it seems, though I have no idea what the state of things is, nowadays.
As a devoted non-PvPer, I am perhaps, not the best person to be talking about vision and goals for PvP, and yet, here I am doing it.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Regarding world PvP, there's good reputation and bad reputation. There's guilds out there that have a rep for being griefers, corpse campers and summoning stone gankers, and there's guilds out there with the reputation for being fair, but worthy opponents. I want us to be the second kind, and I think we are.
Regarding battlegrounds, I want hoardies to be happy when the see <The Haven> in the battleground, and I want allies to go, "oh crap, gonna have to bring my best game" when they see it. Never having been in a battleground myself (ever), I have no idea if that happens or not.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Regarding arenas, I have no idea how that whole deal works, but I like to think that Haven arena teams are out there and doing well.
I also miss events like PvP Wednesday or the drive to win the Sunday fishing contest.
In any case, again, it's not about being the most feared PvP guild out there, but it is about being recognized and respected.
RP
There's a few of people in the guild that move about in Scarshield Legion's RP circles. I believe there's even a couple of people that are well known in those circles.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, and I don't think I ever will be. As such, I have no idea what's going on there.
Still, while The Haven is not and never will be an RP guild, I believe it would be feasible for a few of us to participate in a few more events than we do.
Back when I was level 65 or 68 or something, there was a server-wide ball in Silvermoon city. I remember being a bit more excited about it than I expected, coming in.
And I remember being utterly disappointed.
I had two, maybe three in-character conversations, each lasting no more than five minutes or so. I had more fun listening to the ongoing Kara raid on TS than I did with the ball itself.
(I'm told that this is because there is simply no support in WoW for mass RP, but that's beside the point.)
Now, I realise that being an RPer in an environment like WoW requires great amounts of dedication. Still, given my guild tag, I expected to be at least acknowledged.
And really, that's all I want from the guild. I want the serious RPers out there to look at our guild tag and know that we may or may not be RPers, but we:
Of course, more than just wanting them to know that, I want it to actually be true!
But I think it already is, at least in large part.
Hell, my very first big thing in The Haven was an RP thing, namely, the whole Saharah and Teufel thing. Remember that? It was almost two years go. (Has it really been that long...?)
Critical Mass
Right, so what's this bit about critical mass?
Bascially, if we're going to be where I see us being, in either of the aspects above, we need numbers.
There's a sweet spot regarding guild size for any of the things above, and managing it is perhaps the most difficult part of running a guild over the long term.
In order to be a true community we need about one hundred players. About ten percent of these will be online for several hours every day, and about half will be online at least once a day and several hours a few times a week. Naturally, there is any upposer ceiling that you can't really go above. Otherwise, the guild will become fragmented and cliques will start to form, and the community will erode itself. I estimate the ceiling to be no larger than about two hundred players, and it's probably lower than that.
In order to have a serious raiding group, we need about twenty to fifty percent more raiders than there are raiding spots at any give time. (Right now, that's 25, so we should have about 30 to 40 active raiders.) More important, we need the right mix of capable tanks, healers and specialty classes. As with the community aspect, there is an upper ceiling. If we have more than, say, about twice the raiders than there are raid spots, a lot of people will start to be left out consistently or too often, and the group can collapse to a point of being sub-optimal.
As I am not active in either PvP or RP, I have no idea what the size requirements are, but there may well be some as well.
These are big numbers, however, and people need to realize that, some times, they might get left out. It's important that we build up this critical mass with people that are secure and mature enough to not take that personally.
By the way, that last paragraph, I want you all to read it again. It's the one paragraph in this post that's more about you than about me.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
In Closing
Again, this is not guild policy, nor does it constitute an official guild plan. Still, it is my vision for what The Haven already is, can be, or perhaps should become.
That's it for my BHAG. Hope you have enjoyed reading this at least half as much as I enjoyed thinking it up and writing it. And I hope you can relate to it, and on some level, even commit to it.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
See you in Azeroth!
Cheers,
J.
Now that we know who we are, it's a good time to think about where we want to go.
Disclaimer: as before, this is my own vision. Although the officers have weighed in on the contents of this post, it still reflects my own opinion. As such, it does not constitute guild policy.
Disclaimer 2: this post is even longer that the Philosophy 101 post.
Introduction - A Grand Vision
My vision for The Haven is for us to be the guild with the best overall reputation on Scarshield Legion.
I don't see us the best PvE progression guild on the server and I don't see us as the most feared PvP guild, either. I don't see us as the largest community guild or the most tight-knit group of friends, and I don't see us as the boldest RP guild, either. But, I do see us as a known and respected guild in each of those areas.
Strategy literature calls this kind of grand, sweeping statement a BHAG, short for Big, Hairy, Ambitious Goal.
BHAGs have no meaning without some sort of plan behind them. While a full plan is beyond the scope of this post (way beyond, in fact), it is, nonetheless worth considering the direction we might take along each of those aspects.
Community
The Haven as a community guild is already well liked and respected throughout the server. I know this because I've been told so many, many times, both by people in the guild and people outside the guild:
- People that apply to the guild for its community keep saying talking about our reputation. Sure, you might think it to be lip service so that they get in, but then, why the hell would they be applying in the first place?
- People that have left the guild always talk to me in a nostalgic, almost homesick tone about their times with us.
- People that have never been in the guild have often said so as well. (One instance stuck in my mind, when I was levelling Zooggy to 80. I asked a guy to tank an instance for me. His reply: "I'd love to, especially considering your guild tag, but unfortunately, I'm logging out in a few minutes. Let me add you to Friends, though, and maybe I can do it some other time." This moved me, perhaps more than it should, but hey...)
(That's not to say that things are always rosy. In a decently healthy community guild of any decent size, conflict and drama are bound to crop up, every once in a while. What sets us apart is not how we avoid or deny it, but how we embrace it and choose to deal with it. Expect a post about just this issue soonish...)
As guild counselor, I feel that this is the aspect of the guild over which I have the most responsibility, though, and as such, I don't just want to rest on our laurels.
So, here are my criteria and goals for what a healthy community guild looks like:
- You feel at home here. You don't have to like everyone here, but you have to like being here.
- You like to level your character here, whether that be your tenth alt or your very first character, when you're new to the game.
- You can set stuff up with your guild mates. You can't expect people to turn out en masse for your things, but if you take initiative, people have to take notice.
- You can ask for help. Again, you can't expect people to jump through hoops for you, but if you're reasonable and patient, help has to come, eventually.
- You can feel comfortable recommending the guild to anyone and everyone. They may not like us or we may not like them, but we can't be afraid of what other people might think of us should they get in.
- You can expect to be respected. You can't expect that everything turns out the way you want it to, but when issues crop up, you absolutely must feel that your side was fully understood.
Some of these are more obvious than the others, but all in all, we're on a good path regarding these issues, I feel.
Raiding
The Haven is not and hopefuly will never be a hard core raiding guild. However, we do raid, and we are rather serious about our raiding.
Now, when talking about goals, I could start to wax poetic about ten-man and twenty-five-man and Ulduar and whatnot, and most if not all of you would understand me.
Grantedly, those are exactly the sort of goals our raiding group needs to be thinking about right now. However, as far as long-term BHAGs go, it would all be incredibly short-sighted.
What I want is for The Haven to maintain a core raiding group that can withstand the test of time, rising to the challenge of each new expansion and each new Blizzard blunder with flare and gusto.
If the next expansion calls for 60-man groups, we'll build that up. If the expansion after it calls for 15-man groups, we'll either dial it down or organize 4x15 raiding nights.
If the group goes through growing pains, I want us to deal with it, with fairness and directed purpose in mind.
And, I want the raiding group to have succeeded in overcoming every single raiding challenge put before us, by the time the next expansion rolls around.
Hardest of all, I want for the raiding group to achieve all of this while not overwhelming other guild activities, like PvP or RP. (See below for more on that.)
Of course, that's what I want for the raiding group itself, but here is how that affects our reputation:
- I want people to level characters in The Haven, because we're fun to level with, but also, because they want to know us as people, with an eye towards becoming a raider, at max level.
- I want max level people to apply for a Haven raiding spot because our raids are well organized and fun, without being anal or over-demanding.
- I want people to know that, while we might not be the first to get there, we will get there, sooner or later.
We were very much there during TBC, and while things may have gotten a bit... interesting, lately
PvP
The Haven has quite the reputation, PvP wise, it seems, though I have no idea what the state of things is, nowadays.
As a devoted non-PvPer, I am perhaps, not the best person to be talking about vision and goals for PvP, and yet, here I am doing it.
Regarding world PvP, there's good reputation and bad reputation. There's guilds out there that have a rep for being griefers, corpse campers and summoning stone gankers, and there's guilds out there with the reputation for being fair, but worthy opponents. I want us to be the second kind, and I think we are.
Regarding battlegrounds, I want hoardies to be happy when the see <The Haven> in the battleground, and I want allies to go, "oh crap, gonna have to bring my best game" when they see it. Never having been in a battleground myself (ever), I have no idea if that happens or not.
Regarding arenas, I have no idea how that whole deal works, but I like to think that Haven arena teams are out there and doing well.
I also miss events like PvP Wednesday or the drive to win the Sunday fishing contest.
In any case, again, it's not about being the most feared PvP guild out there, but it is about being recognized and respected.
RP
There's a few of people in the guild that move about in Scarshield Legion's RP circles. I believe there's even a couple of people that are well known in those circles.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, and I don't think I ever will be. As such, I have no idea what's going on there.
Still, while The Haven is not and never will be an RP guild, I believe it would be feasible for a few of us to participate in a few more events than we do.
Back when I was level 65 or 68 or something, there was a server-wide ball in Silvermoon city. I remember being a bit more excited about it than I expected, coming in.
And I remember being utterly disappointed.
I had two, maybe three in-character conversations, each lasting no more than five minutes or so. I had more fun listening to the ongoing Kara raid on TS than I did with the ball itself.
(I'm told that this is because there is simply no support in WoW for mass RP, but that's beside the point.)
Now, I realise that being an RPer in an environment like WoW requires great amounts of dedication. Still, given my guild tag, I expected to be at least acknowledged.
And really, that's all I want from the guild. I want the serious RPers out there to look at our guild tag and know that we may or may not be RPers, but we:
- understand the concept
- respect the concept
- won't disrupt ongoing RP
- might even want to participate, even if just for a bit
Of course, more than just wanting them to know that, I want it to actually be true!
Hell, my very first big thing in The Haven was an RP thing, namely, the whole Saharah and Teufel thing. Remember that? It was almost two years go. (Has it really been that long...?)
Critical Mass
Right, so what's this bit about critical mass?
Bascially, if we're going to be where I see us being, in either of the aspects above, we need numbers.
There's a sweet spot regarding guild size for any of the things above, and managing it is perhaps the most difficult part of running a guild over the long term.
In order to be a true community we need about one hundred players. About ten percent of these will be online for several hours every day, and about half will be online at least once a day and several hours a few times a week. Naturally, there is any upposer ceiling that you can't really go above. Otherwise, the guild will become fragmented and cliques will start to form, and the community will erode itself. I estimate the ceiling to be no larger than about two hundred players, and it's probably lower than that.
In order to have a serious raiding group, we need about twenty to fifty percent more raiders than there are raiding spots at any give time. (Right now, that's 25, so we should have about 30 to 40 active raiders.) More important, we need the right mix of capable tanks, healers and specialty classes. As with the community aspect, there is an upper ceiling. If we have more than, say, about twice the raiders than there are raid spots, a lot of people will start to be left out consistently or too often, and the group can collapse to a point of being sub-optimal.
As I am not active in either PvP or RP, I have no idea what the size requirements are, but there may well be some as well.
These are big numbers, however, and people need to realize that, some times, they might get left out. It's important that we build up this critical mass with people that are secure and mature enough to not take that personally.
By the way, that last paragraph, I want you all to read it again. It's the one paragraph in this post that's more about you than about me.
In Closing
Again, this is not guild policy, nor does it constitute an official guild plan. Still, it is my vision for what The Haven already is, can be, or perhaps should become.
That's it for my BHAG. Hope you have enjoyed reading this at least half as much as I enjoyed thinking it up and writing it. And I hope you can relate to it, and on some level, even commit to it.
See you in Azeroth!
Cheers,
J.