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7 Ways to Instill Life into Your Guild’s Forums

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Are you suffering from an SAG?

That’s short for “Socially Awkward Guild”.

Most guilds have a site or some place to talk about stuff outside of the game. Forums are a great way to foster ongoing communication between your guild members outside of the game. For Conquest, the forums house information from strategy and feedback to guild sanctioned meetups. It’s difficult to get people to start using forums at the beginning especially if they’re not used to it or they’ve never been in a guild with active forums to begin with. Forum activity is one of those aspects of a guild website that takes a little time to grow and where success requires participation from other guild members.

The ideas you see below are common in guilds of all types. Don’t wait for someone else to start a topic. Seize the initiative and be social! I guarantee you that your GM will be thankful (or at least, grateful for the attempt).

Raid Attendance threads

Some raiding guilds prefer using a signup system while others stand by the sign out system. No matter which one you choose, it involves your guild indicating their availability for an upcoming raid. A signup system sounds a little tedious but can be managed with a group that doesn’t raid as often. Imagine raiding three times a week and being required to post a reply saying that you’re able and willing to come! It gets really draining fast. What happens if you forget and your spot gets forfeited? In contrast, a sign out system only requires you to post when you’re missing a raid due to an event that you can’t miss. I’ve had players sign out because of typical things like exams or overtime. In one case, I had a player put up pictures of raging wild fires near their house and indicated that they wouldn’t be able to make it!

Guild picture thread

We all want to know what the player behind the character looks like. The person who you envision when you hear them might not actually match up with what they look like. Mind you, this is all up to the discretion of the individual guild members and how they feel about putting their face out there on the internet. Also, as a word to the wise, there’s bound to be someone who’ll try to troll the rest of the team by putting a picture that isn’t actually them.

nph“I swear guys, I really am Neil Patrick Harris!”

Strategies thread

This is meant for raiding and PvP guilds. It’s great to consolidate all resources into one area. Members can share tips for struggling players or little nuances to squeeze out extra DPS. After every raid, I try to add any new modifications so that the players who weren’t involved in the recent attempts can stay up to speed on the changes. To keep things relatively clean and on topic, create a new thread for each boss that you’re working on.

What’s your job title thread

This one’s always at the discretion of the player and some people will choose to be as vague or as specific as possible. In the history of Conquest, I think we’ve had several Professors. We’ve had a police officer. A firefighter. Lots of IT and finance folks. Many players in science related professions as well. It’s a good way to break the ice especially a newer guild that’s just formed. Good way to find interests with other players outside of the game as well.

Post your system specs thread

In a WoW guild, chances are there’s enough tech geeks who would gobble all that stuff up. Some of the less technically minded might chime in asking for suggestions on upgrades or advice on how to get their system to run efficiently. Depending on how intense it goes, you might have to reign it in lest you end up inadvertently starting an nVidia vs ATI war.

Patch discussion thread

A thread like this will usually end up with a few people complaining dejectedly about the nerfs their class received. But it’s a good place for players to collectively spitball new ideas or discuss the new changes coming to the game. Bonus: Everyone enjoys a good “HA HA YOU GOT NERFED” fest.

Embedded chat room

With Enjin’s guild tools, I’ve added a little chat module at the very top of the guild forums. This is another way to bring people together as not only does the guild defeat virtual dragons as one unit but it functions as a place to to help people get through their day. Everyone loves to complain about something (in fact, I’m probably responsible for 25% of the whining on our chat about the most mundane things while my guild silently rolls their eyes at me).

This is just a start. The sign of an active and healthy forum correlates to an active and healthy guild.

What other forum topics have been successful in generating meaningful discussion? Have you incorporated any other cool addons or widgets to keep interest flowing?

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The Time Bomb Every Guild Leader Holds

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The original Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clockface that first originated in 1947 by some really smart people (directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists). The closer the clock is to midnight, the closer the entire world gets to a global catastrophe. Right now, the clock is at 5 minutes to midnight. As nations attempt to find ways to secure nuclear weapons, time gets added. If they’re unable to agree or if additional nations become nuclear capable, time gets removed.

Have you heard of the guild doomsday clock?

It’s this internal timer that GMs have. When it hits zero, the guild collapses in spectacular bits. The progression clock is naturally about raiding. If you recruit new players or get progression kills, time is added. If you lose players for any reason or wipe continually to bosses, time is subtracted.

This is not going to be apparent to most people. But every guild leader has that internal pressure on them whether they realize it or not. They have a mandate to uphold and goals to achieve. Every failure adds more pressure until they can’t take it anymore and disband. I’ve seen it to happen to guilds that I never would have expected to shut down. I run this organization everyday wondering if it’ll be the last and it’s been like that for the better part of a year. Fear is an exceptionally powerful motivator.

How does time get added and removed from the doomsday clock?

Subtracting time

  • Losing players
  • Losing officers
  • Excessive wiping on normal mode
  • Suspending progression
  • Missed raids
  • Drama issues resulting in splintering

Adding time

  • Gaining players
  • Officers who are stable and not burning out
  • Farming bosses in one shot
  • Meaningful, visible progression
  • Positive attendance
  • Overall satisfaction and happiness

Over the past year, I’ve seen the clock hands gradually tick forward to midnight. Officers have become burned out. Players schedules and their lives have changed. I’m not able to adjust fast enough. I still have no viable raid leader I can pass some of this load to. That alone is my biggest need and there’s no job board or recruiting forum I can go to for something like this. It’s hard to grow a raid leader if no one has the time, desire, or skillsets to do it. Stable raid leaders are a premium.

Thankfully, wee were able to raid with the bare minimum with 25. The fact is that there are still people here who wish to raid and see more of the game. I’ve almost all but written off this tier and am in the process of retooling for Siege of Orgrimmar. This is the time of year where it’s so hard to recruit because players are firmly entrenched in their raiding guilds or they’re taking a break to enjoy the sun. Thankfully, we’ve picked up a few more players in the past week and added some time to it but we’re still extremely close to midnight.

Senior man cutting grass with shears

It’s like cutting grass with garden shears, isn’t it?

Our current roster is just not quite there for hard modes. Some of the players don’t have the experience. Others don’t have the gear. I’ve had to make the unpopular decision to temporarily suspend hard mode progression until the bottom end can catch up appropriately. Everyone who has been here has been farming normal modes for months. We’ve been able to 22 man our way through most bosses past even Dark Animus. We took a player’s alt Ret Paladin which started off with a 460 ilevel and ended the night at 502. They didn’t really do much DPS, but they were a body and and an Aura Mastery. The fear? That people at the top grow impatient and have no desire to stick around waiting for the bottom end to catch up and repeating the cycle.

It’s pretty damn sad.

I’ve been in similar situations before in the past. But there was always a clear, well lit path forward. I had a large and familiar group of officers more experienced than I was at the time who helped steer me the right way (like Syd). But man, it’s super lonely right now. But like any true leader, you can’t show weakness. It’s easy to repeat that everything’s going to be okay. In the back of mind, I don’t like that because I like having actionable steps and plans to move up.

The best I can really do is recruit and pray.

A stable and sizable raid roster needs to be the first fix. But it’s going to be for naught if I can’t get a raid leader somewhere. Throne of Thunder may very well be the most disastrous showing for this organization since Ulduar. We’re an above average normal mode guild. But this roster has much to learn about heroic raiding. It’s the difference between the regular season and playoffs. Have to find that ON switch.

Tick tock.

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Behind the Blogging Scenes Interview: Kurn

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One of the first regular series I ran on WoM nearly 5 years ago involved interviewing WoW bloggers. It was a way to peer into their personality both in real life and in the virtual. Unrelated, I remember the Newbie Blogger Initiative that took place year. I offered my own advice for new and veteran bloggers both. This time around though, I’ll be conducting interviews with other established bloggers specifically about blogging itself. Everyone has their own style, voice, and habits.

Kurn continues to be a powerful authority in the realm of guild leadership. She has blogged about the different facets of running a guild dating back to as early as 2008. She is a prolific holy paladin and blogger who has hung up her mace and shield in favour of retirement.

In this interview, we’re going to look at her blogging side and how she breaks through the typically challenges that tend to stonewall bloggers.

So who exactly are you and what do you do?

My name is Kurn and I have a sociology background. I’m an expert in online communities and a halfway decent writer. I am a former WoW guild master, raid leader, healing lead and raider.

What do you feel are your strongest post types as a blogger? That’s a tough question. I guess my guide-type posts were always something I both really enjoyed as well as dreaded. On the one hand, I always enjoyed writing about how to play on a somewhat basic level and then graduating to more advanced techniques, but on the other hand, it’s difficult to just give out basic information without overloading people with more advanced stuff all at once.

Where can we find your work?

My blog is found here! (Or in Matt’s sidebar).

Art of Productivity

How much time do you spend on a weekly basis just reading and researching for blog posts?

That really depends on what the topic is. If I’m really familiar with it, not a lot of time at all. For the aforementioned guide posts, I could count on a solid four hours or so of researching and even more time testing certain things to ensure I know exactly what I’m talking about. Other types of posts are really just me retelling things or giving advice, so those tend to be less based on research and prior reading. In those cases, I tend to just let my thoughts spill out on to the page.

How do you prepare yourself before blogging?

I like to sit down during a time when I am not likely to be interrupted, preferably with a cup of tea, and just dive right in. Sometimes, I’ll write an outline, especially if the posts are comprehensive and long, but usually I’ll just start writing. The tea is helpful because I can sip at it while pondering how best to phrase something. (You can replace “tea” with any beverage of your choice.)

How would you advise a blogger to beat procrastination?

There’s no reason NOT to write what you’re thinking. Editing is part of the process, but worry about editing when you’re done writing. Sit down, just get the words down, then go back and see if it makes sense!

When is the best time of day for you to blog?

2 o’clock in the morning is my magic hour. I love blogging late at night. I used to be really productive in the early afternoon, but circumstances have changed such that I’m pretty busy during the afternoons these days. Late-night writing (including blogging) is great. No phone calls, no distractions.

How many hours a week do you spend actually blogging?

I blog a lot less frequently than I used to, but I probably spend about two or three hours a week dealing with my blog. By that, I mean thinking about writing blogs, responding to comments, tweeting about blogs and the like. I probably spend one or two hours a week writing specifically for my blog, unless it’s been a really busy week and I feel as though I should post more. More posts mean, of course, more hours spent writing.

How many days a week?

When it comes to writing for the blog, it’s really just one or two days a week at this point.

Who are your favorite inspirations and authors?

My inspirations generally aren’t people, but rather emotions. If something pisses me off, I’m going to write about it. If something makes me really happy, I’m going to write about it. If something happens to make me really think about things, I’m going to write about it. As to favourite authors, there are too many to name, but notable writers of late have been Chris Guillebeau, Chip & Dan Heath and Janet Evanovich (whose Stephanie Plum series of books is hilarious and great brain candy). I also really, really enjoyed Joel Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame series, even though it’s not great literature or anything. I think Rosenberg’s writing influenced me on a basic level because that series was the first fantasy series I’d ever read.

What quote best defines you?

That’s a tough one. I have a favourite quote, but it doesn’t really *define* me. So I’ll share this one by Mark Twain, instead:

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

It resonates with me because I like to look out for the underdog. I always want to make sure people are being treated fairly. In my experience, once you’re in with the “majority”, that same majority will easily forget the problems of the minorities, even if they were part of the minority recently. When you’re in with the majority, that’s when you really have to examine everything from another perspective, I think.

What type of music do you like to listen to when you write (or none at all)?

My favourite type of music to listen to at all times is 90s alternative rock. Go ahead. Judge me. I dare you.

Are there any areas you’re looking to expand into as a blogger?

I’ve spent most of the last several years blogging about intimate details about the World of Warcraft. Now that I no longer play (and haven’t, for over seven months!), I find I still have things to say about the game, but I have a much more distant view. None of the things happening in the game now affect me directly, so I have a different perspective. Due to that perspective, I find I can take a wider view of the game and gaming in general.

How do you crush writer’s block (if you believe in it)?

I definitely believe in it. Sometimes you just have to walk away from the writing and let it settle and percolate, as I’m fond of saying. I help rid myself of writer’s block by going for a run, playing silly casual iPad games or even taking a shower. Sometimes sleeping helps, too. Sometimes, just starting fresh helps. Don’t let yourself get blocked by what you’ve already written! You can *always* start fresh.

Follow up: Where do you go when you’re drawing a blank on ideas?

When I was blogging frequently, pretty much almost every day, I tried to look at everything I was doing as a story that I could then recount on my blog.

Bad LFG in heroic Halls of Reflection? Time to blog about it.

Hilarious search terms in my Google Analytics? Time to blog about it.

I’d also spend a lot of time thinking about what I would want to read about. One other thing I did was to think about what others might be curious about and then pre-emptively answering those questions as best I could.

Are you a risk taker or do you play it safe when it comes to broaching potentially controversial topics?

I’m loud. I’m controversial. I’m opinionated. Frankly, I can’t be any other way. I am passionate about a lot of things and World of Warcraft is still one of them, even if I don’t play any longer. (That’s weird. I know.) I’m happy to call attention to things I disagree with and I’m happy to bring attention to things I think are great and all of that is regardless of what everyone else thinks.

Art of blogging

How would you define a truly great blogger?

A truly great blogger needs to have new content on a consistent basis. Not every day, but something consistent, probably about two or maybe three times a week. They need to write something that, most of the time, will make me think. They need to write something that inspires me one way or the other, that may spur me into action or may just rattle around my brain for a couple of weeks. A really great blogger should also be timely when it comes to news, although there should be plenty of posts that have very little to do with the news as well.

What platform do you blog on?

WordPress, self-hosted.

Which blogs do you try to keep up with the most and why?

There are quite a few blogs I read, but the one I *always* read as soon as I can is Rohan’s Blessing of Kings. Rohan has a ton of great ideas and information and, most importantly, different perspectives on things. I don’t always agree, but I’m always left thinking more on the subject.

Is there a specific program you use for blogging?

Nope, just log in to my WordPress install in Firefox, Chrome or through the iPad app.

Other than using a focus macro, how do you stay focused on your task? I just try to minimize the distractions. I also discovered, while doing my university degree, that I work best in small chunks of 45 minutes. So I’ll set a timer for 45 minutes and will force myself to take a short break after the time’s up. Focusing for 45 minutes is easy compared to “an hour” or more, at least for me!

What challenges or problems have you run into when blogging?

Several.

Lots of people are jerks.

Lots of people are sexist misogynists.

The first thing I did to help myself out was write a comments policy.

You can disagree with me all you want on my blog, but you do it with respect, or I throw out your comment and ban you from commenting. I also dealt with feeling as though I had to censor myself, or at least write differently, when I restarted my guild at the start of Cataclysm. While my blog had previously commented on “idiot guildies” (from other guilds I’d been in during Wrath of the Lich King), I had to restrain myself from venting any frustrations about my guild on my blog and my Twitter, for fear of giving the wrong impression of myself and my guildmates. Most of these frustrations were very temporary in nature (oh God, why can’t this person hit Heroic Will properly?!?!) so it wasn’t too hard to restrain myself, but it was very different from how I’d previously written.

Have any strategies on staying organized?

I plead the Canadian equivalent of the Fifth Amendment. (Section 11 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in case you’re curious.)

How do you unwind after your day is over?

Generally, I like to watch a bit of television or Netflix or write until my eyes can’t stay open any longer.

Art of fun

What is your biggest annoyance right now (blogging or otherwise)?

People who don’t take the time to learn more about whatever it is they’re doing. There are resources out there for just about anything you could ever want to do. Go out there and LEARN MORE. Please. Pretty please.

Do you have a slogan that you adhere to?

Practice random acts of kindness. I’ve even got that printed on my cheques. (Not that I use them that often, but still.)

What has been your proudest achievement?

In Warcraft, probably getting server first Heroic Hagara, Hand of A’dal or my Rhok’delar. In real life, definitely getting my university degree. In terms of writing, succeeding at National Novel Writing Month twice. Choose a celebrity (alive or dead) that you would like to have dinner with. THEEEEEEEE Matticus! 😉 Okay, seriously, probably Anita Sarkeesian. I would LOVE to pick her brain about feminism, cyberspace, meatspace and various other things. If she’s not famous enough, let’s go with Felicia Day because I’d love to pick HER brain about writing, The Guild, WoW and how she used her WoW experience as a starting point for all the amazing things she’s had a hand in creating. Alternatively, I would love to sit across from the Stanley Cup during dinner…

What do you wish to do more of (or get started doing) this year?

Canoeing, kayaking and skiing. I love canoeing and skiing and have been doing those since I was a kid, but both of those (and kayaking, actually) tend to require my going to my parents’ cottage. So I’d like to do more of those activities, but I’m unsure if I can manage to get around the parents’ cottage requirement. Also, more writing. ALWAYS more writing.

You travel back in time to meet your younger self when you started blogging. What piece of advice would you offer?

Keep everything (addons, software, etc) up to date lest PHP injections hit your site and it takes six months for Google to remove the “This site may be compromised” tag from your listing. (Seriously.)

Where can readers find you online?

In addition to my blog, I’m also on Twitter.

Finally, a new site is in the works and you’ll be able to find some of my current projects at Kurn’s Guides.

What else would you like readers to know?

Three friends and I had to do the old Jailbreak! quest twice in a row for our friend, Majik, who died on the first attempt and thus failed the quest. Seriously. Jailbreak. Twice. IN A ROW. At something like two in the morning. Also, Wil Wheaton (and Stand By Me) is indirectly responsible for several of the most meaningful friendships in my life. Strangely, he is also aware of this fact. (Two very long stories.)

Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper behind the scenes without an actual look at their battlestation where they work. Thanks for sharing it with us, Kurn!

 

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21 Things You Don’t Hear in Raid Finder

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  • I think all the classes are balanced the way they are right now.
  • Ghostcrawler? Hell yeah I agree with everything he’s said about my class!
  • I would much rather queue for Raid Finder on my own that go with people from my own guild who I trust!
  • I have no problems doing dailies after because I love them!
  • That’s okay. I know I didn’t get the drop I wanted but I’m sure I’ll get it soon!
  • I’m just running raid finder for fun. I don’t need valor or loot.
  • My trinkets are proccing right when I need them to!
  • We don’t need to use Heroism or Bloodlust at all.
  • I’m sure the Priest who Life Gripped me meant well when he pulled me into the void zone.
  • Sure, as the off tank I’d be happy to taunt exactly when you need me to!
  • I respect your opinion. I think it’s absolutely valid.
  • You’re right, I’m not at the top of the DPS meters. I’m clearly not playing at my best.
  • Gee guys, I’d love to queue up with all of you again!
  • Our healers are doing an excellent job!
  • I ended up at the last boss again, but I don’t mind killing him even though I needed only the first two.
  • Congrats Warriors/Hunters/Shamans/Monks, we got three Prot shoulder tokens again! –  (Thanks @metao)
  • Whoo! We killed the boss! I got exactly what I wanted!
  • You must all be veteran, experienced players who know what they’re doing and have researched every boss fight in here!
  • I am happy with getting 16 gold on a coin roll I’ve used for the 10th straight week in a row!
  • It’s okay, I don’t need a summon!
  • That’s okay, we don’t have to kick that obviously AFK Mage over there who’s not casting anything.

What else would be extremely unlikely for someone to say in Raid Finder?

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Emergency AFK? 6 Ways to Handle It Like a Pro

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Have you ever heard of the perfect storm of raiding?

Not a single cloud in the sky. Calm and steady waves. You have enough players present even though 1 or 2 players have signed out for the day. But you can’t quite shake that feeling it’s just too good to be true.

For us, it started out much the same. But then, a series of unfortunate events occurred. Lodur had a computer shortage. I had to race through the streets to pick up mom. Some people were going to be a little late due to overtime at work. We were ultimately left standing with 22 people. What could we do until everyone had returned to their battle stations?

On the perfect day, none of these things would have happened. But every so often, you get that day where the universe just likes to screw with you and cause havoc for players. As the GM, I admit that feel uneasy and anxious when not raiding. All that time is being wasted just by sitting there.

stormcloud

What do you do if you don’t have a full crew to work with? Are there options when someone needs to step out briefly for a few minutes?

If there’s trash still up, go do what your parents yelled at you to do when you were younger and take out the trash! By the time you clear it, the player should be back in business and ready to go.

1. Switch another player in

Easiest solution. Is there any other players online that you can pull in? Most raiding teams have a bench or maybe you have a recruit who is willing to step in. Activate the members you have around who you can grab.

2. Make some attempts in, even if it’s short handed

Just because there’s a player out doesn’t mean you can’t at least get warmed up and give exposure to your players. Have them get a handle for the opening phases. Start practicing some of the mechanics. Get them thinking about how they’re going to react to the different phases. By the time your other raider gets back, they’re the one that has to play catch up.

3. Downshift and clear (Heroic)

This is generally not a first option. I’d only consider this under a few circumstances. First, it’s clear that the players gone aren’t going to be back anytime soon. We’re talking an internet outage or a computer exploding or some other case where it’ll take longer than the rest of raid to resolve. Second, the raid group is nearing the end of the raid week. Maybe the raid is on a day 2 or a day 3 and it’s clear that there won’t be enough time left. Lastly, if there is still valuable loot to be had in the rest of the instance. Certain trinkets, weapons, or 4-piece drops that players are missing will warrant an instance clear.

4. Alternate content

Within instances like Naxx or the first tier of raids in Cataclysm, you had options on where to go and what bosses to do. Throne of Thunder is completely linear. In previous instances, your raid could have switched to a different wing and gotten down a different boss (preferably one on farm) while you waited for the lone player to return.

5. Wait and call an early break

Easiest solution on the planet. Give people a breather. It’s not uncommon for players to switch screens or alt tab and browse other sites (like this one) and catch up on other things going on. If you’re on a progression boss, the wait can allow players to catch up on additional information. Or be like me and sneak off to grab a quick bite from the fridge. It’s free time to spend!

6. Flex it up

Enough said. I’ve written about it a few times here (and here). No need to elaborate here! But it’ll be available in the next patch as something to kill prolonged time with.

Don’t despair like me at the thought of an underwhelmingly numbered raid. There’s always something that can be done until your group is back to full strength. However, if you find yourself consistently at less than capacity, then you’re going to want to start addressing that.

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