Quote by Jedilicious
I don't think anyone expects you to have all the answers to all the suggestions. Just having an Announcement about the details (before a public statement in-game) would have been helpful.
I would point out that there was no official Announcement in game. Zep and I were going through the process of getting the new guild set up, get our Officers and Captains in place in the new guild, so that we could make the transition as smooth as possible
when we were ready to announce it and begin the realignment. Which, it seems, is exactly the kind of thing you want us to be doing.
While we were doing this, a few folks happened to be on and caught a whiff of change in the air and asked what was going on.
Would you have preferred we said, "Nothing to see here, move along"?
Instead, much to my husband's dismay, I took over an hour of our time online together yesterday afternoon, and then another three hours last night to discuss and address some of the questions and concerns that came up as a result.
Quote by Jedilicious
The problem I had today was when you announced the split in gchat you explicitly told members (who were surprised by and questioning that decision) that there had been an open discussion on the forums and that no one had complained - thus you had made the decision you did. When a few of us came to the forums to see this public discussion, there was not one to be found.
As I pointed out, this is either a miscommunication, which every one of the Officers have addressed from varying perspectives, or, as you put it, "active misdirection" about what really occurred.
Every Officer was present for the discussion about the guild split and was part of the decision making process on how we would proceed. Not one of us was involved in a "public discussion." And in gchat we specifically said we felt there wasn't enough time to handle this level of decision publicly.
What would be my gain, or Zep's gain, to specifically lie about this in gchat when it would be so easily provable on the forums? There would be no gain, and only the chance to look duplicitous if we actually did lie about the situation.
Quote by Jedilicious
Thus my feeling of a bait-and-switch... that we were told one thing in-game to quiet any discussion/questions that did not end up being true when we got to the forums.
My lost 4 hours of game time (and my husband's resulting frustration) would disagree with fact that we tried to quiet discussion about this.
I didn't actually log out of Taelyn until the discussion had sufficient time to move away from the topic and on to showtunes.
This feels like a deliberate mis-characterization of how the events took place yesterday.
Quote by Jedilicious
Even tonight, Justjon was the only 'Captain' in-game doing invites. One of the other members asked about the guild split and a discussion ensued... and there are no Officers around to field questions or discuss what's going on with the guild. Poor Jon got ambushed, and I feel bad for him.
It may have a lot to do with the fact that I spent another 3.5 hours on this website responding to this very thread doing my best to address every concern that was being brought up and field the accusations of intentional misdirection levied.
Quote by Jedilicious
The game is 3 weeks old. Major changes are happening with the guild. Where are you guys? In-game, I mean. Not here on the forums. Players are looking for you in-game.
Doogiegood was incredibly active during this time. He was handling the personnell management of the guild both in game and on the forums. It was a FULL TIME JOB that he was doing VOLUNTARILY while also working a full time job in the real world and finishing up his education.
I have been logged in nearly daily (usually 3 or 4 of the 5 workdays) and am usually around from about 6pm EST - 9pm EST, and usually put in two or three, 2-3 hour sessions on at least one (if not both) of the days of the weekend. I may not be spamming the gchat or Stonewall channels, but I am there.
As a new Officer, I remained in the background and let the more experienced officers take center stage as I learned the ropes. Bear in mind, right up until recently we had a full staff of Officers.
However, quite suddenly a few officers had to step down for personal reasons. In this void I have attempted to step up and be as available as is humanly possible.
I'd be surprised that Doug would have disclosed his reasons for stepping down to anyone outside of the guild leadership. It's unfair of you to lay claim to the reasons for someone making a choice about how they are, or are not, interacting with the guild. Any reason given to us would have been in confidence and would not be something we could share in support or defense of your accusation.
Quote by Jedilicious
And yes, before everyone jumps on me, I understand real life schedules, and I understand I can't expect an Officer in game 24/7. But the past few days I've been playing the game 8-hours straight (work has been light), and not seen one Officer log in... aside from Zepari and Taelyn for today's 'announcement.'
I have been logged in game every evening this week, specifically because of the void of the number of Officers we currently have.
I was logged in for almost the entire day yesterday on my main "Kor" from about 10am until about 3:00pm when we finished getting Soldiers of Stonewall set up, then I switched to Taelyn, an alt I created so I would have the ability to do guild management in the Knights, and spent the next hour and a half addressing the guild split issue even though we weren't yet ready to announce it.
I'm not sure how much more I could possibly do "increase" communication. I've even posted my email and chat access via GTalk or AIM if people wanted to contact me directly outside of these forums or the game.
Finally around 4:30 I logged out to actually get some stuff done, you know, in the real world where it matters. After my husband and I had a chance to eat, I logged back in around 5:30 and remained in-game until 8:30 SPECIFICALLY in case questions needed to be answered or issues addressed.
I didn't actually get to PLAY during this time mind you, because I was responding to this and other threads.
Quote by Jedilicious
Perhaps I and my frustrations should go. :unsure:
No contracts were signed, and we take no umbrage against those who decide that Stonewall isn't for them. Our goal is that you enjoy your experiences in game and with the guild. If you don't and you find better fulfillment elsewhere, we wish you the best.
I found Stonewall a little over a year ago, and found that community was right for me. So much so, that I hung around long after I stopped playing STO. When the second call for Officers went out, I thought I would volunteer to help this guild maintain those standards for a new group of friends that would be joining us with SW:TOR's release.
I used to spend all of my free time playing MMO's. I broke that habit years ago and was happier for it. I am enjoying SW:TOR specifically for the stories that BioWare is famous for, so I put in the free time I would set aside for gaming for SW:TOR. I've got no stake or desire to get involved in the "politics" or "drama" that some often perceive within guild management.
I have no desire other than to maintain the same fun and safe, and freely open community that Stonewall had been for me. Please remember that I am volunteering my free time to help address this concerns FOR YOU.
If it isn't enough, then I apologize. I've got too many responsibilities to voluntarily devote 6-8 hours a day, every day, to any online community. I hope you find the specific kind of structure you are looking for somewhere and are happier for it.
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.
-Mike
