I'm perfectly fine with Behemoth being worshiped!??(not really...but I think its funny.)??As for how old Behemoth is...I took over late 2007 and have been leading since.??Bamboo was around before us.
* Can anyone you feel lead a guild?
Absolutely not.??Like everyone else has said, some people are suited for leading, some aren't.
* What kind of people should be leaders for a guild?
People who are strong willed, charismatic to a degree, willing to admit faults and change when needed, calm, assertive, not drawn into drama, and who are able to make tough disciplinary calls.??One single person doesn't need all these traits, but they need to be able to recognize them in others and assign them as secondary leadership within the guild.??For example, outside of guild I'm not the most outgoing person.??I don't go on main and chat with people often, and am not super open with everyone.??I know these are faults of mine, so I've got people like Azul and Guillermo to fill that role in Behe's leadership.
I think the main thing a guild leader needs is the self awareness to know when they are lacking in a quality needed for leadership as well as the willingness/humility to rely on others to help lead.??I know if I didn't have my secondary leaders, I would go insane and would have ditched Behemoth long ago.??Without that sort of support, any guild is going to have problems sticking around and being steady.
* Does a guild need a goal it strives for to be successful, please give examples of why or why not if possible.
Any group of people need a set of goals, or at least a common interest (which could be seen as a goal) to hold them together.
* What does hearing the words "WoE guild" mean to you?
Being a WoE guild just means that one of the goals of the guild is to involve themselves in WoE.??To me, it doesn't mean elitists or better players or better gear.??Its just a group that wants to fight in WoE, nothing more, nothing less.
* What does hearing the words "social guild" mean to you?
I don't think there's any such thing as a social guild.??Rather, every guild is social, therefore there's no ONLY social guild.??That label actually annoys me because it implies that WoE guilds aren't social, which is so very far from the truth.??WoE guilds are, of necessity, social as well.??People are on farming and leveling all the time in order to stay competitive.??Guilds that WoE also have one of the highest activity levels, in my opinion, so to reject WoE guilds from the social guild moniker is unfair.
* Do you feel that a person needs a guild to find success and fun within the game?
I'd say this depends on the person and what they want to get out of the game.??If a person wants to be a loner, and spend their time farming/leveling solo, no guild is needed.??If a person wants to be successful in WoE and hold a castle...you kinda need a guild for that.??I do think its easier to party, socialize, and enjoy yourself if you're part of a guild, but that's just a personal opinion.??I know when I'm on any of my unguilded characters, I tend to feel lonely.
* Does a guild in your opinion "end" if the leader(s) is/are not active anymore, or is it possible to find someone else to "pass the torch to" so they say?
There are very few instances where a guild will make it through a successful leadership transfer and remain anything like it used to be.??We've all seen it happen:??old leader leaves, and generally the guild falls.??There are very rare cases, in my opinion, where this could work.??If the guild leader was very careful about choosing, grooming, and transitioning the new leader, its more likely to be a successful hand off.??I'm talking taking several months to train someone in, get them used to leading, and to get the guild used to following this new person.??If the guild leader takes the time to do this, no only with the new leader be more competent, but the guild members will be more confident that their old leader has taken the time to train someone and will be more willing to stay and follow the new leader.
Aaronock Wrote:A problem that I feel is common is now we're just reforming groups as leaders fall to the real life tide. Behemoth has just been fortunate not to suffer this kind of fate.
Its not good fortune. The reason Behemoth's been so steady is its strong secondary leaders. Its not that our leadership is more active than other guilds' leaders, overall, but that we have a very definite support structure of leaders so no one person gets burned out or is relied on too heavily. By having this network of leaders, we've planned for the inevitable absences that happen amongst people.
EDIT: combined posts