How do you measure the success of a guild?

I'm not gonna clog up guild chat with this one, and talking to the ones who listen doesn't seem to matter much anymore. So here it is:

We've passed our 3 year anniversary now. Is Horizons successful? Are we still doing what we were created to do? Are you happy in guild?


Here's my answer:
Sleepywood has a thread in GD now about "Have you ever led a guild?"
Overwhelmingly, the answers there from former guild masters included the idea that a guild is simply a large extended buddy list and that very little goes on beyond that idea. Guilds that lose their focus go inactive, members drift apart, they stop playing together and folks leave.

Horizons was successful. It's served its purpose, but it no longer does what I intended it to do. Instead it is doing (for the most part) what has happened to all of those former guilds. For those of you who do not know, Horizons started out as NiGHTsBreeze, a guild led by Shifty. A small group of friends, I kept adding members as a jr master, and eventually - we grew from 20 members to 60. At levels from a max of 130 to 15, the guild tried to do 1 zakum run, was crashed (at the time zakum was only summoned on 1 channel) and we lost those higher levels who went and joined other guilds. Shifty was not around much due to moving issues, and I had promised him I'd look after guild.

Now, shortly after this time, another jr master tried to create a 'pro' guild. Thing was, he didn't just leave and try to start his own guild. He left and tried to recruit from Nights. This happened over Keith's and my honeymoon actually. The entire trip out to Cali and back, I tried very hard to hold the guild together. By the time I got back, Shifty also wanted a 'pro' guild. Members were leaving because of that single failed boss run and the inability to guild run. There were no 4th jobs then, no apples. Just levels and equip without the stats we have now. Shifty's answer to this included removing the lowest levels and putting in possible level restrictions. I offered to take the lowest ones- I didn't want to see them removed from guild, and Shifty agreed. Only - a whole lot more of the members came.

Horizons was created for the lowest levels, to help each other and to be able to get to do bigger things together. I worked very hard in game getting dead mine scrolls and selling them to buy each and every member that got to level 50 a zakum helm from other guilds- Unify, Ascendancy, Vengeance. That was the purpose- when 4th job came out, I tried to help every member with skills and equip. When the hackers began killing the guilds, I made New Horizons to hold the members to keep Horizons title safe because so many members had gpqed for points. And in all this time, I had logged on almost every single day of the year. I spent entire days and all-nighters trying to learn how to host, and making connections so the highest members could play at zakum and the newest boss- horntail. The blessing came with all the friends I had made in Ascendance. It was their kindness, and the patience of the Horizons members that helped me keep the guild together. They helped us, and we were still helping our lowest members. Over time, and with their help, Horizons had a sharp increase in levels. Everyone was able to go, have fun and enjoy playing together. We had fun in fm, and on vent too. Eventually, we were able to zakum on our own without help.

Fast forward a bit to last year. Ascendance was having troubles, and fewer and fewer of the members ever got together to play. They all drifted to training solitarily. Unify/ Accension fell apart and changed leaders several times from hosts not being able to get folks to play together. And all during this time, I had spent hours and whole nights trying to convince various members to stay with us because we weren't able to go to horntail.
They left anyway. I made Horizons Koc, and then AncientOnes to allow members a chance to add their characters just to stay in touch while playing. I watched as new members were not tolerated and made fun of- there was no more helping for the lower levels. Guild as a whole seemed to be getting meaner. The first complaints of being ksed started happening regularly.

Then the hackings started. I tried very hard to keep guild together- frustrated and hurt members were leaving left and right. It became difficult to even get 5 other people willing to play together anywhere- from gpq to zakum. To date, I've spent an estimated 11b - 12b mesos on helms, skills, equip for members- including hacked members of both Horizons and Ascendance, doing my very best to make it possible for members to play together. That's just mesos, but behind that, there is the time I've taken away from Keith- or anything else, and the real money. In September, I will have been playing for 5 years in Maple. I won't say here how much I've spent, but it's several thousand dollars- over several accounts. I have a level 200, who has turned into the greatest dust-accumulating useless trophy ever, because I cannot get 5 people willing to play. With over 300 slots in 4 guild sections, it shouldn't be too difficult to find just 5 people, should it? Now when I go to log in, I dread what I'm going to hear. Anything from complaints to ks, to so-and-so wants to leave guild because we don't go play (insert wherever here - Scarlion, Zak, Horntail, Gpq, Cwk). Or better yet- so-and-so left the guild because they want to make friends elsewhere- but don't worry cause they left mule x behind so they can stay in touch. (In short- toodles, I'm leaving but taking up a slot of your guild cause I don't want to seem like a complete jerk for dumping a non-active guild anyway).


So if you've read this far, you might be thinking something along the lines of "so what?" - every guild has its troubles, every year for the last 4 years (yes ever since NiGHTs) guild has gone through cycles of this same stuff.
The bottom line for me is I finally realized that my job seems to be done. What I promised to do, I did do. I looked after the guild, as I promised. My mesos and energy are depleted. All those little levels back then- well, they've turned into Kaleb, Speedy, Olivia, even Al (Spartan), Sunny, and so many more. We certainly have the capability to play together, but I feel more and more like the guild is refusing to play together by choice.

I was asked once about a week ago - "Since when did we become a bossing guild?" The answer to that was 3 years ago with the help primarily of Ascendance, and that fulfilled the last requirement of that promise I made to Shifty so long ago. I looked after the guild as best as I could, but I can no longer do it alone or with minimal help. There have been a handful - like Andrew, like Gamma, that have tried to gather members and host runs, but more often than not, the guild does not respond. A guild that plays together will stay together. One that does not will simply rot away, one member leaving at a time.

So...... how do you judge the success of a guild?
By the willingness of the members to continue playing together, helping each other, and treating each other well after the guildmaster gets worn out. Will our guild be successful - or will it turn into a 300+ slot extra buddy list destined to follow all the other big guilds? I need the help of every member - not just to be a friend, but be what was intended - an active, willing player and guildmate.


~Rana

i actually say horizons was a successful guild there for a long time, doing everything from zak runs to cwkpq, gpq, training together, helping buddies with various tasks, and so on. sadly, i think the guild has started to grow apart due to nexons failings, as a lot of the more steadily playing members have become inactive due to the constant hacks and exploits that are constantly being developed by the idiots that cant seem to play a game wthout them.

yes i know i have become seriously inactive, but thats mainly because i lost the will to play after all the mini-rollbacks started eating my gear, and nexon basically said "shove it, we arent gonna do crap" im in the process of trying to sell some of the flashier gear i have (a.k.a. spectrum goggles) so i can re-fund myself with at least a decent glove, and im going to have to level my bandit using my cursayer again, as i cant wear my gdk till i gain at least 1 lvl, possibly 2 (my lilins ring vanished during a RB).

sad to say, even if i do regain my ability to play, ill probably still wind up quitting, as nexon has been steadily going downhilll for the past year or so, and at a fairly regular rate. it makes me sad to think of all the friends im going to leave behind when i leave, and i wish everyone the best of luck with what theyre doing, and dont be afraid to send me a facebook invite (send me a pm with a note saying who you are, and ill send you my email addy so you can find me) as i check there once every day or two...

that being said, i need to get going, my gf is waiting on me, we have things we need to do today. talk to everyone later!!

oh rana i love read this text. i will do anything to help! and guildm8s. I understand when u say if any1 is like lvl 50~70 maybe some guildies don't help him but the power of friendship and HELP is there. Helping the higer lvls, lower lvls helping all the ppl. I'll doo evertying in my "power" to help this guild!

Rui

Rana you're amazing
You did everything for other people and you did it out of kindness and that's aweinspiring.
I'll do my best to contribute all I can to the guild and help you hold it together xD

please rana do not fall out on us just because of small mishaps. if the leader of a guild starts thinking her guild is going downhill, others will follow and it WILL become what you have just said it will be. however, if you keep hoping for the best, the best will happen.

a great quote that i have come to learn and love dear to my heart is, "everything is good in the end, if it's not good, then its not the end." please remember this quote every time you think Horizons is going to be unsuccessful, because it is not unsuccessful.

out of all of the guilds i have been in during my 4 years of playing this is the only guild that has 15 or more people on every day and as long as i have been in this guild, there was always people willing to help others.

I read your post Rana, I am with the guild for I dont know 2-3 years? maybe more. I remember joining to Hozirons after getting back from a big break and seeing Syed's guild almost empty and the title said "please join the horizons guild, talk with willowbreeze" and quickly contacted the guild, shortly after I joined the guild being level 50 and was happy with the guild I just joined. Very nice, active and helpful people from the whole world and nobody cares about the fact im from Israel that some people hate, infact they even thought it was cool. They didnt make fun of my english which got improved a lot since then. I met Jono, Kaleb, Matt, Rana, Keith, Rachel, Bill, Bennie, David, Moses and many more which turned out to be my best friends for that time talking each day, playing together. I got a lot of help from them from weapons that I could dream of and a zhelm which until that time was nothing but a far dream. I got motivated to train although I was slow and only level 101 today its still an achievement for me.
I didnt care about runs since my computer couldnt handle them but I did some GPQ's and CWKPQ's when I could, helping members when they get KSed and help with quests and everything they wanted.
We had some downfalls if it was annoying guild members or hacked members we stood together. Sadly, we had a hacking strike on the guild some got hacked and quit not long after some of the old members and my best friends left and today when I log into the guild I barely know anyone in the guild, doesnt talk much in the chat and focused on training for those reason along with me joining the army I lost intrest in the game, the guild was the reason I played.
For the question, is the guild successful? right now my answer is no. It had glorious days but they are over.
We can change that and make the guild a better place again but it requires help from the members, I do want to see Horizons rise again and although I am in the army most of the time I am here on weekends, I never left and never will and I will help getting this guild back up again when needed.

You did a great job on the guild Rana ad I know you for a long time, you are an amazing person and we can change this guild again. I will always be here to help my friends.