Guildless

So yesterday I decide to take a stroll through the guild forums to see what's new and lo and behold what do I see?

"Bank tabs 2 and 3 are now closed. Contact an officer if you need anything from them." (*not an exact quote)

I wasn't really surprised. Previously someone had snagged a stack of void crystals from bank tab3 before leaving resulting in anyone but officers being kicked out of accessing it.

And apparantly the day before yesterday the GL found out someone that was stealing from tab2 resulting in the immediate closure of the tab.

But in both scenarios it was never adressed how the problem would be solved or if it would even be looked at beyond closing the tabs. So in my infinite stupidity I decided to start discussing the topic on the forums indicating potential solutions and that long term-members should be exempt from being treated like children because new guild members steal from the bank.

Suffice to say that drama ensued. Requesting for some form of clarity wasn't really appreciated and all of a sudden my posts get twisted into being offensive, hostile and even caustic which they were never intended as.

To top things off I get the classical GL private message stating: "If you don't like how I run the guild, get out."

So I did. There's completely no point in being in a guild that doesn't accept constructive criticism and where the leadership isn't willing to discuss anything and especially not their decisions.

The banking matter is closed. The GL issued the all-mighty: Here's a tip, if you want to be able to take things out of the bank don't put them in tab2 or 3. I don't know how this solves the issue beyond inviting people to steal from tab1 but one thing is certain, officers and their cronies don't have any problems because they still have full access. This in essence reduces the lower ranks to nothing but bank feeders who can put stuff in but can't take stuff out unless an officer is online and deems them worthy.

What irks me the most is that there was absolutely no platform to discuss anything in the guild. Decisions were made and we could either accept them or get the hell out. Discussing them constructively or not on the forums was simply not an option. People left continually but no explanation was ever given beyond whatever the guild leader 'thought' why people left.

Unfortunately I do have an opinion... and as such me and my guild were simply mismatched.

I wish them well, although I have a sneaking suspicion that the guild will last exactly until the GL burns out. If you control everything, including the flow of information you end up with a bunch of sheep in your guild. People that are more than willing to follow a strong leader but become incapable of holding a guild together without their mighty leader.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe I am hopelessly misguided... maybe, maybe... Still, it was an interesting 4 months being guilded. I am sure my alts will appreciate the extra attention (and gold) and I look forward to picking things up from a solo perspective.