First off, I would like to apologize for my recent lack of activity in the Guild.  I feel as through I have let many of you down in-game, Omega here on the forums, and the Guild as a whole in terms of Alliance representation.  Although we are a laid back group, it is still important for me as Guild Leader to be present regularly to talk to many of you, learn your opinions, and I am currently failing to do this.

I am growing increasingly concerned about the direction our Guild is taking in terms of goals and mindset.  While I do not pretend do be familiar with much of the Guild's history, I can say with certainty that even before I succeeded Moon as Leader, that we have become more neighborly with the other Guilds in the Alliance, and have changed our focus to become less obligation-oriented, as well as having a calmer atmosphere.  I have received numerous complaints in the past few weeks regarding the behavior and attitudes of more than one BG member, and I believe our changed and changing ways to be the cause.  We have become too concerned with things that are not truly important; namely wealth, titles, and other forms of prestige.  Elitism is discouraged in both this Guild and the rest of the Alliance, so it saddens me to see this change in perspective.  Few members seem to have this attitude at present, however, it seems that this problem is only getting worse, and that others are beginning to follow.

At the center of this is my own frustration, which has led to many of these problems.  My lack of long-term planning, combined with recent inactivity has left confusion, little leadership, and vague promises of new things.  In tandem with the rise of apathy I have seen in the Guild, we are starting to segment as a community and go astray from our core values and beliefs.  Again, I hold only myself responsible.

I do not expect to become active again in the next few weeks minimum.  My course load is extensive, and I have just landed an important position within the MAE Department here at the University.  I have little time apart from studying and real-life social obligations to put into the game.  I have left many projects, guides in particular, unfinished as I simply do not have the time to complete them.  I apologize for these in particular, as I know I told many of you in-game that these would have been completed months ago.  Similarly, I owe Omega another apology for his patience as I work on changes here on the Site and Forums; changes promised months ago.  I have kept my Alliance obligations to a minimum, which not only adversely affects the Guild, but the Alliance as a whole.  I intended to support Sharei in her new position as Alliance Leader, and yet it seems I am only compounding the problems by being difficult to reach, and not being present in-game to discuss the state of the Alliance and changes.  This is one of the key responsibilities of a Guild Leader in our Alliance, and I am failing it in every regard.

With all of these things in mind, the stability of Boston Guild is shaky at best right now.  Leadership is needed, and I cannot provide any at this time.  There are several possible paths to take here, from appointing new Officers, appointing a new Guild Leader, or beginning structured activities, but I do not feel that any of these will solve the core problems we are facing.  I cannot solve these alone, and so I ask that you all give your input here and give suggestions so that we can once again be the community for which we love this Guild.

I know I am one on the list of people who you have gotten complaints about because of my farming / title grinding. I have talked to both Aura and Sharei about this and taken care of it. We had a long talk in BG guildhall about several things that were bothering me and other people and were able to come to conclusions on just about every one. I hope things look up for you Ariena. Real life comes FIRST no matter what. Always has and always will be. We will all be here when you get back. Do not worry about things happening in the guild / alliance. Its just part of MMORPG Alliances. I have been playing MMORPGs for 10 years now and I have seen many guilds / alliances go through shifts and changes. It is just part of the game. People change their focuses. People shift their attentions. People change their minds. It is just the nature of people. I am confident that you will adapt and overcome Ariena. You are a great leader and I would not want to be anywhere else. I await your return and hope that everything is going well for you. Congrats on your schoolwork and I wish you all the best. You can always reach me ingame or on here or through emails at Gonlau85@hotmail.com

Thank you all for coming with responses so quickly, Adamant in particular for registering with the forums to post.

It seems I have grasped the problems well, as you all seem to agree with the bulk of my post.  Before taking action, I would like to hear from others on these matters, and ponder your responses.  Alfrond brings up an interesting point about Alliance activities that has had me frustrated for a long time now.  Simply put, we do not have enough active members to do many of the more fun and challenging tasks in the game without turning to the Alliance.  While I enjoy spending time with the other Guilds, I feel that our shift towards doing more stuff in the Alliance has severely limited the things we do solely as a Guild, and I feel these Guild-only events are important.  One of the things I am considering is bringing back Guild Night for some fun and camaraderie.

I think the best way to go from here is to figure out what everyone wants, plain and simple.  Post here with what things you like and dislike (no sugarcoating) about the Guild and Alliance, and list some memorable moments (good and bad) that you have had with us.  Alfrond commented that he enjoys the activities and people, I am interested in which activities you like the most if you care at all, and your thoughts on what Guild Night would mean to you.

Omega, you bring up contacting our "retired" members, and I very much like this idea.  I think many of our members that have left did so because they got bored, or felt like they ran out of things to do.  I want to accelerate my PvP programs to include weekly scrimmages and training (smaller scale per training event) and in tandem with the new content added in the April update, I feel many players would be interested in returning.  I'd like to discuss the content of the email with you.

Umm...well. It's been already sent.  IT was just an invitation to the conversation, nothing fancy.

When is the next time you will be on? If at all possible I would like to jump on vent with you and talk.

Sometimes it is easier to articulate thoughts talking then typing. But I will attempt to be on later tonight. Can you give me roughly a time to look for you?

Those sound like really great ideas. I'll be sure to check out those guild nights and forum contests.