Guild


 * For various information related to guilds, see Guilds (disambiguation).

A guild is an in-game association of player characters. Guilds are formed to make grouping and raiding easier and more rewarding, as well as to form a social atmosphere in which to enjoy the game.

Background
From Joining Guilds on the official site (most of the info below is based on this page):
 * Guilds offer many benefits including free items, opportunities for groups, access to trade skill masters, quest items, and readily available trade skill ingredients through gathering guild members. You may discover that a guild greatly enhances your gameplay experience. You can meet friends, share adventures, and find people to protect you if you fight in faction versus faction combat. Typically, players in good guilds can reach content that those not in a guild cannot. A good example of this is high level raiding content and dungeons.


 * Keep in mind that guilds are run by players and not Blizzard. The quality of the guild and the guild experience depends entirely on the players in that guild. Guilds can be a grab bag where you never know what you'll get. Every guild is different.


 * Finding a guild can be very easy. People often sit in town asking anyone to join their guild because guilds require a minimum number of members to create. However, finding a quality guild with quality members and leadership can be a difficult task. Don't be afraid to shop around. You can join one guild, try it out, then leave and join another guild until you find one you like.

''NOTE: You can move from guild to guild, but this will not enhance your reputation as time goes on. Sometimes the best thing to do is try to make your guild better and leave if that fails. Guilds will be more reluctant to invite you if you have the reputation of joining, taking what you need, and leaving for the next guild that has something better.''


 * See also:
 * Guilds info page at the Official site

Advantages of a guild

 * Having a group of people willing to help, and on later levels, being able to do high-end instances and raid instances such as Obsidian Sanctum, Naxxramas, Eye of Eternity and Ulduar. Also finding Battle Groups will be much much easier.
 * Having a group of people to socialize with when you're bored.
 * With the release of Cataclysm, guilds can now offer a wide array of incredibly useful perks for active members.
 * Guild members are often a more reliable and more kind source of information than general chat.
 * A guild bank lets you exchange items not right for your class or style with ones you prefer or simply help out those less fortunate.
 * Guilds are a great way to improve your World of Warcraft experience.

Finding a guild
There are many ways to find a Guild. Here are a few spots to check out:


 * Join the Guild Recruitment Channel in game
 * Watch the Trade Channel in game for recruiting guild messages
 * Check the Warcraft Forums
 * Use guild community providers to find guilds that are recruiting players of your class/spec.

Guild size
Guild size can be a big factor in choosing a guild. Guilds that invite too many people, that don't pick quality members, and invite new people all the time are generally less organized and less powerful. However, it can be much easier to find people to group within a larger guild. Smaller guilds are more personal. One complaint that players have about large guilds is that you often run into guild members you don't know ("I don't know all these people."). With a smaller guild there is much more opportunity to get to know each member. For that reason, some players prefer a small guild. Ultimately, the "Large vs. Small" debate depends on the guild and the members that join. There are large guilds that still remain very good. Leadership and recruitment policies are the main factors in determining how a guild turns out.


 * Q: What do you mean when you say small guild?
 * A: Most people consider a small guild one with less than 100 members. A guild with less than 50 members is getting really small, but most guilds start out that way.


 * Q: What do you mean when you say large guild?
 * A: Most people consider a large guild one with more than 100 members (usually more than 150). A cohesive, large guild can be a very good thing, but many large guilds have an active core and a bunch of loners.


 * Q: What are the advantages of being in a small or large guild?
 * A: Being in a small guild generally has a more tight knit community and more personal connections and better friends. But the same can be said for a big guild, and big guilds have shorter wait times for finding a group. Basically, just go where you feel at home and have fun.

Active members
Guild size is less important than the amount of regularly online active members. Some small guilds have more active members than large guilds. A big problem with guilds as they grow is the abundance of alts that pump up the guild size, but not the active membership. You want a guild with lots of active members, since that increases opportunities within the guild. Ideally, a guild you join will have active members in your level range.

Grouping
Grouping can be a good way to find a guild. Team up with people and play with them for a while. Make friends with them and play together for several days. If they get to like you, they will usually want you in their guild so that you'll continue to play with them. After helping them out, inquire about their guild. Perhaps they may help you join.

Reputation
Do your own research into a specific guild. As guilds become powerful, well known, and popular, rumors about them begin to appear. Often when a guild member does something to offend a player, that offended player starts spreading stories about the entire guild. Jealous players make untrue generalizations about the guild and its members. Make sure you find out the real story on your own with whatever evidence you can find such as screenshots or web reports. Sometimes a guild may be good and is just the victim of a bad reputation. Guilds can be very jealous or hostile toward each other and thus make up rumors to hurt the reputation of the other guild. Or, perhaps, the reputation about that guild is true. Maybe the guild is full of troublemakers. Find out yourself.

Large guilds who don't keep good tabs on and train their members to behave often suffer from poor reputations because you don't know what to expect from their members. Generally it isn't a good idea to join a guild that doesn't maintain some standard of behavior because your reputation can get stained by some immature jerk who isn't brought in line by guild leadership.

Another point to take away is that what you do while in a guild may reflect on the reputation of your guild and may get you kicked out. You should try to find a guild that fits your play style. It's hard to believe, but some guilds form on the basis of being a bunch of jerks; however, most don't. So be aware of the image a guild wants to project.

Diversity
Although some guilds form based on specific race or class affiliations, like "Elf Druids of Elune", most guild have a variety of races and classes. The best guilds have not only a variety of classes (race isn't so important to gameplay due to the nature of powergaming), but also many different professions and play styles. If you like PvP, you should look for a guild that focuses on that play style. If you're into making things, then a guild with a variety of trade skills should be sought. You may need specific classes to fill needs for doing quests in a dungeon or instance, so a guild with a diversity helps with all sorts of situations.

Visit guild web sites
Visit the World of Warcraft.com Guild Recruitment forums. They contain links to various guild sites. You can visit their web sites, see what activities they engage in, and check out their rules. Quality guilds often have very good web sites and active forums, which can indicate that they are a good guild to join. You can also ask members of a guild if they have a web site.

Interview guild members
If you find a guild you like, interview some of their guild members. Ask them how things are in their guild and if they enjoy it. If you're interested in joining, ask them who you should talk to. Be very careful when messaging guild members because their impression of you is very important. If you offend the guild member, they may spread the word about your offensive request (via guild chat), and that could harm your chances of joining. Be on your best behavior. Asking to join one of the more powerful guilds can actually be similar to a job interview in real life.

Positive guild behavior
Things to consider when looking for a guild:


 * Good Grouping
 * One of the most important things you need is the ability to find groups to help you complete your quests. That's why most people join guilds. Guild members are generally much more reliable than strangers, since honesty is a better policy in the long term.  Running a Raid or Battleground with a pick-up group can be difficult or frustrating due to each player acting in his/her own self interest, a frequent lack of communication, and the general challenges of dealing with strangers.


 * Have good leadership
 * A guild needs clear leadership and strong rules. Members need someone who can resolve conflicts and give direction to members.


 * Generous
 * Look for guilds whose members are willing to share items and help you get things. You shouldn't expect free handouts for no effort. A quality guild will offer items and discounts to their members. Futhermore, a guild that values generosity will have little or none of the issues discussed under Drama below.
 * Similarly, high-level players often run through lower-level content for fun. Such players may even invite level-appropriate characters to come along for easy EXP or loot.  Again, this is best viewed as a happy accident, not as something they owe you; guild veterans have their own business to take care of, and will quickly tire of somebody who constantly begs for favors.  Conversely, you'll probably receive more invitations if you build a reputation for being friendly, sharing what you have, and generally pulling your own weight.


 * Fairness
 * Some guilds show favoritism towards their core members (usually a difficult to determine and amorphous collection) or friends or relatives regardless of their behavior. Other guilds only pay attention to their high level members and generally let the lower level members struggle until they make it to a high enough level. You should look for a guild that treats its members fairly and as evenly as possible. Since you will be a new member, the general pattern puts you at the bottom of the totem pole, so you don't want to be in a guild that treats you like dirt for no good reason. The best guilds help you level, but don't twink too much, so they know you're not taking advantage.


 * Low Spam
 * Guild chat is a very important part of a guild. Guild members typically use this method to communicate. Find a guild that has good guild chat rules and enforces them. Otherwise, you might have to put up with a lot of garbage text while you play. There are advanced chat options that allow you to turn off guild chat; however, this might cause you to miss out on fun, spur-of-the-moment events.


 * Drama
 * Item fights and guild members fighting with each other are common problems in guilds. If the guild has good leaders and quality members, these problems can be reduced or dealt with when they arise. Sometimes players quit a guild because of "too much drama." Games are supposed to be fun. If time is spent fighting, that's not very much fun. Don't be afraid to leave a guild (and if you're a guild leader, don't be skittish about kicking a member that's prone to this behaviour, despite personal ties) and you'll save yourself from more headaches in the future (and members if you're a guild leader). There will always be other guilds to join and you can always create your own (and always recruit new members).


 * Mature Leaders
 * When players get power such as the ability to remove guild members, demote them, and tell them what to do, they sometimes abuse that power. Find a guild whose leaders are responsible with the power they have.

Applications
Many times a guild will request that you put an application on their guild site before they offer you a guild invitiation. This is particularly the case with endgame PvE guilds, who require a pool of skilled, intelligent players to progress through raid content. Just because a guild requires an application doesn't mean that they are an elitist or exclusive group. Often it is seen simply a routine requirement for any potential new member, or a way to quickly introduce them to current guild members.

Guild applications vary wildly, but almost all will ask for your character name, class, level, and guild history. Many will also ask about your real-life age and gender, specific instances you are attuned or keyed for, raiding experience, hobbies or interests outside of WoW. In general it is a good idea to be as specific and thorough as possible on a guild application. Unless you already have grouped with or otherwise know current members of the guild, this will probably be their first introduction to you and if you are serious about becoming part of the guild you will want to make an impression that will improve your chances of getting an invite. Some guild leaders and officers look for specific things on an application (and there can also be specific things they watch out for) and in general a guild application is examined closely to determine whether the applicant would be a good addition to the guild as a whole. But the best policy is simply to be yourself; if you present yourself as someone who you aren't, your new guild will probably find out quickly (and you probably can find another guild that you will be happier in).

Sometimes guilds allow multiple people to apply as a group for the guild (often because they are real-life friends), but often they ask that you do not. If they do not, or if it is not clear whether they do, it is a bad idea to put in a group application. If you truly want to join a guild as a group, the best way in this situation is for one person to join the guild and let them get to know that person. If leaders determine that this first applicant is a good addition to the guild, they will often invite other people because they know that person. Even if this does not happen, you always have the option of leaving the guild in order to find a place that you and your friends are all welcome.

Conclusion
Do some research, shop around, and keep trying until you find a good guild. Don't give up. There are good guilds out there. You just have to find them. Remember, you can always create your own guild if you want and make one that follows your own requirements.

Leaving a guild
Type.

(It is a good idea to let the guild leader know why you are leaving first.) If you are the guild leader and want to disband Type

Don't do this too much, because your reputation of guild hopping may catch up with you. Very few guild hoppers can have good reasons every time they quit. In that case, guilds suspect you don't do any research.

Since the Cataclysm expansion Blizzard has introduced Guild Reputation. If a player leaves a guild or is kicked that character's reputation will be reset to 0.

Starting a guild
Talk to a guild master NPC in a major city. A charter can be purchased for. You will need 4 other Players to sign the charter before you can turn it in and start your guild. Due to a bug, your Guild Charter must be in your original backpack when you give it to the Guild Master to create your guild. Another bug is that sometimes the charter breaks and tells you that any name you choose already exists, including random letters. The only 'fix' for that is to delete the charter and start over. Choosing a tabard design costs, but the guild can be created without paying for the tabard design. When you still have the guild charter you can change the guild name to something that isn't taken.

Guild names are case sensitive - this means that there could be two guilds, one named Guild of Rogues (spelled with a lowercase o in of), and the other named Guild Of Rogues (spelled with a capital O in Of), on the same server.

Note: When signing a guild charter, once a player's character signs, no alternate characters on that account may sign. The charter must have signatures from 4 other Players, each on a different account. This is why people sometimes offer to pay to have their charters signed. Yet you can have different character from the same account join the guild after charter is turned in.

Also, it is considered polite to ask someone to sign your charter before giving them the charter. When you spam someone your guild's charter it closes out the main bag window and any other windows they may have open (vendor, trade, etc.) It is extremely rude and annoying to the other player to do this. So please be polite.

Once you begin getting signatures on your charter, focus on getting the remaining signatures on your charter and registering the guild. Signatures can disappear if you delay, since players are allowed to put signatures on other charters until you turn yours in.

Guild types
Guilds are often classified into types, such as Raid Guild, Social Guild, PvP Guild, Roleplaying Guild, etc. Keep in mind that these categories are not mutually exclusive, and many overlap (for example, some raid guilds like to participate in group PvP, some roleplaying guilds raid, etc).

While raiding guilds are often very focused on raid preparation and progression, there are some cases where they also help members level or participate in group PvP. As most raids are from level 55 and higher, a Raid Guild will most likely be exclusive to players that are in the mid to high 60-70s (many level 80 characters depending on guild).
 * Raid Guild: A raid guild is formed to tackle end-game raid instances such as Naxxramas, the Obsidian Sanctum, and the Eye of Eternity. Raid guilds typically have a strong enough core player base to be able to attend at least the 10-man raids without the assistance of other guilds or PuGs, though they may team up with other guilds for 25-man raids. Important factors to distinguish are:
 * Attendance: These guilds will usually have raiding schedules, and you are required to attend to some of the planned raids, varying from a few to close to 100% of all raids.
 * Loot distribution: loot can be divided in many ways; examples are /roll, Loot council, Suicide Kings, and DKP (a coin earned via for example raiding, where the coin must be paid to get dropped loot). To prevent drama it is smart to understand the system in advance.
 * Required level of gear, raid experience, connection stability, maturity etc. These are factors of varying levels of importance and subjectivity that are best informed about by talking to officers of the raid guild.


 * Social Guild: A social guild is a guild where the members are generally very friendly with each other and play more to make friends or enjoy the game than to prepare for a raid. They are not usually very big guilds, consisting of anywhere between 20-150 members. The members are friendly, caring, and fun to be with, and often help new members out.


 * Roleplaying Guild: RP guilds concentrate on roleplaying, and are most likely only to be found on roleplaying servers. Guild chat may be in-character (although there is some controversy among roleplayers about IC guild chats), and members are encouraged to behave as their character and adhere strictly to the rules of a Roleplaying realm. This usually does not extend to Party Chat and Raid Chat.


 * PvP Guild: PvP guilds focus on player versus player content in battlegrounds and the Arena, in addition to World PvP and city raids. It's not uncommon for members of a good PvP guild to be the only players in the top PvP spots. These guilds are a great place to find arena team members. They are also ideal for people for whom PvP is the main allure of the game.


 * Leveling Guild: These guilds are often very large and are designed to help new players or alts level up. They usually consist of a very large range of levels, from lowbies to people in their 70s and a good number of 80s. This type of guild is a great place to find players to quest and do instances with as you level up, but is not a good place to find partners for end-game content. Sometimes these guilds have a tendency towards immaturity due to their size and general inclusiveness. It is not uncommon for a leveling guild to be connected to a raiding guild, and people who reach certain milestones in the leveling guild (item level, level, maturity, etc.) find themselves being invited into a raiding guild.


 * Bank Guild: These guilds tend to be non-public private institutions or held by a small close group of friends, IRL or online. In short they are just storage, a few extra pages to stash materials, items and occasionally gold. They tend to be held by an alt toon that becomes a mule, while the main and preferred alts see game play.

Communicating in a guild
Most guild communication happens via guild specific chat. The guild can also communicate via forums on a guild website. Often the guild will also communicate through a VoIP (voice chat) method, especially during instances, raids, or battlegrounds using programs such as Ventrilo or TeamSpeak.

Running a successful guild
Running a guild is not easy, and can take a lot of time and effort. It can also be very rewarding. One of the most important aspects to any guild is the quality of its leadership.

Before you create a guild
Before you create a guild, think first about what you want out of the guild you will create. Read through the types of guilds listed above for ideas. Maybe you already know exactly what you want and who you want to join, but if not you should think about those things now.

Develop your ranks and come up with the responsibilities those ranks will have and what each member needs to do in order to prove they can handle/deserve those ranks. When you create your guild, use your guild control tab in your social window to change the titles and privileges each rank has to reflect your decisions on the infrastructure. If you eventually plan to make use of the full ten ranks allowed to you by the game, you should set them all up as soon as possible; the all-too-simple rank administration system will not let you reposition ranks, so you have to rename each rank leading up to the new rank spot, then demote everyone to their previous rank.

Creating the guild
When you create a guild, you'll have four members. It is recommended that you be patient and actually find 4 people to sign the charter who will actually participate in the guild, not just people who will sign it to help you out and leave as soon as the guild is created. The guild charters were created for a good reason.

As your members join, make sure they understand the rules and goals that apply to the guild. This will decrease the possibility for drama and fighting within the guild. Use your guild message of the day to get out important information, for example: "Our homepage is @ www.our-guild.com" or "guild meet 5pm Saturday in Orgrimmar".

Communication
Develop a means of communication exchange so members can communicate even when they aren't all online. Some guilds get by without this, but for end-game content guilds it is necessary. You can do this with an external website, from guild hosting services or a forum or website hosted by someone in the guild. Other options are using groups on social networks such as Facebook.

Trust and Ranking
Most organizing of guild members happens via the Guild List UI or guild specific slash commands.

Remember that it is okay to allow others to hold power. Promoting members who have earned your trust to "Raid Leader" or "Veteran" can be quite productive. Though in order to maintain a guild, it is important to realize that the structure of the guild can define stability. When assigning ranks and dealing with promotion, it is often accepted that trust must be involved. Do not allow members who are somewhat new to you to gain ranking at a certain rate because of their skill or complaints. If players complain about being a low rank, it is their right to leave. However, do not take this as a sign to promote them to make them to stay. Members must learn to attain a promotion only if they work for it. If you cannot establish this, then it is possible for your guild to quickly crumble.

Do not promote people too fast. If you promote a new officer every other day, you're going to have 15 officers in a month. So be wary about who you choose to promote and how long they have been in the rank that they are currently before you promote them. It is acceptable for players to be initiates for months if they apply little-to-no effort in helping others in the guild. Remember that they should deserve the promotion; don't just give it away as an incentive for them to start getting more involved in the guild, as that will only give them more incentive to continue to do nothing. The ability to promote people is a very powerful privilege but if you use it too much, it will lose its power. On the other hand, if you use it too little, people will lose the incentive to continue to try to get somewhere in the guild. Keep that in mind.

Encouragement
When someone gets promoted, when a new members joins, or when a member does something generous and so on, make sure you give them incentive to continue on that path. One tactic is to give out "goodies" like free enchantments to people in the guild when they are promoted to some of the higher ranks. Another VERY important thing to do is to congratulate someone on a job well done. Use your guild message of the day to say things like "Congratulations [Player] on your promotion to OFFICER!" or "Welcome to the guild [Player]!" Also if you have a guild homepage, it would be a nice thing to do to put these kinds of messages on the main page.

Be enthusiastic. If you're not enjoying the guild, why should your members?

Give your members goals. Give them a direction or something to feel like the guild is making progress towards something - whatever that something is, is really up to you and what you've designed the guild for.

Empower your members. If you've given your guild a goal, then give your members the feeling that they have the power to get the job done. You can do this by reinforcing their faith in themselves, or simple by encouraging statements like "You're one of the best [class] on this realm, I know you can do it!"

Events
Have regular guild events. Try to have some guild meets or events that will keep your members feeling like they are part of an active community. Guild events are a good way for you and the rest of the guild members to see each other and more importantly for you to see who's needs help, who has what it takes to be a sub-leader and who needs to be told "don't do that." Make sure that you get the date and times of your guild events known to all your members via communications exchange like a homepage, guild message of the day, mail etc.

Dealing with conflict
Show your appreciation to your members and speak with those who are having problems. If you have someone that wants to leave your guild, don't let it burst your bubble. Everyone has feelings and if you speak to and (more importantly) listen to someone who wants to leave the guild, often enough you will find that they have a good reason for doing so.

It is inevitable that conflict will sometimes arise within the guild. The fairness and neutrality of the guild master is vital in resolving these issues, which can result from many things but are often due to perceived unfairness in some way. Do your best to listen to both sides and make a decision only after you fully understand the problem. Make sure to follow the rules you have set and not cave in to a player who breaks these rules, even if they have made significant contributions to the guild - this will only be bad for the guild in the long run, as other players will see it as unfair.

Other resources
There are some excellent resources for Guild Leaders on the official World of Warcraft Guild Relations forum. The Guides and FAQs compiled there will be able to answer many of the questions you will have as a guild leader.

Guild tabards and bank tabs
Each guild can design their own crest. This design is featured on tabards which all guild members can wear, as well as Guild Battle Standards, and is used to represent the guild in places such as guild members' Guild tab, and on the official World of Warcraft website. The guild leader designs the tabard for a fee of from the Guild Master NPC found in any major city. In some cities, there is a separate Guild Tabard Designer NPC standing nearby.

A player can purchase a tabard to wear for from a guild tabard vendor, found near the Guild Master NPC. If you are not in a guild, you may still purchase and wear a tabard, but it will be grey until you join a guild that has already chosen their design. The tabard is a visual symbol or badge of membership for each guild. The only purpose beyond the look is to display your guild or faction pride, otherwise tabards provide no mechanical benefit to your character. Once a tabard is designed, you must pay another each time to change it, so choose wisely the first time around.

The guild banks were introduced with patch 2.3 to help reduce player-created guild bank characters which often led to Terms of Use violations. More expensive than tabards, guild banks provide space for members to share items, much like a "multi-player bank." The Guild Leader can limit the players who can add and/or remove items from the bank. It features six purchasable tabs which have 98 item slots each; however, unlike personal banks, guild banks do not support the addition of loaded bags. The price for the first tab begins at, then increases for each successive tab, , , , , , for a grand total of. With Cataclysm came the guild advancement system, and two more bank tabs became available as guild perks: the seventh tab costs and is available to guilds that have reached level 5. The eighth tab costs and is available to guilds who have earned the Stay Classy guild achievement. The price of the bank tabs have led a few guilds to tax their members and complain that the guild bank prices are tailored for hardcore players and raiders, not casual guilds. Other than items, gold can be stored and used for repairs.

Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum number of characters that can be used in a guild name?


 * 24 Characters.

How do I join a guild?'''


 * Find a guild you'd like to be in, and ask one of its members. They might have to ask a guild leader (there can be more than one), and when they decide to let you in, you'll receive a notice that someone has invited you into their guild. You'll want to select "Yes", and that's it!

How do I start my own guild?'''


 * In all the major faction cities, there's an NPC who sells Guild Charters. You'll need to buy one, and then have four other players sign before you'll be officially recognized as a guild. Whatever you do, don't go around randomly shoving your guild charter in peoples' faces. This is considered rude and annoying, and you should be beaten with sticks if you do.

How do I leave a guild?'''


 * /gquit - This removes you from your guild. If you are the last man standing you would have to /gdisband. Alternatively, you can also leave a guild by right-clicking on your name in the list of guild members that is shown in the "Guild" tab of the "Social" panel; among the menu options that appears will be "Leave Guild."

How do I use the guild chat channel?'''


 * /g - Sends a chat message to all members of your guild.


 * /o - Sends a chat message to all officers of your guild.


 * Also note that you can turn guild chat off for certain ranks in your guild.

What's the deal with tabards?'''


 * The tabard is a visual symbol or badge of membership for each guild (or overall faction in the case of the Honor System reward Private/Scout tabards). They look cool, display your guild or faction pride, but provide no mechanical benefit to your character.  A guild tabard does, however, count toward 2 achievements:  Represent and Ten Tabards.

How do I add people to my guild?'''


 * /ginvite - Invites another player to join your guild.

How do I remove people from my guild?'''


 * /gremove - Removes a player from your guild.

If I have a tabard with one guild, do I need to buy a new one if I join a different guild?'''


 * No. The graphic on the tabard is dynamic and will change to the new guild's graphic when you either relog, change continents, or enter/exit an instance.

Can a guild change its name or tabard?'''


 * A guild's name may be changed by the guild master contacting a game master by in-game ticket, and politely requesting that the guild name be changed. The guild master must be the person to contact the GM, and the name being changed to must be within Blizzard's naming policy. The other option is if the name is reported for violating Blizzard's naming policy. Tabard designs can be changed by visiting a guild master NPC and paying.

What's the deal with guild ranks?'''


 * There are 5 guild ranks by default: Initiate, Member, Veteran, Officer, and Leader. Up to ten ranks are available, and the guild master can enable, disable, or rename them as he/she sees fit.  However, as noted above, ranks cannot be reordered; adding a rank between Member and Veteran, for example, would require renaming all levels below Veteran, then promoting or demoting as appropriate to get everybody into the right rank.


 * Rank names and privileges are customizable by the guild Leader. The privileges are:
 * Inviting players to the guild or removing them.
 * Promoting or demoting of members.
 * Viewing or speaking in Guild chat.
 * Viewing or speaking in the special Officer chat channel.
 * Editing public notes or viewing/editing of Officer notes.
 * Editing the guild Message of the Day or the Guild Information panel.
 * Viewing, withdrawing, depositing or editing the Guild Bank tabs.
 * Usually, Officers and Leaders can add and remove players from the guild.
 * Members of the guild can only perform promote/demote/remove actions on those of lower ranks than themselves.
 * Only Leaders can disband the guild and promote players to the Officer rank.
 * Only one character can be the guild Leader.
 * Guilds must have a minimum of 5 ranks. More ranks can be added by the Leader, up to a maximum of 10 ranks.

Why should I even join a guild?'''


 * Most people join guilds to seek out help on quest, instances, and even to get help attaining a certain set piece you may want. On PvP servers, guilds provide defense against griefers, or at least somebody to call for backup. Some people enjoy the social aspects and camaraderie. Others desire the structure a guild can provide. It's also worth noting that on some servers, players not in a guild are spammed en masse in major cities by guilds looking for members.

Creating a guild website
There are many ways to build a guild website. The most common approaches are:


 * Create from scratch: requires finding a straightforward web hosting provider or running a server on your home machine or elsewhere. You'll then have to install, configure and maintain software components such as a web server (e.g. Apache, IIS); add-on software modules (frequently written in PHP); and a SQL database to store the information server-side.  This is both well beyond the ken of many players, as well as time consuming, technically challenging, and can require quite a bit of ongoing maintenance.


 * Sign up with a guild hosting service: With the popularity of MMORPGs, and World of Warcraft in particular, a variety of specialized guild hosting providers have come into being to simplify the lives of guild masters the world over. These services may be free, or for-pay, or both (usually offering upgrades to the paid-only services). The prices vary from service to service, but are typically quite reasonable, especially in light of the complexity of the alternative described above. Options range from free ad-supported services to premium packages offering things like DKP systems or more file storage.

Typical features for guild websites
Guild hosting services typically offer:


 * Public and/or private forums for members to communicate with each other, or other tools for communications such as instant messaging.
 * Ventrilo or TeamSpeak voice server hosting and server status integration into the web site content. (Note that there has been a rash of people going into Ventrilo or Teamspeak channels and playing soundboards, commonly known as Ventrilo Harassment. To solve this problem, radio silence is recommended.)
 * Tools for tracking the roster of characters in the guild.
 * An application for scheduling and organizing raids, tournaments and other gaming events.
 * Applications for tracking treasure, items, or points accrued toward redeeming treasure (often referred to as a DKP system).
 * A news system.
 * Applications to facilitate accepting and managing player applications for membership in the guild.

Popular guild hosting services
A comprehensive list of guild hosting services can be found here.