"Mama, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Sure, what's up?
"I'd really like to do some raiding in MoP. Where do I sign up for that?"
As I hope everyone remembers from the Declaration of Purpose and Principles as well as from the application for membership in the guild, the Wreck List is not a raiding guild. Which means that while the guild encourages any members who are interested in raiding to go ahead, the guild as such is not here to organize the raids nor is any member guaranteed a raid spot. Not even me. The scheduling and raid rosters are completely in the hands of those who work so hard to organize these things — and believe me, organizing an ongoing raid is an exercise in ongoing frustration. I know a number of former guild leaders who burned out which means that their guild eventually fell apart. I know first hand of other guilds that were ripped apart by raiding drama. I'm sure that you do, too. That is not going to happen to the Wreck List.
"That's good to know, Mama. What else should I know?"
A little history. We did the whole guild raiding thing in Wrath. While our raiding was very successful, it was also highly stressful. So at the beginning of Cata, I made some initial attempts at providing a framework for raiding, but left the responsibility for the actual organizing of the raids up to the individuals who were keen to raid. And that worked great. As our guild matures, I recognize that we are unlike any other guild. Our raison d'etre is not raiding; it's to provide a haven for leftists, progressives, Democrats, liberals, socialists, and even commies.
"Well, Mama, that's all good, but I still think I'd like to raid with the guild. What are my options?"
So here's the deal. Kaels leads a raid group. Pamena and Rubidum run a raid group. They are both very good groups. Kaels' group started very early in Cata and so were slightly ahead of the PamRubi group, although last night PamRubi got the Achievement "Glory of the Dragon Soul Raider" so maybe not so much any more. They also have different schedules and different raiding styles. From time to time each of these groups needs a new member or two as well as people to be there for back-up. These are each 10 person raid groups. All decisions about rosters are up to the raid leaders and are based on things like class needs, attendance and play style. To raid with either of these groups, talk to the raid leaders about what their needs and expectations are. Whatever their decisions, I support them unconditionally.
If anyone is interested in starting another raid group for Mists, please feel free. The only thing that the guild expects is that raid groups do not poach each others members.
"Why is that, Mama? I mean I shouldn't I be able to get the best players for my group, too?"
Poaching is out of the question because it is likely to cause drama. While I understand that personal issues arise from time to time between people, any drama that is related to raiding will not be tolerated. If raiding is more important than being part of this guild then there are literally thousands of other guilds out there. And I have absolutely no problem with anyone having toons in a raiding guild and having toons in the Wreck List. What I do have a problem when someone does start raiding with another guild and then attempts to take other members of their former Wreck List raid with them. Not cool.
"Mama. I get it. No Drama. But why are you posting this now?"
Because the current raid organizers are tying themselves in knots right now. They'd like to expand their rosters a bit for MoP but do it in a way that does not set the stage for potential guild drama. I'm posting this here now because the responsibility is not a one way street. I expect everyone in the guild to act with maturity and to remember that organizing a raid is much much much harder than actual raiding, even on heroic. I want Keals and Pamena and Rubidum to feel free to do what they need to do without fear of hurting feelings or disappointing people. And if more people are seriously interested in guild progression raiding than Kaels or PamRubi are able to accommodate, then I encourage those who don't end up working with either of them to talk to me about other options. You do not need my permission to organize a third guild raiding group or to move a raiding toon to another guild, but I would very much like to know first, and to insure that everyone knows the ground rules and that there are no misunderstanding that could lead to drama. I want raiding to be a win-win for everyone involved.
"Mama, can I have a pony and a sammich?"
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