We had a lot of fun on Monday, August 19th, with a whole bunch of guild-related questions coming in from around the Twitterverse. Some of the questions were submitted in advance and some were asked right on the spot. My primary concern was making sure I got through the majority of the questions within an hour and, you know, not getting myself flagged for Twitter timeout. All went well! So here, then, is the archive of the event. I’d like to do another one down the road, too!
Hey gang, welcome to the #AskKurn Q&A! For the next hour, I’ll be taking your guild-related Qs. Just tag them with #askkurn!
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Also, don’t forget that TOMORROW at 10am ET, my Kick-Ass GM guide officially launches at http://kurn.info. :)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
First up, a great (though anonymous) question… #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
What do you think (about) guilds who have opinions about streaming and/or public guild kill YouTube videos? (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Is it a breach of privacy to those who aren’t recording/streaming? You can’t opt-out of being recorded. Is this something to consider?
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
That’s an interesting point, particularly as I’ve done my fair share of recording guild kills. I think that the majority of people (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
*like* to be recorded for posterity. I know that, years after Vashj & Illidan, I was really happy to have had those fights recorded. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
I think the onus is on those who are uncomfortable to tell their officers, but I think officers/streamers should let people know that (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
they are being recorded. Letting your guild know you’re streaming or frapsing is only polite! Awesome Q, thanks! #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
@kurnmogh if i’m streaming/recording, i usually turn names off and have the resolution so you can’t read chat.
— Chris (@Achloryn) August 20, 2013
@kurnmogh but by that same token, things like WoL tend to be public too, so is THAT a breach of privacy? /shrug
— Chris (@Achloryn) August 20, 2013
.@Achloryn Most of my fraps excluded chat and names, but what if you have the raw audio included? (Which I think is super-fun, TBH!)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
.@Achloryn That said, WoL has private/unlisted settings, too — but again, lots of people WANT to rank, so many logs are public…
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Next, @chillyeyesthedk submitted a few Qs. I’ll answer one now and come back for the others later. :)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
.@chillyeyesthedk asks: Is it a good idea to have 2x10m teams running at the same time if you don’t have enough for 25? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
I’d say it depends on your goal. Do you want to be a 25m team? Then that’s fine until you get enough people to field 25s regularly. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
If you don’t like 25s, there’s no harm in running 2 or even 3 or more 10m teams. All your preference! #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
From @michaelsee: Any recommendations on what more officers can do to help with recruiting? A simple question, but good to hear more ideas.
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
They can go forth and be awesome. One of the best ways to get attention is for your guild (and thus your members!) to be notable. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Have officers/members w/ a great blog, lots of Twitter followers, successful podcast. These will bring people in! Great question, thanks! :)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
From @shammyren: just started my own guild. What’s a good way to reprimand people for.breaking guild rules w/out embarrising them #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Excellent question, no one likes to be yelled at or embarassed! You can politely ask them to knock it off in public, but then follow up (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
with a private forum message (my preference) or a one-on-one chat to explain why the behaviour isn’t acceptable (breaks guild rules).
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Really depends on how severe the rule breaking is and how often it happens. Welcome to community moderation. ;) Thanks for the question! :)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Next up, an anonymous submission from the web form received over the last couple days: “Am I ready to be a guild master?”
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Not having more info makes this hard for me to answer. Be prepared to spend a lot of time dealing with guild STUFF & less time playing. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Be firm, but fair. Be approachable. LISTEN to your guildies! :) You can also read Module 1’s Sneak Peeks: http://t.co/wXbJldFmRy #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
From @syrcorax: How do you get raiders to stay in the guild during rough times? Like holidays w/ many off-signs, continuous wipes.. #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
You have to make it be part of the guild culture that people persevere through wipes and such. As to holidays… well, sometimes you (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
just have to cancel a raid or event. But also, while recruiting, make sure people can make your times REGULARLY. That’s key. Min reqs, too!
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
At least, those are the things that have worked best for me in the past. Hope that helps! :) #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Another anonymous web form submission: If I want to be a guild master, what skills should I work on? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Great Q, thanks! You should work on communication (listening and writing!) plus organization. Ultimately, the best GMs are ones (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
who communicate well with their guildies, who listen, who respond, and are very organized/plan ahead to try to ensure “things” don’t (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
hit the fan unexpectedly! The best GMs also really care about their guild & its members. And are also patient. IMHO! :) #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Here’s another Q from @Chillyeyesthedk: What are the (dis)advantages of 1 person being GM and raid leader? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Just off the top of my head: Advantages: Less time spent consulting another person on what they think, less red tape. More consistency. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Disadvantages: A lot of responsibility for 1 person. Lots of work! Blurred lines re: roles. Higher chance of burnout. #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Another anonymous web submission: How do I get people in my guild to stop fighting with each other? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Oof! Not easy. The first thing is you want some kind of policy in place to encourage guild members to be respectful to each other. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Then you can lean on that policy when you tell them to knock it off. If it persists, ask them to “chunk up”. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
They’re in the guild for similar reasons, probably. Help them recognize they’re all on the same team and have similar goals. GL! #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
From @Chillyeyesthedk: Does 25m raiding teach players better habits, awareness, personal accountability compared to 10m? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
I think 25m teaches people how to work within the bounds of a small team within a larger team. I think there’s more coordination. (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
That said, 10s are less forgiving. Losing 1 DPS of 17 in 25? No big deal. Losing 1 DPS of 5 in 10? HUGE deal. Thanks for the Qs! #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
*** Note: I spoke a little generally here and was a bit sloppy in my response, given the 140 character Twitter limit. In very general terms, it’s easier to recover from an error on 25-man (normals/farm) than on 10s, but in terms of pushing heroic progression for both sizes, you’re not going to get the boss down if you’re down someone, regardless of the raid size. Thanks to Anafielle, Kaleri and Antigen for the conversation and keeping me honest! ;) ***
Okay, I’m pretty certain the next question is a joke… but I’m going to answer it anyway. ;) #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
From @ViktoryLS: Using your tips/advice you’ve written, can you start a new guild today & compete with your previous guild? #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Yes, but given the timing of things and the fact that many of “my people” are still in @ApotheosisET, we likely wouldn’t be competitive (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
until the next expansion. We’d probably catch up to them at the end of Mists, but wouldn’t be really ready to compete, head-to-head, (c)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
until the new expansion. That said, I have no intention of returning to raiding, nor setting up a new guild! :) #askkurn
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Thanks so much for participating in the #AskKurn Q&A! I’ll have the Qs and As up on my blog in the next few days or so. :)
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013
Thanks again for all your awesome tweets and questions, hope that I was able to be helpful. :) <3
— Kurn (@kurnmogh) August 20, 2013