Because the number one reason games like that work, is greed. Greed for the purplz, greed for the raid, greed for the next level and ubr gear.

You're competing with greed--and you can't win against that. You'll never be good enough, people want more, more, more, MOAR without having to give .

In the end? You could sign out of that main right now, never play him or her for six months --come back and probably find that half the people who knew you don't remember you and the other half will ask you for your shit.

This is the way of some guilds and games.

I said SOME, because I've known a few guilds that grew to know each other in real life, and things went the other way--the epic win way, not the fail way.

I've been guild leader for several different games--I can tell you that the one person that's not a moron who appreciates you for what you do, often makes all this shit worth dragging ass through.

Actually, in this case I think I was competing with epeen -- a guy who can't stand the fact that I can do a good job and know a lot of things about every class and, well, everything.

This particular guild actually started with us joining in for the sake of RL friends, and we've expanded our net really nicely; there's just one or two friend-of-friend people that drive me nuts, this guy being one of them.

I couldn't sign out, though, without them missing me; I'm the only guild tank and no one else has any guild maintenance powers. ^.^ But I know what you meant.

Luckily, most of the people ARE worth it.

I've just not to get hurt in these games. Keep doing what you do, if you do it for YOU and you enjoy it, and just ignore the naysayers, you know what you're doing.

People can be greedy assholes.

In the end it isn't even so much the fact of the game, so much as that someone lashed out at me in the most condescending way, when I make every effort to behave in the exact OPPOSITE manner -- and had done so, for him, in the past.

You might be putting too much effort into it. People play games for fun and generally take an out of sight, out of mind approach to their entertainment. If someone quit the game or just dropped out of sight, their online friends would wonder what happened to them for a few weeks, and then promptly forget they ever existed, unless they're friends IRL or something.

Everyone has different expectations of what their level of commitment is to the game or their social groups within it. It sounds like your guildies have a slightly lesser degree of commitment than you do. It may be less frustrating for you if you left them to their own devices more often.

Like I said to isis, it's really the fact that he went after me when I'd been doing the exact opposite of what he said. That stung on a personal level, even though I rationally know he was just being a hurt-butt baby about it.

My guildies are pretty committed, actually, it's the organization they fail spectacularly at. ^.^ I'm the only one who seems able to point them all in the same direction in the broad sense (and tigerphoenix in the narrow...)

You shouldn't really take it personally. The problem with online communication is that it lacks all of the nuance of expression. What you may have intended as helpful advice, he may take as criticism, etc.

The part about responsibility is this: what do you go into the game expecting out of your peers? There are no hard and fast rules on what to expect out of a guild. Some guilds are friendly and carebear and helpful. Others are goal oriented like raiding or PVP where you're expected to pull your own weight leveling wise and only participate when you're sufficiently geared.

If your guildmate is accusing you of being critical and unhelpful, what has he done to help other people? Why does he feel entitled to help and coddling from you?

And it's not just in a material sense either. Some players don't want advice on how to improve their playing. They may not even care, and that's perfectly valid if it's how they want to play. It's a game, after all, not a job. But then they shouldn't expect other people to hold their hand or make up for their deficiencies when grouping either.

Aww. Now I have a fleeting urge to start playing WoW just to join your guild. The idea that there is someone who might be willing to help my n00b self is really touching. I have never even considered playing WoW because I was convinced that I would be eaten alive by the other players.

We were all n00bs once. I just graduated by virtue of vigorous research while bored at work. Joooooin usssss.....

I am sorely tempted to give in to this crack deal. Is it true that I get to interact with people I know? I could even randomly chat about our lives while hacking up monsters?

It is true. Well, me and tigerphoenix anyway. Though we do have an odd preponderance of yinzers and ex-burghers in the guild.

I am one impassioned-cult-recruiting-spiel from joining...

That, and knowing the relevant information about where to find people.

Well, let's see.

For all that I rejected the idea of the game repeatedly for multiple reasons, ten or so months of play have certainly proved both rewarding (since I'm the sort of person who likes both the challenge of taking on a difficult encounter and the rewards that come from it, as well as one hell of an overthinker) and entertaining, as I've made new friends and worked with new people.

I can't speak to how much you'd actually get to play with us, mind; my time constraints with work and all limit me these days, and so the characters I play are the ones at the level-cap. We do, however, go with very friendly people, and enjoy our chatting amongst the guild, so as long as you're there you can always get advice, help if you need it, and general conversation with some fun people. A recent run of changes to the game actually made the progression up to the higher levels (60-70) quicker and easier, so even playing casually it wouldn't be beyond your reach. (A level every couple of hours is not unrealistic.) We have a core group of people at the level cap working at endgame, but we have several members who only play infrequently. One particular event the other day involved a slower-advancing member crossing the boundary from classic to expansion content. We drank lots of (in-game) alcohol, got dressed up, and killed a large annoying thing nearby. Good times.

If you actually DO want to join let me know, we can stick you in under a recruit-a-friend thing. :D

I really enjoy helping out new players, mainly because I didn't often have someone willing to help me. :) It just raises your appreciation for that kind of interaction in a game like WoW. It can make the difference in whether people continue playing or not.

I try my damndest to help everyone I know. That's why this stung so much.