The Website Answering Machine

I have noticed as of late an unsettling trend of super and villian groups to brush prospective members off to their web sites rather than chatting with them in person. I have been looking around trying to find a good roleplay group and of them just about every one has given me the 'go to our website and fill out an application' upon showing interest or asking about them as a whole. These people obviously do not realize, a guild's website should only act as an answering service, if you will, when an actual member of the group is unavailable to handle your inquiry. To brush someone off is to say to them, "you are not important enough to me or my group to warrent me taking time away from my gaming to speak with you."

Just as a public service announcement from a veteran guild leader, those initial moments of contact are absolutely vital. A successful organization stems from both sides feeling not only is it an honor to be a member, but to have them as one as well. Now I realize that an application process is important and I am not suggesting otherwise. My concern is that when a person is standing right infront of you (in game sending you a tell), take the time to get the ball rolling. Ask them what they are looking for. Give them a little bit about what your group stands for. Yes this may all very well be 'on the web site'. However, it is the difference between asking a waiter, "So what's good?" only to have them respond, "Read the menu." and that same waiter taking just a few moments to go over the finer points.

I am sure many of the guilds I have contacted are overflowing with fantastic people and good friends. I am only hoping to bring to light that perhaps this is not being conveyed properly when a player's first impression is not, we are a wonderful place to hang out but rather, you are a drain on my time and if you jump through all the hoops I give you maybe, just maybe, we will let you into our Mean Girls club.

Agreed, though it's not exactly a new phenomenon, and is quite wide spread on most games. Personally, I don't much give a crap - if we are talking about a raiding group or something of the sorts, where being all epic is the primary concern, and spec and equipment is the criteria for joining.

Sending people to the website in the case of an RP group though... that's just plain horrible. To me, it's a dead giveaway that the people in the guild don't give a crap about RP, or that they keep it tight and confined within the group and never let anyone else in. In either case, it's a total turnoff.

A guild that doesn't want to talk to potential applicants is a guild I have no interest in joining. Hell, in every case I can, I skip the damn website applications completely and do everything face to face, in person. It's a roleplaying group - so let me role play my way in. That's sort of the point.

While we (The Teen Phalanx) don't have anyone fill out an application. I know we do ask for the SG charter to be read through.

I don't see anything really bad about that.

Like instantly they can go to the site and read, "Hmmm...my psychopathic, has murdered 200 people, and continues to kill people, may not be a good fit for this group."

Please visit our SG website for my response to this thread.

I personally despise websites when advertising for your SG/VG.

In almost -all- of my SG/VG's, we've always personally interviewed the person in-game, normally IC, and figure out if we want them then and there. Off-game websites are... Really pointless, at least in my opinion.

Some people work hard on SG/VG sites. Some of us are hoping that by seeing a properly designed site it will get people more excited about a group that puts time and effort into in and out of game SG stuff.


*points to banner in sig*

For me, I cannot look at websites/visit forums while my game is running so being able to chat to actual people is preferable. In my personal opinion, if someone is going to put up their recruitment message in the chat then they should be prepared to answer questions.

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I think that if an SG is recruiting, then they should have a rep around to answer questions, give base tours, etc. It's only fair to the prospective member.

Personally I treat the insistence on using the website rather than anything at all ingame as a sign that this is a group I won't like and move on. Hasn't failed me yet.