Hi again!

After a little break I'm back and wanted to give you all an update on what's up with the guild:

1. Our normal raid schedule will resume next week. This week we'll run 2 ZA runs and 2 kara runs. It is possible that we will also co-raid a 25-man on Thursday, but I'm not sure about that yet. I'll let you all know asap.

2. In the coming weeks we'll be adding some new guild events to help keep the very geared players from dying of boredom.

3. In anticipation of the Wrath of the Lich King we'll be relaxing our progression schedule slightly and focusing on The Eye. Once WotLK is out, we'll set up leveling events and begin working our way through the 10-man versions of the instances.

4. We have recently gained several new members. Please join me in welcoming Envia, Kesari, Tandrin, Adisic, Illadar, Bellan and Supergman. Also welcome to Allthemanz, Klinsi, and Stiz (alts of existing members).

5. We need more healers and tanks! Help us build the guild by recruiting your friends and nice ppl you pug with. We need all healing classes, as well as warlocks, geared mages, feral tanks and prot pallies. Anyone interested in the guild should speak with one of the officers.

Thanks to everyone who was really kind about my break. Sorry I left you all in a lurch, but don't worry, we'll be back on track shortly.

P.S. Xyls we miss you, leave Runescape and get your tree-butt back where you belong =)

Hi guys! So I just wanted to say a few things about raiding...

Being a raid leader is extremely difficult. Not only do you have to plan times that work for 25 different ppl, but you have to learn every pull of every raid, know what classes and specs are required, and know how to combine those classes to the best effect. You also have to know what buffs every class should get and receive. You have to figure out how to explain everything clearly in way that is understandable to members of all different ages and backgrounds. We have members from every corner of the globe, and for many English is their second or even third language. A raid leader has to be patient enough to run Kara 4,000 times, teaching one new person on every single run. Then on top of that you have to deal with ppl who want to play an alt, or only want to play a certain spec; some who want a certain piece of gear, others who only want to play between certain times. You have to deal with everyone's moods... good or bad. You hear about their RL problems and you lend a sympathetic ear. You deal with raiders getting wife aggro, child aggro, dog/cat aggro. You have to stop raids b/c one of your tanks farted on the OT and made him gag; you have to stop raids b/c babies wake up hungry, or ppl get sick. And always there are 24 other ppl waiting for you to keep it going.
You have to plan progression in way that keeps experienced players challenged and yet still makes new players feel included. You have to ask a lot of favors. And you have to pay every single one of them back.
The worst part of being a raid leader is having to tell ppl when they're messing up. I've had to tell ppl that their dps is too low, that their healing is too low, that their attitude is bad, that their language is rude, that their jokes are inappropriate, that their buffs are wrong, that they don't understand their class, that their gear is not good enough. Every week I have to sit ppl out of raids. Most of the time, the person understands that I mean well, that I'm trying to help everyone in the guild have fun. But sometimes I catch someone on a bad day and I have to listen to them tell me that I don't understand WoW, that I'm a bad raid leader, that I'm a mean person. I always try to keep a positive attitude and to let it roll of my back. I try to explain that if I put a low dps in ZA, then Zul'Jin never dies. If I put a healer who's not up to snuff into TK then I have 25 ppl with 40g repair bills grumbling at me.
This is all to be expected, but in the last couple of days things have gone a little too far for me. Several incidents have occurred where I’ve been cussed at, called names and generally insulted. I'm always glad to listen, to try to help. It's fine to disagree with me, but I have to draw the line when disagreements become insults and name-calling. I pay money to play WoW and I spend a lot of time making sure that all my guildies have fun. I don't pay to get screamed at, insulted, yelled at, or in any way attacked. I always try to be mature in my dealings with everyone and I expect the same courtesy in return. Unfortunately, sometimes ppl think it's ok to say whatever they want to someone, instead of disagreeing in a calm and mature way. So.... I'm taking a break. I’ll miss you all tremendously, but I need a self-preservation break.
We've worked hard to build TBOS and all of the officers appreciate the contributions of every single member. We consider you all friends and I hope that my being gone won't affect the guild at all. Our raids will continue so keep raiding! Keep running instances and keep having fun! Thank you to everyone who's made my time in TBOS so very enjoyable. Please keep up the great work and remember, your raid leader is a real person with a lot responsibilities to juggle, so please be nice to them, even when it's hard to. I <3 TBOS.

Orpha

A 5th bank tab has been added. Access is as follows:

Tab 1 (Common items): Oaths and above

Tab2 (Raid supplies): Oaths above

Tab 3 (Raid supplies) : Oaths above

Tab 4: Blood Oath and above

Tab 5: Officers

Your raid organizer is going nuts, so a few new rules and changes to our raid program:

First, we are NOT a hard-core raiding guild and we intend to stay that way. I think the laid-back atmosphere is what everyone likes about us.

Second, having said that, some of us (myself included) want to move forward and progress faster than others do.

Third, the path to progression is paved with a lot of angry people. Every single day I field complaints that we go too slow, too fast, push too hard, push not hard enough... you get the idea.

To remedy this, I'm proclaiming myself the Raid Tyrant and instituting some new rules. I ask that everyone please trust me and trust my judgement. If you really hate what I'm doing, I'm always open to suggestions, but the constant act of trying to balance everyone's needs and wants is seriously sucking all joy out of the game for me, and so I'd like to just lay down some rules so that you all know what you can expect from me and from any raid I organize.

1) Not all raids will be open to every guild member. Please don't be offended if you do not get an invite. I sometimes have to limit parties based on group make-up, gear level, etc. Not being invited doesn't mean that you're not good enough to go, it just means that to make a successful group I needed some other class/skill/attribute. PLEASE TRUST ME ON THIS! I promise that I will rotate everyone in once the opportunity presents itself.

2) There will be 2 kara groups. One will go fast (Group 2); one will not go fast (Group 1). The reason for this is that sometimes some of us want to fly through, get badges and get out, other times we want to spend a fun, relaxed evening with friends. Fast does not mean better, it just means fast. Fast group will do kara all in one shot, the other group will spread it over two nights. Players in the fast group (Group 2) will be subject to a different set of expectations. If you show up with the wrong buff/enchant/etc., you'll be told and you must remedy that immediately. Players in the other group (Group 1) are there to have fun and so nobody's going to yell at them. The idea here is accomodate two different play styles within the same guild. No one is obligated to come to either raid. If you want to do kara, pick the group that fits your style and have fun.

3) I sometimes have to pug people to fill spots. I almost always pull in one of my friends, someone I know and play with, and I am often asking a favor of them to come. I WILL NOT kick a pug player in favor of a guildie who shows up late, signs up late, or doesn't fit the needs of the raid (e.g. I won't kick a pug healer so that a sixth dps can come).

4) Sometimes I screw up and have too many people. If I ask you to leave, please don't take it personally, I'm trying to balance many things to make the raid work and I never ask anyone to leave lightly. Whenever possible, I remove myself so that no one else has to pay for my goof-up.

5) From now on... you must sign up at least 24 hours in advance of the event, or you do not go. I look at the calendar a day ahead of time, and start filling empty spots so that raids can begin on time. If you sign up late it makes my life very hard. I understand things happen, if you ever have a problem whisper me and I'll do my best to get you in, but you cannot expect to come just because you are a guildie and your name is on the calendar. If a player is in a raid and their name is not on the calendar, it's because I put them there for a good reason.

6) If enough people do not sign up for a particular raid, I'll first try to fill spots, and if that's not possible, I'll cancel it. This doesn't mean we won't ever do that raid. You just have to be patient.

Thank you all for being understanding. If you have any questions/comments/suggestions you know where to find me.

Orpha