My behavior in World of Warcraft is a reflection of how I am in real life. I am not one of those Jekyll and Hyde people who lose their manners and consideration for others and raise hell in the game. I bring my real life work ethic even into the virtual world by being self-sufficient; you will never see me ask or beg for anything for free, let alone steal. And paying the same 15 dollars like everyone else does is not something I assume automatically entitles me to everything, including a raid spot. In some cases, I will have to pay my dues (ESPECIALLY when it comes to raid spots). It may be just a game but I know that real life manners and principles must be brought to Azeroth to ensure a harmonious existence. Simply put, I know that I have to be nice and I expect my guildies to accord me and everyone else in the guild a modicum of respect.

I’ve joined a good number of guilds since I started playing this game. I’ve encountered many different guild personalities – the joker, the sensitive soul, the sweet type, the brash mofo, the horny toad…stereotypes that may very well exist in every guild. I am normally welcoming to all new faces that join but there are certain people who give me pause. They’re not necessarily the people who do extreme things like steal or cuss or troll on Trade. On the contrary, they’re not…what’s the word…blatant. They actually APPEAR well behaved, but that’s what makes them devious. They appear okay then the next thing you know they’re poisoning the guild or stabbing you in the back or both.



In my older posts, I talked about my horrid experience with my last guild which was a disaster in every sense of the word. My last week there was spent pulling out one knife after another from my back. And those knives were the handiwork of guildies who turned out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. If I were to use the daytime soap stereotype on them, they’d be the best friend who slept with your significant other or the business partner who, one day, decided to be bad and dramatically oust you from the boardroom.

Just how do you spot a wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing-type guildie? There’s no foolproof method I can recommend; I just go with my gut instinct and my gut is usually right. Here are examples of behavioral patterns and traits that make me wary:

1. When a guildie asks for guild bank access and he’s been in the guild for only a few days.

2. When a female guildie leads a high-ranking guildie on, seduces him into giving her a raid spot, an expensive item (*cough Vial of the Sands *cough), and every freebie under the sun…then dumps him once she’s gotten what she could squeeze out of him AND proceeds to sniff out another male guildie she can victimize into becoming her Sugar Daddy. Chicks like that give the rest of the female population in WoW a bad name. I could dedicate an entire post about this personality that capitalizes on her feminine wiles.

3. When a guildie who isn’t even part of the core group throws a hissy-fit behind our backs and has the nerve to chastise the GM for not being on top of the situation. Seriously, you just joined the guild and you think we owe you a raid spot? Ever heard of paying your dues first? Probably not. Go f*ck yourself.

4. When a guildie hits level 85 and asks for free BoE gear. So you actually expect us to give you valor boots and bracers and crafted items right off the bat and we don’t even know you that well? Who’s to say you won’t g-quit after you’ve gotten the goodies? I’d feel more confident and fulfilled wiring money to some random Nigerian dude; at least I’ll get a 55% share of the $22 million some deposed despot left unclaimed in a bank.

5. When a guildie tries too hard to ingratiate himself with everybody. I just can’t quite put a finger on this one; this is where gut instinct comes into play. He or she looks nice, acts nice, talks nice but there is something “off” about that person. My gut instinct proved me right when one ex-guildie – deemed as one of the most pleasant members around – organized an impromptu continuation of Throne of the Four Winds, leaving out half of the people in the original group. What added to the cringe factor was that this guy claimed he hero-worshipped me, thought I was such an awesome Death Knight and that he modeled his own DK after me, bla bla bla. Yeah, sure, Brutus, go ahead and butter me up some more. Don’t forget to replace the butter knife with a steak knife before you butter my back. Or would you rather use a cleaver?

6. When a new guildie invites his own friends over to the guild and they turn out to be colossal self-entitled brats. You know what they say about the company you keep…

7. When a guildie keeps charging his repairs to the guild vault, yes, even that measly 2 silver repair bill.

8. When a guildie tries to look important by announcing on Vent that he would like to have a word with the GM in private in another channel (and does this a LOT). Gee, why not just whisper him instead? Like we would be soooo intrigued and interested to know what you two could be discussing.  /eyeroll

9. When a new guildie asks what he or she can do to get promoted to officer or raid leader soon. Nice to know you’re the ambitious type.

10. When a guildie I barely know asks a  lot of personal questions. My paranoid side suspects that person is gathering info he can use against me someday. Some of the most invasive questions were about my family, finances, and fetishes. Do you seriously need to know that I have a fetish for donkey shows? Oops. TMI.  /end sarcasm

I know it may seem that I have trust issues in this game but after everything I’ve experienced, I think I have every right to be wary and guarded.

Author Stephen M.R. Covey said in an interview that trusting the people around us is a balancing act. The more we lead out with trust, extend trust and start with trust, the greater the outcomes. We can’t operate an organization if there is always a high level of distrust.

“Don’t go the other extreme,” he says. “Just because you can’t trust someone, you can’t trust anyone. Don’t let the fact that you couldn’t trust someone before affect you now and your ability to trust anyone. Yes, too much trust will get you burned, but not enough trust and you lose possibilities and foreclose on options.”

Obviously, Stephen M. R. Covey has never played World of Warcraft.