What's Wrong With RID?
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 9:14 pm
Whats wrong with RID?
This seems to be a question I keep asking myself as of lately. It seems that recently there have been numerous quarrels among players, command problems, and other general things that are happening in RID. Maybe it is just me, but absolutely NONE of this stuff should be happening. There is way too much DRAMA in this guild and it needs to stop, NOW.
The rest of this message will not be pleasant.
Let me remind you that I am a loyal member of this guild and I will not leave it for another guild. I highly value the time I have spent in RID, but lately it seems like I want to block out certain events from my mind.
When you stop to look at the problems in the guild, you have to wonder where the problems truly originate. On one hand you can point your finger at the leadership of the guild, but on the other you can point your finger at its members. The truth in fact is that we have all failed at some point along the way. The leadership has taken the wrong steps in some areas, while the members have taken the wrong steps in other areas.
Let's start with the leadership. Now, when I say "leadership" this includes Lexx, Zeta, and the 6 division commanders. Lexx, you are a great leader, but you have your flaws. Where you make a mistake you often learn from it. I think you do everything you can as the guild leader and city mayor. But, there are times when things get out of control because of numerous things. I think that sometimes you are mislead by some of the members and there are times when you fail to followup on things you have promised to do. Regardless of these failings, you have been a wonderful leader and I hope that you will continue to be the leader of RID.
Zeta... You seem to be one of the greater mysteries of RID. While I believe you are a nice guy from the few times I have met you, you seem to be absent from the guild. I know you are taking a leave of absence for the month, but my experience with you goes back before that. Everytime I have met you, you have been very professional and dignified. But, I rarely see you. Maybe it is because it seems like you hibernate in spatial and never talk that often in guild chat... I do not know. In my eyes, though, a person who is second-in-command of a guild should be a little more "public". Maybe I set my standards to high for guild leadership...
Now on to the division commanders. A little over a month ago there was a command restructuring in RID. This was done to get rid of the excessive number of divisions that were in existence at the time and to make it clearer who was in charge of the guild. Now, sit where you are at and ask yourself, "What has changed since then?" We seem to be in the same situation that we were in before. True, we went from like 10 or 11 divisions to 6 and we now have definitive commanders for divisions... But, it seems like not much has changed. New members still ask who is in charge of certain divisions. Some people don't even know which division they are in. Now, I will take some of the blame for this. I only do so because I was the one who came up with the basic ground work for the divisions we have now. But, I do not take all of the blame. There are others in the leadership who helped shape this command structure who should be held to blame.
But, what are the true problems in the divisions? I think that in our quest to simplify the command of the guild, we diluted it again. Instead of just having the 6 divisions, we went along and had squads within each division. This is where much confusion arises. It seems like each squad has its own special name and it becomes nearly impossible to figure out which squad goes in which division. The next problem arises in power-of-command. Some people seem to think that the captain of a squad has just as much power as a Div. Commander or that one Div. Commander holds more power than another Div. Commander. It has, of course, been stated numerous times that all division commanders have equal power and that all squad captains report to their respective division commander, but it seems like no one listens.
If you think the divisions aren't confusing right now, I encourage you to try to visually graph out a command tree with all commanders and members of RID listed in it. It is hell. it is impossible to determine who goes where and what is what.
Commanders could also be a bit more active in their roles. Sometimes it just seems like the commanders aren't there. The other problem with commanders is that there is the question of "What qualifies a person to be a commander?" Some would say it is time spent in the guild, loyalty, or mastering of the respective profession. I personally believe that in order to be in command of a division, you sould have mastered a profession in the respective division. Of course, loyalty and time spent in the guild should play a role. It isn't right to have some new guy in command of an entire division. But, at the same time, it isn't right for someone who has mastered Doctor to be in charge of a combat division.
So far I have focused solely on the leadership of the guild, time to move onto the members of RID. The members of RID vary in many different ways. Some are young and some are old. Some are Wookies and some are Bothans. Some are vocal and some are quiet. In our quest to become a larger and more powerful guild, I think we have lost site of some members and focused too much on some. Some of the reasons I hear for some people leaving are disturbing. Reasons like "I didn't feel like the guild valued my presence" make me wonder. Did they leave because they just wanted attention or because we didn't socialize enough with them? I can find cases for both reasons. The truth is that as a guild we value every members presence in the guild, big or small. Of course, it is not always possible to prove so. Perhaps the best solution for this problem is for the players to interact more through guild chat and such. It is pretty hard to feel recognized when you hardly talk to anyone else in the guild.
But, then there are times when there is too much interaction with some of the players. Sometimes a few of the guild members can get out of hand and be down right rediculous. I agree that these people should be dealt with properly. The problem is, they often aren't. One point I am attempting to make is that if you, as a member of RID, have a problem with another guild member, please take up the problem with a division commander or Lexx. Fighting in guild chat accomplishes nothing. There is a Judgement Council in place for a reason.
Another problem members have concerns personal advancement and the advancement of others. Some of the members are asking how to advance in the current command structure. The problem is, there really isn't a way. There are ways to address this. I believe the more prudent problem is that some of the more senior members of the guild are wondering why newer members are being placed in higher ranks and chosen over the senior members. This one concerns me. The issue has been raised several times in recent weeks. it brings up the question of favoratism. Are some members being favored over others? Yes, of course. Sometimes it is legitimate. There are occasionally members whose loyalty is questionable and who you wouldn't want in charge of the guild. But, then there are times when you get someone who, while loyal, has barely spent any time in the guild, but is put into a leadership position. To me, this is unfair to anyone who has been in this guild a long time.
OK, on to solutions to the problems.
Now, I think one of the keys to solving many of these problems is to redefine the command structure. On paper, our current command structure works great. in execution, it hasn't worked so well. Here is my idea starting from the top. At the top we have Lexx and a second-in-command officer. The second-in-command officer should be an active player and should be someone who is social. There is no point in having someone in this position if they aren't in guild chat some of the time. Notice that I have left out the royal advisor position. In recent weeks, this position has caused much controversy in the guild. Instead of trying to possibly replace the person in question with someone less controversial, we will just eliminate the position all together. This position should be, in fact, the scond-in-command's job.
Next, we cut down to 5 divisions. The Royal Guard at this point, serves no purpose other than to have a cool title. The 5 new divisions would be: Close-Combat Division, Ranged-Combat Division, Intelligence Division, Combat-Support Division, and Recreational Services Division. The Close-Combat division will contain members who are experienced in hand-to-hand combat and melee weapons. Anyone who uses pistols, carbines, or rifles of any sort will end up in the Ranged-Combat Division. The Intelligence Division should be self-explanitory. The Combat-support division should contain doctores and creature handlers. And Recreational Services Division contains crafters and entertainers. Each division commander should be a master in a profession in the respective division. Example: to be Commander of Ranged-combat Division, you should be a Master Pistoleer or something similar.
As for 1st Officers... This is tricky. In my opinion, in order to have 1st officers in divisions, you can't have any squads. If you have squads then there should be no 1st officers of divisions. Here is what I think we should do. We have the 6 divisions with a commaner in charge of each division. We have NO 1st Officers. Whether or not there are squads in each division should be up to the division commander. If the commander wants to have squads in his/her division, then it is his/her responsibility to manage the squads and their setup. Also, there is to be no divisions based on race. Everybody should be able to enter a division regardless of their race.
All commanders should also be active members and should not be the type of person who is constantly changing professions. Anyone who is noticably absent for 1-2 weeks, without notice, should be immediately demoted from their commanding position.
OK, now to sum up what I have just said. We have Lexx, his Second-In-Command, 6 divisions with a commander in each division, and optional squads. There are no advisors and no 1st Officers. There is also no segregation. All commanders have equal power.
As far as personal conflicts go, here is what I propose. I cannot ask that each person likes everyone else in the guild. It is inevitable that some people will not like other people. What I ask is that instead of having argument after argument in guild chat, report your problem to your commanding officer. Part of the leadership's job is to help sort out problems like this. If a problem is serious enough, it should be taken up with the Judgement Council (well, that's what I call it). The Council is in place to judge those who have been severe problems in the guild. Of course, I also think that all council meetings should be open to the guild. If a member goes before the council, then all guild members should be able to attend and observe. Making judgement decisions behind closed doors will only create more problems.
Personal advancement tricky to address. The only real way to advance is if a division commander resigns, goes inactive, or is demoted. If there are squads, then people cna become captains. Other than this, there is no other way to advance and there really shouldn't be any others. Advancement should be earned through hard work and dedication. If one person is more dedicated than the current commander, then taht commander should be replaced with the more dedicated one. It will be the dedicated members that shine.
As far as concern of favoratism goes, I think this will be addressed by removing the position of Royal Advisor. Xanus, you are a nice person, but it seems your position has caused much controversy. I don't know why or how your got that position, only Lexx knows. It just seems there are older guild members who object to you being placed above them with you being such a new guild member. I do admit, you have done your job admirably, but is your position worth the controversy in the guild? This one is up for the guild to decide.
Overall though, I believe that favortism is a bad thing in most circumstances. If someone is under suspicion for being a rebel spy or something, then they don't belong in a leadership position. Older members should have seniority status over newer members, unless there are no other senior members to choose from or the new member is more deserving of the position. Perhaps advancement should be left up to the judgement council as well?
There have also been recent rumors (OK, maybe not rumors) of merging with other guilds or cities. This is perhaps one of the most unwise decisions I can think of. RID is unique for many reasons. We are our own guild and no one else's. Now, some will argue that by merging with another guild we would get more members and more skilled individuals in our group. If this is the reasoning for merging with another guild, then shame on whoever thought of this. Growth is patience. Growing to fast will lead to our demise. Numbers are nothing but numbers. The true strength of our guild is in the quality of members we recruit, not quantity. Sure, we need more skilled members, but our current members are training as fast as they can and we can always recruit newer, more skilled members.
There is also the concern that we are recruiting faster in order to get a shuttleport. While a shuttleport will be nice, we shouldn't sacrifice quality members for simple numbers in order to get that shuttle. It has also been brought to my attention that some sort of application for new recruites has been waived in order to quickly increase our numbers right now. I think by waiving this application we are creating more problems.
Now, we cannot allow any of these problems to get worse. But, at the same time, we cannot rush into some process to rectify these problems without proper planning. I encourage all who read this to post your opinions and suggestions. We will never accomplish anything if we don't work together to solve our problems.
I know there will be many of you who find this whole post offensive or painful to read. For that, I am sorry. While this post may be painful to read, I feel that I must express my opinion on the state of the guild. Whether or not you agree with me on what I say in this message is your choice. If you agree with what I say, say so. If you don't agree, say so. Everyone's opinion matters.
This seems to be a question I keep asking myself as of lately. It seems that recently there have been numerous quarrels among players, command problems, and other general things that are happening in RID. Maybe it is just me, but absolutely NONE of this stuff should be happening. There is way too much DRAMA in this guild and it needs to stop, NOW.
The rest of this message will not be pleasant.
Let me remind you that I am a loyal member of this guild and I will not leave it for another guild. I highly value the time I have spent in RID, but lately it seems like I want to block out certain events from my mind.
When you stop to look at the problems in the guild, you have to wonder where the problems truly originate. On one hand you can point your finger at the leadership of the guild, but on the other you can point your finger at its members. The truth in fact is that we have all failed at some point along the way. The leadership has taken the wrong steps in some areas, while the members have taken the wrong steps in other areas.
Let's start with the leadership. Now, when I say "leadership" this includes Lexx, Zeta, and the 6 division commanders. Lexx, you are a great leader, but you have your flaws. Where you make a mistake you often learn from it. I think you do everything you can as the guild leader and city mayor. But, there are times when things get out of control because of numerous things. I think that sometimes you are mislead by some of the members and there are times when you fail to followup on things you have promised to do. Regardless of these failings, you have been a wonderful leader and I hope that you will continue to be the leader of RID.
Zeta... You seem to be one of the greater mysteries of RID. While I believe you are a nice guy from the few times I have met you, you seem to be absent from the guild. I know you are taking a leave of absence for the month, but my experience with you goes back before that. Everytime I have met you, you have been very professional and dignified. But, I rarely see you. Maybe it is because it seems like you hibernate in spatial and never talk that often in guild chat... I do not know. In my eyes, though, a person who is second-in-command of a guild should be a little more "public". Maybe I set my standards to high for guild leadership...
Now on to the division commanders. A little over a month ago there was a command restructuring in RID. This was done to get rid of the excessive number of divisions that were in existence at the time and to make it clearer who was in charge of the guild. Now, sit where you are at and ask yourself, "What has changed since then?" We seem to be in the same situation that we were in before. True, we went from like 10 or 11 divisions to 6 and we now have definitive commanders for divisions... But, it seems like not much has changed. New members still ask who is in charge of certain divisions. Some people don't even know which division they are in. Now, I will take some of the blame for this. I only do so because I was the one who came up with the basic ground work for the divisions we have now. But, I do not take all of the blame. There are others in the leadership who helped shape this command structure who should be held to blame.
But, what are the true problems in the divisions? I think that in our quest to simplify the command of the guild, we diluted it again. Instead of just having the 6 divisions, we went along and had squads within each division. This is where much confusion arises. It seems like each squad has its own special name and it becomes nearly impossible to figure out which squad goes in which division. The next problem arises in power-of-command. Some people seem to think that the captain of a squad has just as much power as a Div. Commander or that one Div. Commander holds more power than another Div. Commander. It has, of course, been stated numerous times that all division commanders have equal power and that all squad captains report to their respective division commander, but it seems like no one listens.
If you think the divisions aren't confusing right now, I encourage you to try to visually graph out a command tree with all commanders and members of RID listed in it. It is hell. it is impossible to determine who goes where and what is what.
Commanders could also be a bit more active in their roles. Sometimes it just seems like the commanders aren't there. The other problem with commanders is that there is the question of "What qualifies a person to be a commander?" Some would say it is time spent in the guild, loyalty, or mastering of the respective profession. I personally believe that in order to be in command of a division, you sould have mastered a profession in the respective division. Of course, loyalty and time spent in the guild should play a role. It isn't right to have some new guy in command of an entire division. But, at the same time, it isn't right for someone who has mastered Doctor to be in charge of a combat division.
So far I have focused solely on the leadership of the guild, time to move onto the members of RID. The members of RID vary in many different ways. Some are young and some are old. Some are Wookies and some are Bothans. Some are vocal and some are quiet. In our quest to become a larger and more powerful guild, I think we have lost site of some members and focused too much on some. Some of the reasons I hear for some people leaving are disturbing. Reasons like "I didn't feel like the guild valued my presence" make me wonder. Did they leave because they just wanted attention or because we didn't socialize enough with them? I can find cases for both reasons. The truth is that as a guild we value every members presence in the guild, big or small. Of course, it is not always possible to prove so. Perhaps the best solution for this problem is for the players to interact more through guild chat and such. It is pretty hard to feel recognized when you hardly talk to anyone else in the guild.
But, then there are times when there is too much interaction with some of the players. Sometimes a few of the guild members can get out of hand and be down right rediculous. I agree that these people should be dealt with properly. The problem is, they often aren't. One point I am attempting to make is that if you, as a member of RID, have a problem with another guild member, please take up the problem with a division commander or Lexx. Fighting in guild chat accomplishes nothing. There is a Judgement Council in place for a reason.
Another problem members have concerns personal advancement and the advancement of others. Some of the members are asking how to advance in the current command structure. The problem is, there really isn't a way. There are ways to address this. I believe the more prudent problem is that some of the more senior members of the guild are wondering why newer members are being placed in higher ranks and chosen over the senior members. This one concerns me. The issue has been raised several times in recent weeks. it brings up the question of favoratism. Are some members being favored over others? Yes, of course. Sometimes it is legitimate. There are occasionally members whose loyalty is questionable and who you wouldn't want in charge of the guild. But, then there are times when you get someone who, while loyal, has barely spent any time in the guild, but is put into a leadership position. To me, this is unfair to anyone who has been in this guild a long time.
OK, on to solutions to the problems.
Now, I think one of the keys to solving many of these problems is to redefine the command structure. On paper, our current command structure works great. in execution, it hasn't worked so well. Here is my idea starting from the top. At the top we have Lexx and a second-in-command officer. The second-in-command officer should be an active player and should be someone who is social. There is no point in having someone in this position if they aren't in guild chat some of the time. Notice that I have left out the royal advisor position. In recent weeks, this position has caused much controversy in the guild. Instead of trying to possibly replace the person in question with someone less controversial, we will just eliminate the position all together. This position should be, in fact, the scond-in-command's job.
Next, we cut down to 5 divisions. The Royal Guard at this point, serves no purpose other than to have a cool title. The 5 new divisions would be: Close-Combat Division, Ranged-Combat Division, Intelligence Division, Combat-Support Division, and Recreational Services Division. The Close-Combat division will contain members who are experienced in hand-to-hand combat and melee weapons. Anyone who uses pistols, carbines, or rifles of any sort will end up in the Ranged-Combat Division. The Intelligence Division should be self-explanitory. The Combat-support division should contain doctores and creature handlers. And Recreational Services Division contains crafters and entertainers. Each division commander should be a master in a profession in the respective division. Example: to be Commander of Ranged-combat Division, you should be a Master Pistoleer or something similar.
As for 1st Officers... This is tricky. In my opinion, in order to have 1st officers in divisions, you can't have any squads. If you have squads then there should be no 1st officers of divisions. Here is what I think we should do. We have the 6 divisions with a commaner in charge of each division. We have NO 1st Officers. Whether or not there are squads in each division should be up to the division commander. If the commander wants to have squads in his/her division, then it is his/her responsibility to manage the squads and their setup. Also, there is to be no divisions based on race. Everybody should be able to enter a division regardless of their race.
All commanders should also be active members and should not be the type of person who is constantly changing professions. Anyone who is noticably absent for 1-2 weeks, without notice, should be immediately demoted from their commanding position.
OK, now to sum up what I have just said. We have Lexx, his Second-In-Command, 6 divisions with a commander in each division, and optional squads. There are no advisors and no 1st Officers. There is also no segregation. All commanders have equal power.
As far as personal conflicts go, here is what I propose. I cannot ask that each person likes everyone else in the guild. It is inevitable that some people will not like other people. What I ask is that instead of having argument after argument in guild chat, report your problem to your commanding officer. Part of the leadership's job is to help sort out problems like this. If a problem is serious enough, it should be taken up with the Judgement Council (well, that's what I call it). The Council is in place to judge those who have been severe problems in the guild. Of course, I also think that all council meetings should be open to the guild. If a member goes before the council, then all guild members should be able to attend and observe. Making judgement decisions behind closed doors will only create more problems.
Personal advancement tricky to address. The only real way to advance is if a division commander resigns, goes inactive, or is demoted. If there are squads, then people cna become captains. Other than this, there is no other way to advance and there really shouldn't be any others. Advancement should be earned through hard work and dedication. If one person is more dedicated than the current commander, then taht commander should be replaced with the more dedicated one. It will be the dedicated members that shine.
As far as concern of favoratism goes, I think this will be addressed by removing the position of Royal Advisor. Xanus, you are a nice person, but it seems your position has caused much controversy. I don't know why or how your got that position, only Lexx knows. It just seems there are older guild members who object to you being placed above them with you being such a new guild member. I do admit, you have done your job admirably, but is your position worth the controversy in the guild? This one is up for the guild to decide.
Overall though, I believe that favortism is a bad thing in most circumstances. If someone is under suspicion for being a rebel spy or something, then they don't belong in a leadership position. Older members should have seniority status over newer members, unless there are no other senior members to choose from or the new member is more deserving of the position. Perhaps advancement should be left up to the judgement council as well?
There have also been recent rumors (OK, maybe not rumors) of merging with other guilds or cities. This is perhaps one of the most unwise decisions I can think of. RID is unique for many reasons. We are our own guild and no one else's. Now, some will argue that by merging with another guild we would get more members and more skilled individuals in our group. If this is the reasoning for merging with another guild, then shame on whoever thought of this. Growth is patience. Growing to fast will lead to our demise. Numbers are nothing but numbers. The true strength of our guild is in the quality of members we recruit, not quantity. Sure, we need more skilled members, but our current members are training as fast as they can and we can always recruit newer, more skilled members.
There is also the concern that we are recruiting faster in order to get a shuttleport. While a shuttleport will be nice, we shouldn't sacrifice quality members for simple numbers in order to get that shuttle. It has also been brought to my attention that some sort of application for new recruites has been waived in order to quickly increase our numbers right now. I think by waiving this application we are creating more problems.
Now, we cannot allow any of these problems to get worse. But, at the same time, we cannot rush into some process to rectify these problems without proper planning. I encourage all who read this to post your opinions and suggestions. We will never accomplish anything if we don't work together to solve our problems.
I know there will be many of you who find this whole post offensive or painful to read. For that, I am sorry. While this post may be painful to read, I feel that I must express my opinion on the state of the guild. Whether or not you agree with me on what I say in this message is your choice. If you agree with what I say, say so. If you don't agree, say so. Everyone's opinion matters.