The term, or simply the active definition of ‘Community’ seems to become evermore ambivalent with each passing year in the Internet age, as it skirts the fringe of a time where human interaction can be solely played out through the terminal of a computer. It may sound as if I share the dystopic notion that all reality will collapse if enough people become detached from normal society in favor of a digital life, but instead I think the online generation will foster a new sense of true global community that will ultimately have far reaching effects into our daily lives. Although it may sound tawdry now, the basis for this future seems to become more defined each and every day with the forming of guilds, clans, and forums throughout the internet – Once such guild, The Acolytes, is going a long way to show that being in a guild, or more accurately a community, is much more then not having to type LFG. Recently, I was able to catch up with guild founder, John Seppelfrick, for a little chat about guilds, and community.
MMO guilds seem to be notorious for drama as the usual news stories expounded upon by industry press tend to read like harrowing tales of stolen girlfriends and neck stabbing, but is this really representative of the majority? Sepplefrick confirmed that just like any large community of individuals “Drama is unavoidable,” but believes that the mark of a true community, and what holds The Acolytes apart from many others, is “how [the guild] deals with the inevitable drama,” because “Once your average guild starts feeling more like work, players tend to lose interest.” By redefining the metric of a successful guild as one that not only excels in-game but also remains functional once the raid is over differentiates The proverbial ‘men from the boys.’
The Acolytes Posing for a Group Picture in Age of Conan
Recruitment is often one of the first things that comes to mind when I think about guilds in reference to my time spent playing World of Warcraft – the incessant spamming of the general chat in each zone tended to be far more of an annoyance then anything else. The Acolytes seem keen on keeping their guild accessible, but only to those that are serious about becoming members. By choosing quality over quantity and a word of mouth recruitment policy, The Acolytes have built a community that carries integrity whether in or out of the game. With a forum that has accrued 10,000 posts in the last 3 months, you know these are gamers that value involvement and participation beyond the game.
Despite having a growing presence in Blizzard’s MMO tour de force, The Acolytes began their community as one of the premier guilds in Age Of Conan eventually an expansion to Warhammer Online proved that their dedicated player base was able to support multiple games at a high level. Reaching beyond the game, The Acolytes have donated money to multiple charities, including the Breast Cancer Foundation, as well as sending care packages to troops stationed overseas. In the words of Sepplefrick “We feel the very essence of a community is about helping each other out and helping out those around us.”
It’s often far too easy to look at the internet, and especially online gaming, as a pure and simple waste of time that harbors disassociated youths and adults from the reality of life, but the truth of the matter is that some online communities are far more vibrant and functioning then those in the real world. Dinner parties and neighborhood barbeques used to function as the de-facto social events of a community by bringing together a group of individuals over the shared experience of cohabitation; The Acolytes and similar communities around the web continue the tradition, unfortunately often without the Beef Wellington.
Check out my full interview with John for more on The Acolytes and views on Blizzard’s Real ID experiment, Girls in MMO’s, and how one member ended up posting bail for another member stuck in a foreign jail. Check out The Acolytes on the web and twitter to find out more:
http://twitter.com/acocommunity
Popularity: unranked [?]
2 comments