Other people amaze and astonish on a regular basis.
With the virtual social relationships that we form in WoW, where consequences are limited, and gear and class/spec are king, strange behavior is magnified.
We've got two folks in the guild. Well, we've got lots of folks in the guild, but this story revolves around these two specific folks.
Both are what I would describe as "colorful" people. Both heavily involved in defining the culture of the guild, whether it be active participation in gchat, jokes, random comments, emotes, both in and out of raids, and so on and so forth. Both players are lots of fun, but do border on excessive at times, sometimes getting on the nerves of those around them.
Both players perform reasonably well in their roles during raids. Both are generally available to run dungeons and help people out on non-raid nights.
Then comes last night.
I'm forming up the raid for Magtheridon. Invite one of the folks. The other is not online yet. A while later, the other one comes on. I send raid invite.
The following ensues...
"is [other person] in the raid?"
yep
"i don't raid with [other person]"
decline raid invite
logout
Nice. Classy. I'm a big fan of that move. WTF?
Now, at work, if I assign two people to a project together, and one refuses to work with the other, I generally try to get to the bottom of the issue, using all the nice touchy feely soft skills of getting people to play nice.
And at work, you've got some real tools you can work with, such as real life rewards like money and increased responsibility that might someday lead to promotions, and consequences like beating them with a sack of potatos.
Generally, in a professional situation, people are able to push aside most personal differences and find a way to work together, given the potential for reward for good behavior and the potential consequences for destructive behaviors.
In WoW? Not so many tools available, especially to the leaders in a guild that is just sort of on the cusp of having enough players to field a team to begin with.
The spiteful side of me wanted to /gkick on the spot. The raid leader side of me quickly discarded any negative thoughts about the situation and continued on with filling out my raid and killing a boss.
But the situation has to be dealt with. You can't expect to have a group of 25 people, in ANY walk of life, in game or out of game, and not find at least one person who you sort of don't like or would prefer behaved a little differently.
You gotta be able to put that stuff behind you, get in the raid, and focus on the job.
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2 comments:
I hear you in that aspect totally, and I want to provide an alternative perspective.
There is a guy in my guild who I can't stand. Maybe he left now, I dunno.. anyway.. I can't stand him. Met him pre 70 running instances to get geared for kara, blah blah blah. He was a total tool. I actually had him on my list of "people to never group with".
Fast forward a month or two.. Now he's raiding full time with the guild on the progression team. I have the option to not go on the raid with the group, I loose all hopes of any gear.. I'm not really spec'd best for raiding (sl/sl, sigh..) RaidLeader says come anyway. I don't voice my opinion of that guy cuz.. well that's not his problem. Its mine. I go, everything works out.. he's still kinda a tool.
Now.
You mentioned many times in your post about "in real life".. The thing is, myself and maybe this other guy doesn't play this game with the primary intent to "be the man". I mean we would like that but are we going to "work" towards it? I don't work in game. This is my escape from work/kids/housework/yardwork/homework.. all work. If this guy sees playing with player x to be a irritation such that I'd just rather not have gear than run around with this guy.. I think it should be an officer note.
If you push it, he might just leave. If he's important that doesn't serve your interests.. So I say officer note that on him so in the future its a known thing, and roll on.
ps. Your guild may not be nearly as casual as mine.. most raiding guilds are downright militant about raiding 3-4 times a week.. show a dr's note if you miss. If that is the case gkick him, as he knows what he is getting into.
Have a different spin on this.
The best healer in our guild had an issue with one of the "casual" players in the guild, and didn't want him in a raid. The GL demoted him over this, so the healer left.
So now, due to a "noob" player that is the type that tends to wipe raids, and the GL's insistence that "everyone gets to play" our best healer is gone. Was the healer a bit tempermental?.. sure. Was he dedicated and probably the best player in the guild? Very likely.
I'm afraid it's going to lead to the guild falling apart. One other has already left.
So, should dedicated players be able to express opinions one who else goes in raid, if the GL isn't exercising some control over that?..
/discuss
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