We invite you to come sit by the digitial fire and hear the tall tales of two old guild-leaders, with all the inside dirty laundry. Come join the conversation as we discuss the inevitable slide from passion to jaded pattern recognition, from love and emotional investment in a group of friends to a necessary personality veil and the invocation of rules, offices, and roles. Watch as otherwise normal people speak about the perception of a guild leader versus the reality of being “the person in charge,” openly discuss their views on loyalty, allegiance, the perceptions of power versus the realities of virtual-space executive privilege, and describe dealing with the expectations of dozens if not hundreds of players. Special attention will be paid to case-by-case examples drawn from our personal experience where we have gone “outside” (or “inside”) the game and directly manipulated our own guild systems, elements, and factions as well as examples of resource and personality management, the cultivation of community both during startup and upkeep phases of a guilds lifespan, and the ultimate emergence of a calculated guild leader, who plays the designated role at the appropriate time and is entirely conscious of this fact.

Join us for a behind the scenes look at our experiences in several online worlds, as guildleaders, raidleaders, and players, and for an interactive discussion about the leaders that we, as players, have all demanded be both fair and just.