This week we began raiding at last. We started in Blackwing Descent and took down three bosses – Magmaw, the Omnatron Defense System, and Maloriak – in three days of raiding. Maloriak took about 4 hours of concerted effort and probably 20 wipes over two nights, but we solved the problem in the end. It was an extremely auspicious beginning and enthusiasm is very high right now. I’m... 

I hate conflict. This is probably an odd sentiment coming from someone who is in a role that specifically requires confronting and resolving conflict on a fairly regular basis, but it’s true – I despise conflict. There’s been a moderate amount of it lately, and while some of it was expected – we’re beginning the new raid content this week, which, frankly, is a nightmare... 

We’ve recently had an influx of recruits to our guild – one is a returning guildy, the others, his “real life” (RL) friends: a group of at least four and potentially six new members, all of whom are experienced raiders and pvpers, looking for a new place to call home and get into end-content. They’re coming from a valiant but failed attempt at starting up their own raiding... 

I’m dreading this week a bit. You see, I’m promoting a couple of members to officer positions. Both individuals are wonderful officer material; that’s not the problem at all. The conflict is that one of our senior members believes he is deserving of an officer position – believes he is long overdue, in fact. And there will possibly be stormclouds when he discovers who I’m... 

Recently I approached my friend Rafe (who doubles as an officer in the World of Warcraft guild I lead… in addition to the many other hats he wears) about an idea I’ve been rolling around for awhile: writing a blog about guild leadership – the ins and outs, the joys and headaches, the complexity of behind-the-scenes decision-making, revealed to, well, the masses. He not only encouraged...