Greetings!

Today's patch message, alluding to "under-subscribed" guilds, alarms me greatly. In my experience playing EQ, the very best interactions I have had are with the members of small guilds.

Generally, a small guild does not remain small because it is incapable of attracting members, but because it wishes to remain small. Therefore, it is extremely selective in its choice of members, if it seeks new members at all.

Being in a small guild means that I know every member personally. The members of a small guild become close companions and good friends, in a way that a larger guild is unlikely to enjoy. In a small guild, one can come to know every member so well that one may trust each of them absolutely, with life and with honor.

Being in a small guild means that we play Everquest to be with one another... not to farm items, not to hold camps for days, not to conquer. We play because we enjoy one another's company. Conquest or wealth may come, but it is incidental to the enjoyment we gather on the way.

Being in a small guild means that we must each prize our reputation. When one's guild has but a dozen members, there is nowhere to hide. If one of us is rude or foolish, we cannot brush off a complaint as being unrepresentative of the guild as a whole. Likewise, if one of us is noted for kindness, sound tactics, or heroism, we all may take warm pride in our friend, and in ourselves.

When I meet someone from a small guild, I can reasonably suspect that they share these views. When one meets a member of a small guild and comes to respect them, that respect may be transferred to other members of a small guild with little fear of disappointment. When dealing with small guilds, the guildmate of a new friend often becomes one's friend as well.

I mean no offense to those in larger guilds. They are able to take on challenges that will be beyond the reach of any single small guild. They too must get to know one another, they too must mind their reputation, and they too collect honor from the accomplishments of the whole. They have come to their position in their own way, and it is as good as any.

Yet I believe that the way of the small guild is also good, and should not be discouraged. Indeed, I believe that Norrath would benefit greatly if small groups of people, finding themselves to be friends, would gather together in guilds. Not for gain, but for friendship alone.

To Verant, I say that I recognize that there may be a need to purge a database of obsolete data. However, I ask that membership not be the sole criterion for this purge. I would hope that your search includes the age of the guild, the activity of its members, and perhaps the constancy of its membership. If a very small guild has had very little turnover in its membership over a long period of time, and yet the players have been active, then you have found the very best kind of small guild. To lose such a guild would be a bitter blow, and to keep it would promote all that is good in Norrath.

To those of you reading who enjoy being in a small guild, I say do not go gently into the night of deletion. Make your opinions known to Verant, at eqfeedback@verant.com, and on the message boards you may frequent. There are a great many of us in small guilds on various servers, yet by our very nature we are obscure. For this one time, obscurity is a hazard we must strive to overcome.
 

Thank you for your time.
 

May the peace of Quellious be in your heart, and the spirit of the Tribunal guide your hand.

Galor Spiritchaser
Shaman of the Hammers
Leader of the Pilgrims of Way'n
Citizen of The Nameless