It was a long haul,.. and I couldn't of done it without you guys. Thanks for the patience and help. Between real life and managing the guild,.. I didn't think it was possible. Now just 10 more lvls to go. Hail Expansions.

I would like to meditate for a moment on the word “guild” and its history, as I think its origins are rather instructive for MMO players. A guild, in the medieval sense of the word, is an association of tradesmen, artists, or craftsmen. Guilds oversee the production and distribution of material goods, and they regulate both practitioners of a trade and the larger market in which that type of product is bought and sold. My favorite guild example dates to cinquecento Italy. Imagine Renaissance Venice, her canals a-stink with the smells of a thriving fishing industry, her now-white palazzi ablaze with murals in every color of the rainbow. Somewhere in the Serenissima, probably next door to the leather-curers guild or the paper-makers guild, Tiziano Vecellio runs his own workshop. He sees himself as a craftsman, rather than an artist, producing goods for sale. He is the Master, and his is the signature on most of the products. His employees, however, are also craftsmen, some of them as talented as the master, and Journeyman and Apprentices work together to create great pieces of art. Sure, Tiziano himself may be the one to sketch the Madonna’s face, but what about her hands? Guess what? Renaissance art was a cooperative enterprise, and just look at the product. Pretty fantastic, eh?

Why the long excursus into metaphor, you ask? For us, or prospective B.O.S. Member, the setup of our guild is the masterpiece–the way we do things at the beginning will prove to all our members that we are a capable guild, a guild you can trust. A Guild That Will Get Things Done. But like Tiziano, we can’t do it alone. We will need help, and the end “product” that we all create, excellence in raiding– or just hanging out will be a group effort.