Of course they will deny this up and down.  But we have heard from several people in their ranks that this is their plan for each tournament.  They didn't just "git gud" overnight. 

Your friendly neighborhood Smitty here!
Sif Ellisdottir - Gaiscioch [GSCH]
Maelgwyn Gryffud - Gaiscioch [GSCH]

we encourage double teaming on ourselves by playing strong and aggressive for a time, then getting lazy and timid.

At the same time GoM has increased in size we have decreased.  I have not seen so few of us late night and into the AM as current.  GoM was able to put up orange swords on us last night and all we had where 4 total people on all of our BL, 2 of us where friends out there just to discourage camp taking all night.

Our focus for this week has to change.  Ignore GoM, let them do as they wish, obviously push when they push, but don't worry about there PPT, they will take this week.  What we can not afford to have is GoM to dictate positions this week.  Take AR head on, keep our PPT higher then AR and we can pull off 2nd.

Eko has a point, we have tags on the map pushing hard and then all of a sudden have to go, its not the problem you have to go, everyone has real life to get to and no one should be loosing sleep over a game.  Maybe taper off your commanding, play defensive for a little bit if no one is going to tag up afterwords to give the impressions we are still on the map, and just holding.

One last note....  Guys on the unofficial forum, and I can include myself, we are not doing a service to our server.  Many Commanders view those posts even if they do not write on them, they get angered and steer there forces to whatever side they feel angered by.  We also have a tendency to bring things on ourselves.  Over the last few weeks on those forums I have seen info like "after 2am pst we barely have a soul on our BL"  I have seen things that where supposed to be friendly but comes off giving away a lot of info like "we have a calender and run events in WvW".  By giving away this info you are encouraging them to counter, and unfortunately they just defend and wait us out, then turn it back on us when that commander logs out.   Every guild has the issue when running events that as soon as there tag goes down, the members from that guild all vanish.  The fair-weather is what is killing us, when players come out and only want to K-Train, they see no tag, they leave.  Those people we need to encourage to go into EotM or to stay a bit longer in WvW when they would normally go to easy venues of loot or karma.  Every time the Fair-Weathers are out there and help us to raise a tier or 2, and it gets harder they leave, and we start falling again.  Our regular members start trying to absorb the gap and get burned out.  We need to stabilize things, even if we are stuck in T7 again for a while.  Fair-Weathers are good to have, but it seems we have a lot of them, more then other servers in these tiers.  

Hope none of this came off offensive, the goal of this post was to list my opinion of what I am seeing happen.  

To the fair-weathers I was talking about, if you stand strong even against all odds out there, I will be standing along side you, I will die with you out there, many times if needed.  Our Fair-weathers although we may have more then any other lower tier server, are stronger and tougher then the other servers have.  I will "300" this stuff alongside you guys!  But I can only do that if you are out there and haven't given up for easier game play.

Mistress Collisto|Molly Oakenheart|Lena Andersdotter|Heather Jones
Guild Leader of [JADE] www.Immortalizedin.enjin.com

http://mos.millenium.org/servers/history/43#

All you need is there....they were doing awesome till end of Dec then they suddenly start getting 2nd & 3rd vs servers they beat previously then these last 2 matches they start taking 1st by impressive numbers, even when we soundly beat them 2 matches previously?

Yeah, I need a new tinfoil hat.

An addendum on Collisto's post...we really need to drive the TS info in /map chat.  We have so few people in TS even though we have good numbers on the map that it really seems to hurt our ability to react to pushes or defend.  Remind them that just by listening in TS makes a world of difference in reaction times.

A man of many Valins, one for every class - [KONG]

Dito what Valin said  about ts. Even if you don't have a mic, ts will help immensely. Can't state that enough. If you're running in wvw w/o ts, there's  good chance you'll become a detriment to the team at some point. At the very least you've put yourself in a very sub optimal situation. I'm not in any way saying you shouldn't wvw if u dont use it, but if you have 2-3 spare minutes, why not? I promise it far from a hostile environment in our ts. Maybe you'll make some long time friends while you're at it. Which makes gaming SO much more fun.

*Xeero Cool-Mez,Admiral Wiggin-Engi,Arya Sinfelle-Teef,Dirtyfilthyrotten-Necro,Ender Tha Xenocide-Rev
Filthydirtyrotten-Warrior

Why do you play WvW?

• Defeat the enemy head on?
• Defeat the enemy with PPT?
• Defeat the enemy server and move up in ranks?
• Have fun?

I play WvW to have fun no matter what tier we are in.  SoR is awesome for being all-inclusive and we shouldn't be anything we aren't.  I know I hear a lot of guilds wanting us to move up in the tiers, but will that still result in SoR being a fun place to play?  I tend to think not.  We know what it is like for us to grind away in a tournament, lose, and watch the server implode.  It has happened multiple times, and I shudder to think that we are quickly heading to a place where that could potentially happen again.  I love running around killing people as much as the next person, but I'm not going to start excluding people or forcing play-styles just to move up in ranks.

We have been EXTREMELY lucky to fight back up to a tier where the competition is equal to our comfortable style.  Knowing how out-of-proportion the tiers are above us, it is my opinion that we would have a hard time staying competitive and would burn our commanders out.

We have been proud of our ability to get where we are and NOT resort to the tactics that other servers use to artificially inflate their numbers, and WvW skill.  I am EXTREMELY proud of that.  We are a FAMILY, not a fairweather server.  The fairweather people have left - we know who they are.

Remember this is a game, and we play to have fun.  Not burn out and fade away.

Long live Sanctum of Rall!

Your friendly neighborhood Smitty here!
Sif Ellisdottir - Gaiscioch [GSCH]
Maelgwyn Gryffud - Gaiscioch [GSCH]

I was just wondering as I'm a new transfer onto SoR, so I havent seen this pattern in the past.

The other thing I find interesting is that AR seems to be playing for 2nd, rather than playing for 1st place.

It's like they dont care about rating, or they dont understand it.

I was leading on reset night, and AR came and fought us on GoM's side of the map a few times, but never flipped anything on GoM's side and instead came to our side. Third place doesnt move into second place by constantly focusing the current second place. Youre rating will go up faster the smaller the gap between you and whoever is in first place.

First off the match ups have been rough this week and last but personally I've been having fun and so have others within our guild. It has caused us to think a little harder and has led to some pretty fun open field fights and long term drag out sieges to take objectives. I was told when I was younger " You'll never learn anything by fighting those you can beat ". You can pretty much apply that to the game or things out in the real world.

Addressing the " fair weather " / team speak issues. Myself I live in the sticks and play on a satellite connection. The game works fine on it but voice coms have a tendency to break up and sometimes people only hear 1/2 of what I say. I command mostly by team chat and watching what happens on the map and map chat. I do jump in the channels though and listen in to what's going on. As far as others joining Team Speak, I can tell you for certain that some within our guild will not use the community server due to language issues and how some of the other guilds act and re-act to newer players. There are also a lot of ladies within the guild and people should try to act with some sense of decency. Myself and others also don't wish to hear what people have to say about SEX, RELIGION, and POLITICS. Three topics I try to avoid in any game as they'll always lead to a disagreement, fight and feelings getting hurt. I'm a disabled veteran, I have fought in real wars, I also have about 20 years on some of these players. The game for me is a hobby, the friends I have on-line are not just avatars in-game or voices on team speak. I do remember what it was like to be younger and know everything but as you get older you'll realize you don't know jack. I'll get off the high horse here now and also include, I can swear like a sailor, I'm no angel, and if I wanted to whoop it up or throw down, I'm pretty sure many people would be surprised at what I'm actually capable of.

GSCH has a saying " Blades out, not in " and I've seen a few that come really close and some that actually violate this rule. It's not a rule every guild has but it's pretty simple " Treat others as you want to be treated ". Most children with any upbringing know how to act around others in a social situation. If you're old enough to play this game none of this should even be a problem.

So all this being said if you want participation on TS some of the chat in there needs to be cleaned up and those that want to bring more players into W vs W need to step back and think about a few of the things I've mentioned. Far as the language issues the game has a filter, team speak doesn't. I don't think there is much I haven't been called and haven't heard. I simply don't want to listen to or see it typed in map chat. I'm here to have fun and all the later does is add you to my blocked list. I imagine others do the same thing or simply never come back because it's an environment they don't wish to game in. Sometimes the so called " fair weather " players you see are actually new people trying this side of GW 2 out. They say first impressions mean a lot so think about that.

All this will probably offend a few folks and I won't apologize for it because it needs to be said and some of the SOR server members needed to read this. SOR has some awesome commanders and talent. I have seen wins against forces larger then our zergs and some very creative wins on some hard targets. I have also laughed my butt off after being thoroughly stomped and used to mop the floor. I have also seen several guilds and people that left SOR come back to game with us. Your top tier guilds and W vs W play are always going to have STRESS, DRAMA, and things nobody will find fun after awhile except a very select few. The SOR community has it's troubles but is by far the friendliest server I've gamed on. There is a reason some of these people and guilds came back. I play to win, but win or lose I'm here for the duration not for our W vs W rankings.

SOR's number one problem is simply this " No oceanic presence " . 

I operate on EST time and my hours of gaming vary. If anyone actually does game during our down hours start talking among yourselves, forming groups and doing what you can do as a team. Maybe even come up with plans to get more people who game during those times to W vs W with you. I can guarantee you it won't be easy because you will never be able to control when people play or how they like to play. It would be nice though to see those in our dead time zones group together and possibly do this. I know and game with several players on the other side of the pond that game with us during peak times because there is nobody to game with during their prime time. It's not fun with a smaller group getting pounded and simply losing due to numbers, although sometimes a small fight reminiscent of the Alamo can land a lot of bags.

All this long winded post dwindles down to is us ( all of SOR ) keeping up an environment people want to come and game in and win or loose try to keep continuing to build our W vs W presence and abilities.    

Reading through the above posts, I see several disconnects that probably stem from the very different primetime/nighttime environments.  I've seen both of these, so let me try to bridge them.

"Fair-weathers" is being used to refer to two distinct groups of people.  We picked up a lot of people who wanted to ride the rocket train to #1 that we were back in the day.  We fell, they left.  This is not what Collisto is talking about.  We have a non-negligible group of players that show up for a karma train, then leave.  They arrive when we're taking things then disappear, either because resistance was met or because the loot ran out.  This is especially visible at night when we're facing rough odds and every person counts.  A lot of these players show up and would fight, but faced with easier loot elsewhere, disappear.  Why do they disappear?  Because PvE world event recruiters are skittening the evening shift for their own numbers.  Because commanders are calling everyone off a hard fight to go PvDoor another map.  Because commanders tag up for 2 minutes then leave because SQUIRREL!  These "fair-weathers" are followers, not leaders.  Their presence or absence is both an indicator of and influence on morale.

The day crews tend to have a pretty steady stream of action.  Lots of bodies together actively engaging objectives.  This sort of activity tremendously benefits from active communication, either map chat or TS.  At night, when we have a defensive posture, there is often no need to talk; we're watching for threats that aren't here yet.  When we're on the offensive, there are so few of us we're looking at 1-2 people taking half an hour (or longer, depending on defenders) to cap a t3 keep.  This is not the sort of activity that requires a great deal of communication.  Oh, it helps, but what would be the single greatest boon to nighttime communication would be the single largest detriment during prime time: cross-map chat.  Night crews need eyes and hands in many places at once and teamspeak is, generally, not up to the task.  Instead it is friend lists and phone numbers that bring reinforcements.  Unfortunately, the relatively spkitten activity during the night hours means anyone with a message is easily heard; such as the recruiting mentioned previously.

Our commanders work very hard and it would suck if they burned out.  Too bad this happens pretty much every single night to the night crew.  Let us either care about all our players or none.  "Suck it up", "play different hours", and "just let them have it" are not things that anybody wants to hear.  For whatever reason, for better or worse, we have a night crew.  I've never heard them complain about losing; I've only heard them complain about why we lost.

I don't think that anyone is looking for us to rise in rank; putting that out there is something of a straw man.  It is a desired effect, not the goal.  We want to do our best.  That isn't the same as burning out, but it means not rolling over, it means putting up an honest fight, it means not undermining the efforts of those that want to fight when you're looking to take a week off.  Unfortunately, some people would rather take a dive to try winning bronze rather than losing silver.  Of course, I remember losing tournaments horribly because certain prominent players mysteriously and suddenly disappeared and, despite being offline, changed maps frequently, to include entering gold-tier borderlands.  I know I'm not alone in remembering this, and those that were unaware, forgot, or were party to this may have different priorities than those of us that suffered through it.

On a different note....

To the best of my knowledge, each week's matchup is treated as 2 1v1 matches, so the difference between third and first is not necessarily more relevant than the difference between third and second.  I've been trying to find the scoring details, as I know they have changed them a few times, but can't find anything that still exists.  Obviously doing better is better than doing worse, but my recollection is that it really only matters how big of a slice of the whole you have.  I could be wrong; I'd welcome some authoritative links on this.

Also, we're absolutely hemorrhaging intel to the other servers.  You know things are bad when the aforementioned recruiting messages are followed less than a minute later by apologetic whispers from other servers regarding the impending k-train.  They know.  They're paying attention, and, to their credit, they feel bad about what they do to our dedicated nighttime players (well, some of them do).  Of course, it doesn't take a lot of effort what with the nonexistent OPSEC and minimal CI efforts.  And this is ignoring the prospect of moles and other forms of subterfuge.

To the original topic...

We're in the middle of spring break.  Some people have more time, some have less.  The Northeastern US has been battered by near-constant storms that have impacted availability in no small amount.  This is a far more likely answer for chaotic performance over the past 3 months as it relies on general logistic concerns that can have both upward and downward forces on all servers rather than the assumption that GoM has a reserve of players that love WvW and play very competitively, but only when they need to get back to 16th place.  The natural ebb and flow of players with limited time is something that has helped and hindered us as well.  They are, however, boosting morale; that can have an immeasurable, significant impact on upcoming performance.

Here's a question then. Why are we allowing multi-server guilds into coms ? I mean if a guild wants to W vs W with us they have to be on this server but their buddy in the same guild can simply chat it up to the other guild that's currently in W vs W. This is really sad and it is happening. Aside from barring multi-server guilds any suggestions ?

We have non SoR in our wvw channels? I always assume if they've been verified, they've been verified through SoR mapchat. When did this become a problem?  

*Xeero Cool-Mez,Admiral Wiggin-Engi,Arya Sinfelle-Teef,Dirtyfilthyrotten-Necro,Ender Tha Xenocide-Rev
Filthydirtyrotten-Warrior

Non-verified is for WvW use only. If they're not verified and not in WvW channels, don't worry about it. If they are verified but not part of the server, consult their guild tag and see if that's the case.

Some things that I have noticed stay the same for the past year, while remaining in lower tiers:

• Lack of siege being refreshed
• Lack of a significant number (or well trained) night crew
• Not always someone to rally to

I am not saying these are the cause, but they are not helping us in these fights.

Professor Bannister, engineer

I am a returning player after a year and a half off. I picked up GW2 again in January, and have enjoyed all the new additions. Last go-around, I did not spend much time in WvW because my guild was not active there. This time, I decided to give it another shot. I played WvW for around three weeks before choosing my new guild - largely based on play style and activity. 

For those first three weeks, I regularly listened in to comms on TS. Some commanders made me feel like I was part of an epic win and a valuable contributor. Other times, I would be listening in as commanders bashed the pugs and called us all stupid *****. I wanted to yell... HEY! I'm here. I'm listening. And your commands are confusing even in TS. No wonder people are lost. I may be a condi ranger, but I can usually hold my own. A little respect goes a long way. 

After a while, the language got to me. I had to move off of EB and join my guild in their fights elsewhere in the BLs and in comms channels that were cleaner. It's not the typical swearing that got to me, but the constant demeaning of women and minorities. Not cool. Not fun. 

I enjoyed playing WvW in Feb & early March. There were a lot of very hard fought sweeping victories. There were times when a ragtag small bunch of us would wipe three times before finally taking a keep. But these past few weeks have been discouraging - not PPT-wise, but behavior wise. I read the other forums, and I see how SoR is represented. I've also started to see nasty things in map chat where commanders are attacking fellow commanders. I love SoR and want it to have a positive reputation. I hope PPT never ruins that.

~ Sihgrhid

This is in response to Fildydarie in regards to the scoring.

The information on how rating is affected is kept under pretty tight wraps, and I havent been able to find the exact formula they use, but it's all just a numbers game.

Hypothetical Time:

3rd place server has 20k points

2nd place server has 40k points

1st place server has 60k points

From what I've seen, most people in 3rd place will try to attack 2nd place in hopes of moving up. I think the sentiment is "Well, theres a smaller point gap between us and 2nd, so that would be easier to achieve. Then we can focus on 1st place." But what this does is only allow 1st place to gain an even bigger point lead.

Say you're 3rd place and you attack 2nd place. More than likely, 1st place will attack 2nd place with you. So 3rd place is essentially allowing 1st place to have that point lead unanswered. This is what I call playing for 2nd. Its the reason why you have these bloated scores in certain tiers.

Use this week as an example, right now the point difference between us an AR is pretty narrow - 92k to 89k. But look at what thats allowed GoM to do, they have 147k. If AR can take 2nd place, and by the time that they do, GoM will easily have 150k points. Thats a HUGE point lead. The only way either server will be able to beat that is if they play pretty much 24/7 until reset.

Now lets look at it this way:

Same starting points 20k, 40k, 60k.

If 3rd place focuses 1st place, theres no way that 2nd place should focus 3rd place. Instead, the 2v1 gets flipped on the 1st place server. Now 1st place can't have all these unanswered points, and they cant build this ridiculous point lead. The point spread is much more balanced.

Just look at T1 to see this. The point spreads, for the most part, are all pretty equal. And every good commander on T1 uses this same exact approach.

3rd place will move up in rating faster the smaller the point gap between 3rd and 1st, not 3rd and 2nd. And there's no formula to support that, it's just how map politics work.

-Chacha

So I'm a noob that joined SOR about a month or 2 ago cause a few of my friends played and told me to check it out. I loved it coming from WOW for the last 6 years, this is an awesome game. I'm currently in a small guild with only about 5 - 8 regularly active players. I've fallen in love with WvW. I can be found out there often soloing camps on home BL, following the zerg, or just creating havoc wherever I can. I often listen in on TS and there are a few channels that the commanders try and keep clean, usually the community channels, and all the other channels seem like free for all language. I'm not offended by much, but see what others would not like and stay away from. Not sure what the policy is for TS, but if it's not a policy I would recommend making community channels rated PG strictly. This might help get more ppl on TS. Though all community channel commanders would have to enforce these strictly, and not sure if that's possible.

Just want to take a second in the middle of this to say thank you to Fog, Hella, and Smitty for making these channels this way whenever I've been in them. Also these 3 commanders are very helpful too any noobs out there. (I'm sure there's more of u commanders out there that fall into this grp, and I'm sorry i have not run with you and had the same experience)

To address the "fair weather" players that keep getting refer about here. Not so sure these ppl are only interested in the K-train. Like myself when I first started, WvW was very intimidating. I think it's lack of exp in the zones that ppl don't want to screw up anything the server has going on and instead head elsewhere where we aren't affecting the whole server. As i've learned out there, there's not a lot u can do at down times to screw anything up, it's only helpful for bodies to be out there doing whatever they can. Ur gonna get killed .. a lot, but if i can steal a line from Greyfeathers who put it perfectly " You'll never learn anything by fighting those you can beat ", couldn't be stated better. I remember a few weeks ago Fog had a WvW intro night, he went over the area and basic strats. It was a great time and a lot of good info. Would it be possible for some of the other commanders have little classes like these. Doesn't even have to be running around WvW could just be verbal. Give us a little more info into how our favorite commanders think, that way when we're out by ourselves we would could say looking at a map "What would Fog/Hella/Smitty (again sorry other commanders) do?"  I've learned different strats from following these guys in different sized grps. I was also lucky I have a 2 year WvW veteran to show me around and help with how to look at the map. Not so sure a lot of other new players have these resources, so they get intimidated out there solo. I guess what I'm saying is maybe if we help the under informed out there they would be more likely to stay out there solo. (Srry if I jump all over, have ADD :) )

It would be nice if there were more commander tags out there as well. Maybe if we got a few more commander tags out during down times it would help. Not per-say events, or Zerg commanders but someone that has a decent idea of what's going on out there and can collect the 4 - 5 ppl that might be on a BL at the time. I know me personally out there would be more apt to run over and see what a tag is doing than respond to a Map chat about grping. I randomly grp with ppl as i'm soloing out there, but we seem to break up fairly fast and I know we'd be more effective if we stayed together. When i first started playing I would also check out the  SOR website and it's listed there which color tags are which. It seems like we don't follow that list anymore. It seems like we just use the colors to differentiate the different commanders. I would recommend going back to the color system. Sometimes ppl wanna go out and Havoc they see a purple tag only to find the main Zerg. I mean we all know how to work computers to play this game, I think we can figure out if there's 2 yellow tags out which one we're following (not sure that comes off right but, joke.. read it anyway u need to, to read it as a joke) I can see a lot of the responses coming from this post. "There are lots of guilds out there that can help you learn the game." I realize this, just guilds like GSCH and Omen and the other bigger guilds.. remember it's intimidating to some new players to be in guilds that big.

I love this server and every person I've met here. If we stay in this tier or go up, really doesn't matter to me as long as I get to play with the ppl of SOR. I may not have completed every thought here or did a very good job of relaying myself, but i put out what i was thinking after reading this forum. I may be dumb or not realize things that i suggested won't work. Just wanted to give a small look into the mind of a player that's been here under 60 days.

Thanks and look forward to killing whoever with u all.

I just want to respond to Sigg - firstly, welcome back! I took nearly a year off myself and also came back in February.

Please don't let intense or angry commanders keep you away from TS - make a note who you don't want to play with and just don't. I give every guild group, every commander, a shot. I'll run with them for a couple of hours to get a feel for their style.

I have a mental list of who I just don't want to play with, and fortunately it's a very short list. One in particular has whispered vicious attacks at me when I had tagged up on an empty map and didn't stop till I tagged down, and he wasn't even bothering to get on TS, so when I see his tag on the map I go to another map. He doesn't use TS much so he's easy for me to avoid. If he attacks me again, I'll have a private chat with him.

As for the language and inappropriate comments, I can respect anyone's viewpoints on that. We all have our limits. I love a wild party atmosphere or I can dish out sharp commands mid-skirmish, but I get offended when anger and insults come out whether directed towards friend or foe alike.

So I know we can't have a channel that will please everyone, but over time you get to know the commanders you respect the most and so gravitate to them.  When you identify a few that you like best, add them to your friends list. Join them when they're on a borderland, offer to take a team to flip a camp, offer to refresh siege or check swords on garrison, etc. Become part of that commander's team.

It's nice to get familiar with dependable voices that can go take care of something that doesn't require the whole zerg. Small team efforts like this go a long way to the success and fun of another romp through wvw.

And a general response to all the other thoughts that have come up about wvw:

I'm really not worried at all about players who just come in for their dailies, players who come only when there's a big zerg (hey there's safety in numbers, nothing wrong with that), and players who log off when they're discouraged. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Of all the things in life to get discouraged about, losing a game of checkers or Risk is not one of them. Oh right, this isn't a board game  ...   but my point still stands.

glhf: Good luck and have fun, always.

Alright guys, first I want to thank everyone for the input, only a server that can exchange thoughts, ideas, and feelings in an open manner can learn and grow together.  

So I have thought about this a lot after I posted my comments above...  I have come to the conclusion that most of the lack of people are a symptom of a bigger issue.  What I feel our bigger issue is currently it that we are competing on NA prime in T6, maybe even at times T5 level.  However our nights, we have put little to no effort into growing it.  Our night crew is still a T7 or good T8 level as far as numbers of players go.  Many on our night crew are left overs from our old T1 days, the experience may be there, but not many tags, and not many followers.  

I think it is this mix that has lead to some issues and drama... I have heard people logging on in the mornings/early afternoons say things like they feel the night crew let them down somehow.  All the way-points gone, PPT lost, and that gets back to the people on nights.  They take it personally, they feel they let the server down.  Now I know the day crew people may have just been venting and never intended for that to be taken that way, but it is sometimes.  Night crew sees some new faces for a few weeks when we are doing good, then when things start to get hard the numbers drop.  It has been a pattern from even T1 days, so for us not to admit Fair-Weathers would be lying to ourselves.  Even some of my own guild members are guilty of it, maybe even me at times.  We can not fix what we don't want to see.  We do need to be inclusive as mentioned above in others posts, we do have to have fun.  So keep the events going, keep recruiting, represent the server in a positive manner and in the long run things will work out.  I would suggest some of our day crew, log in one of these nights, get to know some of the night people, see how it really is out there, and what your night guys really do and try to do.

As a side note to all, be sure to thank your commander on occasion, they are out there to try to provide you with a good time, and to help the server.  This minor gesture can make a huge difference even if they wont admit it. 

Mistress Collisto|Molly Oakenheart|Lena Andersdotter|Heather Jones
Guild Leader of [JADE] www.Immortalizedin.enjin.com

I think you really hit on a great point Collisto - "represent the server in a positive manner"

The people who use TS need to remember not to badmouth anyone else on the server (it happens) because that can cause discord.  Yeah, frustration happens to everyone, we're human, but you need to be mindful that there may be first timers in TS and if the commander or others start raging or badmouthing other SoR guilds or individuals it is going to color their perceptions and lead them to NOT want to join TS in the future.

It isn't a rare occurrence when someone (not speaking of TS commanders here) has spoken poorly of GSCH, either by name or inference ("big guilds that just run events") while members of GSCH are standing RIGHT NEXT TO THEM and are in TS.  Now THAT is frustrating, that is disheartening and it's down right rude.  And it does not represent the server is a positive manner when this happens.  No one should speak poorly of any guild on our server, no matter the size.  And when it happens it is most important to not retaliate.

If you have an issue with a server-mate or guild please, please remember to not bring it to TS.  Take it up with that person/officers on the side.

And I had first hand experience that speaks to Greyfeather's "You'll never learn anything by fighting those you can beat" - last night on the surface was a frustrating night fight wise, I had a few occurrences where I was straight out personally outplayed (I'm not great by any means but I'm not a complete rollover).  Disheartening - yeah.  eGame ego hurt...yup.  But I stepped back and learned something from those fights and it makes me want to try new things and get out of my comfort zone and improve.

Sometimes you just need to take it on the chin, step back, regroup and move forward again.

EDIT:  Disclaimer - I speak purely on my own behalf - my views do not represent the view of GSCH.

A man of many Valins, one for every class - [KONG]

Im in gsch and it seems to me, most of the guild is unaware of this fact.  You might say... I work pretty hard for this server and yet is there a  show of support when I run or organize events?  They dont much rally behind their own when help is needed.  If you are not Jordy, Smitty or Fog dont expect much of a team effort.

Now Fog has started prime time Teq events and this is the same thing we hated EG for doing.  It drains players out of wvw right when we need them most.  It makes us who are left behind trying desperately to hold on very angry. 

These big gsch wvw events make ppl lazy.  We end up with a bunch of players who just spent 3hrs getting accustomed to a ktrain mentality.  Zero responsibility, run forward, push 1, stand in ring.  When the core gsch players log out for the evening, guess whats left over?

This next part, I mean with a bit of humor: GSCH is spoiled.  The core of the guild is ready and willing to cooperate and when the big 3 start an event, they know with out a doubt that the support will be there.  My situation is much different than this when I tag up. 

The strengths of the guild are that these big events are immensely successful.  They can organize on a scale impossible for the rest of us.  These events may not have helped you or me personally but take a step back and realize they are impressive.  GSCH has brought far more good than harm to the server. 

Well, I'd like to say that I am GENUINELY thankful for all the players who choose to follow me on my events.  It is a HUGE honor to run with people, and I am also grateful that you choose to fly "Air Smitty".  I will not deny that GSCH brings the boom when it comes to their scheduled events, but we are also human, and unfortunately can't run 24/7.  I know it may seem disheartening for us to come in raise hell and leave, but we fill a purpose.  GSCH is NOT a WvW only guild.  We have never portrayed ourselves as such.  We like to let all our guildmates experience everything that a game has to offer - WvW included.  

I try to ask in TS or in chat for someone to tag up after my event to take over.  I start giving the warning about an hour before my event is about to end.  And 9 times out of 10, no one is available or able to tag up to continue to lead.  There HAVE been those who have stepped up and continued the rampage.  But when I'm done leading the crew, I am exhausted!  (I'm getting too old for this kitten ~Murtaugh)  I'd love to keep going into the night to maintain the cohesiveness of the crew, but I play the game to have fun too.  I try to make every event I have as fun, educational, and entertaining as possible.  This is a game to me, and for those who run with me.  If someone would tag up after my event, they would have a fair amount of people running with them despite those who leave at the conclusion.  

I'm sorry if I have frustrated other guilds due to the "Arrive, Raise Hell, Leave" mentality...  But it is how I play.  At one point, we have ALL played to have fun.  And as we come up through the ranks, we can not lose that purpose!  If its no longer fun, its WORK.  I leave work, come home and crack some skulls, despite our rank, to blow off steam.  Is it nice to move up?  Yes.  it means that we have done well.  I understand that coverage at key time frames is lacking, but we are working on it.  We try to recruit legitimately.  We don't purchase.  We recruit based on our own accomplishments and merits.

I include everyone in my events as I KNOW the rest of the commanders in GSCH do.  And I know that I will continue to accept anyone, and have fun, and sing!

Your friendly neighborhood Smitty here!
Sif Ellisdottir - Gaiscioch [GSCH]
Maelgwyn Gryffud - Gaiscioch [GSCH]

Im not sure if your just missing my point or side stepping it intentionally.  let me try to be more direct...

The strengths of the GSCH guild are the large events and the manner in which they are run.  This is the fountain from which the guild grows and we should let them do what they are good at.

There are negative aspects to the method however, which I have stated, and the net gain is greater than the loss.  Lets use the Teq example: run a teq event, get more ppl in the wvw but others will be upset.  should you stop doing teq?  The end result is positive so no, you should not stop; but this doesnt mean everyone will like it.

Acknowledging the issues and peoples concerns isnt even a right or wrong finger pointing assigning blame situation.  We should be able to talk about ourselves and not become defensive.

As for how I want to play?  I push people to improve their game and teach what I know.  When Im out on the battlefield and I see a display of skill and team work, I feel like I just won.  This here,  this is my game.

I will step forward and say I am one for those GSCH who absolutely avoids comms if it isn't one of my guilds commanders leading. And it's because of the content. I am a mother with children who play the game. I take my 13 year old out to wvw, trying to teach him. Usually we kick around and take some camps. I absoutely refuse to get into comms so he can be exposed to the vile topics of conversation. Like others have stated, the conduct of people on teamspeak is not generally condusive to minors or women. 75% of my WvW time, he's with me. We will absolutely follow Smitty, Jordy, Fog, Hella, and Aiobheann. I will take him out with Callisto. I usually "test the waters" with comms at that point. I've kicked around behind Eko. Commanders have different personalities and style and sometimes that has a huge impact on followers. This isn't reflective of the entire server, because I will run with any commander who is out there when I get on and onto a map. It just comes down to trusting my gaming family and knowing that even if I'm not around, my kid is safe. 

tl;dr
The content of discussion topics on comms are an issue for a lot of people. They are not appropriate for minors and disrespectful to women. GSCH commanders have standards about content while running, and are welcome to anyone. This does have an impact when people play. 

I think if you're not in the uncensored channel, give a heads up you've got a kiddo with us. We'd love do have you all join in, and I don't think it's much to ask of ppl to watch the language for a little bit. It's quite tame lately in most non guild rooms. If you come in ecto room during EST time mid mornings we run wvw, and would be happy to have you, and keep the language PG. I have a sailor's mouth, but work in public, so I'm pretty good keeping it clean when it's proper. 

*Xeero Cool-Mez,Admiral Wiggin-Engi,Arya Sinfelle-Teef,Dirtyfilthyrotten-Necro,Ender Tha Xenocide-Rev
Filthydirtyrotten-Warrior