Let me first explain why I always put the word ‘officer’ in inverted commas. Having served as a non-commissioned member of the Royal Air Force and having decided upon guild rank names that adhere to the non-commissioned ranks of the RAF, I find it difficult to use the term ‘officer’ since (to me) the word assumes some privileged position of power where I would prefer the actual officer ranked players in the guild assumed a more service orientated role within the guild.
The Dambusters have 2 tiers of ‘Officer’ currently in the guild. Warrant Officer and Flight Sergeant!
It was brought to my attention recently that ‘officers’ may not have the power of guild control they require to perform their tasks. It was also mentioned that as such, I am too powerful as a guild leader and that brings resentment upon me. Upon inspection of my ranking structure I noticed that the disgruntled member was of the Flight Sergeant rank which is the lower of the 2 officer positions. The Flight sergeant rank provides a great deal of benefit to the guild leader as it allows the Flight Sergeant to demote toons to ‘On Jankers‘ if they are breaking guild rules but also has a nice guild repair benefit aswell as a host of other options available to the rank.
The problem lies where the Flight Sergeants of the guild feel they have no say in the direction the guild takes. They feel that as such highly ranked players, they should have a large part to play in the direction in which we take the guild. That may be true if I felt unable to direct the guild in the path needed to keep us progressing as a community. I am entirely proud and satisfied with the performance of the guild and so I do not feel that i require people to advise sweeping changes to our vision as a guild. This does not mean I never wish to hear thoughts and opinions, it’s just that I feel we are doing pretty well as a social levelling guild which is still what we are remember!
The disconnect certain Flight Sergeants feel is due to lack of guild control but the Flight Sergeant’s role is not to directly affect guild direction, but micro management of the player base and reporting any wrong-doing or praiseworthy behaviour to the Warrant Officer or Bigticket directly. A few Flight Sergeants may feel that as an ‘officer’ they deserve to have a big say on the way the guild operates but they often fail to notice the presence of the Warrant Officer rank.
People often assume that Warrant Officer is only for Bigticket’s alt characters to retain a certain amount of admin rights while playing those characters but if you look closely at the guild roster then you will see that there are actually 6 people capable of making the bigger decisions regarding actual guild direction. These people deserve and should command respect. They are not all top players but they are certainly top people. 2 are vastly more experienced than Bigticket and all are close friends in real life and as such can be totally trusted NOT TO make rash decisions where I cannot know the real motives for such. The very top officers of the guild are within my grasp and they have done and will always be able to affect the direction of the guild. These people deserve the utmost respect among the guild because they are chosen as potential guardians of the guild if I am unable to be online for any time whilst also knowing exactly my vision and management style to the letter.
I have found and proven this style of leadership unit to provide the utmost security and stability for the guild and as so many guilds rise and fall with wreckless or ill-advised leadership that this has become one of the most stable guilds in Europe. Keep up the good work Dambusters! Each of you are leaders in your own right and will face scrutiny dependent upon your good or bad actions.
/salute
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