Hello orcses! It sure has been a while!
As many of you have no doubt noticed, the guild has, in recent weeks (or dare I say months), sadly been at an all-time low. This has become so bad that we barely even have anyone attending events any more at all, let alone have any events organized that are exclusively our own. Bearing this in mind, it seems very safe to say that the need for this topic is very well-warranted, as things clearly need to be shaken up if we are to have any hope of multiple people being online at an event or for random RP once again.
To this end, instead of announcing a hiatus for the guild right away (an option that's been in the cards for some time), I figured I would at least offer those that would still potentially want to be invested in the guild a choice. There is, after all, still a chance that there are people out there who would still want to be active in RPing in the guild, but simply do not have the opportunity right now due to the lack of activity. For these people (and to some extend those that once had a hand in the guild in the past as well), I want to offer a choice in deciding the future of the guild. The the options we have here are twofold:
1. Announce an indefinite hiatus for the guild, realizing full well that it may be the permanent end for the guild if things don't get off the ground any more in the (near) future, but at least there will be some manner of 'closure' (if one can call it that, lacking any IC farewells) and the guild's reputation as an orc-only guild throughout the past ten years will have been intact.
2. Reform the guild to accommodate for more races so that the guild, and those members that still want to be a part of this, may live on. At the price of losing the 'prestigious' orc-only tag and with the risk that it may still not save the guild in the long-term since it will by no means be a guarantee that any new people joining may be fit to keep the guild more permanently active. This would of course assume that there would be one or more officers active enough to try and kick things into gear again, knowing that the member and possible future officer count (an equally important problem) might rise well enough again to warrant the organization of proper events again. Of course, we can decide later on to what extend we would open up the guild, be it all Horde races or only certain specific tribal races. It goes without saying that we will do whatever we can to have everything make as much sense and as transition-friendly as possible.
I'm sure there are plenty of arguments to be said for both opinions, so let's at least make sure this topic remains a civil discussion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and everyone's opinion matters equally. However, having said that, I did decide to include an option in the poll that allows each voter to say whether or not they actually plan or want to be active in the guild regardless of its future prospect as well. I feel that this is relevant in the sense that it would at least offer a fair estimate of the amount of people who would still want to be active in case the guild lives on, but would on the other hand allow those that would not plan to be active any more but once were a part of the guild to still give their own opinion on the matter. It goes without saying that it's very important to be completely honest with yourself here. When voting for an option that claims you would be active in the near future still, it means that you actually will as well. It would be bad to create false expectations of the member count we might be having here, should the guild plan to live on. Having said that, healthy discussion in this topic is of course encouraged!
The future of the guild lies in your hands, orcs. Choose wisely, and make sure to spread the word to your fellow orcs to come vote!
- Koz