Written by: Cheetara
So, this morning I sign on and check out Digg like I always do, man you can get lost in that site for hours and there on the front page I see this article: Husband and Wife get Divorced over WoW and it makes me think about the game. As a GM I spend a LOT of my free time on this game, and I don’t ALWAYS have my priorities straight, but I would like to think that most of the time I do. I feel like this is one of the top five toughest parts of being a GM. Sometimes when you sign on your screen turns totally pink in whisper, or sometimes when you log onto vent people are begging to yank you into a super secret channel… these things happen all the time, and before you know it, a quick log in to check your auctions can turn into an hour and a half of dealing with why so and so really wants his mom’s best friend to join the guild to raid even though she is a rogue who turned 70 six hours ago. (I would totally let a mom in BTW, cause MoM WoWers are the coolest.) But still, you get the picture.
Over the course of being a GM, I have discovered a few ways to handle this. On occasion I will put up my <DND>sign, and people for the most part get that means I don’t want to be disturbed. But then, there are always the select few that don’t get it. One of my favorite things to do is to just go <AFK> and stay that way. Then I don’t feel obligated to answer any whispers, because I am obviously AFK. 
Now, I am not saying that as a GM you should always do that… that would make you suck a lot. But, I am saying that as a GM I sometimes find that I need to finish my darn dailies… or else someone is going to have to cover my repair bill!
So… how do YOU guys deal with the taxing time it takes to be a GM?
February 18th, 2008 at 10:31 am
What a disappointing article. I hate when people in the media jump onto the “WoW/video games/music ruined my life” bandwagon. Fortunately, this article or blog post emphasized that little was done to help repair the marriage aside from setting aside time together to watch a show.
As a guild master, a long-time player of the game, and someone known to be helpful when approached, I know very well the pains of seeing a wall of pink when I log into the game.
In fact, the transition from assisting the leadership to becoming the guild master was particularly painful for me because I was so loathe to ever say no to any of my guys. If they needed help, I was the first to offer. If gold or items could help, I selflessly gave. I dropped two raids (both of which have progressed so that they are currently in or starting Hyjal and Black Temple) so that I could put in the time to organize Karazhan for them. My every moment in game was spent helping people acquire loot, learn their classes, or just building a rapport with them.
I kept doing that until I reached the point that I almost burned out.
My leadership style has changed. I don’t try to keep the guild afloat by doing everything myself. There are two co-leaders in the guild with me, I have elevated knowledgeable people into positions of authority (called our Aide de Camps), and I set aside a lot of time for myself each week to raid or PvP. I interact less with my guys because they don’t maintain the same heavy raiding schedule that I do and aren’t able to do so themselves, but we still do runs together, we’ve been hitting the Battlegrounds as a guild, and our weekly Karazhan runs are a way to snag badges and gear while having fun together.
One thing I will not ever do, however, is ignore them. If my AFK tag is up, I’m honestly AFK. I consider myself entirely approachable and I don’t want to do anything to dissuade my guys from believing that. Now, if I’m busy and can’t give them my full attention, I’ll let them know and try to set up time later to talk; however, I always always always give a reply so that they know that I am listening.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
okay I should point out that they KNOW I am fake AFK and if ANYTHING important comes they whisper and I answer… I wish I could be more of tough than that, but I can not