Here comes a wall of text for the people who have actually come to make a decision in a
recruitment thread.
Good day. I represent a member>raider>officer who has been with Epoch since it's conception in 2009.
I will attempt to insert some objectivity and productivity back into this thread before we lose more pages to a solitary incident that isn't coming to a close.
Most of the advertising can be found on post one of this thread. I shall highlight only what is relevant to the context of our discussion:
Being the (currently) most successful 70 twink community to stand on its own two feet, Epoch attracts a great amount of attention (both positive and negative), and applicants, (both good and okay).
Why we have policies and methods
As you can imagine, as with any successful organization of a relatively large scale (I estimate over 50 unique, regular identities, with another 30 ), Epoch has in place guidelines and policies that govern areas like recruitment, group management, loot distribution, and general guild discipline. These policies are drawn up with the key purpose of
guild sustainability.
Holding to this bigger picture, principles like loot fairness and quality control of entrants come easily. We have to use a fair, user-driven and impartial system to handle loot (hence we use zero-sum DKP.), or we'd have disillusionment amongst those not getting loot, corruption issues, and the guild would fall apart.
As for QC on new applicants, while it might appear elitist... I'll go out on a limb and say, yes. It is elitist in spirit to judge someone based on an application, a vent interview and 45 minutes of raiding time. As it is in the real world with job/scholarship interviews, probationary grants, etc, etc.
It is also very pragmatic and fairly accurate, and the only system we can employ with our current resources.
Pragmatic? Really? Why so serious?
With 7-15 applicants per week-- let's do some math here. We'd have a possible 180-365 new recruits since we started under the new leadership. We have taken on possibly a good hundred and fifty of these as trial members, where their performance and attitude are allowed to show through in the sandbox environment that only Epoch can provide (tm).
Most of these trialbies attend member rank shortly, with the next step being the raider status. Some run into issues with the rest of the guild and leave of their own accord. Some disagree with our policies, but instead of providing valuable feedback and input and waiting out a new verdict, quit or just stop showing up.
Some prove that they cheated the app/interview system and are less-than-pleasant people to have around.
When we take the effort to cherry-pick the good people, we don't just add great company to the roster. We pre-emptively prevent drama, corruption, and opportunities for someone to be a d*** and cause huge upsets.
What we're really looking for
If there's one message I emphasize to all our applicants, it's that we recruit people, not the class or the gear. Attitude is the one thing you can't acquire by getting BiS pieces or EBaying a dual-glaive rogue. Finally, we want the guild to be a civilized gathering of people capable of being fun, and yet mature. There'd be no point otherwise.
I am proud to say that the current roster of Epoch is patient, understanding and mature when we trade insights about problem within the guild. And trust me, there are many. We are far from perfect. But it is the maturity that our members display in times of need that has helped us evolve into the successful guild we are today. (stuff like passing loot on out of generosity and helping out to get points per week are also small gestures that you see constantly).
Consequently, I am sad to say that to maintain this outlook, we have a certain mould we need our recruits to fit. It's not hard.
If you're nice, you're in. It's really that simple. We have had people app 3 times and hence point out to us that we were going to miss a gem of a person.
We also have had people who make an ugly scene out of themselves when they get rejected/told off/gkicked. That just makes us feel better about making the right decisions-- and it would make you feel better too. Join us if you're game for a fun and laid-back (BUT PROFESSIONAL K) 70 experience.