Cataclysm will bring a number of changes to guilds.  Some of these are completely new functionality (guild experience) while others are improvements to what we have today and could arguably be introduced independent from the new expansion.

Today, I’d like to draw up a wishlist of guild tools that I’d like to see added to WoW in the future.  As we haven’t heard much beyond the snippets from Blizzcon, some of these may even already be in the works.

First, let’s quickly recap the changes we know are going to be part of Cataclysm.  I’m only talking about changes to the guild user interface and things that provide utility, so I won’t be going into depth on things like talent trees and guild currency.

• you will be able to inspect the professions of guild members without them being logged in
• you will be able to invite other guilds to your events (rather than the individual members of that guild)
• you will be able to set recruiting options for your guild, including the type and level of members you are looking for.  People can search for guilds in-game much as they search for groups in the pre-3.3 LFG tool

Now, on to what I’d like to see added:

Communication

Getting information to your members has always been a challenge for guild leaders.  The in-game tools are so lacking that an outside forum is the only place to post anything of substance.  Getting your members to visit the forum regularly is like drawing water from a stone.  Either you make the website integral to their in-game experience (by only inviting members to raids if they’ve signed up via the forum) or you spend a good deal of time saying if you’d just read the forum, you’d know _blank_ in guild chat.  There is more than enough room for improvement.

Guild Warnings

I’d like to see an /gw command that works the same way as /rw does in groups today (though with green text by default, naturally).  The ability to spam a guild warning would be controlled by a new permission bit, or at the very least be restricted to the same people who can edit the message of the day.

Depending on how many channels your members are in, and the amount of social chatter going on, it is all too easy to miss something in guildchat that your GM or officers say.  Whether you’re trying to get people’s attention a few minutes before raid invites go out or enforce some level of control on guild chat gone crazy, the large text and accompanying sound will help.

Notification of MOTD / Guild Info Changes

If you’ve used a Ventrilo server before, you may be familiar with the MOTD window that pops up when you first connect to a server.  And every time thereafter, unless you tick the checkbox that reads “only show me the MOTD when it changes”.

The MOTD and Guild Information Pane are useful places to put information for your members, but neither are very effective at getting information to members the next time they log in.  The MOTD can easily scroll right off the page if you have a few addons that spam startup messages, and the guild information pane is so infrequently accessed by most that you can only put reference material there – links to your forums, your voice server’s host / port / password, etc.  Some addons (epgp) even use the guild information pane to store configuration data on the assumption that when people do infrequently open it up they can visually filter out the addon data.

I’d like to see an option where changes to the MOTD or Guild Information panel prompt members as to whether they want to see the changes.  Much like a software update, offer choices like Yes, No and Remind Me Later.  If you’re online when the change is made, it would be best to wait until you’re no longer in a group to display the prompt; otherwise you see it as soon as you log in.  Once you’ve acknowledged the changes, you don’t get prompted again until the information changes again.  That way guild leaders could put some basic announcements and communication that members would be all but forced to read.

Ability for Members to Change Their Public Note

I’ve never understood why the guild permissions are set up this way, but the permission bit to “change public note” allows you to change anyone’s public note.  As such, it’s only appropriate for officers to have.  I know many guilds who use the public note for nicknames, or tracking of alts, or just forms of self-expression like a very small Twitter update.

Either all of these changes have to be mediated through an officer, or anyone can screw with anyone else’s message.  I’d like that permission bit to be split in two – one that allows you to change your own public note and one that allows you to change anyone’s.

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Tags: addons, armory, authenticator, bank tab, game tools, guild, guild alliance, guild bank, guild leaders, guild members, improvements, ranks, user interface, wishlist