Guild Revival-- Address from the Leader

Good morning and greetings! Today I have setup a server on TS for the guild to use. It doesn't have 10 slots as a max, but I will need to test it today to see its real capacity being that it's on my virtual server-- the same one MC is hosted on.
It has a many as we can hold until the server lags, I suppose. lol

That being said, I understand if some people nay want to also have TS installed-- this was the reason I took so long as I did in taking the leap to TS. But I'm glad to finally nay have the government spying on our conversations and nay have MS use our chats to determine advertisements. -o-  And the wonder of nay having to ask people to be quieter, of being able to have people nay have issues with echo or background noise-- of being able to logically have places for guild activities to occur instead of a jumble, and having no need to 'kick' anyone from anything, because there's even a channel made where anything goes-- it is so worth. No one from our guild, current or former, will be removed from the server EVER. The most I would ever do was move someone from one channel to the other, and that would be only in the same kind of extreme circumstances in which I had to kick people from the skype call.

The TS IP is the same as the MC server's: 199.241.190.103. There is no password-- unless I see a need for it (spambots, etc), it will remain that way. I can specify any number of concurrent connections, but we'll need to test things. It is possible to be in skype and on TS voice chat at once.

I also wanted to stress to those who are here on this brand new beautiful day that that I believe that this occurrence has been a blessing. I think that finally what  we needed is happening-- that we are getting to finally open the channels for communication (TS pun intended) and to discuss openly what we really want as a guild.

The goals upon which we agreed as a guild are: "We are driven to explore gaming in all its facets. And we are driven to have fun while doing so in a safe, productive, caring environment known as a 'third place.' " To refresh everyone, a third place has the following characteristics:
"Oldenburg suggests the following hallmarks of a true "third place":

   Free or inexpensive
   Food and drink, while not essential, are important
   Highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance)
   Involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there
   Welcoming and comfortable
   Both new friends and old should be found there."

What I think we had lost was: "    Safe, productive, caring
   Welcoming and comfortable
   Both new friends and old should be found there.""
I'm interested in resolving those issues. =)

But I also want to say that if we can nay resolve these issues truly-- that if ALL people involved can't ALL say to one another-- "You suck, but I love you anyways," then any attempt to reunite or-- really, even if this nay happens and we stay divided-- I predict failure for this guild and family on all fronts.

Because even if people feel they've picked the course of action that reflects them most, the key component is intolerance of others, which can lead to further divisions. Why do you think so many friendships nay last a lifetime? So many divorces occur? So many people run from their home lives?

But if that IS the path decided upon, while it will lead to the predicted outcome, that is the decision each of us needs to make.
Love? or Bigotry.
Forgiving? or Holding grudges.
Hoping? or Hopelessness.
Innovating? or remaining the same, even when we hate the results.
Deceiving? or lovingly telling the truth.
and finally...
Communicating? or failing to communicate in meaningful ways


United we stand-- divided we fall... but it nay just means being together. It means thinking together and being truly open and caring, while working with one another. Anything else is division, and will result in failure. Do we really want to get pounced by Kha'Zik? Someone needs to keep us bound together to prevent that from happening. 'Stay together!' as we always say on League.

I have been the 'leader' of Lethaldrive for 2.5 years. During that time, I have tried to always be fair-minded, to make decisions based on the betterment of the group, and to nay be heavy- handed or dictator-like. I have always stated I want this to be a democracy without exclusion (meaning no one who can follow basic rules of courtesy will be removed), and I have lived up to those goals. I have taken on responsibility and burdens and have done my best with them, including fiscal and emotional burdens. Have I been perfect? No. I've had issues during this time that sometimes have made it difficult to live up to all of my aspirations. But my intentions led to the formation of this group and the wonderful love that blossomed in it. But hate blossomed here also. And I and others became unhappy and I tried my best to ask for communication, but for whatever reason, that has been unheard.

If people really nay want a leader, then that could be voted upon. But that would HAVE to mean that EVERYONE is responsible for what happens in Lethaldrive-- no more shrugging responsibilities that come with a group of people because Paxseko willl take care of it. The issue became when the people who apparently had the most issues nay ever pmed me to bring them to my attention  There needs to be someone who people know they can come to about issues or people need to have the huevos to step up and pm one another instead of a mediator-- and also stop holding grudges and just nay communicating at all. For whatever reason, with some people that communication nay ever happened (though I may also add that for many people, things were resolved through my mediation).

If this means that people want to vote me out and replace me with someone else, I have no issues with that. But they have to take the burdens I've taken or be voted back out. But it does have to be all of us who makes these votes so we can carry forward. EVERYONE will need to vote who cares about this guild, instead of the low showing of nine people on our last vote.

There has to be someone who will communicate issues and be responsible for things-- who will set up things for the guild or ask someone to step up and help (votes, servers-- whatever we need). Who will nay be dishonest in any way (and whatever else you may say about what I've been, I've nay ever been dishonest or non-trustworthy).  Ideally, this person would be unemployed and thus able to give their all to the chat. Because some of us are indeed active elsewhere-- we have jobs, relationships, other hobbies, and sometimes just need to be introverts.  But being a guild leader has no breathing room or breaks without people holding grudges against you for needing time off from a stressful job.

As we saw, chaos didn't work for many people, and many people have left or nay come as often because of the chaos. I know this from pms-- this isn't an 'educated guess.' Overtalking gave everyone headaches. Rudeness and spitefulness caused the environment to be unsafe. Trying to resolve issues in chat because pms were unanswered made things awkward. And yes-- some people were viewed as bullies in the guild who always got their ways.

I believe that the guild (the ENTIRE guild) needs to step up and enforce the idea of a safe, productive, caring environment, and to call one out one another when any transgressions occurs.  I nay want or like having to enforce rules that are just common courtesy-- that no one objected to because of that, but all broke at one time or another with no ramifications. I would ideally like everyone other than Miku and I to stand up for what's right. These are my personal terms for a reunification of the guild. That I nay HAVE to be the one who reminds one another to be civil so hatred nay blossoms, including from myself, because I find myself so ultimately powerless and ignored because I'm constantly asking people to live up to basic human ideals (this, to me-- is respect-- to listen to and address concerns instead of run and ignore them) , and to see and hear so much ugliness about people I care for.

I had an issue with respect in this guild. Let me point out what definitions I meant by that word.
"have due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of.
"avoid harming or interfering with."
"agree to recognize and abide by (a legal requirement)."

People began to have little regard for my feelings and wishs
People began harming me.
People stopped recognizing and abiding by my heartfelt concerns and wishes

Some of this was my fault-- I know about the whole vegetarian debacle some believe started this. It was a rude comment from hoebox that started that, and others dog-piled on it and it hurt me. It became a very touchy subject for me, because before that, I had assumed that there was respect for my choice, and that I was therefore able to respect the choices of others. It was nay ever an issue with the guild until that. 'Due respect for the TRADITIONS of'

I know this is a ton to read and I try to keep things short as I have in the past, but I just wanted to communicate somewhere in which many people may read this and so that I nay have to pm the same things silightly edited to people, and people assume it's just about them, nay the guild.

This has been so freeing, though. I have been able to open my heart to love and hope for humanity again, even though so much ugliness and hurt caused it. I am finally able to release the hatred that has accumulated as the environment became sour and I called out for help. Because even if people make decisions I nay would make, at least decisions are being made finally. No longer will the broken status quo remain.