Three /gquits for me. The first two were leveling guilds that couldn't support themselves.

As for the third, I joined at level 39 and was with them for 11 months. I became second in command in that time, and I had a blast since the guild was very friendly, very open, and very casual. Unfortunately, success came in short-lived spurts, and after a series of hard setbacks I informed the GL that I intended to leave if we were setback again. When that setback finally came, I informed the officers of my intention to leave, but I told them that I wanted it to be on their terms, not mine.

Because of that, they asked me to remain in the guild for a few days, during which time we were all able to plan out how best we could handle my departure without damaging the guild and morale. The guild ended up disbanding later, but has since reformed with many of its old members. I regularly run instances with my former guildmates, we craft things for each other, and we still hang out. I even administrate the guild website and assist my old GL with technical issues, like setting up phpRaid or eqDKP and things of that sort.

As for what I learned from it all, being honest and patient is key. Letting them know my plans in advance of any action gave them warning of my intention to leave, opened up an active discussion on what we could improve in the guild, and also allowed them to prepare for my potential departure. And because I gave them warning well in advance, they knew I had been thinking about it for awhile and that I wasn't making a quick decision. A little patience there really paid off in the long run, since I still count many of those people as friends.

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