Yes, it is just a game. "Move on. Recruit. Expect turnover. It's part of the game." Very well said.

It's not just a matter of "It's a game" its a game where in some cases in order to get ahead you need to be a "Team player" if your going to just abandon your "team"(Guild) then you aren't much of a "team player"

So now guilds that have members do that take twice as long to get any new content started. And then more people up and leave because either their progression has slowed or their no longer able to progress.

So yeah it's just a game and everyone wants to see phat lewts and cool stuff....... but there are people playing it with feelings.

Yeah its a video game... but those other characters you're playing with, you're guild mates, group members, random people who buy your stuff on the AH; they are real people!

If your on a sports team and just stop showing up one day to practice will people start to wonder where you are?

If you attend a weekly poker night with your mates and just figure one day you don't want to ever talk to them again and cut all ties, they might just be hurt, worried, curious about what happened?

I think the "its just a video game" only applies when there isn't some expectation of social interaction.

The vanishing members has happened in our guild, the random /gquit and as a rule anyone who leaves without giving reason or notice is given a clean break (we don't hunt them down to find out why). We continue to group with them like we would any random PUG but they don't get a re-invite to the guild if ever they wanted one without coming forward and explaining their /gquit and hopefully gaining an understanding of the "treat people as you would like to be treated" philosophy.