That's what I was gonna' say: make a new rank. Either choose real Officers, give them the new rank, and let it be one higher than the actual "Officer" rank that the lazy people are using, or you can use the new rank to put the lazy people in. My guild used to have a rank between Officer and GM called Scion.

I'm going to disagree with this as a general rule though it can be useful in some situations. Don't create two ranks of members, one of which is "people who have been around from the start" because the other, newer members a) can never achieve that rank and b) it creates a divide that's not based on anything they're doing. People who will cause drama over a rank in a video game guild probably need to be invited to leave, not coddled.

The reply to this GL was perfect btw... officers need to be officers because they're doing something to help run the guild. The only thing I'd add is that you probably don't need more than 3-6 officers - there just aren't that many tasks. I can think of (offhand):

1) Raid Leader (might need 2)
2) Recruiter
3) PVP Leader (if you do organized pvp like BGs)
4) Banker (in charge of organizing the bank, selling stuff that's not needed, etc)
5) Social coordinator (if you do events)

Give all of them invite powers. Make it clear that they need to DO these things - RLs need to post and run raids, etc. Make it clear that they can step down from duties when they feel burnt out or just want to and that they'll then be moved to member rank.

We did this in our guild - worked really well. The council members are included on the Officer channel and web forums so it's clear that their advice is valued.

They also know that if they want to shoulder more responsibility as a full Officer, that the option is always open to them.

Meanwhile, fresh officer blood means our GM isn't left to carry the guild on her own. Hmm... that somehow makes her sound like Blood Queen Lana'thel :p

Was just going to suggest this, but you beat me to it :P

This is what has been done in my guild. Some of the founders and long time officers can't keep up with the everyday duties now, but they did an awesome job before. So our GM just made a new rank for them called "Pioneer". They were the first in the guild and deserve mention, but are no longer in officer duty.

This is a good suggestion as long as the GL makes it clear that these are non-leadership type positions. Access to the Officer Channel and moderator status in the forums is about as far as you should go. They're there for advice and that's where their status above other members should end.

If you use your officers to make decisions, like a vote or something, make sure these advisors don't sneak their way into the discussion or else you're back right where you started. People who enjoy the rank of Officer without doing the actual work an Officer does.

I wholeheartedly agree with creating another rank for these folks. I've been in this situation, and ruffled feather simply does not describe the situation when you boot out long-time, founding officers to make room for new blood who will help with the day-to-day duties of a raiding guild.

First Blood more accurately describes it. XD

Anyway, the other advice in the comments is also potent- the third 'leadership' type rank should have a few characteristics:
1. Name it something innocuous but flattering- Elder, Council, Advisor, etc.
2. It should almost certainly be obtainable for new(er) members. ('Founder' rank flounders a little more often than we'd all like.) You want a clear policy on what it takes to gain the rank- for example, being a retired officer, having contributed to the running of the guild, but being unwilling or unable to fulfill an Officer's duties, either ever, or at this time, etc.
3. Elaborating on above- it, that is, the policy on this rank, must be PUBLIC. If people know, oh, that's the rank for officers who can't be officers right now, for whatever reason, that will minimize hurt feelings (note: minimize, not eliminate. Eliminating hurt feelings when running a guild is like creating a perpetual motion machine- it is not physically possible in this universe- ahm- or Warcraft's.) You will eventually forget to emphasize this, and someone will mention- Hey, why are all these guys at rank 3, where I'm only rank 4?! (They'll use Wow-heroes or the like to check, even if you name the ranks the SAME.)
4. The rank shouldn't get TOO bloated. If somebody really takes a 3-4 month hiatus, somewhere around the fourth month, make them MIA, or whatever your equivalent is. (We actually have an MIA rank). Restore their rank when they return, or, if you have the inkling that they won't mind, just give them regular guildie status. Being sure they understand that they'll go to MIA status before they go on hiatus will help if they're particularly sensitive.

I'm sure there are a couple of other must-have attributes for the rank, but this is the best answer I've found, so far, to sedating buddies gone wild for power and respect, and making sure that new blood doesn't feel like they're second class citizens.

In essence, you're just making an officer, second class.

Retired officer works too, for simplicity's sake. (You know, in a way, I wish almost everyone WOULD reach that rank- they'd all have a taste of running a guild, and I think average patience levels would rise astronomically!)

I love the advice about extending the duties to others, and wholly support it. Delegating responsibility while still showing that you're working hard is perhaps the most important thing you can do as a GM. Delegate everything, and don't show signs of thought and work (or being so insular that no one ever KNOWS how much thought you put into how to get that 25-man up and running, or just what/who that other 10-man team needs to get rolling properly) is a great way to burn your OFFICERS out. It's all a balancing act, and in a powerful way, it's part of the game- the most dangerous, real, frightening part.

Good Luck, OP, keep on truckin' and having fun! :)

I for one would be offended that, as a founding member of a guild that started out as close friends, I wouldn't be able to keep my officer status.

That siad, your idea is a very good one: A "founder" rank, unnavailable to any other guildies but the founders (aka the ones that could be insulted) with perks but where you're not expected to have any responsabilities. A founder could have to participate in global guild decisions though, such as decidig if an event goes ahead or maybe what and when the guild is raiding that week, though that might be stepping into officer role again.