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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBreakfast Topic: Are children welcome in your guild?
by Martha Widra 
Sep 15th 2010 at 8:00AM
Children are so much fun and a joy to have around, right? Maybe that's true in real life (at least for a lot of people), but in a guild setting in World of Warcraft, children present some difficult situations. I've been the "guild mom" for two guilds with child members (one who is between the ages of 8 and 15), so I've had a lot of experience.
We all have seen children in a guild. Many beg or ask for gold. They want to be run through instances or helped to level. They ask silly questions. And their reading levels may not be high enough for them to follow the quest text. Guild chat may be filled with: "Can someone help me level?" "Can I have some gold?" "Are we there yet?" And everyone has to watch what is said in guild chat.
Helping children to become strong guild members requires a commitment of time from other members. Some guilds do not want to give that time, so they say "adults only." Other guilds welcome children and work through the problems. All this requires some planning, some commitment of time and lots of patience. The good news is that as time goes on, children mature, and they may become a core of solid members for the future who know how to pass on the lessons they learned to the next generation.
Are children welcomed and helped in your guild? Does your guild restrict membership to adults only? Are children allowed, but everyone hates it when they are online?
Filed under: Guilds, Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 9)
Endless Sep 15th 2010 8:46AM
Children over 13 can be surprisingly mature sometimes. After all, in many cultures you are considered mature when you hit puberty. Only some 50 years ago it was quite common for kids to start working when they hit the age of 15.
I don't really care how old you are, as long as you can type in coherent sequences and are able to carry your own weight.
FlyingMonkeyEmu Sep 15th 2010 8:46AM
My guild has a somewhat strict "no kids" policy. Now, our "no kids" policy isn't particularly age based, but rather centered around a few specific things we cannot allow -- for example, if the person has a high-pitched voice that speaks on Ventrilo far, far more often than anyone else, that person is a kid and isn't allowed in the guild. Further, if even one raid is ended because "my mom is forcing me to get off of the game," that person is immediately removed from our list of raiders (generally resulting in him/her leaving the guild soon after).
On the other hand a 15 year-old that is capable of showing up on time (or contacting someone to let us know he/she can't be there), speaking in a mature fashion, putting up with the astoundingly perverted things some of our raiders say on Ventrilo, and always making sure he finishes his homework/whatever before the raid starts, we're glad to have him/her on-board. And in my opinion it'd be disrespectful to simply discount that person as a child, ignoring the fact that he/she is a complex person that shouldn't be categorized in that way.
And my guild doesn't have any young people currently, but that's mainly because we're not interested in recruiting a lot. Not to mention that a team of guys in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, working night shifts and complicated schedules, we have strict raiding times and don't generally have a lot of people just farting around during the days/times that we aren't raiding. Not to generalize, but I've found that most kids don't like to be in guilds where only about 4-5 people are on except for raid nights.
Armerad Sep 15th 2010 8:48AM
Oh I definitely know that my experience isn't some amazing thing and that i'm just another fish in the sea, but there is no reason to speak to me as if I'm something you crush under your foot to stroke your ego.
Noctune Sep 16th 2010 11:41AM
Our guild is pretty solid on this case we are a mature guild.
we don't allow members under the age of 17 with one exception
children of guild members they are always allowed
this means if we get a problem we always got a mature "interface" to the problem.
Aevi Sep 15th 2010 8:50AM
My guild seems to have no problem with children. We had a 14 yr old who knew every fight of WotLK a little after release. My first group in CoT:S had to pause while he switched over in Vent to tell the Naxx team how to fight Patchwerk. Smart, smart kid.
We have children of many of our members who play. My 3 yr old just joined the guild. There's a note saying she won't reply to tells. I also set her up to refuse any groups or duels. She mostly just loves killing piggies. I try to read the quests to her, but she just wants to find more boar to destroy.
I guess we're just casual and friendly that way. :D But my guild has always said, "Play the way you want." As long as you don't beg for gold, my GM hates that.
Raydex Sep 15th 2010 8:57AM
As long as they're mature. I've found that most of the immature players I've met have been men. Of course, we get the occasional (very) dirty joke, so if they don't like that, tough luck.
Andeleisha Sep 15th 2010 9:02AM
I think there is a difference between children and teenagers. I was in a social guild once where people's children would be on leveling, kids around the 8-10 age. It was sweet and all, and it was fun to help them out in low level dungeons, but the rest of the guild was 20+ and guild chat usually reflected that. Some of the parents got annoyed and asked that guild chat be censored. I understand their concern that their kids not be exposed to that, but I wasn't the only one who felt imposed on. The guild wasn't really family friendly and the kids had no business there.
Teenagers are a whole different issue. They get stereotyped as being greedy and ignorant trolls, like in this article, and no one wants those people around, of whatever age. I think most "serious" raiding guilds don't allow people under the age of 18 not because of this, which is easy to filter, but because people that age just don't have control over their own schedules. Nothing could be more frustrating than waiting ten minutes for a pull while a sixteen year old is forced by his mother to do the chores he was supposed to do earlier, or has his internet unexpectedly cut for bad grades. I also haven't yet met someone this young who was as knowledgeable about theorycrafting as more mature raiders. But that said, anyone who knows their stuff and shows up seems like a good bet to me, and their age wouldn't really matter.
Natrii Sep 15th 2010 9:45AM
I feel you there, our OT is 17, while the rest of us are 20 plus. He is a good player, so we work around the we had to call the raid half an hour early so he can go to bed for school.
Rob Sep 15th 2010 9:05AM
We have a strict adults-only policy. We're not elitist or anything, but we want people our age to join our guild. We don't make off-color jokes. We don't take the game seriously. However, we'd like others to appreciate and respect us, and to get our point of view. That's much more likely with an adults only guild. For example, make a crack about Madonna, and you are likely to get blank stares by kids.
Also we have alot of adults come to us for the very reason that we're level-headed, mature, and don't take it too seriously. Its hard to do that with a guild of younger people.
Kasika Sep 15th 2010 9:05AM
Children?
In wow?
What is wrong with you poeple!
Like i would ever allow them to be in here!
Do you think this is a game?
WoW is serious business.
Bond Sep 15th 2010 9:10AM
Our family-friendly guild has survived through four years by being flexible and not having a blanket policy towards any member-type. Most members are old enough to be parents; 25-35. We have taken children as young as 10 as full members, with their parents, and oldsters 40+ as well. You have to use a case-by-case approach with minors. I have personally found the kids in the 10-16 age range to be fine members, not significant raid contributors but interesting and engaged in the game. We all serve as mentors to them. And, we have found that the college age people (18+) who are looking for a more relaxed atmosphere are exceptionally good members. Over time, we have had some problems with some older teens, who are looking for quicker rewards and fast progression, but who do not know how to articulate their interests. They tend to fade out and leave the guild (or the game) because they are not mature enough to move on, and we do not willingly expel members for having different interests. That has lead to some drama here and there, but on the whole I do not believe you can generalize the entire population's ability based on a few bad experiences.
Oricc Sep 15th 2010 9:10AM
I raided BC when I was 14-16 and while I was more casual than I am today I definitely know I was a terrible player. I didn't bring proper consumables, I didn't gem properly, I barely understood what a rotation was, I don't thiink I ever had recount or omen installed and I didn't use keybinds. Today, I have 12/12 ICC 10 hc and 11/12 ICC 25 hc (which I guarantee I couldn't have gotten when I was younger). I give people good, constructive advice on how to improve their play, I use keybinds, have a polished UI, Theorycraft, research boss tactics and help resolve conflicts in my guild.
I have met some people who are 16 and are very good players (one of my best in-game friends only just turned 17), but personally, the transformation I underwent as a player between the ages of 14 and 18 are tremendous, which makes me think that it is probably harder to be a good/productive player at a younger age.
Or maybe that's just me ;-)
Kal Sep 15th 2010 9:11AM
Our guild has a strict 18+ policy. Most of the guild is upper 30s-early 40s and have kids of their own and WoW is their kick back and relax time without having to worry about watching what they say. I know we're probably loosing out on some good players by that rule, but we're not looking to be a great raiding guild, just a fun place for adults to hang out.
Aaron Sep 15th 2010 9:15AM
When I first started playing WoW the guy that talked me into joined went on a 2 month hiatus. This left me kind of lonely in Azeroth. Before he left he talked his current GM into letting me join the guild. Long story short, I met this kid (I think he was 14 at the time) in guild that loved running me through dungeons, destroying quest objectives, gave me tons of gold, bought me gear when I hit 80 and since he was a healer he would always help me form groups (way before LFD) so we could farm gear in dungeons. We spent an entire summer running all over Azeroth, and had an absolute blast doing it. I remember we would go 2 man instances for gold and end up goofing off and chatting in vent more than anything. If not for him I would have never understood so many different angles of the game (he introduced me to PvP and I was hooked).
Couple years went by he got a car and discovered girls so I haven't heard from him since, but it can't be said enough that some "kids" are absolutely awesome. When I leveled my hunter I joined a leveling guild when I was in my lvl 30 range. I still cut up with most of the people that were in that guild. Just a bunch of goofy kids, but they were all very friendly and we spent many nights not really leveling, but just chatting it up in gchat.
I love PvP so I've definitely ran across some kids I'd love to reach through the internet and turn their PCs off, but for the most part the ones I've met have been fairly laid back and pretty fun to be around.
Deathknighty Sep 15th 2010 9:18AM
As someone who will not be considered an adult for a good four-and-a-bit more years, my guilds tend to be ones without any particular policy on age. In fact, I was so well recieved in the one I'm in now, I ended up being promoted to the position of guildmaster. :O
Unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of a raiding group (we progressed from leveling to wannabe-raiding towards the end of ICC, so recruitment hasn't been very successful), but we plan to kick recruitment into full gear when Cataclysm arrives.
Personally, the rampant agism that you find in the game pisses me off to no end. As long as someone is reasonably mature, reasonably commited, ready to work as a team and take orders, has a sufficient understanding of the game and their class, and speaks coherent English (or whatever language is appropriate), then they have a place in my guild.
I do not troll, beg, or ninja (I even relinquished my valid claim on the 310% Onyxia mount when the group I was leading demanded a reroll), and I do not tolerate any bullcrap in my guild. I don't doubt that the same applies to most teenagers.
FoxOfWar Sep 15th 2010 7:34PM
Not really something I can deny; I only have to look at my little sister, who's 16. While she doesn't play WoW, she certainly knows how to act mature. Literally: I've witnessed her walking to a bar, ordering a beer and getting it without having papers asked! She's generally much more mature than other people of her age I see.
I have no doubt there are mature teenagers out there, and they are welcome to our guild just fine. Age is not a defining factor; behaviour is. No matter your age, you are judged by how you actually act during the two-week trial.
(Although, our guild chat does get more than a bit raunchy at times, our raid chat/teamspeak doubly so... but honestly, that's not really our problem, is it?)
Tamarin Sep 15th 2010 10:57PM
@FoxofWar
Interesting comment, but I think the definition of maturity is knowing that, at age 16, you shouldn't go into a bar and order alcohol!
Lily Sep 15th 2010 9:19AM
My Guild generally doesn't let minors in - kinda for gChat and Vent material, but mostly because our raid times do not support it. We're a late-night guild and our raid times are usually when children should be asleep. Exceptions are children of current members - they are vouched for by their parents and held in a Friends & Family rank.
serf Sep 15th 2010 9:21AM
Though there are certainly kids out there mature enough to handle raiding with adults, there are not (that I have met) any with the experience to mesh socially with an adult guild.
We've pugged our fair share of teenagers, and most have held their own in fights, but that's as far as it goes.
Fletcher Sep 15th 2010 9:26AM
In my old guild, the GM had a pair of children in their early teens, and all three of them shared toons. It got so you didn't know if the guy healing your heroic was the one who actually knew how to play a healer, the one who could fumble his way through, or the one who'd wipe you all on the zombies in Culling of Stratholme.
Most of the whining, begging, and general idiocy came from children in their mid-teens, however; but the real guild-wrecking melodrama, catfights and bitching came from children in their twenties and thirties.
Eventually I got sick of puerile nonsense in vent and guild chat, got sick of melodrama in raids, burned out on raiding entirely, and left the guild.