A great read and I think anyone who's been in WoW for some time will see a lot here that echoes their own expeiences, especially in semi-casual raid guilds. My own belief is that 'friends' in WoW is a very thin concept when progression gets involved. I've never seen it better put than by Slashdot which, whilst about EQ, has much in common with this issue.

"...a game full of people who want to "win" and "be the best" at any cost. People who quit are viewed as giving up on their guilds; they are ridiculed, denounced, and hated. There is massive peer pressure to keep playing. Often people you thought were your friends in the game were simply using you to advance, or improve their characters. Online relationships between people ... are fickle, and are only good as long as everyone's getting a good dose of the drug (loot, advancement in the game, and good social relations with their guild). "

This time, being the 4th time around, and with a move from 25 to 10 mans (a huge issue there, how it's made As and B Teams and Left Out Teams), it's easy the type of guild described here as particularly vulnerrable.

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