That is the question.

In one of those rare moments - you know the ones, when you kinda tilt your head to one side and go "huh" - I decided to take a quick look at my view on guilds and how they should be.  Now, of course I could be way off the mark here, but it is just one woman's opinion.  So don't take this as gospel by any means.

I've been playing MMOs for almost a decade now.  Granted, not long in comparison to many others out there, but no small amount of time, either.  Over the years, I've played titles such as Diablo II, The Sims Online, and Wish (may it rest in peace).  Not to mention a little bit of WoW, EQ and EQII.  I also tried The Matrix briefly... but I could never decide really which pill I wanted to truly take.  In all of that, however, I never became involved in guilds until I came to EverQuest II.

And oh boy, what a rollercoaster that has been!

First let me say that I'm social by nature, and probably more of a carebear than I should be.  Especially when you become engaged in a PvP server... everyone hates you and nobody loves you.  Unless you're covering their ass for the time being.  Then you're they're best friend in the whole world, right?

When I first came to EQII, I was quite content on my little elf fury.  Running around doing all the quests I could (I'm a quest junkie).  But you can't do everything solo - you need a group from time to time.  So naturally I met some nice folks one day and we became "friends".  As much as you can be in an online environment where you never really know if the other person is a 82-year old widower sitting naked on his office chair with cats all around while he plays a sexy dwarf and tells you he's a she, aged 27, and never been married.

Eventually I was asked to join their guild.  I heartily accepted, and thought "Oh boy, this is gonna be great!  Folks to hang out with and enjoy!"  Here I was, essentially a newbie at the game, and already was making friends and advancing.  Yay, me!  Everything was going well, I really enjoyed them all, and life was good.

It always starts out that way, doesn't it?  You meet people you enjoy, you hook up with them, and everything seems like it's coming up roses.  But then one day... BAM!!  Like a pixelated freight train something goes wrong and you're left wondering what happened to all those people you thought were your friends, whom you expected to spend the rest of your days in this online world sharing a guild with.  Just exactly when did you miss something and let it all fall apart?

I've been through this several times now.  I join a guild, and it eventually falls apart.  And I keep wondering why.  Many people chalk it up to drama, while others claim it's just the nature of the games we play.  But I'm not altogether certain... there are some guilds that have been together for years, moving with each other to new titles and new playing fields.  While people come and people go, I've yet to really see why so many guilds that start out so strong and look like they're going to make it just crumble to pieces and become no more than a distant memory.

What's worse is that when this happens, people you thought were your friends suddenly are no longer.  Maybe they just move on to a new guild... but you don't talk as much anymore.  Or, even more devastating, they start lashing out not only at the guild itself, but those of you still in it (or who were with them during its downfall).  Things you never new existed as an issue are suddenly right out there on every forum and every public chat channel they can find, tearing you down and kicking you while they're at it.

So in the end, is it worth it to join a guild and try to develop those relaionships that could turn around and bite you in the ass... and hard?  Of course it could also become one of the best things you ever do in your gaming life - if you're lucky enough to find a spot that you can enjoy for years to come, no matter what game you're all playing together.  Or better yet... if you truly build something out of the thin air that surrounds your computer and become a true friend (or more) to someone you've met online.

Of course it's possible... but is it worth it to take the chance?  Most people say yes, if for no other reason than to have that companionship if only for a little while.  That's apparent by the amount of guilds you see, and how few players are without one.  But all in all, it's really a personal choice and one you shouldn't make lightly.  Joining a guild is more than getting a tag by your name.  It's tossing aside a small amount of our privacy and sharing just a bit about yourself that you otherwise wouldn't if those people weren't your new "friends".  In a guild, a/s/l is not a come-on, it's an introduction to help you all get to know each other better.

I prefer to guild... my husband does not.  There is no right answer one way or the other to this question that I can give you.  Only you can answer it correctly for yourself.  And I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor.  Finding the perfect guild is never easy, but if you search long and hard enough and do your research, it may just be the best thing you ever did in an MMO.