What Makes a Good Guild?

A few weeks ago, Massively OP had an article about what makes a good guild. It's a fantastic read, and anybody that participates in MMOs should take a look at it. The question that was posed in the article was as such:

I’d like to know your recipe for a great successful guild. By that, I mean what you think makes a guild good and what you’d look out for if you were looking for a new guild. I’m currently guildless inWorld of Warcraft and am on the lookout for a great new haunt myself after being disappointed by other guilds I’ve joined.

So, what does make a good guild?

I think the big thing is finding a guild that fits with your own personal playstyle, whether that be hardcore raiding every week, gankfest guilds, "casual" raiding (because, let's face it, even if you're a "casual" raider, you still get shit done in an efficient manner, so it's not casual, just more geared toward folks that can't dedicate days upon days, but that's another post for another time), or just a community-focused guild. And sometimes, depending on the game, or even real life, what one is searching for in a guild will differ.

Overall, though, every guild needs a few things to make the magic happen.

The article mentions that a lively guild community is a necessity. And I would wholeheartedly agree. Whether large or small, a guild community that chats, hangs out in Teamspeak, and helps each other out with even the littlest of things is the best foundation for any guild. And granted, even though I'm not a gankfest-personality, those groups are very tightknit as well.

The second thing the article mentions is an active guild leader, and I would have to disagree slightly with that. I think that, instead, guild leadership in general is important--not just the guild leader (I mean, we have lives, they may not be able to make it on every night), but the officers and senior members as well. They are just as important, if not more so, than the guild leader.

One thing I would have to add is a guild or officers that are involved in the community at large, whether it be on the official forums, social media, or the in-game community at large. They don't have to be the "latest and greatest name", but having a name or two you can associate to a guild is usually a sign that there are members who deeply care about the guild.

And not only that--if you can identify a guild by name and have positive things said about it and interactions with their members, it's usually a guild that holds themselves accountable for their actions--and that's a pretty good guild to be in, I would say.

So, what about you guys? Do you agree with the article? Would you add anything to the list?