No longer disrupting guild harmony

Pauline you have made your point clear. We are not allowed to ask questions or make comments or voice opinions on anything if it is against a JR or your opinion, and "if you don't find this guild suited you, then you should leave".

Apparently some people think my comments and questions are meant to be malicious or are said in anger. Actually, I liked Aeons when Rob and I first joined with our 2nd chars, RamblinRose and Wolfygod, last year...before Aeons was Ranked #1 and before Zakum. We liked how the JRs were involved in guild chat and would help out other guildies whenever they could, even if they didnt really know them well. Rob and I made MANY friends in Aeons back then. Aeons was a family then. People were proud to be in Aeons because of the friendships they had made in this guild and what they had helped Aeons accomplish. Kat you did a great job running Aeons during that time.

Aeons is not that same guild anymore. The pride and desire to be one of the best (if not the best) out there in the Maple world has become more important. The thread about Guild Alliances more than proved that business before fun for Aeons (and to think that was all over a simple question someone asked...and even worse is the fact that you can have MORE THAN ONE guild alliance). Most of the loyal members that were in Aeons from the beginning have moved on because of the changes, and the guild doesn't do much together. Guild chat is dead. It isn't uncommon to see someone ask if anyone is alive or is everyone AFK, because there is no guild chat for long periods of time. Even new members have noticed how dead Aeons is now.

Quote :

I am still new so I don't know all the tings fully yet but so many ppl says that this guild is like a one big family and I love the idea of this guild being a cultural melting pot but back to the family thing. As I said, I am still new so I don't really know you ppl well but when I was reading your forums I kind of expected more..... but I am bit surprised how quiet it is when I log on.

I like to be useful to my guild and I like to have friends be excited to see me when I log in. Most of the friends I made in Aeons are gone, and of the few that are left, most are not on anymore during the times I am on. I see Dan more than I do the others and he is 6 or 7 hours ahead of me. I always wanted to help Aeons continue to grow and was proud to be an Aeons member when we did become the #1 Ranked guild in Bello, but now it seems that I disrupt the guild by asking questions and making comments. I will no longer distrupt the guild harmony.

I wish Aeons luck in your goal to be one of the best guilds in Maple. With Kat's help, you have a great chance to do it. She is an amazing player and is invaluable to Aeons. Dan is very smart and will be a great asset as a JR.

Rose, i wish you all the best in any new guild you join and i want you to know that you are just voicing oppinions that many of us already had. We will miss you in Aeons and i hope to see you around. Please PM me your new guild.

Rose, it's unfortunate that you feel that way. If I was allowed to do so, I'd post the argument we had in the Jr section about this decision. The idea that member feelings are ignored is incorrect, but once we reach a decision (And I assure you, it took a LONG time), that's pretty much it. We may have to force our decision sometimes, but it's never intended to be harmful or insulting. Kat, Mia and Pauline do have the right to make the final decision, even in the Jr discussion, but they do consider what we say.

It isnt any specific decision, Jeff. It is the direction Aeons is headed. The guild is not the fun-loving, family-like guild it once was. It is now about business and its reputation.

It is the friendships and the fun times with guildmembers that I miss and that seems to have been lost, and as Pauline has numerously pointed out to us, "if you don't find this guild suited you, then you should leave".

There isnt anything wrong with where Aeons is headed. It just isn't right for me.

Aeons guild chat seems fairly active to me...

I see conversations there many times, some times I participate other times I do my own thing. Thats how I like it.

Yes there isn't a constant flow of conversation, but someone is active at there keyboard almost all the time.

I have felt for a while now that somethings have happened in Aeons and that it is no longer the family that I have come to love and want to be apart of.

When Rose and I first got into the Aeons family, it was great. Everyone was helpful, fun to chat with, and members did lots of stuff together like GPQs, quests, hang out in the FM (and not ch1 either), etc.

But now most of the old friends have gone and a lot of the fun has left.

Rose and I have made great friends and brought some great friends into Aeons...so I have to say thanks for the great times and the friendships.

But it is sad to say it is time for me to leave too. So if you need us, you know how to get ahold of us.



@Kat, yes we will still continue to sign up for Zruns, if you will have us.

SpikeAi wrote:

Aeons guild chat seems fairly active to me...

I see conversations there many times, some times I participate other times I do my own thing. Thats how I like it.

Yes there isn't a constant flow of conversation, but someone is active at there keyboard almost all the time.

I am referring to last year and way early this year, when Aeons had on average 90+ people in the guild. It was an extremely rare occurance to see guild chat completely dead for any length of time (I am referring to normal game times in the U.S. here). I never saw anyone ask in guild chat if ANYONE is alive or if everyone is AFK. There was no need to. At almost any given time, there were more people actively talking in guild chat, than AFK, unlike now when it is common to have more people AFK than people talking in guild chat.

I also remember when it took a minute or two to reply back to everyone that greeted you when you logged in because so many people were on, they knew who you were, and were happy to see you log in. If people actually do greet me when I log in now, I know maybe 2 or 3 of them (note the emphasis on IF)

Well as you guys know I havent been much time in the guild Aeons so I dont really know how was Aeons a family but I think in some ways Rose is right and wrong, Yea, it is true that most people right now are afk or something like that or just in the fm stading with a shop but what I can tell you is this, to be able to be number 1 in Bellocan takes more than being a pro Guild pqer or zakum runners. We need to be a group and a family.

Rose in my opinion I think you should wait if your gonna make a choice like to leave or something else, to see what happens later because as you know right now is summer break and lots of people could be just doing something else or be with someone else in real life and for right now school is going to start really soon (well at least for me) so people can get a little bit busy to have free time for maple. So how bout lets wait a little bit? :3?

@ dragon (cant remember ur name XD)
Rose didn't leave because the chat was dead, that was just another reason why she thought aeons was no longer the same family. The real reason was the constant shutting down of her opinions and that now Aeons was more about business than fun.

@ neal
You log in during peak hours usually. I am on A LOT and about 25% of the time i am the only not afk person, and another 25% of the time no one is talking.

Its sad that you left Rose. You are going to be missed. I just hope the guild would be more active that it should be. Cause when i joined Aeons which was about 4 months ago, it seems like there isnt really much people on for a High ranked guild. But after that guild alliance arguement people started leaving the guild which made the guild even smaller. We have about 80 members in Aeons but it seems like there are only 10-20 people that is active in Aeons. And most of the time only 5-10 people log on about the same time.
It is sad to see that. But maybe time will tell what will happen! :)

i dont want to be kicked for this but i have to agree we all have an opinion and it seems now that its all being the best instead of being friends with each other, helping each other out and just having a good time. i no you jrs work hard but still it just seems to me.. sometimes that you guys make decisions the whole guild doesnt maybe agree... maybe sometimes just a little over controllative but its still has its times and we are still a great guild but i agree that many things have changed within Aeons. (no offense to anyone)

scrapster14 wrote:

i dont want to be kicked for this but i have to agree we all have an opinion and it seems now that its all being the best instead of being friends with each other, helping each other out and just having a good time. i no you jrs work hard but still it just seems to me.. sometimes that you guys make decisions the whole guild doesnt maybe agree... maybe sometimes just a little over controllative but its still has its times and we are still a great guild but i agree that many things have changed within Aeons. (no offense to anyone)

What do you think the guild has done wrong and what do you think we should do?

Wow. I personally feel like a horrible person because everytime something like this happens I don't hear about it and do nothing about it. Like everyone, I agree with some of your points (Rose), but must respectively disagree with some. Yes, the guild chat used to be crazy. Every time I logged in there would many, many people saying "hi." However, this does still happen. Whenever I log in, if there are more people on, I will get more "hellos." The problem is, we used to have 20+ people on at one time. Now that we haven't really taken many new people into the guild, there aren't that many people on (at least when I log in). Also, I often have long, fulfilling conversations when I am on. Still, there has been a decrease, though not as great, I think, as you are making it seem, in talk in guild chat. I know that I, at least, will try to resolve this problem by being much more talkative, and, if you haven't already quit the guild, maybe you should too. Now, I don't know anything and don't want to make accusations, but what exactly did you do when you realized it was so quiet? Did you say in-game that we should be more talkative? Did you make threads on here that we aren't being talkative enough? Did you organize an event so that we could have fun and maybe get to know more people? As far as I know, that didn't happen. :| Just a thought.

Matti wrote:

Now, I don't know anything and don't want to make accusations, but what exactly did you do when you realized it was so quiet? Did you say in-game that we should be more talkative? Did you make threads on here that we aren't being talkative enough? Did you organize an event so that we could have fun and maybe get to know more people? As far as I know, that didn't happen. :| Just a thought.

I will disagree with you. Yes you can say lets be talkative, but the problem is most of the people are afk and very few are logged in, who would you talk to? Try to find the depth of the problem not just say this: do this do that. If problems could be solved this way, then who would have problems? And this guild has a mass quantity of people (Yes, compared to some starting guilds) so making an event is very hard. Trying to organize and choose the time. Even I had trouble in my last guild doing events, we were 40 and I had a headache.
Dont just blame it to her.

Alright. Do you know why there are so few people online? I can only guess their reasons for being away, but it's safe to assume that some are still on vacation. It's also likly that some of the characters have been abandoned. Due to our high level requirment, it's not unheard of for characters to be abandoned when they reach 100 or so. That's only 20 levels from when you can first join.

These are only guesses, and the reason could be completly different, but I don't think it's because of how the guild is run.

^
Thats what im talking about, just wait a little bit more it is summer break a lot of people arent gonna play maple in their summer break and schools are mostly starting so lets all wait till... Some time later?

dr4gonst4il wrote:

Matti wrote:

Now, I don't know anything and don't want to make accusations, but what exactly did you do when you realized it was so quiet? Did you say in-game that we should be more talkative? Did you make threads on here that we aren't being talkative enough? Did you organize an event so that we could have fun and maybe get to know more people? As far as I know, that didn't happen. :| Just a thought.

I will disagree with you. Yes you can say lets be talkative, but the problem is most of the people are afk and very few are logged in, who would you talk to? Try to find the depth of the problem not just say this: do this do that. If problems could be solved this way, then who would have problems? And this guild has a mass quantity of people (Yes, compared to some starting guilds) so making an event is very hard. Trying to organize and choose the time. Even I had trouble in my last guild doing events, we were 40 and I had a headache.
Dont just blame it to her.

I think you're merely taking what Cary said the wrong way. I don't believe he was trying to put the blame on Rose for there being less chattiness among guild members in-game. I saw it as "You're saying this is a problem, but did you ever do anything to attempt to fix it?" I just felt like trying to clarify that a bit, as I agree with both of you.

SpikeAi wrote:

What do you think the guild has done wrong and what do you think we should do?

Other than giving members the impression that they have no influence in decisions made...even simply giving opinions or suggestions to consider (example: guild alliance thread, and other little comments here and there on various posts), I don't think the guild has necessarily done anything 'wrong', per se, it has just shifted its focus and priorities some.

I found a post recently that spoke alot of what I am saying... unfortunately the member that wrote this is no long with Aeons.

Quote :

It was a different guild back then. we were a bunch of kids, weather in reality or in spirit, playing a game and having the time of our lives. The comradery was evident and we didnt care about anything but having fun.

From then on things were awsome. Aeons was my first guild, and my only guild. people always told me, "your very lucky that this is your first guild, most guilds dont say much and are somewhat inactive". I was proud and honord to be so lucky as to have found such a great treasure in the maple world.

As things progresed we suddenly became very organized, especialy with the adition of this forum. slowly things evolved. Gpq funds, zak runs, zak funds. The little childish guild had quite succesfully grown up into a highly organized group. we had becoem the #1 guild on the rankings and we were respected.

why do i put all this down. i notice that as we took on more and more responsability the drama that follows has gotten to many of us. we must remember the roots that all of us have come from, how far weve gotten.

...

I was not in Aeons from the very beginning. I joined like the end of summer last year, but I can tell you that it was immediately obvious that the members were close to each other and they loved to have fun in the game and many did so together. They were proud to be a member of Aeons. They were proud of all the accomplishments they had done together as a guild. The guild grew up (#1 ranked Guild in Bello, Perma Zrun slot, 2 Zruns a week, etc), but many major changes happened in a short period of time, which brought a lot of stress to many members and of course, lots of drama (which is to be expected). The thing that has changed for me with this guild is that with so many of the original members gone now, there isnt very many people left that do remember where Aeons came from and its unique history. It is not something you can explain to someone and have them understand what it was like, it was something you had to experience...which sadly, there arent very many left in Aeons that have experienced it.

The guild has shifted from a fun, family-like guild of friends, to a high power, high ranking, zakuming guild. There is nothing wrong with this and there are many other guilds that focus on having high lvl members for Zruns, bossing, and HTruns, but for me personally, I prefer the fun, family-like guild, in which Aeons use to be.

Matti wrote:

The problem is, we used to have 20+ people on at one time. Now that we haven't really taken many new people into the guild, there aren't that many people on (at least when I log in).

Exactly, there arent that many ppl on anymore (when I normally log in) and many of those that use to log in when I did, are no longer in the guild.

Matti wrote:

Also, I often have long, fulfilling conversations when I am on. ... I know that I, at least, will try to resolve this problem by being much more talkative, and, if you haven't already quit the guild, maybe you should too.
Now, I don't know anything and don't want to make accusations, but what exactly did you do when you realized it was so quiet? Did you say in-game that we should be more talkative? Did you make threads on here that we aren't being talkative enough? Did you organize an event so that we could have fun and maybe get to know more people? As far as I know, that didn't happen. :| Just a thought.

Many times when I was on in the last month, either...
*Almost no one was talking in guild chat (and it was NOT unusual to see someone ask if anyone was alive or if everyone was afk)
*There are members on and just not talking...for many reasons, AND many members are AFK
*There is guild chat...but I also noticed that it is usually the same 6-10 members that were the ones talking (depends on who is logged in of those 6-10 people how busy guild chat was).


As someone mentioned...since many of the times the ppl on were afk, telling them to talk isnt going to work...and I have seen other people ask or make comments in guild chat about being more talkative.
I have made comments before on how Aeons is changing, and how we dont do much as a guild anymore (besides for Zruns) and I have suggested things to do before. As other members can tell you, you can ask and/or post all you want to do events together (like Dead Mine Runs), but it doesnt matter if not enough people or no people actually show up for the event(s).

Hozama wrote:

Alright. Do you know why there are so few people online? I can only guess their reasons for being away, but it's safe to assume that some are still on vacation. It's also likly that some of the characters have been abandoned. Due to our high level requirment, it's not unheard of for characters to be abandoned when they reach 100 or so. That's only 20 levels from when you can first join

As to this...I remember back in spring how people were using a similar reasoning to explain why so many ppl were no longer on and why many ppl quit MS. Instead of being summer vacation/camp, etc, it was that many were in school still, tests, finals, etc, and they would be more active when school was out.
Also, summer is almost over for most now, and school will be starting soon, do you think there will be a big increase in people getting on MS then? Maybe for the first month or so, but most likely it will be similar to last year, where as the year went on, fewer and fewer were able to be actively on because of HomeWork, projects, tests, etc...then the dreaded report card comes home, and more are now grounded and cant get on MS for a while.

As for characters being abandoned...that is something to consider. What is the benefit of having a abandoned/retired high lvl member in the guild, and how can something be done to maybe keep fewer of them being abandoned and to remain active with those chars, if that is truly an issue.


I left Aeons because it was no longer the guild I fell in love with. Many of the original members I became friends with in Aeons are no longer members; most of the few remaining ones left, are not on very much, or are not on when I am on; as a guild, we do not do much together anymore...for fun; and there wasnt very much guild chat most of the times when I was on, if any at all.
I do not blame the JRs for anything, even their decisions (most of which, i do believe, were made for what they thought was the best for the guild and its future). There was no specific event/issue/decision that made me leave either. I do wish all of you the best of luck and hope to see you in game soon!

~ Happy Mapling ~

Rose wrote:

Im sorry but its 2:15am i wanted a

Rose wrote:

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long message not a ^. Night ppl. and guys, there is a difference of oppinion here. We all respect each other's opinion and know most ppls point of view. The only reason to continue the thread at this point is to persuade others to ur arguement, but if they are persuaded that easily then their oppinion isnt worth much.

Lets just end this thread ok?

I'll read this tomorrow.

O and the guild members communicating is good but make a new thread for it.

Let me tell you something, from the very bottem of my heart. I don't particularly care if anyone agrees with me, if everyone thinks I'm a self-rightous arse that's fine, but I'm gonna say it anyway.

We all have lives, we all have our worries and we all have our own ideals on how any group should be orginized. For all intensive purposes, none of that matters at all. Your life is your own buisness, and no one in the guild, or anywhere, has a right to tell you how to live it. If you believe Maple is the most important part of your life, then that's great. You have access to a community and friends probly larger than anything you could make in the real world.

If you decide Maple isn't your priority, and you understand that this is mearly a game, and people will come and go as THEY please, that's great too. You can't control anyone else, in the real world or online, so the best thing you can do it to just go along with it, or turn your back on it. Those are the only two options.

Should you weather the storm with us, we'll stand before you, taking all the punishment that this world we call the internet can send our way. That is what it means to be a friend. If I can not protect you, another will. Even if many of us have left, those that remian will stand tall and proud. We can not and will not try to control you, you have a choice. All we can do it try to guide you and protect you from harm.

Your worried are also your alone. We can not make them vanish. Something in your life, or in yourself, caused it, and only you can fix it. We can try to guide you, but we can't hold your hand and bend in every direction to make you feel comfortable no matter your desires. We'll support you and try to help you, but we won't bend to the whimes of those who feel that their troubles are someone elses fault. We can't be a firm foundation for the guild and its members if we can't follow the decision we've made. Would anyone want to be part of a group that's constantly flip-flopping around like a dead animal? No guild master or member should break their backs because someone wants to turn everything on its head to suit them and their emotional desires.

As for your opinions on how the guild is run, feel free to share and discuss them. Saying that, don't expect us to suddenly agree with you, or do what you say. It's not your call what happens, it's not mine, or Kat's, or Mia's, or Spike's or Bilbo's decision. All any of us can do is offer an honest and non-threatening opinion. The final decision belongs to the one who has run this guild for over a year and has probly more Maple experiance than almost anyone in the guild. The decision belong to Pauline, and Pauline alone. She has done so much for us, it hurts. I talk with her a lot, and she seems so happy and cheerful, but sometimes I can tell, she just wants to go into a corner and cry. She has a lot on her plate, more than most members can ever understand. She's gives real money to support us, her time to be with us and her compassion to soothe us. Even if we disagree somewhat with the decision that's been reached, the very least we can do is support her, as she's supported so many of us.

That's all I wanted to say. I am a calm and patient person, and I had hoped this issue would go away long before now, but that's not my decision to make. If the members feel threatened by how the guild is moving, I'll do something special. I'm putting it out on the line, right here and now. If ANYONE at all can find a sure and truthful reason that's not opinionated explaining the faults of how the guild is run, I will personally give everything I have amassed on Maple to them. All my mesos, my items and even my characters are yours if you can find something truly and horribly wrong with how we run this. And don't bother bringing us single instances when we were wrong, I want something fundamental in the guild system that is at fault.

I also ask the other Jrs not to erase that last paragraph, even if they delete everything else. I love Aeons, and I believe that now, as it has ever been, is a strong and loyal family of those willing to risk it all for each other.

well said jeff, well said

Nice Jeff,

Things change soon or later. Nothing will stay the same. You will have to deal with it or do something about it. I am in Aeons now for about 2 months. It's the best guild ever. All the other guilds i have been in didn't even do GPQ / Zrun / W/e. They just sucked, there is no other word for it. Aeons is a busy guild. If you look to Pauline or Kat, they need to organize A LOT. They do their best, everyone is, i suppose. I met some nice people / friends in Aeons to. I find it a great guild. Even with my time difference, i can't even come along with a Zrun. I have no complains. Thank you Aeons.

@ Jeff...Your speech realy Touched my heart.

@ The rest.. I did read it all and you all have you're own opinions and I can't say I dont argee with it, but i am a bit late with the reaction (cause of my vacation) so im not going to tear up old wounds...

Shame that Rose is leaving before I even got to know her very well.

Im (for my feeling) fresh so I dont realy feel at ease to talk about subjects that I dont know anything about, that is just the way I am.
I never feel fast at ease anywhere.
My point is that when you guys talk about friends and family I always get the feeling i'm not yet worthy to discuss that with you guys yet, the fault is with ME not with YOU remember that, im not blaming ANYBODY.
Im a bit what the psychologist will say a broken someone so I can be a bit weird sometimes.
Every man/woman has wounds on the inside and outside I know that, and i'm not trying to make you guys feel sorry for me but im trying to explain how I see/feel about things sometimes.
And do know, I sometimes hate myself for it but you know...That's life so dont sob in feelings and try in time to move on.

I do find Aeons a guild full of nice people that are willing to help and talk so far I have seen, True that there aren't much people online but I live in a different time zone then America so I dont find that very odd.
It's always in the late hours (for me) that the guild comes alive, and its always that time that it is very active and good atmosphere.
And when the proud people of Aeons are getting used to the newer players they can become good friends in time, and that's the part what we are forgetting, that you can't become friends or do wounds heal over night, so give it some time.
So I dont worry and try to learn people's names and customs first, before I worry, cause if I compair it to any other guild, Aeons has my personal nr. one spot.

I have spoken with my heart and not a word was a lie, I know that the Leaders/Jr. are doing all they can and I can only think their doing a great job.
Im greatfull for all the efford you all put in this guild so I salute you.
And when people see that i'm in Aeons they will always say that it is a great guild and ask if they can join to, so I find that fysical evidence of a great guild.
And if we work hard we can make it mabye little more a family instead of a guild.
I hope I didn't anoy anybody with my speech about this and that, it is just the way I feel, dont hate me for that.