Welcome to Gaia! ::

that latter is truely what I am trying to prevent, seeing as so far it's most of all we get in here anyway. I won't even accept simple "hi, this is a bare min post" posts.

I don't want lurkers in here. I want contributors. I want people to be active. I've been lenient as can be, hoping that the environment on it's own would be enough for an actual Community of Gaian People to buzz around happily. and for a while it was. but it isn't anymore.

if you honestly feel like you can contribute to the Community of the Guild without this stipulation, than by all means show me. if you truely feel like you cannot accept the idea that lurking isn't appreciated, then go, I wont stop you.

I'm upset that you'd rather leave than actually be a part of this. I set this Guild up to gather together all the Awesome People I met on Gaia in one place, to introduce my Friends with eachother for networking. and in some regards that endeavor has proven successful. hell, I've even managed to make a little Social Experiment out of it which proved successfull as well. but time and time again it has been proven that without my prodding you folks, the intermingling rarely, if ever, takes place.

so if you are realy this upset with me for asking that the Members of my Guild carry out the Purpose for which I established this Guild, than fine. that's your choice.

The new rules scare me more than anything. It is not the fining or anything, it is the other parts. Personally, I only come on Gaia to make my RL friends be pissed off, and to chat it up a bit. But, those rules scare the ******** outta me. I know I have no real bitching grounds on this but you made this in a time when people are going to be gone for a while. Things happen around now. It is hard to keep up with little guilds. Like come'on. Rules like that are just as fun as sticking a fork in a wall socket.
Sad but true.

Don't feel too bad Twilight, between real life and the holidays coming up, I'm sure there are people who would be posting more if they had more time.
I can't say I'm a fan of rules either, but if you just check in every so often I don't see it as a big deal. I try to make a goal of trying to just check in a few mins every day, when I check my e-mails and other things.
Even if I am busy, I try to check once a week and post at least once in each guild.

I am not upset that you want this guild to succeed, I'm uneasy about your methods confused You mean well, but forcing people to come together won't work. You seem to be a very free spirited person to me, but you are trying to force other people into a mold you yourself balk at. If you want people to talk together and become friends it has to happen naturally. Poking and prodding only gets so far before it falls apart, as you can see. Stir up interest- have a community Poetry day. Post an ongoing game (tektek a Pirate Octopus or something featuring leopard print underwear). Prizes can be nothing more than a pretty picture or a signature banner with the winner's name.

Maybe it's just me, but the new rules don't strike me as motivational. You're dangling gold like a carrot on a stick and expecting a long lasting, solid community to miraculously take shape. It won't. Every guild has a slim, solid core of dedicated posters. If you want to expand that to the whole guild, I see 2 choices- rapidly decrease the number of guild members (perhaps sending a PM to notify them they have a week or so to shape up or it's a month long ban before they can even try to reapply), or spend the time, heartbreak, and tears to make a community that doesn't need cash incentives and pretty baubles to post. You'll probably end up with a flurry of activity that will die down when the gold runs out.

What do you need me to do? Keeping in mind I may have to reply in the morning before the Great Turkey Day cookoff (even though I think we're having ham instead >.>)?

I can try, I just wanted to know how deep the puddle is before I start jumping in it.

I don't wanna ask for too much, just... start a Contest or something, or Post your Artwork or Litterature, or open up a Shoppe. have a Thread that you tend to regularly or semi-often which allows for Group Activity.

I'm gonna probably run a Themed Tek-Tek Contest, like Zebra used to do, when I get some free time again. I've been working on a D&D Campaign too. but I've been suffering from technical difficulties latley... I hav eto figure out bullshit with my computer...

it's pronounced the same as Shop.

that is, it is pronounced shawp.