On the Dark Iron server, guilds on the Alliance side affiliated with Penny Arcade (Fancy Lads, Keepers of the Wang) wage war with Horde guilds associated with a number of (comparatively) lesser-known webcomics such as Scott Kurtz’s Player vs. Player (Djörk, Panda Attack) and Scott Ramsoomair’s VG Cats (Cult of Kruglor). Many of these guilds are wildly popular and max out the 500-member cap.
The author of one of the webcomics involved, Tim Buckley (aka Absath) of Ctrl+Alt+Del, is alleged to have recently kicked as many people as he could from his guild, the Rapscallions, possibly on the night of December 16th. (He had abdicated leadership to a more involved member of the community roughly a week prior and was serving as an officer. Some people say that this was due to his abandonment of WoW for EVE.) He is also said to have taken down all related forums.
There’s a newspost about it at PvP, where Scott Kurtz, whose call to arms has created much of Penny Arcade’s Horde opposition on Dark Iron, has created a forum for “refugees” of the disbanding. As of the midnight commencing December 19th, there is no information about any disbandment on Buckley’s site. Posters on the new PvP ex-Rapscallion board claim Buckley is engaging in a campaign of information suppression, and that he and his moderators are deleting any related posts on his remaining forums.
A comprehensive, adequately sourced, and reliable account of the events leading up to the current situation has yet to surface, but some preliminary summaries can be seen on the refugee forum. If what’s posted there is to be believed – and people are bitter, but seem to be saving the highest degree of, shall we say, wildness for suggestions that Buckley may be indulging in crystal meth – someone who was quitting the guild discussed the reasons why in guildchat, which included his dissatisfaction with a particular raid leader. The raid leader’s boyfriend objected to this and there was a heated argument. A guild official told them to take it off the chat and onto the boards, where it developed into a flame war and then died down. Subsequently, Buckley appeared on the server claiming to have received an email objecting to “the drama.” According to Rapscallion witnesses, Buckley angrily complained that this was bad publicity for him and his site, which is involved in the sale of branded merchandise and is soon to launch a commercial pay-to-access element revolving around original animated shorts which feature the characters from his comic, and kicked members en masse before quitting the guild himself.
The posts I have culled most of this account from, particularly the details of the alleged mass kicking itself, are here and here (much less detailed but seems to corroborate the other, longer post – and was posted first, which suggests that it’s not merely a me-too repetition of prior accusations). There are also some screen shots. Additionally, I have relied on Kurtz’s short summary in his newspost on the matter, which was presumably written after he had received multiple emails describing the incident. He does not appear to have permalinks to individual posts, but it’s currently the second from the top on his home page.
The extent to which the Rapscallions’ sister guild, the Bloody Carrots, has been affected by any of this is unclear to me. The Rapscallions’ site appears to be down, lending weight to accusations that Buckley has pulled the plug on it. A newspost by Buckley on his site appears to confirm to at least some degree that he is now playing EVE. Rumor has it that he is starting an EVE guild, which has led some incensed ex-Rapscallions to predict that the alleged events that led to the demise of their guild will be repeated there.
The “survivors” are currently agonizing over the possibilities of a guild name change, absorption into pre-existing guilds, or even continued existence as the Rapscallions. None of them seem to want to spoil the mood of perserverance, but it’s almost inevitable that at least some will abandon their characters on Dark Iron.
This incident, while perhaps interesting in and of itself to many, also raises a larger issue in a manner closer to home than usual: to what extent should community involvement in a unifying project give the community control over that project?
While that question may never have a definitive answer, one thing is certain: Tim Buckley’s continued silence about this is against the traditions of Festivus, which include the airing of grievances.
Edit: Buckley apparently made this post immediately after the incident on the WoW Boards’ Dark Iron Realm Forum:
Just relax people. I disbanded the Rapscallions because a clear statement needed to be made that I was no longer in charge of the guild. A statement that, evidenced by the number of complaints I continued to receive about how the guild was being run after my departure, hadn’t gotten across when I transferred leadership. The guild had slowly descended into constant bickering and disagreement, which I was being pulled into despite the fact that I don’t even play the game anymore.
Disbanding seems harsh, but words weren’t solving much of anything, so I made a judgement call.
It’s better than they form the guild under their own volition and their own steam so that a definitive clarification is made concerning my administrative role in the guild (or lackthereof, as of the last month).
In all honesty, I think everyone, myself and the players will be happier for this in the long run. They can form a guild that is not attached to any existing fanbase, its creator or comic, and I can not feel responsible for handling administrative matters in a game I no longer play.
[ post edited by Exanimus ]