Eventually every officer, every guild leader, every person who ever joins a guild, and more than likely even every person that simply chooses to play any MMO, will reach a point where they have to make a tough decision. The circumstances will vary, the results will be different for different groups, and some people will handle the situation so horribly that people will wonder if they are even human. This is one of those areas that I cannot tell you exactly how to handle, or what choices to make, but I can share some of the lessons I’ve learned.

1. Be confident and firm. If you make a decision stick by that decision. Be mindful, however, that you may have to defend said decision strenuously.
2. Follow the guidelines of the guild’s administration. If the stated goals are to be as fair as possible then work hard to be as fair as possible. If the stated goals are progression related then ensure your decisions reflect adherence to those principles.
3. There are no exceptions. If there are rules they are to be followed by all. If the rules are not followed then appropriate action must be taken.
4. Always do what you can to work with the members of your guild. There will be some who simply need a little nudge in the right direction to be stellar players. Others may not realize how their actions affect others. Even more may not realize they could do much better. No one is perfect, and no one will ever be the best, but we all can be good players.

The toughest decisions will involve people who are your friends, potentially your coworkers, maybe even your significant other. As humans we tend to be unable to separate one segment of the world, in this case a virtual world, from another. If for no other reason, this is specifically why you should always, always, always follow the established goals of the guild as a basis for making those decisions, and why those guidelines are so important to have in the first place.