I think it would be a great idea if some wizard looked into the guild
general helpfiles. While there is some very meagre information about the
general characteristics of some guilds, there are many that lack even the most
basic features. As someone coming back from a 5-year break and seeing many new
guilds, I can say that the need for such general info is very acute.
For example. Take the guild of Beastmasters. There's is barely any
information, either in-game or in the forums or on the mud website about the
guild. Certain specifics, for example what would be the easiest animals to
tame for a newbie (at 10% skill) to even advance a level. A newbie would have
to run all around the continents, spending literally days regening simply to
be able to try out some animals and failing. Without some sound starter
advice, it's not at all newbie friendly.
Another example is Kharim. There is a little bit on the guild board, there
is a little bit in the news group. But a newbie would have to do some thorough
research to even find out what/where/how he can make his sword, what it
involves and what to expect.
There are a bunch of other guilds like that. My point is that the mud
activity and playerbase being what it is (meaning quite low), specific newbie
advice on these guilds is hard to come by. In the days of yore when there had
been 400+ mortals in the game at a time, it was easy to find someone willing
to answer. Also, guild mechanics back in the day were very simple. Now there
are either not enough unidle or willing guild members to answer these basic
questions (and not everyone wants to or has the time to explain things). Even
the newbie channel, which is listened to by quite a few people, is often
unable to provide basic answers. While I understand the joy of discovery and
that not everything needs to be right out there in the open, at the same time
I strongly believe that it would be a good idea to collect the basic stuff
about some guilds into FAQ-style helpfiles. Even if someone would post them on
the forum, it would be a great help, but an in-mud helpfile would be even
better.