We Are World Bank: Part II

Well hello there. Nice of you to drop by. It's not often that I see your type around these parts, but hey, I'm not one to complain...much. It's been a good long while since I've come back to this with the holiday and all, but I think the break was worth it. I ended up spending a few days with our tank and got him hooked on Dragon Age. Sue me, but that's in the past, let us look to the future. It would seem as if 3.3 is right on the horizon, some saying later today while others saying next week. I'm going to say next week, but I could be wrong, lord knows we need some new content now. We nine man regular ten man ToC just because we don't feel like filling spots from the LFG channel, and it makes things a little more interesting for us.

Regardless, not all that long ago I made a post comparing our guild to that of the World Bank. While the 25 man ToC last week ended up being a success with only two of us from Parabola, the comparison still fits in my eyes. So, let's look at some of the criticisms leveled against the World Bank and see how they match up to the criticisms leveled against my own guild.

Critics argue that the so-called free market reform policies—which the Bank advocates in many cases—in practice are often harmful to economic development if implemented badly, too quickly, in the wrong sequence, or in very weak, uncompetitive economies.

To answer this, one has to look at exactly what sort of reforms my guild advocates while stepping in to help others. Quite honestly, if we're stepping in to help, it's our show. We run the raid: use our strategies, we dole out the loot, don't talk on ventrilo unless you need to. We also advocate for the use of all possible consumables, and for the right to kick people from a raid if they are either a) annoying or b) dying repeatedly for no good reason. There's no real simple way about it, if we step in, you come into our world. Has this been detrimental to the development of certain guilds? Yes, I think it has. The guild that we run all of these 25 man shenanigans with is...casual at best, with a few people that really want to raid. When this all started a number of them hopped on board to the raid scene not knowing who we were and how we did things. I can honestly say that a number of those people never came back after the first raid. Probably because we're dicks. We ask people to do everything that they can, but sometimes that just means that you have to show up on time. The guild we run with has lost two GMs over this whole raiding thing. They are a casual guild, but they want to raid with us. For some, this is problematic because their casual mentality just doesn't meet up to our standards. No, we won't summon you. You fly like everyone else. Why are you wearing Flask of the North? Why don't you have a food buff when I just dropped a fish feast? You need to repair when I dropped a Jeeves on the last attempt. I know for a fact that a number of people in that guild really don't like us for what we've done to their guild. We've turned a number of the semi-hardcore people over there into real raiders, or at least, people that really want to raid, and they've become a bit...estranged from their former friends and family. It's like...once you go raider, you don't really go back. Have we hurt the guild? Yes, probably, but we've made them more competitive for it. I honestly don't think they would have seen any of ToC without us there leading the show.

A number of intellectuals in developing countries have argued that the World Bank is deeply implicated in contemporary modes of donor and NGO-driven imperialism and that its intellectual contribution functions, primarily, to seek to blame the poor for their condition.

We do blame the poor raiders for their condition. We do this all the time. Usually we do it on ventrilo while they're listening. Probably because we are dicks. Bladefist as a server has a very low population of decent Horde-side raiding guilds. As this content has all but dried up as of late, we are finding ourselves in need of decent raiders or PUGs to fill one or two spots here and there (which was the case last night). It is in our best interest to try and craft what talent there is into a viable raiding form, in the hopes that someday, they will be of use to us again. It's sort of like an investment. We put time into helping people along, and usually they want to run with us again when we need them, if we do. Everyone is happy. We pick and choose who we do, and do not want to take, sowing our seeds of raiding as we go, passing off tips here and there, blowing minds elsewhere. But honestly, when it comes right down to it, sometimes guilds are just bad. Players are just bad. When put in that situation, there's not a lot we can do. Say for example, there's this shaman in the 25 man raids that has, and will forever die in phase two Anub'arak because he doesn't run from the spiky underground pain of ugly death (it's a technical term). It's people like him that we point out every week and just say, "You know...this happens every time. We're done with you." They laugh it off and continue to do 2.2k DPS, but at the end of the night when the GM asks us how they did overall, some of us are quite quick to point out just who their terribad players are, and how we never want to see or hear from them again. Poor raiding guilds are poor because of their raiders, or the lack thereof. I make it a weekly habit to congratulate people with Legion Flames on their valorous, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to beat out the flames by standing in them for the duration of the debuff. Similarly, I also lavish undue amounts of praise on melee that refuse to break off to kill snobolds on the first boss. They are bad because they are bad. They are bad because they don't care, or don't want to listen. No we will not pop heroism/bloodlust during phase two Anub'arak. We will do it like we always do it. Deal with it.

While the World Bank represents 186 countries, it is run by a small number of economically powerful countries. These countries choose the leadership and senior management of the World Bank and as such, their interests are dominant within the bank.

We represent just about the only dedicated ten man presence Horde-side on Bladefist. We are a ten man guild. We've all got some of the best gear you can get aside from stepping into 25 man heroic ToC. What we say goes. Bottom line. If you don't like it, well, go raid someplace else. Good luck finding it on this server. Enough said.

Despite claiming goals of good governance and anti-corruption the World Bank requires sovereign immunity out of countries it deals with. Sovereign immunity waives a holder from all legal liability for their actions.

This sort of goes with the territory if you run with us. You do things our way, or you don't do them at all. While we're all about furthering other guilds, we only really look to take it as far as it will be of value to us. We're running the 25 man raids because we want gear that we wouldn't be able to get otherwise. There -is- something tangible in it for us. Usually though, there's something else that we can get out of it eventually, mostly reliable PUGs that we can call on in a pinch that are more than happy to jump on board with us for a night. But honestly, though, do we really care if what we do breaks up your guild? Probably not. The guild we run these with has turned over two GMs. Do we notice? Sure. Do we really care? Not really. It's not our fault. If people want to raid then they can raid. We don't force anyone to sign up. They do that all of their own free will. If by running with us you get your feelings hurt, well...too bad. Don't sign up again and wallow in your ilvl 200 BoE's. If you run with us, you waive your right to complain, bitch, whine, moan, whatever, because honestly, unless you've been there before, you'll probably end up lying face-down on the ground watching all of the pretty effects go off because you stood in the Legion Flames for too long while contributing absolutely nothing to the raid. Telling us that you're dead at this point will only get you laughed at on ventrilo. Probably because we are dicks.

Probably because we are dicks. Yeah, that just about sums us up.

Here's hoping for 3.3 before I grind my teeth down into bloody nubs.