Welcome to Gaia! ::

Name Change: I think that the name could be catchier, possibly, but I can't think of any suggestions. We should be able to think of something better, though, considering we're writers. It's not that big a deal, though.

Gold: Leave the admission price as free or at least low. A price or at least a high price could discourage people from joining. Instead we could put prices on participating in stuff that has prizes or something that would cost us something. Especially if you still haven't figured out how to access the guild money.

Public/Private: Keep the guild private. Otherwise we could end up with a flood of non-writers and if we leave the guild private we'll be better able to screen members so that we don't end up with anyone disrespectful or otherwise unwanted for some reason.

Organization: I have no idea what to tell you to do to make the guild more engaging, enjoyable, and popular. If I did I would have already tried to get it started.

That's a really good idea 3nodding
We might not be able to get some back, though, like a former mod and the former owner of the guild.
But definitely! We should send out a letter again.

1. Changing the name
Not really an issue with me. Most people remember this name and any name change might lead to people forgetting about it.

2. Gold
As there is no use for guild gold, it is best to have membership costs left to nil cost. New gaians might have trouble joining up as well so it might also give more of an incentive if there is no funds needed to join.

3. Public
I can understand some people having issues with going public, although I think that we could inspire people to join if they could see some of our threads.

4. Organization
I don't know how you would deal with the issue of guild organisation but you might want to set up a guild roster so that if any moderators go missing there will be others to take their place. Other than that, you might find a highly descriptive thread on the topic of posting an invaluable addition.

I will try to think about any other things that might be worth trying as well though you might find joining the captain guild a good way to brainstorm with other guild captains.

I think we need to make the Writer's Gathering into a sticky because new members don't seem to be noticing it and they're starting new threads just to introduce themselves.

100 MEMBERS!!!!

We should celebrate somehow.

I just joined today, but I'd like to put in my two cents about the gold requirement.

I, personally, wouldn't pay gold to join a guild. All the guilds that I participate in are free. I feel having a gold entry fee would strongly discourage new entrants, in my humble opinion. I am a serious writer, but I can go to the Writer's Forum for free writing discussion, even if it isn't discussion of the highest caliber all the time. Why bother with paying gold to have a serious writing discussion?

True, guilds are more exclusive and thus more likely to have serious members as opposed to rambling morons, but that's what the "request to join" feature is good for. If their request doesn't meet standard, then don't let them join. Keep the guild private, but I don't think gold is going to be as effective a way to keep the standard of the guild members high. There are brilliant writers who have no gold on Gaia.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I hope that the other moderators come back soon as they often have some really good ideas as well. By the way, I altered the chat sticky ("Writer's Gathering") to indicate that it is for introducing new members. That should solve some of the confusion caused by the name.