There are four lights!

From the very begining when this guild was still a concept, one thing both Solie and i where very set on was setting as fewer rules as possible. Neither of us liked the idea of chaining people down and restricting them with over the top limitations. There was one rule however, that we both agreed whole heartedly on. The disallowance of PuG'ing a raid without express permision. At first glance, most of you will see that as harsh, unfair or just downright stupid. What the greater percent of people fail to understand is that, by pugging something for yourself because you can't be bothered to wait a couple of days, there's potentially 9-24 other people you're letting down.

My main problem is this, Placeholder is held together by our close community. You'll see me spouting that word quite a lot of the course of this blog, the big C, community. What this means is, we're very group driven, we feed off each other. Everything we do is for the greater whole.

Part of creating this community, was recruiting people from vastly varieing experience levels on WoW. From those who claim to of downed every boss at its peak to those who've yet to step foot in a single raid. In an effort to keep everyone happy, we host numerous raids of all levels throughout the week. We're progressing well in ICC, at 6/12 in our third week, whislt also taking those who've yet to see t7 content into the respective dungeons. This in itself is no easy task, you'll always get those with no interest in older content, you'll get those lacking the confidence to do newer content. It's for this reason, we forbid PuG's.

Imagine if you will, you've not yet done a raid, but the guild has set up a nice and relaxing Naxx run to show people the ropes. You've been looking forward to it all week but, at the last second, it's found out that, due to people pugging it during the week, we have too many saved and not enough members to go. That leaves all those who where planning to go in the lurch because a few people where too impatient and, in my eyes, too damn selfish to wait and help the guild instead.

Imagine how you would feel if your ICC raid was cancled for this very reason. Completly different story then right?

I've used Nax as an example, this applys to any and all raids. Just last night, at 11pm server time, we all decided to go to ulduar for kicks and giggles. This wouldn't of been possible had we allowed people to pug at will.

Having explained all this, to each new recruit in detail. Having had "No pugging without permision", twice, in our MotD and also seeing others be reprimanded for not asking, or those rewarded for asking. Why is it then still a huge problem this guild seems to face.

No less then 4 members have left or been kicked in the last two weeks because of this rule. Whether it's for non compliance or non agreemant. Why is it such a problem for people to accept that we do things for each other here, not for ourselves.

This game is focused entirely on self progression thesedays. Too much weight is put on an individuals gear. *Curse you gearscore* Skill gets you nowhere, you can bruteforce most encounters, including the first quarter of ICC. There's no obligation to be good to your fellow players. With the advent of the LFG tool and the numerous ways to avoid the kick function, you can troll your way through an entire heroic, stick two fingers up and run away with the loot at the end. People need to be held accountable for the actions, whether it's in game or in real life. This is why we take a strong stance on this rule. We can not and will not allow people to screw over other people, for their own personal game.

Anyone of you i find breaking this rule, regardless of current standing or position in the guild will be dealt with in the same way. A swift and complete removal from the guild, our site and our voice programs. It's impossible to build a community around selfish people. It doesn't work and leads to infighting. This game is an escape, a safe haven for many and i will not allow that to be tarnished by those who value themselves over someone else.

/end rant.