2011
Syndicate TMark Becomes Incontestible
Oct 2011):
WoWInsider ran a piece about The Syndicate's Trademark passing the 5 year mark and being rendered incontestible (i.e. no one can claim
earlier usage of the name). An excerpt from the article is:
After five years of owning a mark, paperwork can be filed that makes the mark incontestable. That paperwork has been filed and approved and now The Syndicate® has been granted that status. Said another way, no one can come along later and claim that The Syndicate was used by them first within the online gaming space. The mark forever is limited in its usage to only the www.LLTS.org "Syndicate" group. In addition to that, The Syndicate has put several agreements in place with major game developers and publishers recognizing the mark and ensuring that its usage is appropriately restricted within their gaming worlds.
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Syndicate Charity Support
(Sept 2011):
MMOCraze ran an article about The Syndicate's 2011 Charity Raffle that took place during SyndCon 2011. An excerpt from the article is:
As gaming becomes much more widely accepted by the mainstream of today's society, the idea of using that shared passion to have a positive impact on the world at large is becoming increasingly common place. For several years now, The Syndicate (www.LLTS.org) has been using its annual convention (SyndCon) to raise money for charity. This year was the 10th annual SyndCon. It took place in Seattle during August and for 5 days many game developers, hardware manufacturers, friends and guests along with 200 Syndicate members gathered together for fun; testing/feedback/consulting and, of course, raising money for charity.
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Beyond the Legend - A Review
(Sept 2011):
Independent book reviewed LeOlteano reviewed Beyond The Legend and she had a number of great things to say. An excerpt from the article is:
I’m not a gamer, and I don’t really think I’ll be much of a gamer, ever.
So, from that regard, I can’t really say how helpful this book may be to better your gaming whatnots; but I am a community developer, and I can tell you this: community-building wise, this book is a hit.
I won’t linger on that aspect a lot, but the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. thing is beyond awesome. That is why I do strongly encourage you to read this book, even if, like me, gaming is not quite a top item on your list of interests or preoccupations.
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Feeding 200 Syndies
(August 2011):
SyndCon 2011 attracted more than 200 Syndicate members and guests. Among the guests were leading Game developers and Hardware Manufacturers. On Saturday of the convention, there was a large guild meeting. The COO of EnMasse (Patrick Wyatt) talked about his career in gaming and about Tera. Evan "Scapes" Berman (the Community Director for EnMasse) accompanied him and had the following observation during the lunch break...
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PlanetSide 2 At SyndCon 2011
(August 2011):
SyndCon 2011 attracted more than 200 Syndicate members and guests. Among the guests were leading Game developers and Hardware Manufacturers. SOE was present and was showing off Planetside 2 behind closed doors to The Syndicate. MMORPG interviewed John Smedley and Matt Higby about the game. An excerpt from the article is:
Our very own Carolyn Koh had the opportunity to pop in to SyndCon, the annual Guild meeting of the Syndicate, and had a chance to hear SOE's John Smedley and Creative Director Matt Higby talk about the highly anticipated forthcoming MMOFPS sequel, Planetside 2.By Carolyn Koh
John Smedley and Producer Matt Higby were part of the SoE team that presented Planetside 2 at SyndCon, the annual guild meeting of The Syndicate, a guild that has been in existence since 1996 and works together to provide professional alpha and beta testing services as well as the writing for print as well as website game guides. Planetside 2 is built on SoE's own proprietary engine, Forgelight and we were given close up shots of the graphic possibilities with Matt accelerating the day / night cycle while the audience "oohed and aahed" at the light changes in an early build of the game. We were also given close-up looks of models and the level of detail possible, down to scratches on the paint of armor.
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SWTOR At SyndCon 2011
(August 2011):
SyndCon 2011 attracted more than 200 Syndicate members and guests. Among the guests were leading Game developers and Hardware Manufacturers. Bioware was present and was showing off Star Wars: The Old Republic as well as holding a closed door, NDA covered meeting with The Syndicate. Ten Ton Hammer did an interview with the Creative Director for SWTOR. An excerpt from the article is:
With convention season in full swing Ten Ton Hammer has you covered. The annual meeting of The Syndicate Guild was held just this past weekend and our very own Reuben Waters was there. Now in its 10th year, the conference is lower key than other conventions, but there was still some heavy hitters from the industry in attendance. In fact, Waters got the chance to sit down and speak to the creative director for Star Wars: The Old Republic, James Ohlen himself. Topics discussed include the banking system, companion customization, and what the response has been like since the initial pre-order rush following the announcements during SDCC last month.
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End of Nations At SyndCon 2011
(August 2011):
SyndCon 2011 attracted more than 200 Syndicate members and guests. Among the guests were leading Game developers and Hardware Manufacturers. Trion was present and was showing off End of Nations. They released a news blurb about the event on their site. An excerpt from the article is:
This past weekend a few folks from Trion were invited to attend Synd-Con in Seattle, Washington. They had the opportunity to show-off End of Nations as well as RIFT to the folks on hand. It seemed everyone had a good time and everyone was very pleased with how End of Nations was looking. Chris Lena and Dave Luehmann participated in an End of Nations panel and afterwards held an open play session. Cindy Bowens, our director of Community also had a key note speech!
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #8
(July 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its eigth edition. This edition focused on the trend towards more casual MMOs; how it impacts communities and how that impact might be lessened in the future. An excerpt from the article is:
In summary, it does look as though a growing segment of the industry is shifting towards a more casual focus and that such a focus is at least partially due to changing needs and expectations of a large and growing segment of the current market coupled with a desire to grow the overall consumer base by appealing to people who previously didn't consider gaming as a hobby.
So the real question, for me, is how does this move affect communities? Without community, there is no long term game success...
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Massive Online Gamer - Issue #32
(July 2011):
In July 2011, Issue #32 of MOG was released. It covered a number of gaming topics such as the latest WoW expansion, Guildwars 2, Rift, the LOTRO expansion and a new are for Wizard 101. In addition to that, it included a short write-up about our book, Beyond The Legend. The link takes you to an excerpt from the magazine showing the article about BtL.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #7
(July 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its seventh edition. This edition focused on what is the right size for end-game content? Or is there one? An excerpt from the article is:
While there are a number of ways to have a shard experience in an MMORPG, this article focuses on Raid Size and specifically... how does the size of a raid affect personal relationships. At a very high level it seems logical to say that the larger the group that you defeat content with, the more personal relationships you can form. So larger is better, right? Perhaps… but if things are too large and people cannot form groups to defeat the content then they become excluded entirely from that content so larger is worse, right? Let’s explore both sides of the issue from a historical perspective...
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TenTon Interviews Dragons
(July 2011):
TenTonHammer reviewed Beyond The Legend and merged that with an interview of Dragons. An excerpt from the article is:
It’s been roughly a year and a half since we talked to Sean “Dragons” Stalzer, CEO and Guildmaster of the longest continuously operating guild in existence (according to Guinness), on the eve of his first book’s release. While Sean’s first book, Legend of the Syndicate, traced the history of the now-14 year old guild into the WoW era, The Syndicate: Beyond the Legend is equal parts documentary and field manual for the creation of stable, durable guilds.
We spoke with Sean about the more controversial aspects of his book, including what the premier online gaming guilds next game might be and The Syndicate’s seeming aversion to free-to-play MMOGs and box-to-play titles (like Guild Wars 2), in our latest The Syndicate interview:
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Massively Interview Part 2
(June 2011):
Massively continued their BTL Review and interview with Dragons by releasing part 2. An excerpt from the article is:
In last week's Guild Counsel, Sean "Dragons" Stalzer took the time to talk about his new book, The Syndicate: Beyond the Legend, available at Lulu.com. In this sequel to Legend of the Syndicate, Sean gives readers an update on his guild's accomplishments both in game and out, and last week in part one of his interview, he spoke about his thoughts on the industry and where it's headed.
This week, Sean discusses the other major focus of his book: guild management. In part two of our interview, he talks about the keys to running a longtime, successful guild. He also discusses how guild management has changed over the years and how his guild has evolved and grown to become drama-free.
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MMOData Speaks On BTL
(June 2011):
MMOData commented about Beyond The Legend. An excerpt from the article is:
Sean Stalzer made a book called "The Syndicate - Beyond The Legend".
He describes Online Gaming and MMORPG's as seen thru the eyes of The Syndicate.
The Syndicate is a well established online gaming guild.
MMOData.net is used on several occasions as a reference.
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Stratics Beyond The Legend Review
(June 2011):
Stratics reviewed Beyond The Legend and posted a short review and endorsement. An excerpt from the article is:
After reading the book I found myself pleasantly surprised. Even though the amount of Ultima Online references in the book is small compared to the ones related to other MMO's (mostly WoW) there were quite a few memories brought back to me. And the second and third sections of the book are an interesting read, no matter what MMO you are playing right now.
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Massively's Beyond The Legend Review & Interview
(June 2011):
Massively both reviewed Beyond the Legend and conducted an interview with Sean about the book; The Syndicate; and its relationship with some game developers. An excerpt from the article is:
As you pack your bags for that trip to the beach (or that annual fan gathering) and you toss in that bottle of sunblock (or aspirin), you might want to make some space in your bags for some summer reading as well. Fortunately, there is a growing number of titles that examine the methods and lessons of running guilds and online communities. To that list we can add Sean "Dragons" Stalzer's sequel, The Syndicate: Beyond the Legend, which is now available at Lulu and soon to be sold at Amazon.
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PopTen - Top 10 Steps To Making A Successful Community
(June 2011):
The site Popten.net published an article culled from the lessons in Beyond The Legend. The article highlighted the ten most important steps to building a successful and stable community. An excerpt from the article is:
More than 90 million people play Online Games yet they spend more than 90% of their game time “failing”. Most Online Gamers are a member of a group of like-minded players yet it is almost a sure bet that the group they joined will cease to exist within a year. Despite being a hobby so many millions enjoy, failure lurks around every corner. Beyond The Legend is a new book by veteran gamer and community leader Sean “Dragons” Stalzer which seeks to change that by revealing the secrets that have made the oldest, largest and most successful online gaming community an unparalleled success for the past fifteen years. This top 10 list touches on a number of the core principles to creating and maintaining a successful, stable, online community.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #6
(June 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its sixth edition. This edition focused on whether a system to reward good leadership could be defined and/or should be implemented. An excerpt from the article is:
In "the real world" to obtain a leadership position one generally has to prove oneself first. Whether you are in the military or part of a corporation generally speaking you don't walk up and ask to be CEO, Manager or even Chief Peon and get welcomed with open arms. There is a process by which you will demonstrate the skills and the qualities that organization is seeking. You generally "pay your dues" within that company and earn a spot or you come with a resume loaded with good credentials of other places you paid your dues and had tangible, meaningful success to point to.
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Markee Reviews Beyond The Legend
(June 2011):
Alexandra from Markee Dragon read our second book, Beyond The Legend and posted her review. An excerpt from the article is:
The Syndicate - Beyond The Legend is a MUST read for any of you that are running an online guild, an online community or if you are thinking of doing so. A lot of what Sean wrote,citing from his 15 plus Years experience as the guild-master of The Syndicate,rang true with me, (as a Community Manager) - the sometimes painful lessons learned and the great success that can be achieved with the right method , communication and patience.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #5
(May 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its fifth edition. This edition focused on whether Blizzard losing its community due to a number of odd recent decisions. An excerpt from the article is:
When Cataclysm launched, I immediately became concerned about several choices that Blizzard made. Among those choices were: Level cap; rate of leveling; and the merging of 10 and 25 raids. For the leveling cap and the rate of leveling my primary concern was that quite literally the first person made level 85 mere hours after the expansion went live. Active players were easily reaching the cap in less than two weeks. Large, active guilds have well over 100 members at the cap within the first month. While hard core raiding guilds always jump out fast, when WOLK launched the vast majority of the community took several months to reach the critical mass needed for its primary focus to shift towards end game content. In Cataclysm that shift began occurring within two weeks of the launch and had engulfed a large part of the games population within the first month.
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Screenshot Of The Week
(May 2011):
While The Syndicate's 15th Anniversary as a guild was back in February, the screenshot submitted to Blizzard for the SoTW contest did not get posted until 5/21. We were pleasantly surprised at the large number of very positive comments. In fact the only real troll of the thread was upset at us for "lying" because we couldn't be 15 years old since WoW had only been out for 15 and Blizzard was barely 20 years old. He was quickly smacked down by the other posters and reminded there were games before WoW. You can see the picture we submitted and the comments by following this article link.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #4
(May 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its fourth edition. This edition focused on personal account security and the need for the MMORPGs of the future to offer secure accounts at launch time. An excerpt from the article is:
One of the key components of a successful community is security. The idea that you can log off and go to work and your account is as you left it when you return home. The idea that you can invest hundreds or thousands of hours of yourself into a virtual world and that your investment will not be lost in the blink of an eye. Security within the gaming space is as important to a thriving community as security within your town is to a thriving community there. Businesses can't thrive and people will not move to a place if there is poor security. The same parallel applies to the online world. Why play a game where at any moment you can lose everything? Increasingly players are developing a lack of tolerance for games that do not take security seriously or put enough controls in place. A key differentiator in future MMORPG success may well be which games provide robust security and which games do not take the threats seriously.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #3
(April 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its third edition. This edition focused on how to overcome a challenge many MMO gamers face which is when one one spouse is a gamer and the other is not. An excerpt from the article is:
Continuing along with the premise that "Successful communities are the lifeblood of a successful MMORPG", I want to explore a common problem some MMO gamers have and provide a possible solution. The problem is the dreaded issue of having a significant other that does not play games. Or better said, a significant other who doesn't believe they play games or who does not view what they do on Facebook as playing games.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #2
(April 2011):
The Community focused column continued with its second edition. This edition focused on tools that guilds need and specifically talked about the Remote Chat tool from Blizzard and why selling it to players seemed like a worse idea than giving it to them. An excerpt from the article is:
In today's Guild's Eye View, MMORPG.com columnist Sean Stalzer takes a look at remote guild chat in World of Warcraft. Sean's contention is that community is the lifeblood of any MMO and chat is an integral part of ensuring that a community feels connected. Check out Sean's thoughts about remote guild chat in WoW and then weigh in with your own thoughts.
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MMORPG.COM Series On Communities - Issue #1
(April 2011):
A new column was started on MMORPG.COM in April 2011 that focused on the Community and how all decisions made by game developers impact communities and should be viewed in that light. An excerpt from the article is:
Why is a column that has a slant towards how communities are impacted by game changes and events relevant to a site that is about MMORPG gaming news? It is my belief that the success of the MMO industry is linked directly to the success of communities. While there are certainly players who enjoy gaming solo, the vast majority of players are a member of a guild. Nearly everyone I know in the online space has been a member of multiple guilds throughout their gaming career. Some of those guilds were great groups of people and they died out and the members moved on. Some were cesspools of drama and backstabbing where people often chose to leave rather than subject themselves that environment any longer. Regardless of the reason, for all but a small percent of you, the guilds you were once a part of are no longer around. There are some awesome communities that stand the test of time in the MMO universe but they are outnumbered many many times over by failed groups.
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PAX East MMORPG.COM Interview
(Mar 2011):
Garrett and Dragons sat down at PAX East to discuss The Syndicate and the future of MMORPGs. Pages of notes were taken and a great conversation about the "What if's" of the future of MMOs took place. An excerpt from the article is:
One of the largest areas of change that The Syndicate is considering is in guides and online access. Sean talked about breaking down game guides in their current form as they are mostly released at launch. Well, for many MMO players launch is over in no time and they are on to new content. Sean talked about breaking game guides down into different areas and having them accessible to players in different sections. Instead of buying a full guide, you could buy parts of a guide that you really need. How many times have you been stuck on a boss and been forced to look up information on that boss alone. It happens all the time. A giant guide is not going to give you what you need in the moment. The Syndicate is working on building these style game guides to give fellow guilds the tools they need to sole their raids. This idea sounded really promising and hopefully we will see this type of set up in the future.
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Joining A SWTOR Guild
(Mar 2011):
The Syndicate supported the team at TOROCAST in their effort to come up with a guide for SWTOR players on joining a guild before launch. There are tons of pitfalls and nearly all of those guilds will cease to exist by launch or soon after. We consulted with them on the overall article and comments from The Syndicate were featured in the article itself. An excerpt from the article is:
While The Syndicate has a huge number of members, they strike a balance between having too many leaders and providing each member a clear chain of command and clear line of site to the leader for any issues they need support with. An elaborate, bloated guild leadership structure does little more than to serve egos and facilitate “hall monitor” mentality. An effective guild leadership structure need not be large or have layers upon layers of guild bureaucracy. When this red flag presents itself, be wary of the guild in question.
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Making UO Fun
(Mar 2011):
Stratics created a film series to capture moments in Ultima Online that made the game fun. They went with The Syndicate on a few of our weekly events including our Craftsman Day event (where our top tier crafters offer their services for free to the community) and several guild hunts against the "end game" bosses. An excerpt from the article is:
...our ongoing series of how players make UO FUN joins The Syndicate of Atlantic for a weeks worth of events
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Joystiq - 15th Anniversary News
(Feb 2011):
Joystiq's WoW site released a news blurb about our 15th Anniversary on their Community page. An excerpt from the article is:
It's great news to hear about some of the long-running anniversaries our fellow gamers can reach. It says something about our community that we can span decades of gameplay together. It's more than just good news; it's a success. The Syndicate has reached its 15th birthday. They're the Guinness World Record holder for oldest continuous guild; they've published the stories of their success and otherwise keep rolling into the future of MMOs. Our hats are off to The Syndicate on their years of good times; we hope you have many more ahead of you.
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Markee Dragon - 15th Anniversary News
(Jan 2011):
Markee Dragon has been around a very long time too. They go back to the early Ultima Online days and have been a source of news for that community for many years. They released a news blurb about our anniversary. An excerpt from the article is:
Throughout its 15 years, The Syndicate has set the mark for excellence in a number of ways. The foundation of the success of the guild was created through established a strict and well managed recruiting policy. In order to join The Syndicate one must be close friends with the guild; have a compatible personality and gaming play style; and be looking for long term membership that is based heavily around building personal relationships with other members of the guild. That focus has led to the creation of a 'drama free' environment with unparalleled retention which in turn has allowed for deep friendships to form.
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Ten Ton Hammer - 15th Anniversary News
(Jan 2011):
Ten Ton Hammer helped The Syndicate celebrate its 15th Anniversary with the following news artivle and commentary. An excerpt from the article is:
Gaming communities are a resilient bunch. Once established, they tend to last for years and few have been around as long as The Syndicate. Today the guild celebrated its 15th year in online gaming. In that time, they've achieved a great number of things ranging from being featured in the MMORPG documentary Second Skin to earning the Guinness World Record for the oldest, continuously operated online gaming guild, raised thousands of dollars to support charities and much more. To add to that list, The Syndicate has established a solid community of loyal players.
So congratulations to The Syndicate on reaching their milestone and may they enjoy many more.
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MMORPG.COM - 15th Anniversary News
(Jan 2011):
When The Syndicate turned 15 years old, the team at MMORPG.COM posted this news article. An excerpt from the article is:
Long-lived guilds are some of the crown jewels in MMOs. One of the longest running guilds is The Syndicate which celebrates fifteen years of existence as a gaming community today. The Syndicate boats a 99% retention rate, over 1,000 members and 90%+ of its members have been with the group for several years.
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