By Saph
Yes, there is a time when all Neopets users are guildless. It happens to all of us, and even sometimes we have no idea how to tell a good, prosperus guild from a boring statistical one. I can even recall a time when I never even knew what a guild was! So, here is my definiton, and you can use this definition to help determine good guilds from the bad.
Guild - a place where you can pop into the boards and chat to the members; a place to talk to people about common problems and get advice; a source of friendship and welcome.
Before you join a guild, you need to think about what theme, if any, you want to "celebrate". basically, do you want to join an avatar hunting guild? One for your favorite book, movie, or music? Do you like horses and farm animals and do you want to join a farm guild? If you like to roleplay, do you want to to join a roleplaying guild? Maybe you don't even want to join a guild with a theme. If you want to join a themeless guild, then a good keyword to use is "friendship". (Hint Hint!)
Maybe you want to lead your own guild. Before you go out and create one, figure out your own theme, the heirarchy, and some activity ideas. How will you design the welcome message? Do you want a layout to attract people? Put all your ideas down on paper first, and THEN create the guild. Maybe you should keep the guild invite-only until its front page is ready and all the details are worked out so the "opening" of your guild is smooth. If you have friends who also play on Neopets, maybe you can ask them to join to help get your guild started.
After you set your guild up, it's time to advertise. Buy and ad, go on the boards, maybe advertise on Neopets Guide and Graphic! There are so many places to advertise that you can draw in a whole bunch of people into your guild.
Once you have members, it's time to have fun. Don't forget to pop into your guild frequently and interact with your members. People like to be welcomed, and if you were ever ignored in a guild before then you understand.
For people who don't want to start their own guild, a good idea is to type in keywords and look at a whole bunch of guilds before joining one. Here are some "good signs" and "warning signs" that can help you find the "perfect" guild.
Good Signs
1. Lots of posts
2. Lots of activities on the front page
3. A clean layout
4. Lots of words (as in sentences) in the welcome message
5. A poll that makes sense
Warning Signs
1. 1 or 2 members
2. Under 150 messages
3. No poll, or one that makes no sense
4. No logo
5. Bad colors that don't go together in layout (ones that make your eyes hurt)
6. A welcome message like "Our guild will be so fun! Come join!" (Notice "will"!)
If you aren't sure about a guild, join it and check out the boards. Post a hello, and whatever you do, be a member for around two weeks. Members don't like people who pop in and then leave four days later. If you don't like a guild at first but are checking it out, stay a while. Sometimes your opinion will change.
If you post a message and get lots of replies, then chances are you've found a great guild. So, if your gut tells you to stay, then stay. If you must leave, stay awhile; then you should leave.
The best advice on finding the "perfect" guild is: Go with your gut and look around to get a feel of the goods and bads so you can judge guilds against others.