Pumping Irony

Shawn just dropped a bombshell today: GLU, the Guildcast fan guild, is going to be disbanded (actually it got so big there are two GLU guilds) and the alliance both GLU’s are members of will be disbanded soon. Shawn will reveal the reason in the next episode of Guildcast.

Off the top of my head I envision one of two possible reasons:

1. Drama. We did have a bit of drama last week that resulted in the departures of a few very well-loved individuals. The departure seemed amicable enough and I don’t know what went on other than what was said in the alliance chat channel. I won’t go into details, especially when I don’t know all of them. If drama is the reason, I can’t say I’m looking forward to the prospect of having GLU’s dirty laundry aired publicly over the podcast.
2. Much like Merlask was hired by Turbine a few months ago, perhaps ArenaNet has hired Shawn! If this is the case, congrats Shawn, I’m so envious it’s not even funny. Shawn working at ArenaNet would most likely mean Guildcast would have to be shut down, as well as Shawn’s other podcasts, Tabulacast and OMG Real Life (actually OMGRL probably wouldn’t be a conflict of interests, though it would be a conflict of Shawn’s available time). The catcher here is that everything associated with the podcast and guilds could be handed over to someone else. Who? Lady Sinaea has her hands full with Ringcast these days but it’s possible someone would step up to the Guildcast plate. It’s already evident that people are willing to step up for GLU itself.

We’ll soon find out if either of my off-the-cuff predictions have any merit, but for the record I feel whether in the long run this ends up as a positive for Shawn and/or for us lowly fans, dropping a bombshell like this then keeping us in the dark until a podcast sheds light on the situation is a poor way to handle it. Whether guild drama was part of the reason or not, the silence is creating drama and tension among those remaining as well as a profound sense of confused sadness. Many have already left GLU not knowing why, and two of the allied guilds have already dissolved their alliance with GLU. In the span of a single day we’ve gone from a huge, friendly, busy alliance to barely anyone remaining and those who do are tense and withdrawn, not knowing what to say since no information is forthcoming until Shawn gets his next podcast out.

Maybe after this is all over I’ll see the wisdom of this approach, but going through it like I am… I do not approve. It is fostering negativity where none existed before.

Update: Episode 90 came out this morning with the explanation. A benign reason after all, and not one that came to mind: burnout. Shawn feels overworked with three podcasts, an upcoming “podiobook” he’s working on, and that not-so-fresh “this is work not fun” feeling about the game. Guildcast has been going strong for two years, and Shawn has decided to quit while he’s ahead rather than allow the show itself to burnout or podfade. In the meantime he’s taking a break from the game and hopes when he returns, minus the podcast work, that the “fun factor” will return in full force as well.

Now that all is disclosed, I am still of the opinion that something could have been said to the GLU membership. The two-day silent treatment took its toll on many of us. Some had a sense of confusion and loss. Many got off a sinking ship without so much as a goodbye. Apparently there was even talk of “overthrowing Shawn” and taking control of the guild which is, of course, not possible. As with any bits of “guild drama” this one, mild and understandable as it is, did much damage to the family feeling that GLU stood for, and that’s a shame.