Krewe Stuff

[Bartholomew Foulsteel]

Ahoy Krewe! I figured it was time to get some thoughts of mine out there for ye all to read.

First off, I want to re-engage everybody on the reason the Krewe was created. This is best summed up by our mission statement:

Black Bart’s Krewe is dedicated to helping both the inexperienced and the experienced player work better together through the teaching of teamwork and fair play, and to increase the enjoyment of playing for all Pirates of the Caribbean Online players, whether Krewe members or not.

So, think about that for a moment. We are dedicated to helping others. We exist to teach teamwork and fair play.

These are noble and altruistic ideals. They are honorable notions. And they are exactly WHY Black Bart's Krewe exists.

Now, I want to point out that there is nothing in there about ranking. There is nothing in there about recognition. There is nothing self-serving about our mission.

Don't take what I write the wrong way. I am not telling you not to rank. I am not telling you that we shouoldn't have pushed ourselves for the Strongest Guild competition. I'm actually VERY impressed with the dedication and teamwork that was displayed. I'm proud of all of you.

What I am saying is that our position on the Leaderboards and our Spotlight and our Top 5 placing in Strongest Guild competition is a MEANS to an END. People are NOT a means to an end--they ARE the end. Am I making this muddy enough?

What I'm saying is this: we work on ranking so we get recognition. We place in the competition for recognition. But WHY?

Because the more well-known we are and the better reputation we have the BETTER ABLE we are to acomplish our mission. People now are coming to us. They see us in game and say things like "Your famous!" and "How can I get my guild to be as good as yours?" They are doing this BECAUSE we've been successful.

It's advertising, mates. All I ask is don't lose focus. Rank away. Take us to the top. Win all the contests and games and WHATEVER, but do it so we can better accomplish our mission.

I've never ranked instead of helping out another pirate, guild member or not. Let's make sure we keep our focus on what it is we REALLY do, okay?

Are ye with us or against us?