Almost every guild has that one person who is always filling up guild chat with messages about how "I need X item" or "I need X gold for my mount" or "Someone run me through X dungeon". These types of people are not only irritating, but can be a hindrance to your guild. Here are a few tips for handling this special breed of menace!
Establish a Guild Policy
Your guild rules should outline your chat policies clearly, defining what type of behavior is and isn't appropriate in guild chat. When a whining or begging situation occurs, it's good to have a policy already in place for dealing with this type of behavior. Perhaps a warning will be given first, and then subsequent violations will result in either being kicked from the guild or losing chat/bank privileges. Whatever the consequences are, they need to be spelled out in advance and made public to all guild members.
Teach a Guildie to Fish
Every guild should encourage their members to be self-sufficient. Helping someone is OK, but spoon-feeding them content does nothing good for the player, or the guild. As the saying goes, "teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime." If that person doesn't want to fish – but instead have others fish for him all the time – perhaps a /gkick is in order! Earning money for your mount isn't hard – pick a few herbs, mine a few ore, or even collect a couple of stacks of cloth. If someone in your guild can't do any of those things, do you really want them in your guild?
Wants vs. Needs
There is no reason any player should need any one item so much that it will require an absurd amount of attention. Gear is wonderful, but is easily obtained over time, with a little patience. One piece of gear won't make or break you, so saying you need a piece of gear is not accurate – you may *want* the gear but there's a big difference. You *need* food, water, and shelter. No one absolutely needs an item in World of Warcraft! When a guildie says "I need 15,000 gold to buy X weapon" you can kindly remind them of the difference between want and need.
Distinguishing Legitimate Help Requests
Guild members will need legitimate help from time to time. There's nothing wrong with lending someone a hand completing a group quest that cannot be soloed, or helping out with crafting some items. However, there is a bit difference between helping and hand-holding. For instance, running a dungeon with someone can be a great way to help them out, but running them through the dungeon may instead promote laziness. Work with your guildies to help them out, but don't do all of the work for them. Leveling a guild requires a group effort!
