Give me back MY guild!

We're talking about a virtual club in a computer game. Yes, it is nothing more than an inconvenience. If you, the OP or anyone else does not like the way the rules work, vote with your wallet.

I would disagree with this a bit. They may not be under any "legal" obligation, but, morally and socially they certainly are. Not transferring it back would be a real ******** move (unless there are extenuating circumstances. )

To the OP - you are probably new to being a guild/clan leader. You should have found out what would happen if you went afk for a month, before, going afk.
By the way, this could have happened even if you didn't go afk. The GM is on a character basis, not an account or legacy basis. You could play various alts and not log into your GM for 30 days and have the GM get transferred automatically.

Come on Bran.... doesn't that attitude of "if you don't like it, then leave" ever get old? To some people video games are more than a virtual club in a computer game and could mean more, perhaps not to you, but to others yes. Not everyone should have to vote with there wallet and rather voice there opinion on the forums instead. Yes, ill admit its EA so the wallet is going to be more effective, but people shouldn't be discouraged to not voice there opinion if they do it in a calmly mannered well worded post without bashing people.

Not really, because it's always pertinent. If you (whoever you might be) do not like a leisure product or service, stop buying it. Pretty simple. We're not talking about clean drinking water.

They can think whatever they like. That does not change reality.

People are free to vent and complain on the forums all the live long day. They do it all the time, obviously. And that is after all the reason these forums exist. But if people are content to complain and still keep paying to play (which they have to do in order to post their complaints), why should BWEA make any changes "suggested" by the noise-makers?

If enough people canceled and said "I don't want my guild stolen from me if I unsub or take a long break" as the reason, they would change it. But people don't care. I don't care. Why? Because it's just a game and the only people who get worked up about stuff like that are the petulant, childish control freaks who take the attitude that all must conform to their ideas because their ideas are of course the best ideas. Or if something bad happens to them personally. Then they care. The rest of the time, they don't care.

Why? Because it's just a game.

This part in red specifically is why most people don't take you seriously.

Even though it is only a game, it's also real time that you use to enjoy it

I'd disagree with your assertion. What if the new GM expanded the guild and put a lot of time and effort in himself? What if he did way more than the GM ever did and now the former GM sees this and wants it back because it is all nice and growed up?

Not only do you claim to know for sure how much money and time the OP put into their guild, you also claim to know what "most people" on the forums think.

Why have you not used this psychic gift for the betterment of mankind?

Because we choose to. It's the same as using that leisure time to play Monopoly (except it costs more than Monopoly).

Well, discussing the underlying issue may have merit, but then I go back to the OP and read stuff like "birthright", "made me cry", and "kneel and beg for forgiveness", and immediately think of troll.

The bottom line is, there has to be a fail-safe so that guilds don't die if the GM just up and vanishes. No matter how reasonably set up and user-friendly this fail-safe is, at some point somebody, somewhere is going to trip over it and come over to tell us how they really feel.

Some people just refuse to RTFM, no matter what.

Ironic statement. It was apathy on the part of the OP that caused his problem to begin with. His apathy about what the longstanding published policy to address missing guild leaders, and how to address it in advance and avoid the nonsense.

As for the policy... it's a good one IMO. Why? Because missing and inactive guild leadership most often results in a guild languishing and dying off. So it is good policy for the support of guilds in general. All the OP had to do was to know the policy (he was the GM, it's on him to read and understand ALL polices related to guilds) and take it into account.

Personally, I suggest you temper your severe defense of the OP, unless you are a friend or an alt account for the OP. NONE of us knows the actual facts here, much less the other side of the story. All we are getting is his complaining and demanding, based only on what he chooses to share with us. There are always two sides to any saga. IMO, if he was a great guild leader, or even just a good one, his members would have welcomed him back and made sure he was leader once again.