So let me get this straight... you want Bioware to offer a refund... for something with a recurring charge... that's been out for what? 6 months? I believe what you've asked is for Bioware to go bankrupt to make you happy. Yeah, not happening bud. That would be bad for business. Seeing as how you would be unsubbing anyway, it's a much better business decision to NOT offer the refund and let you leave. At least they still have what you've paid them. And another somewhat related note to your post, I think you and most of the complainers on here are unfarily attacking Developers in general. Now I don't know the case-by-case basis for this, but on the whole, the Developers don't really get to dictate their Development Cycle. In most cases, it's the Publisher or they-who-own-the-ip who dictates "you will release by this date. no excuses." The one example that is clear in my mind is Star Trek Online. Cryptic knew it wasn't going to be ready for release. They knew it needed, at least, another year of development and testing. But you know why it was released? Because, I believe it was Paramount, said, "You will release by this date." And before anyone jumps all over that, again, I don't remember exactly who told them that, but what I do is that they were under the gun to release by that date. Sad, but true, this is a common practice within the Gaming Industry. It's a big reason why Movie-Licensed-Games usually end up being crap. Because Developers have that unmovable release date of around the movie's release so they have to come up with a game that they can finish by that time. Developers would LOVE to cater to the consumers and fans and they try their best, but at the end of the day, they are a business. And in that business, they are bound by contracts. So, unfortunately, when faced with the choice of the doing the right, but illegal, thing of pushing back the game's release against the wishes of the Publishers or whoever they have that contract with and doing the Legal thing of releasing a half-completed, totally buggy game and fixing/finishing it on the fly, the Developer will always go with the latter choice. Why? Because doing the former is a sure-fire way of getting their company sued into non-existence and lose any, and possibly all, current and/or future partners. Because, let's face it. Aside from not having a leg to stand on in a court of law (because, well, they DID break their contract), they would also have the reputation within the industry of not being trustworthy. And THAT could do much more damage to the company then a minority of people complaining about content and threatening to unsub. Now having said all that... there's still no excuse for the crap Bioware calls Customer Service on this board. Currently, THAT is my biggest complaint.

Uh... The Promenade is the first area you go to once you get off your ship. You know, the place with all the Trainers and Vendors?

Take a trip to Nar Shaddaa. Both Imps and Republics congregate in the Promenade. At first I didn't think they co-existed in the same instance of the Promenade... until I saw a Juggernaut run past me while I was playing my Consular. But yeah, I think the segregation is planet dependent. On Tat it makes sense because it wouldn't make sense for, say, a Jedi to be running around an Imp Controlled City and vice versa. However, on a planet like Nar Shadda, where its 'government' is so corrupt that it operates much like it inhabitants (favors whoever makes the best offer... and not to mention its pretty much run by criminal gangs anyway), it makes more sense that both Imp and Republics would use the same Spaceport.

Indeed. I've said it before on the forum and I'll say it again. I've played quite a few MMOs and I've played several through Beta to Launch and beyond. SWTOR has had, by far, the smoothest launch I've ever seen. And, from what I've played of it (still don't have a Level 50 yet), it's got the highest level of polish I've ever seen in a game this young in its life cycle. This current big crashing issue is Bioware's first big test of actually running a MMO as a Developer and how this issue is resolved (IF it is resolved) will give a pretty good indication of the direction this game will take. I sincerely hope this issue IS resolved and that Bioware gets their act together and re-visits their Customer Service Policies to dramatically improve the experience because the game itself, if you can get past the crashing, is phenomenal.

Lots of good stuff in here. Especially from that Guild Leader with his/her guidelines. Here are some things from my experience that I haven't seen mentioned yet. 1. As one person before me said, make yourself available to ALL members. Visibility and Accessibility for a Guild Leader cannot be understated. One of the best Guild Leaders I ever worked with was as good and respected as he was because he was willing to help anyone in the guild with anything if it was within his power to do so. 2. On the other hand, don't forget to carve time out for yourself. You can't help your guild mates if their characters are better than yours. This also goes for crafting. Often times the best way you can help your guild is to be a crafting machine so make sure you make some time for that. 3. The cornerstone of leading a guild is TRUST. Surround yourself with people you trust. This is quite subjective and very difficult to get right. But it's vitally important to successfully running a guild, in my opinion. The Guild's Council or your "Inner Circle," as I like to call them, is really your guild's foundation. If everyone within that circle can be trusted and trusts each other and, most importantly, trusts you, then you'll have a strong foundation. Don't get me wrong, bad things can still happen, but a strong, trustworthy "Inner Circle" can help lessen the impact of those things and can help the guild overcome and get past them. 4. Take Trust To The Next Step. What I mean by that is foster trust within the rest of the guild. Do what you can to get the guild members to trust you. If they trust you as the Guild Leader, it'll bring the entire guild that much closer. And it may bring to light any dissention among the ranks. One the more effective ways of fostering that trust with your guild mates is #5. 5. Group Outside Your Inner Circle. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's vitally important. Make sure you REGULARLY group outisde your inner circle. I've been in a guild where the Officers regularly grouped with each other at the exclusion of the rest of the guild. Believe you me, that's the easiest and fastest way to cause dissent in the ranks. There's nothing worse for morale and trust than making your non-officers feel less important than your officers. 6. Balls Of Steel. Be prepared to make the hard choices. As the old saying goes, sometimes the right choice isn't the easy choice. As sad and as hard as this may be, the Guild Leader, more than anyone else in the guild, MUST be willing to make those hard, difficult choices. Often times the inability or unwillingness to make those choices is seen as weakness by the guild members and if that happens, trust begins to wane and the guild begins to crumble. I've seen it happen. 7. Delegation vs Doing It Yourself. Don't be afraid to delegate (it's what your officers or inner circle or council is there for), but also don't be afraid to get your own hands dirty. This is a balance that all Guild Leaders strive to achieve and mantain, but few get it right. This goes back to my first point about Availbility and Visibility. Showing the guild that you're not afraid to get your hands dirty and do stuff yourself boosts your visibility to the guild. It also makes your more approachable and, therefore, begins to foster that trust I spoke of. But at the same time, you are only human and are only one person. You can't do everything yourself. No guild member should expect you to do everything yourself. And you should not expect to be able to do everything yourself. Like any good CEO of a company, make someone else do the stuff you can't or don't have time for. Remember that trust thing I mentioned earlier? This is where it will pay off in spades. But delegation goes beyond trust. You also have to make sure you have the right person for the job. I believe someone else mentioned this in an earlier post, but it bears mentioning again here. You may be best friends with someone and they may be completely trustworthy, but if they completely suck at the "job" you're considering them for, don't ask them to do the "job." And this goes back to my previous point, #6. Having balls of steel. If the right choice for the guild is to not ask your trustworthy friend to do something, then don't. If they are truly your friend, they'll understand. 8. Sacrifice. As Guild Leader, you will have to be prepared to make sacrifices. Often times, hard sacrifices. The biggest sacrifice, of course, will be your time. And I'm not just talking in-game time. And I'm not just talking time away from other stuff. Oh no. I'm talking sacrificing your playing time. To effectively run a guild, you will have to have regular meetings with your council or inner circle. These meetings can and will be long and potentially arduous. And they will, most certainly, cut into your playing time. In addition, you'll have to take time from your playing time to take care of "administrative duties" as they arise (mediating disputes, investigating claims, stuff like that). One of the "hard sacrifices" you may have to make as a Guild Leader is the sacricice of friendship. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I have seen friendships crumble over a guild. And that is when you have to ask yourself if you're willing to make that sacrifice for the good of the guild, And, hey, there's no shame in stepping down for the sake of a friend. There is no shame in telling yourself that you don't want to do it anymore. But I'll tell you what. Friendship is as much a reward for being a great Guild Leader as it is a sacrifice. And friendship is only one of many rewards awaiting you at the end of the journey. Just remember that a great Guild Leader never walks the path alone. And if he is, then he's doing it wrong. I'll end with addressing the reason you're (the OP) striking out for a second shot at running a guild, that being that one of your original crew went "power hungry" on you. Remember the Guild Leader I mentioned way at the top of this post? The thing that made him the best Guild Leader I've ever had the pleasure of running with is this: He never put himself above the Guild, but he never forgot that he was the Guild Leader. If you take anything away from this post, I'd like it to be that statement. Think on it. To me, that one statement summarizes what it means to be a great Guild Leader. I hope, at least, one thing I've put in this post helps you. Good Luck!

One of the easiest and fastest things BIoware could implement that would guarantee an increase in community response and participation for Player Created Server Events is a Global Chat Channel. That is, a chat channel that broadcasts across the entire server and not just across the planet you happen to be on. It's kind of impossible to drum up interest in a Race Across Tatooine when the only people you can contact are the four other people on Tatooine with you!