Q: 'Can you give us a brief overview of your guild and a few words about your guild?'
A: The Syndicate (www.llts.org) is among the oldest guilds in online gaming. Many of our members' gaming roots go back to the early MUD days or even to the old 300baud modem BBS days. The Syndicate formed as a guild in early 1996 in the pre-UO days and entered the modern MMORPG world with the pre-alpha test of UO. Since then we have grown to 525+ mostly adult members from all over the world. Our average age is 29+ years and although we are predominantly composed of members from North America, we do have members from a many countries around the world. The Syndicate is not an EQ guild or a UO guild. We are an online gaming community. Despite being HUGE in size, since we only recruit people we know and are friends with who have similar goals and personalities to our own, we are a very close group. There is no infighting.. no backstabbing etc.. We are very well known all over the gaming world and routinely are involved in large scale beta testing efforts for future MMORPGs or consulted on features those games need. We hold a yearly conference attended by 100+ members from around the world. We have guild stores, newsletters, yearbooks etc... and definitely go far above and beyond just the world of Norrath. EQ is a fun game that we play and enjoy but it is definitely not our reason for existing or our sole focus.

Q: 'What are your feelings towards the current "End-Game" Time situation and how do you feel about the "End-Game" lore of the defeating of Quarm?'
A: I dont mean to sound negative but i think most players today will agree that most EQers will never see Time so for most people its an irrelevant situation. For the many of the rest, EQ is in its final months. For the die hards who love the EQ style, EQ2 will pull them from EQ. For many of the rest (who seem to compose the majority of burnt out or burning out EQers) they wont touch EQ2 with a 10 foot pole but instead are looking at WoW, Dragon Empires and other similar games all due out early next year. Im sure EQ will continue on for as long as it makes a reasonable profit for Sony (which may be for years to come) and im sure there are diehard EQ fans that dispute, it is in its final months for a significant percentage of its population, but based on all I read and hear, for many players they are simply in a holding pattern until something new comes along they can move to, game wise. More expansions wont really change that for them since the EQ-style game has run its course for many players. Dont get me wrong though. EQ is a great game and has given us years of enjoyment and as such many of those players may come back to the EQ style game when Sigil Games (that is the company that the creators of EQ founded after leaving Verant) releases its game in the future, since time will have passed and Sigil is trying to address sone of the EQ flaws while keeping the good parts of EQ. But for the most part, PoTime is an irrelevant issue for most EQers since they either wont ever get there or wont be in EQ too terribly much longer anyway. The Syndicate is definitely keeping its options open and looking at the future games coming and will decide if we move and where we move when good options come on the market. For now and for the forseeable future we maintain a strong EQ presence and are banging our way through POP.

Q: 'How far do you think Everquest has come since it's start? And compared to Everquest, how far do you think Everquest 2 will go?'
A: One could argue EQ has come a long way since its start with all its expansions and new zones and new levels and powers etc... However, one could also argue, its the same game it has always been once you crossed about level 46. In the old days, the first 45 levels were just leveling. At 46 you started raiding PoHate and PoFear. Expansions raised the cap and added new zones and raiding continued. With the obvious caviat that you do need to add some specialized pieces to your tactics for some mobs and there are new mobs now, EQ is basically the same game as it was in those days. You collect forces. You raid uber mob XYZ. You heal your tank. Your tank keeps aggro. You control adds.
You kill mob. You call out a couple pieces of loot to be distributed to a bunch of people. And you try to do it again a week later if you can beat another guild there. Its a very repetitive cycle and factoring out LDON (instanced single group adventures), EQ hasnt changed much at its core game level in years. That doesnt mean its a bad game. It is alot of fun and there are great challenges for guilds of many levels to face. But it hasnt changed its core game so it really hasnt come a long ways. Adds mobs to kill and added little features like maps and shared banks are nice but has EQ come far? No, not really. Just new content based on the same core formula.

EQ2 appears to be taking some steps forward but alot of EQ2 is based on the same formula. A recent article was written by one of the Dragon Empires developers who described the EQ design as "EverQuest's game approach is clear from its name alone and instantly recognizable to anyone who has spent an evening levelling. The downside of a game-focused approach is that the game elements can become all-consuming and burn players out with the perceived requirement to achieve or match the progress of their friends". That is both EQ (and EQ2s) greatest problem and also its greatest strength. It burns people out so people will want a break to get away from it when the opportunity presents itself in a new game of a different style. But while in EQ, you have so much time invested and the next carrot is just around the corner that you cant stop now and waste that investment. And besides, you've adjusted your life, over the past years, to spend hours a day at the PC so what will you do if you stop? There isnt a game to go to.. YET. That changes in a couple of months.

Q: 'How do you feel about the drawn out 'Planes of Power' storyline and what do you think about it's difficulty? Is it really worth it?'
A: The storyline is fluff. I think a poll of most players would find that most players dont know the story/mythology of EQ. It definitely doesnt factor into my thinking when i play or that of most people I know in and out of the guild. The progression through pop, although based on a story, is mostly just perceived as a series of things you have to kill because some designer wanted to make you jump through 10 hoops, instead of 6 hoops to get the next widget or next zone or next title.

In the early days, the EQ developers were much more vocal about their views of the hoops they made players jump through. It reached the point that their comments were actually hurting player morale because they lost site of the fact that EQ isnt their game. Its the players game. The players are the customers and you give the customer what they want.
You dont tell them "No! The lore is rigid and my design beliefs are rigid so you may not pass go! dont collect $200!" which they did often in those days.

One example was they publically said that they only wanted 1 new cleric epic entering the game every so many days (I forget the number but it was something on the order of every week to 2 weeks). That outraged players. The designers were deciding what players were allowed to do versus allowing the amount of time and effort a player was willing to invest dicate the reward. That changed eventually after lots of player outcry and complaint and now things that were once "set in stone" are now more effort based than designer belief based. For a long time the developers had lost site of that. EQ was their game and we were merely lucky to be allowed to adventure within it.

So getting back to your question: I dont think the Lore is widely known in any part of EQ to your average player. I do think POP is overly drawn out with too many hoops and/or too long of respawn time for many of those hoops. And I think that is exactly how the developers wish it to be. From a guildmaster perspective that is also a good thing. If you get through POP too fast you run smack into the wall at the end of EQ and your option is to sit around and not do much or to quit EQ since, at the present time, there arent other new fantasy MMORPG games to jump to of equivalent depth and quality. There will be in a couple of months but not right now there arent.

The core design philosophy behind any game is: Keep the customer playing the game for as long as possible because that makes the most money and our [the developers] jobs depend on it. EQ chose the method of week long spawn times, that many guilds fight over and that each guild needs several times (or in some cases many times) to move forward.
So yes, I think its too drawn out. But no, I dont think it will ever get changed. That is how EQ stays in business. If they gave players more of what they wanted, they would have to have faster expansion pack turnaround time to keep EQ going which means more cost which means less profit.

Q: As a guildleader of an enormous guild of over 500 plus members, how does it feel to be in that leadership position? Does your guild still actively recruit or was it capped at a set amount? With this enormous guild, which is better in your opinion - an enormous active raid guild(525+ members) or a smaller guild that oftenly raids(80ish members)?
A: Being the guildmaster of 525+ people is very challenging. It requires hours of work each day. If The Syndicate wasnt composed of such great people, it wouldnt be worth the effort it takes. But due to the outstanding people who compose this guild, it makes the effort put in, worth it.

We do still recruit. However we only recruit people we know well, who have similar values, personalities and goals to our own. As such we have a very high retention rate and as time passes, we recruit less frequently and there may come a day we dont recruit very often. We dont have a hardcap of numbers but given our standards for recruiting, and since we arent perfect in finding the correct people every time, we dont have 100% retention. So we do lose people. Those we do lose typically leave within the first 3 months and almost all before 6 months and very very few after a year in the guild. So we are most often recruiting to fill new member spots and very rarely are we finding ourselves with a hole in our veteran ranks. With that said, our turnover rate is very low. We lose a very small percentage of members to other guilds (and 85%+ of those people eventually try to rejoin our guild after finding out the grass isnt greener elsewhere. Few are ever allowed to. Some end up as intel agents in the guilds they mistakenly joined. Some guild hop. Some leave gaming.). We have well below the average losses from normal game turnover (i.e. work, school, family and health cause players to leave gaming every day). And we have never had a guild implosion or revolution where huge numbers of members up and quit.

As for what is better? For most people, a smaller guild is better. The average lifespan of an online gaming guild is 3-6months. But for large guilds its even worse if they grew fast. And if they grew over some months, the end of that guild is usually explosion and painful for all involved. So often smaller is better. Running a big guild is not easy.
And existing for 8 years is something only about .001% of all guilds will achieve. So for most players, smaller is better. In EQ, a fair number of the larger guilds are simply chop shops. Warm bodies come in, are used for their DPS, and they get some loot and quit. Large numbers of players cycle through them in between implosions and leader changes.
For the few that arent like that, alot of hard work and time goes into them. Only they can answer if its worth it. But in general, you can do alot in gaming with a smaller guild and even in EQ, with current levels and AAs, you can go very far with a smaller guild.

On Tarew Marr, The Syndicate regularly helps flag smaller guilds so even in POP you can advance and maintain a smaller, easier to manage guild. Size has its costs and its advantages. Smaller guilds has its limits but also its advantages. Just design your guild around your members desires and go from there.

Q: What gave you the idea of choosing the name 'The Syndicate' and what decisions or actions led to the often shout of 'LLTS' in Everquest? (Those on Tarew Marr will know what I mean by this!)

A: One of the definitions of a "Syndicate" is: An association of people or firms formed to engage in an enterprise or promote a common interest. Our common interest is: Friendship! Teamwork! Community! Fun! So the name, besides sounding cool, accurately describes our purpose and our community.

In a more roleplay vein: We are a very private guild. Our boards our private. Our guild info, for the most part, is private. We dont flame on boards. We dont get into public pissing matches. But we are always around and see most everything. We maintain a strong intel network watching those we perceive as threats and taking steps to negate or minimize those threats. So from that aspect the name The Syndicate also applies and characterizes our guild.

LLTS is the acronym for our motto. It means Long Live The Syndicate. LLTS thus became our abbreviation in UO. From there it became a common greeting... war cry... victory chant... And it has stuck with us ever since. LLTS can be hear shouted in any gaming world we are in and we are proud to say it and proud of what it stands for.

Q: As an officer of this enormous guild, when it was first formed - what was your opinions of this guild and did you ever think it would be as successful as it is currently with the base member count well over 500?
A: The Syndicates goal is not to be a certain size. We dont meansure our success by our size. We constantly stress QUALITY not quantity and by really meaning it when we say that and focusing only on quality, we have grown to be very large, very stable and very unified. Although we are huge, we function like a small group of friends. When I first founded the guild I didnt know where it would go or how long it would last but I am very proud of where we are today and I see us being around for many many years to come.

Q: Do you feel The Syndicate has came a long way since the start of this guild? Do you feel that there is still a ways it could go? If so, why?
A: There is always room to improve. The Syndicate is, bar none, the Premier Online Gaming Guild. That is a bit of an arrogant statement but if you look at everything we have accomplished, and where we are today community wide, there is no other guild that can be pointed to that has achieved more or is better positioned to move forward and keep achieving than we are. We are the lead dog but behind us is a pack of tens of thousands of guilds. Some of those couldnt care less what the others in the pack are doing but some would like nothing better than to kill us and take over the pack leader spot. As such we must always find ways to improve. Whatever we did today is not good enough for tommorrow. We must improve. We must adapt. We must expand our reach and involvement in the community. We must expand our offerings to our members. We must expand our team focus, our friendship and our commitment. We an awesome guild. Tomorrow we will be better and 5 years from now we will look at this interview and think "ha! we werent half as good then as we are today!" To do anything less isnt acceptable to us.

Q: How do you feel that the officers and the leader is handling organization or leadership skills?
A: The Syndicate has a leadership structure that works as follows. Dragons is the guildmaster for the guild. The guild itself is run as a dictatorship and all final decisions rest with Dragons. We term it a benevolent dictatorship since Dragons solicits feedback from members, officers and advisors before making key decisions and only takes decisions that are in the teams best interest. That is evident by the fact that after 8 years we are going strong and better than ever and we have had the same structure for that 8 years.

Just below Dragons are 2 Advisors (Grif and Dargus). They are the big dogs of The Syndicate and each manages important parts of The Syndicate's infrastructure. They each speak with Dragons voice and authority and are the most trusted leads in the guild and work with Dragons to ensure our decisions remain forward facing, grounded in reality and the lessons of the past are not forgotten.

Just below them are a series of Squad Leaders and Raid Commanders who have various roles in the guild. Squad Leaders, for example, manage groups of 20-30 members on a day to day basis and do everything from welcoming new members and helping them get settled to ensuring guild communications get sent out to much more. Raid Commanders (or the equivalent term in each gaming world) are as the name implies: They are the tacticians behind our raids and our pvp forces.

The Syndicate does have a core belief that every member is important. Everyone matters. Every view matters. And feedback to your squad leader or the advisors or Dragons is very important to the process. Not every idea or view will get implemented but all are respected and listened to and factored into final decisions.

Overall i would give The Syndicates current leadership team very high marks. They are an outstanding group of mature, dedicated, veteran gamers that im proud to work with. I would add to that, that I would give The Syndicate's members similarly high marks. A better group of people and gamers, I have never met. It is indeed my honor and priviledge to be able to call myself the Guildmaster of such a great group of people.

OFFICER #1 (Grif: Advisor To The Guildmaster)

Q: 'Can you give us a brief overview of your guild and a few words about your guild?'
A: The Syndicate is a guild for anyone with a mature & professional attitude. age doesn't matter, gender doesn't matter, so long as you are willing to play fair (no cheating, training etc..). New members will find that we are like a large extended family, multiple levels and methods of communication mean we are well organized and planned, leaders are visible and well liked, not power/lootmongers like so many other guilds. Simply put, we are all just friends trying to make the most of our online gaming time.

Q: 'What are your feelings towards the current "End-Game" Time situation and how do you feel about the "End-Game" lore of the defeating of Quarm?'
A: "End Game" with regards to Time and the lore that goes with it means very little to me, and IMO, means little to the general player populace beyond the "wow,cool" factor. It was not designed to be seen by the average player (average player being an adult with a job and maybe a family). EQ is very linear in it's progression, so long as you have the nearly unlimited time it requires to hit 65, get 100's of AA's and get that VT or elemental equipment. If you don't and have a job, family or a significant other the true "end game" becomes the social aspect of EQ, once that runs out the true endgame becomes boredom with EQ's linear design.

Q: 'How does it feel to have several guilds enabled for Time and how do you think this will disable one guild or how will/do you guys work this out?'
A: The "Time race" is really only important to a few people, I personally see no importance or significance in entering the Plane of Time at all. I imagine if it does come down to it, Time will be handled just like every other big mob/zone, a big fight over who "owns" the spawn.. GM's will be called, and regardless of who was there first or clearing mobs first it will all come down to the flip of a GM's coin.

Q: 'How far do you think your guild, The Syndicate, has improved from beta days and from the beginning of Everquest?'
A: The Syndicate continues to be an evolving entity in EverQuest, just like UO before it, we adapt to changes and try to create a level playing field for all of our members. We gather information more efficiently then when EQ started, our raiding methods have evolved dramatically, our loot system rewards effort put in like no other guild.

Q: 'How far do you think Everquest has come since it's start? And compared to Everquest, how far do you think Everquest 2 will go?'
A: It had a very bad start, like just about every MMORPG today, the developers had grand ideas but implemented them poorly, after about a year the game began to solidify, but their vision had started to become one of a very linear and inflexible progression, that's fine, many games choose the linear path.. but the time and numbers required to complete the tasks to climb the ladder continued to grow while the rewards became smaller and smaller. Now high end players are used to the grind, used to spending hours for a reward that was not really worth even 1/4 of the time spent on it. You can't explain the game to people that have never played it.. Spending 10 hours camping a single mob that has a 20% chance of dropping the item you want? They will think you have brain damage.. hell they may be right. As for Everquest2, they have made no assurances to the public this won't become yet another linear level grind.. I have no intention of playing it.

Q: 'How do you feel about the drawn out 'Planes of Power' story line and what do you think about it's difficulty? Is it really worth it?'
A: Like every other story line in EQ so far I'm sure it will be forgotten... Anyone remember Veeshan's peak? The Hole? any of Velious? It did start out well, ports to all the major cities, new zones, with good loot and exp not to mention new AA's. But a flagging system that ended up being very exclusionary, meaning that if your friends just missed one big raid, they could be left out of so many future raids and it may be a month or more before you find that flag mob back up at a decent time, and it just got worse when everyone ended up being forced into the same 2-3 zones. They did later open it up more, but that just added 2 more zones so the cattle were just given a larger pen.

Q: As an officer of this enormous guild, when it was first formed - what was your opinions of this guild and did you ever think it would be as successful as it is currently with the base member count well over 300?
A: Actually the member count is over 500, When it was first formed I wasn't sure about it's status, back then guilds weren't the same. it was all bragging about what Guild X would do.. you still see some of that ridiculous behavior on forums dedicated to games that have just been announced or in early beta. Once I was a member I could see the guild had a future, leadership that wanted it to succeed, and we did.

Q: Do you feel The Syndicate has came a long way since the start of this guild? Do you feel that there is still a ways it could go? If so, why?
A: The Syndicate continues to evolve, not devolve. it is always changing, but always for the good.

Q: How do you feel that the officers and the leader is handling organization or leadership skills?
A: Leaders are chosen for their abilities and skills, not patronage or anything like that. So good positive ideas are always flowing, helping along the evolution of the guild as a whole. We're a creative bunch.

OFFICER #2: (Kelador, Squad Leader for Natures Fury squad in Everquest):

Q: 'Can you give us a brief overview of your guild and a few words about your guild?'
A: The Syndicate if a Guild of Friends. We are our own online family. When 1 person is in pain, we all rally around them to help them out. Just think of it as your extended family. Sure, I'm sure you have family you dislike, but in the end, we are all in this for the fun and friendship.

Q: 'What are your feelings towards the current "End-Game" Time situation and how do you feel about the "End-Game" lore of the defeating of Quarm?'
A: End game? You mean there is such a thing? What End-Game lore? You mean that after you kill Quarm your booted out of Time and told oh by they way, since you killed me, I'm taking you back in time to do it all over again. Frankly, I kind of think it stinks. I would think since EQ2 is coming out, end of Time would pave the way to the new EQ. Direct the path of your "family" into EQ2.

Q: 'How does it feel to have several guilds enabled for Time and how do you think this will disable one guild or how will/do you guys work this out?'
A: Well, answering Time questions will be difficult considering The Syndicate is not Time enabled but, hearing what Time is like, so few groups to do events, I am thinking it's going to get bad real soon. We are going to see another VT with Time. The end game Guilds will always want to keep "the little guys" out as long as possible which frankly, I think is wrong. But hey, that's my opinion.

Q: 'How far do you think your guild, The Syndicate, has improved from beta days and from the beginning of Everquest?'
A: Wow... this is a loaded one. Well, we have improved 10 fold easily. Going from the only guild on the server to have GM's show up at your events for fun and KILL the GM... Makes for some interesting fun. Especially when your guild is only a bunch of L10-18's taking on 1 L50 Ogre Warrior GM. Since then though, we have grown up and gotten much stronger. Think of us as a Lava flow... We are big and strong, we may be a bit slower then the rushing water, but you can rest assured that anything in its path of the lava flow will be destroyed in due time.

Q: 'How far do you think Everquest has come since it's start? And compared to Everquest, how far do you think Everquest 2 will go?'
A: EQ has come a long way. It's catered more to the Newbies now, which I think is good. It gently eases a new person into the Game and teaches them a LOT about it. Only 1 bad think I see about it that same Newbie can get up into there 50 's and 60's in a matter of weeks which to me, does not truly give them the time to properly learn there class and the full extent of what they can do End Game. But, keep up the great work and improvements of EQ like there doing (fix the Rogues and Warriors!!), I think EQ2 will excel in many areas then EQ doesn't. They have a whole game and 5+ years to work on it, not lets get it all wrapped up in EQ2.

Q: 'How do you feel about the drawn out 'Planes of Power' storyline and what do you think about it's difficulty? Is it really worth it?'
A: eh... it's ok. I like how you have to work your way through it and as you grow up more as a Guild, you gain in power and progress further. But, for the person who has a life, a family, children, school and or a job, I think it is a little to annoying. The game is not catered to people like me stuck on a Dial Up connection. A raid of 72 is just to much for my poor little connection. On bosses in PoP where you need more to kill a boss for the first time ever, it's worse. I myself (and my connection) prefer a smaller 35 person raid. Now, is it worth it? yes, when you finally down the boss, the pride and joy knowing you took them down, it's worth it.

Q: As an officer of this enormous guild, when it was first formed - what was your opinions of this guild and did you ever think it would be as successful as it is currently with the base member count well over 300?
A: I started with The Syndicate 6 years ago. I played UO with some RL friends. I didn't like the server I was on, I moved. They moved with me. I'm not into PvP much, I was being attacked, someone in Blue came out and saved me. I didn't know who my savior was, but I vowed to find out. When I did, I applied to join. When I was accepted in, it was the proudest day for me. Since that day, I don't know what it was, but I know this was my new home and only Guild I would ever need to be in. The Syndicate was the first and only online Guild/Clan I have ever been with. I see how many guilds and Clans are, I see them fall apart. I watch the birth of new Guilds, and also watch them fall. It takes a special person to run this Guild, and I think Dragons is that person. I mean shoot, we have been around over 7 years as a Guild, Dragons must be doing something right here.

Q: Do you feel The Syndicate has came a long way since the start of this guild? Do you feel that there is still a ways it could go? If so, why?
A: Yes, The Syndicate has come a LONG way. The friendships grew stronger. People found romance. huh? wha? Romance? Yes, Romance. 2 people fell in love in this guild and from half way across the world, finally got together and are now married. This Guild is more then just playing games. For the first time, The Syndicate had a Gathering. It was great to put names to faces. We all became even better friends. Seeing the direction the Guild is going right this very moment, we are far from the final growth. We have so much planned for us as a Guild, who knows where this could go.

Q: How do you feel that the officers and the leader is handling organization or leadership skills?
A: I think the Officers handle the "issues" very well. We speak for the Guild when the GM is not present. All final decisions go through the chain of command, like any body of government or military. If a concern is had by a member, we will discuss it like adults and resolve the issue the best way possible. Dragons I feel is one of the best and honest people I have met. If there is an issue, he doesn't beat around the bush but he also puts it in a way that you aren't going to be offended or complicate it even more. Now, if only the political leaders we have today could be more like him, we would never have issues in the world hehe.

VETERAN MEMBER: (Gazzaz, 2 Year Member)

Q: 'Can you give us a brief overview of your guild and a few words about your guild?'
A: "In Friendship We Conquer" It is not only the motto of The Syndicate it is the attitude we log on with everyday and the real reason The Syndicate has survived so long. We would rather wipe attempting something new than sit around figuring it on a slide-rule for a month. We treat the game like a game.
"I would rather group with TS members than any other guild member on Tarew Marr." I hear this a lot when I am in non-TS groups. We are considered mature, professional, knowledgeable, fun, and just damn good at what we do. I like that reputation. If you ask any TS member they will tell you; once you have grouped with an all TS group it is hard to go back.

Q: 'What are your feelings towards the current "End-Game" Time situation and how do you feel about the "End-Game" lore of the defeating of Quarm?'
A: Well I'll be honest with you, I am not much up on the Lore of EQ. I will tell you Sony's big mistake; All Roads Lead to Plane of Time. This is going to be a major issue in the future of EQ. The LDON expansion is nice but consider the strength needed to do a LDON raid. These were installed as an alternative to the upcoming overpopulation of zones once considered UBER guild only. Sony built EQ on what looks like a big pyramid and although LDON is a nice distraction, eventually it is going to get VERY crowded at the top.

Q: 'How does it feel to have several guilds enabled for Time and how do you think this will disable one guild or how will/do you guys work this out?'
A: The Syndicate is not a big griefer guild. We don't have an issue sharing a zone with other guilds. We know the griefers are out there. I expect we will handle this like any other bottleneck; Compete for the encounter. Be professional and mature. And if we aren't having fun (and believe me, there are a lot of folks out there who have forgotten EQ is a game) we will find another spot and come back later.

Q: 'How far do you think your guild, The Syndicate, has improved from beta days and from the beginning of Everquest?'
A: I have been in The Syndicate for over 2 years. I remember when Yelniak was a challenge. Dragons, the TS GM, has always preached, EQ is a linear game. Therefore we must continuously progress to progress. We have pharmed the right things and made the right moves. We aren't and will never be a mandatory raid guild. Our ability to enjoy each other's company and have a good time stays the same even as we grow stronger. We will be Elemental Planes flagged soon. And you know what? We have done it at our own pace, had a lot of fun along the way, and without purposely stepping on others toes.

Q: 'How far do you think Everquest has come since it's start? And compared to Everquest, how far do you think Everquest 2 will go?'
A: Hmm, my philosophy here is; Sony built Everquest to fail by installing endings. There is no free-standing ever continuing world in which you go out with a group of friends and adventure and come back another day ad infinum. Eventually your toon outgrows an area or zone and you have to move to another zone. I stated before, All Roads Lead to Plane of Time. You can be distracted along the way, but eventually MOBS are green and you have all the loot.
I am not in the EQ2 beta so I cannot speak on specifics. I can tell you from the overviews, Sony has learned a little from their EQ errors and have taken away some of the endings.
I was part of UO beta and played the game for several years. EQ seemed to be an answer to many of the complaints about UO at the time, like lack of content, cheats, and griefing. I believe Sony went overboard putting out a game that seemed to correct some peoples major issues with UO. EQ2 seems to be the middle ground Sony should have been shooting for all along.

Q: 'How do you feel about the drawn out 'Planes of Power' storyline and what do you think about it's difficulty? Is it really worth it?'
A: I like POP. Matter-of-fact I think the road/path through the planes should have been longer. There isn't enough in EQ to keep both the casual, non-UBER guilded players AND the UBER folks from getting in each other's way. Sony has made it easy for toons to reach level 65. Really the game now is amassing AAs and Planar progression. So why make those easy? Give us some more 65+ zones and a few more paths to progress along other than Time.

Q: When you first joined this guild, what was your first impressions? Did you ever expect this guild to be as successful as it is currently?
A: My first impression of The Syndicate? After the unfortunate collapse of Lupine Legacy (Hi Jink and AF!) I spent a few months unguilded. I grouped with a lot of folks from various guilds. The people I found the most respect for were the TS folks. They were kind and mature as well as great players. When I was accepted into TS, I knew I was accepted into something special. I remember the knowledge level of the leadership was amazing and unlike other guilds, that knowledge was free to all members. The leadership knew spreading the knowledge and having informed players was the key to success. There was a mutual respect between all members. I always knew we would be successful. In some ways we are the MOST successful guild in ANY game.

Q: What was your reasons for joining 'The Syndicate' and was the factor of its enormous size one of them?
A: I join TS because the players I preferred grouping with were TS members. For the reasons I have stated I jumped at the chance to become a TSer. HAHA we are big aren't we?! Really I had no idea how big TS was or that they were a major presence in UO. Never even crossed my mind. Also, after attending 3 Fan Fairs and a TS conference I can tell you each guild attracts a general type of people. This is not just a random conglomeration of people. Even IRL the TS folks were much more fun, mature and normal than a lot of folks from most of the UBER guilds.

Q: Do you think 'The Syndicate' still has a ways to go in terms of organization and as a guild as a whole? Why or why not?
A: Organizationally we are exceptional. Even folks that have moved "UP" and joined power guilds have said, what we lack in strength we more than make up for in Planning and Execution. Despite the "Zerg" reputation we have from some guilds we have a firm grasp on our encounters. We bring as many folks as want to come on all our raids. We don't turn people away because we enjoy each others company. We take pride in succeeding as a group not just a small circle of inner-guild elites like some guilds.

Q: How do you feel that the leaders and officers of this guild are doing in terms of leadership?
A: This is an easy one. D (Dragons) runs one of the largest, longest lasting (almost 8 years) guilds, spanning numerous on-line games. The man is the god of GMs IMHO. He takes a lot of flak from other GMs and former members because he is unwavering in his commitment to TS as an organization. TS does not change on a whim. That in mind, D does not take his choices of officers lightly. TS leadership is about leadership not just about shouting orders. We try and lead by example so the traditions and attitudes that are TS carry on. EQ may go away but TS will live on. That is the most important thing when comparing us to other guilds.