Atonepointhisguildbroughtinanoutsideraidleaderandraidersfromamoreprogressedguild,andhenoticedthattheleaderwasmuchmorewillingtoholdpeopleaccountableformistakescontributingtotheirwipes,likehealershealingthewrongtargetsandatank'sinabilitytopickupLordSanguinar(peoplewhohavedoneKaelbeforewillrecognizeaninitialmistakeonthewriter'spartreferencingtheuntankableThaladredtheDarkener-hecatchesitinthecomments)."Iwasimpressedbytheirprofessionalism,theircommitmenttohighstandards,andtheirleader'swillingnesstocallpeopleoutwhentheymademistakes,"Golubwrites,"butmostofmyguildmatesdidn'tfeelthatwaywhenwechattedaftertheraidinouronlineguildchat."Theoutsideraidersweren'tinvitedback,Golub'sguildneverkilledKael,andhestartedtowonderiftheguild'sdesiretoavoidembarrassmentoverpersonalmistakeswasreallyabetteroutcomethanallofthefruitless,demoralizingwipesonthebosswithnoresult.
AnyWoWplayerwho'sraidedforanylengthoftimewillimmediatelyrecognizetheclassicdilemma;it'sdifficulttomotivateindividualstoperformwellwhencriticismisbadlyphrasedorthere'sjusttoomuchofit,butit'salothardertomotivate10or25peopletohangaroundforpointlesswipeswhenindividualsaren'theldresponsiblefortheirperformance.Golubcallsmakingpeopleuncomfortableovertheirmistakes"thehumanpriceofsuccess."Yourfriendlyneighborhoodraidleaderprobablycallsit"IfyoumoveduringFlameWreathagain,you'reoutoftheraid."
InsideHigherEdwasprettymuchthelastplaceIeverexpectedtoseeaseriousarticleonWorldofWarcraft.ThestudyofMMORPG'sisn'treallypartofmainstreamacademia(...yet),soimaginemysurpriseatfindinganarticlecomparingeffectiveraidleadingtoteaching.AlexGolub,ananthropologyprofessorattheUniversityofHawaii,contributedanarticleonhisguild'sattemptstokillKael'thaspre-patch.