Quote Originally Posted by Sasuko View Post
It may not be as unpopular as you think, and certainly not entirely wrong. There are pros and cons to both, as well as exceptions. There was a time when I may have more enthusiastically agreed with your opinion. However, with the current state of the game, being able to be active in two shells at the same time instead of jumping between them for periods of time would more than likely increase both social and event activity on many linkshells. Kind of like a consolidation/merging, while expanding at the same time.

Edit: Actually, thinking about it more at the moment, even years ago it would have been nice to be able to hang out on a linkshell with your less endgame inclined friends while still being aware of what is going on in your more hardcore shell. Heck, I wish the possibility was on the table when I used to run a large social LS back on Midgard because I wouldn't have had to give up being present in that linkshell in order to also engage in HNM/endgame linkshells. The best I could do at the time was make a deal with an endgame LS to funnel members of my own to it who were actually interested in such activities to try and keep people together. I suppose it was beneficial to my own LS that we were not limited to only one possible LS, or I would have to seriously choose between friends and personal in-game goals.
I used to run a linkshell on Midgard too. I was also very lenient when it came to recruitment and it grew to be huge and I can't tell you how many hours and hours me and my friends spent helping new members complete their various job training quests, sky access, COP etc. only to have them basically say _____ you when it was all over and go join another LS.

So basically instead of helping our LS grow stronger, we were just wasting our time training the recruits for other linkshells who of course wanted nothing to do with those members while they were young, inexperienced, and in need of help. And to twist the dagger even more, we often would end up competing against those very same players we had taken so much time to groom later in places like Sky. It was very discouraging to say the least, and eventually lead to many of my friends and even myself to stop being so generous with our help toward fellow members.

So due to my personal experience with this, you could say I'm bias and I dislike even the mention of an endgame linkshell. I've always thought a linkshell/guild should be about creating a foundation for players to experience and learn the game together and work as a team to get things done. When they are seen as just chat channels associated with certain events or activities I believe it cheapens their purpose overall and a lot of good people who are trying to build a strong community can end up getting taken advantage of.

All that being said: you make a lot of solid points and I'll admit the issue isn't black and white. But needless to say, I have learned my lesson and we are very careful about who we bring into our linkshell now. I won't ever put myself through that endless treadmill again.