Why are Statics so difficult sometimes?

[Kitfox]

Don't raid with friends or significant others. Raid with people who fit your schedule and goals. You'll become friends eventually when you run with the same people on a weekly basis, but it can take a while to find the right people (months). Compromising on every front, missing raids and trying to accommodate people because they're friends or FC mates is a recipe for disaster. Set boundaries and stick to them. If someone isn't showing up, isn't motivated, isn't skilled enough or has different goals than the rest of the group, you must absolutely replace them. There's no point keeping them around, they're bad for the group and the group is bad for them. Nobody's going to be happy that way so there should be no hard feelings letting them go.

Starting a new static from scratch definitely takes some effort, but the clearer you are about your goals and expectations, the easier it is for other people who join to know if the group works for them. When you find the right people it's a ton of fun though, and you might not have to worry about "management" for years if the people stick together.

[Bacent]

Don't raid with friends or significant others.

Befriended the people who are in my raid group from just being in the FC for over a year, as well as my Fiance well before being in the raid group. We have fun doing it, we communicate up front about everything, we're lenient when someone was running a bit behind, and we've only had a couple days in our months or raiding together, that someone couldn't suddenly make it (Like when I had rolling brown outs here for a few days in a row).

Saying not to raid with certain people honestly feels like you're preventing becoming better friends with them possibly. And if they're the one(s) that are holding your group back and unwilling to take blame for things, then you know who's whom.

You need to know who's actually dedicated from the get go. But as other people have said in the thread, things need to be handled in a personal business (I.E. talking to someone one on one). And if they freak the hell out over you on that, talk with the raid group and see if people agree or not that someone should be booted.

Personally, I think the key thing is to be straightforward about it. If they're not serious about raiding, then they're not fit to be in the raid group. Saying to ignore friends/spouses on that just sounds ignorant.