Just trying to be clear...

[Magua]

So, I kept on thinking of how to say/ask with out sounding like a complete smartass, but then you all know me well enough to know, yea 99% I am a smartass, sooo..

On guild raids, is it more important to be signed up, or early?

If a raid is to start at 5:30? what is ealy, 5:20? 5:15, 5:00?
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[Xorn]

Keep in mind this is my opinion and not guild policy...

I think it is important to sign-up AND be online ready-to-go prior to the first pull (i.e. 10-15 minutes at least). One of the most challenging aspects of raiding is having enough people online prior to the assigned raid time. Since we are a 10-man raiding guild, it is critical to have not only enough people/'toons, but also to have an appropriate class balance. The caveat is that not everyone that signs-up gets to go, especially if there are too many for that particular role (i.e. 4 healers or tanks OR 10 DPS). Since it is possible to re-spec on the fly, most 'toons can fill up to two roles, potentially. However, if the run is to be ToC or Ulduar, you do need to consider gearing and experience for each 'toon/player.

I guess my overall point is that if you want to raid, you MUST so indicate by not only signing up, but also by being online prior to the assigned raid time. Although some consideration must be given to the class/raid-balance, I would prefer to see those individuals that sign-up for the raid have some priority on the available spots. That is my opinion on the matter anyways.

Also, I ask that everyone please be patient with those who are organizing the raids. Honestly, it is not always an easy thing to fill a raid, even if you have more than 10 people sign-up. For instance, it is not that unusual for someone to sign-up and then not show up. Considering that most of us have a limited amount of time to raid anyways, we really do need to get the show started on time. When you factor in class-balance, it becomes even more problematic. On the other hand, I would ask the raid leader/organizers to be mindful of the sign-up list and give those who did sign-up extra consideration over those who did not. After all, sign-ups are available for every 'raid ready' 'toon in the guild.

[Habishunda]

I made some observations of general raid organization below:

In my experience, showing up half an hour before raid time and being signed up is almost a guaranteed slot in a raid, exceptions being if someone hasn't been able to raid in a long time and you're nice enough to share. If content difficulty is an issue for your attendance, though, be sure to let people know about it and see if something can be done about it, whether it be normals to help you gear up or heroics. (Do note though that with the new gear sets, older instances and heroics have been trivialized with enough badge loot, especially when the tank and healer are geared). If you want to push the envelope for early-ness, 15 minutes is usually still considered early, but it doesn't give a lot of prep time for yourself. 10 minutes before, and things become riskier: the raid organizer may be concerned about being able to start on time and may start filling in spots to secure a guild run. At 5:25, desperation starts to kick in, and almost anyone will do at that point. By 5:30, if Argi was leading, he would be offering kinky services just to have people log in.

Therefore, showing up early does a whole lot more than merely being signed up, but unless you have a track record of showing up to 90+% of raids, you should sign up so that the RL can keep track of the fancy human dynamics Xorn mentioned earlier (aka who's likely to show up, what classes we will need, etc). Even I have managed to lose my spot in the past, but that was more school-related and being 2 minutes late for the raid rather than anything else.

Engineering Design is AWESOME!
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AFK: Attack, fight, kill!! The healer is telling you to go pull mobs.
WTF: Way to fight! The healer is applauding your tactical genius
OOM = Out Of Mobs, go pull more