(US - Madoran H) Linking of Guild Chats

[Tiberius]

Hey All,

So there probably has been a little confusion over the last few days in the guilds as we begin to use an addon called Guild2Guild in WCP, MM and BotT. This addon allows for the linking of the guild chats of allied guilds through the use of relays. These relays are people who have the addon installed, configured, and turned on. When people speak in the opposite guild, it is relayed via separate channels to the relay in the other guild. The relay then speaks for those from the opposite guild. What you will see in guild chat is then;

[G2G Relay Character in WCP/MM/BotT] [Character from other guild] Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

The addition of the second character name can be confused with addons like Identity, which use a similar method for identifying people on their alts or mains. There are two items to note though between the two addons though; First, G2G uses square brackets [ ] instead of curved brackets ( ) that Identity uses. Second, the name inserted between the [ ] of G2G is clickable, allowing for pm's or who's as you would normally.

Some FAQs

Now the question that some are probably asking is, do I need to install this addon?
- No you don't. However, by installing it you can help ensure the reliability of the link between the guilds by increasing the pool of potential relays in both guilds.
I don't see the achievements from the other guild, what is up with that?
- To ensure that you can see the other achievements, you will have to have the addon installed.
How do I configure the addon?
- With the newer version(s) of the addon, auto configuration is possible. This is done via some additional text in the guild information for each guild.
Where can I find the addon or find more information about it?
- The addon can be found at Curse. A search for Guild2Guild should yield it. If not, copy and paste the following: http[:]//www[.]curse[.]com/addons/wow/guild2guild. You will have to remove the [] to make the link function.
What is the latest version of the addon?
- As of this post, the newest version available is 8.1.6r7. This is a beta version available from Curseforge. Use the project site link on the Curse page to get to the Curseforge page.

A note for using the addon, it seems to have issues with class colours, so if you install the addon I would recommend disabling the class colours for guild and officer chat for the time being.

Anyways, hopefully this is helpful to people in the guilds to understand what is going on as I know I have seen a few questions about it in chat. If you have any other questions, feel free to post them here or in game. Now its time to catch 'em all!

- Angus of MM

Edit: Add BotT (Blood on the Tracks) as the 3rd guild

[Fythra]

It was pretty jarring at first

When I first saw it I thought my Identity addon was messed up. I thought I was going nuts at the time as I couldn't figure out what was happening. But once it was explained to me and I got used to the new style of chat it wasn't too bad. I could filter out who was talking. I might go ahead and give it a shot for a time to see how it works out.

[Doobjanka]

I have had a few people mention to me that this isn't an addon they want running all the time. Anyone else feel that way? I want the majority of the guilds to feel comfortable during their play time.

[Tejana]

In all honesty I don't particularly like it (I'm dyslexic so it really just adds to my confusion!), but I'll deal with it, I just tend to not be able to watch guild chat when it's being too active and confusing for me.

[Radnok]

So far I like having g2g up and running. Means it doesn't matter which of the guilds I am active in, I can stay in touch with all of the members in both (all three?) guilds, and can help facilitate grouping up for dungeons, when I have time to do such. Takes a bit of getting used to, but overall I think it is a great tool. My two cents for what it's worth.

Tejana - I can see your point. Not sure if there is a solution to help with that.

[Tiberius]

I can agree that it can be confusing at times, especially for those who joined up right after we began using it, or who join up now without seeing this forum post. It can also be confusing/annoying when the relays change in rapid succession, as I have noticed a few times. People who have Identity running and G2G can add a little bit more as then there are a few names involved in it all. A few options to help lower the potential confusion could include:

1. Separating the use of G2G and Identity, or potentially halting the use of Identity all together. If you use one please don't use the other sort of thing. Not ideal as this would mean limiting people to what they can run/do. If Identity usage is paused for now it might be the best temporary stop gap. Then people can be assured that only the G2G relays are appending additional character names in chat, potentially relieving some confusion.

2. Getting more people to use it. While this can increase the confusion for those not using it, as the relay pool becomes larger, it should reduce the confusion for those running the addon as they should then not see the relay name speaking. I am not sure on how true this is as most of the times that I am logged into my MM toons, I happen to be the relay.

3. The use of dedicated relays. Other than Blizzard including the guild linking ability in game, this would be the best option in my eyes. The downside is that it means paying for at least one account, purely for the ability to have the guild chats joined. It could also mean some form of scripting/botting or reverse engineering to make it work. A few ideas on how to proceed with this are below;
3a. A dedicated account and relay for each guild. This would mean a minimum of 2 accounts, one each for MM and WCP. As BotT is still smaller we could probably get away without having a dedicated relay until it sees some more growth. These accounts should be controlled by someone trusted within the guilds, especially if they are given officer privileges to allow cross guild officer chat. These relays would be named appropriately; WCP-relay in the WCP guild and MM-relay in the MM guild. These relays would also somehow have a preferred status for the addon, ensuring that unless they go down, they are the only ones relaying the guild chats. The other way to ensure that would be to remove G2G from regular players, and just deal with the times that the guilds become unlinked.
3b. Again a dedicated account, but potentially only one. Depending on the limits that blizzard allows for remote chat clients, this could potentially be done with one account. Have a character made for each guild, named appropriately on the account. Then a little reverse engineering to enable a script running on a given host machine the ability to connect all 3 characters/guilds via remote chat and listen to the guild chats. As chat commences in the guilds, the script would then parse the input from one, and repeat to the other two.

The downside of the options presented within #3 is that due to the method of relaying the chats or keeping the toons connected, this could/would be seen as a violation of the ToS. So while either would help with the confusion, I have a feeling that neither would be pursued. I have them here for discussion, and possibly invoking the thought of other possibilities from others that I may not have thought of.

4. The final option that comes to mind is making more use of the wcpg channel. The awesome bit about it, is that no addons are necessary to relay the chat back and forth, everyone can use it, and we can turn on our class colours again The big downside of course, is that it is not as convenient as guild chat is. But it is there and available, and if we decide that G2G or other similar addons are not the way to go, it would be the best course until Blizzard give us the ability to link guilds in game.

Anyways, sorry this post is so long, but it is good to get some discussion going about this. As my own opinion, I really do enjoy having the guild chats linked, as it helps us all feel more like one very large family. Hopefully Blizzard is listening and/or watching the use of these sorts of addons and has something in the works.

- Angus of MM

[Ravnhawk]

I have a MAC and can't seem to get mine turned "on" - I do have it downloaded. Anyone have any ideas?

While it gets confusing sometimes, it's beginning to get easier and easier to tell who is talking. I figure the longer it's going the less confusing it will be.

Mostly I got so confused because I thought Fu was talking to himself again....

[Bloodyfields]

I have a MAC and can't seem to get mine turned "on" - I do have it downloaded. Anyone have any ideas?

While it gets confusing sometimes, it's beginning to get easier and easier to tell who is talking. I figure the longer it's going the less confusing it will be.

Mostly I got so confused because I thought Fu was talking to himself again....

I know my download had a version number 8.1.5 for the directory file name. I renamed it guild2guild and it worked fine. You can look in your WoW folder, Interface, Addons if you don't see a file named guild2guild look for a numbered file and rename it. Once you launch and are in the game in your chat window type /g2g on. Hope this helps.

[Petal]

I like it. Just takes some time to get used to it.

The issue for me is the "Congrats!" can get overmuch. My personal opinion: I don't grats for every little thing. 25 Fish? Nah. Level 90? Yeah. The "Macro" grats and the add-ons which automatically "*&#^ GRATS UR ACHIEVE BABY LOL OMG *&!@# make me /mute or /ignore that person. I agree about Identity being confusing... but — again — just takes some time to get used to it.

I would hate to split the guild chat. I think this brings the two guilds together — and believe that if we could calm down on the grats and have more people install the add-on it would be great.

[Doobjanka]

Okay, we've disabled it in WarcraftPets from now until Friday. MM and BooT are still linked.

For future reference:

<G2G;C:wcpmm;P:wcp;A:Magical Menagerie,WarcraftPets,Blood on the Tracks;>

To split the other two off, they just need to remove WarcraftPets from that line in the Ginfo.

[Tizril]

I wish there were a way for the folks that want it to have it, and those that don't to not. I like the idea, really I do. But, I found when I was on Saturday night running the tournament that it was just so overwhelming. That many people all talking at once is too much for me to handle >.< I ended up having to tune out guild chat entirely, not a good solution And it also made inviting folks very difficult because you couldn't just right click names in chat to invite.

[Doobjanka]

We have G2G linked up again. Anyone running the addon, please check the Passive Mode box to make it easier for people to /ignore the relay if they don't want to participate.

[Tizril]

I must say, actually installing the mod makes it a million times easier. You no longer see the relay person but see it as one big guild chat. Much much easier, thanks Brand!

[Ladyjessa]

We have G2G linked up again. Anyone running the addon, please check the Passive Mode box to make it easier for people to /ignore the relay if they don't want to participate.

FYI if you don't have a guild 2 guild settings display in your interface tab, maybe that's a guild leader/officer thing? To turn on passive mode you have to type /g2g passive ON