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05/02/15, 06:27 AM   #1
Auldjohn
 
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Join Date: Apr 2014
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Post The Elder Sages' Guild (TESG)



ABOUT US


The Elder Sages Guild (TESG) is an international online community of enthusiasts centered around The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, an MMORPG published by Zenimax Online Studios. TESG is not affiliated with ZeniMax Media, Zenimax Online Studios, Bethesda Game Studios, or Bethesda Softworks.

We provide practical help and strategies, host group play events, and share our members' insights and experience with like-minded ESO players. You are welcome whatever your playing style: solo, small or large groups, RP, PvE, PvP -- or all of the above. Join any of the three Alliances, play on any platform, anywhere in the world.

The Elder Sages are highly diverse. The Guild Motto of TESG is Tamriel: Exploring, Sharing knowledge, Gaming, any way you want. Our goal is to help each other have a great gaming experience, Novice and Veteran alike, with the masterpiece that is the ESO. Our Guild Slogan and primary goal: Have Fun!!


EARLY GUILD HISTORY: FORMING TESG



The Elder Sages' Guild (TESG) was founded by a group of enthusiastic participants in the ESO Beta who met on the Beta Forums. The primary thread for these budding groups was nicknamed the "Greybeards" discussions.

The term Greybeards came about since the name was prominent in Elder Scrolls Lore. Participants shared a mature-minded attitude toward gaming. We held an inclusive attitude about gaming in general. "Greybeards" encompassed those with varying experience. Many were aficionados of the Elder Scrolls series. Some had little or no MMO experience. Others preferred solo play but were willing to give ESO a try. Still others had played MUDs (early Multi-User Dungeons), RPGs, MMORPGs, or full MMOs. A common denominator was a shared love of gaming.

Having discovered others who shared a mature-minded view of gaming (regardless of our assigned testing group) we enthustically used Beta Forums threads whenever they were online to share ideas, exchange viewpoints on the Beta, the Elder Scrolls series, and other games we enjoyed.

PMs and posts led to developing ideas on how to approach ZOS to find ways to discuss ideas about the ESO Community when the Beta Forums were off-line. The exciting concept of Player Guilds arose. The official Community thread was encouraging, posting that the social community would be a key component of ESO to promote interaction between players. Our desire for Player Guilds seemed possible.

Implementing off-line groups, or Player Guilds, was more difficult than might appear now. During NDA the Beta Forums were only available briefly before and during scheduled Beta Test sessions. Between tests the NDA strictly prohibited discussing anything about the ESO Beta, including confirming or denying participation! To complicate matters further, ZOS wiped most of the ESO Beta forums content between sessions. Fortunately for the Greybeards, the social community threads were usually preserved.

Our informal Greybeards group grew and thrived. Several participants reached out to the ZOS Community Managers. We presented our ideas on the concept of Player Guilds. Officially the Player Guild feature was not yet ready to be tested, though rare hints appeared in the Beta Forums and Patch Notes.

We proposed testing Player Guilds off-line through private, hidden, invitation-only, Facebook pages. Our proposal included guidelines for vetting membership, requiring confirmed participation in the Beta. Invited applicants would need to provide their @name, confirmed by Beta Forum PM and acknowledgement. The Facebook group would prominently post the ZOS License Agreement, the NDA, and a link to ZOS Beta Support.

Once applicant Beta participation was confirmed by a Guild leader (placing no burden on ZOS), the prospective member had to agree to the ZOS License Agreement, NDA and Code of Conduct, as well as the Guiild Charter and Rules of Conduct to be accepted. Public posts or images by Guild members were expressly prohibited and violators would be immediately reported to ZOS.

The fruits of the these Greybeards discussions were the formation of several player guilds, including GRIN, our friend-guild Elder Moot, and The Elder Sages' Guild, abbreviated TESG.


TESG FOUNDED AUGUST 31, 2013
THE ELDER SAGES CLOSED FACEBOOK GROUP CREATED

TESG on Facebook

With the permission of ZOS Assistant Community Manager Gina Bruno, our first web presence was a hidden, closed, and private invitation-only Facebook page. Members of this fledgling Facebook group had to pass the same vetting process outlined in our proposal to ZOS.

Although this sceenshot shows a group photo, no images of any kind were permitted until after the Non-Disclosure Agreement was lifted. Our Elder Sages' Guild Facebook group continues. No longer hidden or private, it is still invitation only. Visit our TESG FB group and send a PM to request an invite.


FIRST TESG WEB SITE ON GUILD PORTAL

[center]
Early Guild Masthead and Logo



Shortly after establishing our Facebook group, we reached out to ZOS Community Support for permission to establish a hidden web site. Our leadership council had discovered it was possible to create a hidden sub-domaIn using a gaming site host provider. We promised to follow the same strict guidelines and vetting process used for our established Facebook group.

ZOS Community Support granted permission and our first web site was established as a hidden sub-domain on Guild Portal! From the beginning, ESO has been a dedicated and innovative guild -- both in in-game through /bug reports and /feedback -- on the ESO Beta Forums and our Facebook group. We were one of the first ESO Guilds to have a web site.

Between Beta test sessions, we posted our notes and experiences with the prior test. While anxiously awaiting the next Beta sesson Invite, we'd formulate plans and set our Guild goals and agenda for the next test.

From the onset, fun was a prime objective. We started a Guild Lore project based on a hidden "Glade in the Mists" where early age Sages had gathered Lore. These ancient Sages sought to preserve and protect these tomes and the wisdom they contained against the coming of Molag Bal's minions. This Lore was saved for posterity in our Guild Library hidden in an alternate portal. Other members wrote back stories for their characters, aligned with our "traditional Guild Lore".

On a practical side Guild business included editing and refining our Guild Charter, Code of Conduct, establishing Guild Ranks and administrative structure . One talented volunteer designed member Guild Banners. we created custom Guild logos, rank badges, recognition awards, and other site graphics. We placed these in our Gallery for members' convenience.

In short, we rapidly organized an effective working guild framework, with room for adapting this after ESO launch. Power is not vested in any individual, rather the Guild as a whole.

Guided by the principle "play when you want, where you want, any way you want", we decided to open TESG to members of any Alliance or play style, so long as we all Have Fun!! While our structure is hierarchical, power is vested in the Guild membership as a whole. Strategic vision is set by the Leadership Council (Master Sages), advised by the Elder Sages' Council (Officers), with input from our Sages' Council (full members). Our Aspirants, a provisional rank, gives new members a chance to get to know us and we them. Aspirants normally advance to Sage quickly.

This responsive structure has served us well, and continues. Not all of our founding members are still with us, but our Founders have done an amazing service to the guild, so special thanks go to them. Active or not, each one holds a place of special honor and permanent Founder recognition in our TESG Scroll of Honor.


SITE MOVE TO GUILD LAUNCH

TESG GL Site Header and Logo



Several months after creating our growing Guild Portal web site, we experienced serious problems when our host provider went down during active Beta test sessions. Since the tests were over weekends, host Support was unavailable, leaving us in a site down condition.

We therefore created a newer, more reliable, site on Guild Launch. We also obtained a custom domain for our guild! Co-Founder @ArenLiore, our official graphics designer, created professional-quality graphics and implemented a complete GL site makeover.

With the lifting of the ZOS Non-Disclosure Agreement, site activity increased dramatically. We expanded our ESO Discussion topics, posted complete Patch Notes, and added in-game member and guild screenshots. (Monthly we change our site wallpaper with a new member screenshot).


END OF BETA PARTY

TESG held an "EOB Party" during the final Beta Test session. Guild members met at a popular location in Ebonheart Pact territory, formed a group, then mounted a lighthouse, where they danced. As the server shutdown timer approached one minute, members leaped off the parapet to the rocks below for a glorious end -- and End of Beta!

Log-in server issues delayed my arrival. I entered the Lighthouse but missed our group who were out of view, outside on the lighthouse parapets. I departed the lighthouse, an in my final Beta session ]battled several enemy NPCs successfully, followed by a celebratory solo dance nearby the lighthouse. Our EOB Party was the first of several we've held, with future events planned.

Auldjohn TESG EOB Party Video




TESG EARLY ACCESS/LAUNCH PARTY

EARLY ACCESS


LAUNCH DAY!

We prepared feverishly for ESO Early Access in late February and March, 2014. Our Charter and Code of Conduct were revised, and our forums slightly restructured.

Great effort went in to planning and executing a seven-day Guild ESO Launch Party. We posted notices on the ESO Forums and our Facebook page inviting players to group with us in-game. Members also chimed in on TeamSpeak.

At the earliest possible moment of Early Launch, after servers were up, TESG met on TeamSpeak. We talked our way through the Character Creation screen, then proceeded to The Wailing Prison. In The Wailing Prison TESG formally created our permanent in-game Guilds on both NA and EU meGaservers! After this brief ceremony players on the same megaserver and dungeon instance formed groups to reconnoiter The Wailing Prison as guildmates.

The TESG Launch Party continued throughout Early Access and on through Launch Day, 4/4/14. The principle of Have Fun!! was applied with gusto.


ELDER SAGES FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

August 31, 2014 TESG celebrated our one year anniversary with an in-game First Birthday Party held simulataneously on TeamSpeak. Special guests included distinguished members of our friend guild, Elder Moot with whom we've established diplomatic relations to organize inter-guild events.

Both guild had by then exchanged official representatives, termed Envoys by Moot and Wandering Sages by TESG. We each created and Embassy on our Guild Forums for the other Guild, where leaders and officers can exchange ideas and plan joint events, to the benefit of the members of both guilds.


First Birthday Party Group Photo

\

THE ELDER SAGES' GUILD NOW


New Guild Logo


When our Guild Launch Ultimate subscription was about to expire, we decided to change to a Group Pay model. However it seemed we would lose our essential TeamSpeak server since Group Pay could fund our site subscription but not a voice server. Our Leadership Council decided to explore other options.

ArenLiore, our webmaster, set up a free test site on Enjin, home to our friend-guild Elder Moot. Guild members were given an opportunity to test the site and provide feedback. When we were satisfied with the results, we moved from Guild Launch to our new home on Enjin.


Our New Home


New ArenLiore graphics adorn our current site on Enjin. He also designed our site layout and the majority of our forum structure, eliminating rank-based forums in favor or a topical arrangement. We completed a migration to our Enjin site:
Web site:
Home Page.

Most of our social media activities are on now our Facebook Page:
The Elder Sages' Guild on Facebook

This is our 4th year as The Elder Sage's Guild, and have expanded to embrace multi-platform. TESG has in-game groups on PC NA, EU, PTS, as well as PS4 and XB1.

Our PS4 group has their own Facebook page:

The Elder Sages Guild PS4





Join Us and Have Fun!!
Application[/b]. To be added to our FB group click Join and mention you were referred by Auldjohn.

Join us as we adventure together in Tamriel! [/b]


• • •


TESG uses the free Discord cross-platform Chat app

Last edited by Auldjohn : 02/09/18 at 06:53 PM. Reason: Update for 4 years, multiplatform, Enjin subdomain
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