The Guild System in Guild Wars 2: Social Dream or Community Nightmare? - Guild Wars 2

The Guild System in Guild Wars 2: Social Dream or Community Nightmare?
 

When ArenaNet starts to develop a new part of their game they always try to break down the given mechanic and get to the essence of it.
What is the current core function and what should the core function be? And so far they really had great success with this approach to development.
Now they got to the guild system and came up with the idea, that the general function of a guild is its social aspect. If you think about it, they are right. But the conclusion they got from this goes, in my opinion, in a completely wrong direction.
 
For me, the reason to join a guild was the community of it which, I agree, is a social aspect. The appeal of a community is that people are joined together in a common interest. In a guild you are united for a specific cause, and this unity is what gives a guild its strength.
 
Because of their realization that the essence of a guild is the social aspect, ArenaNet went in the direction of social networks. They didn’t want to restrict a player to just one guild. In their opinion, being in many guilds gives the players the freedom to connect with many more players for a common cause.
But what a connection is this really?
 
Imagine you are in two guilds. One is focused on PvP and one on Pve, and since you like to do both it seems like a perfect solution.
But now imagine you are in 4 guilds. Two PvP and two PvE guilds. On first thought you just broadened your social circle. The problem lies in the chance of an arising conflict, and we all know that every guild has them from time to time.
 
So you have a heated argument with a few of your guild mates, that just does not seem to resolve itself. In a normal guild you would work hard to solve this conflict because you feel like a part of this, and only this, community. But with 4 guilds you have a back-up one in every situation. What is now motivating you to hold back your inner flame-monster?
And even if you now think to yourself “I wouldn’t do that. I am a decent person.”, you have to admit that in the world of the internet there are many people who aren’t.
 
I always felt a special connection to my guild. I was proud of our achievements. I could say “I am a part of it!”.
Being in more guilds just takes away the special distinctiveness of your guild.
 
You could also think of it like your characters. It is nice to have alts. It is nice to have some diversity. But do you really put as much effort into your alts as you do with your main?