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For the record, I am also an Achaea player and rather active on the IRE Achaea forums. We've had quite a discussion about Kimberly over there, which let us see all sides: Kimberly, the guild leader who outguilded her, and the administration. I'm not going to go into all the ludicrous details, but most of us who have read the boards, know the people involved, or had some level of involvement with Kimberly, agree that the actions taken by the guild and by the administration were proper. I think Mihaly summed it up best- she expected the game to behave the way she thought it should, and when something happened she didn't like, she resorted to extremely immature behavior.
I also wanted to respond to an earlier question in this thread, about guilds sometimes requiring people to write essays, because I think Mihaly's response did not directly address that specific question.
There are generally two situations in which a guild will require an essay. One is as part of an entry or advancement in the guild. All guilds mandate a period of novicehood followed by a period of probation before new members are considered full members, and these new members are required to do various tasks to prepare themselves for life in Achaea and the guild, and to demonstrate their commitment to join even if it takes some effort. These tasks usually include purchasing a personal supply of curative herbs, learning the basic layout of the land, and various other things which vary by guild. Sometimes a person is required to write an essay...requirements vary from a couple paragraphs on what the guild means to you to one guild I know which requires a fairly intense research paper from its higher-level probationary members.
The second type of situation would be where a guild leader requires a guildmember (again, usually a novice or probate) to write an essay as a penance. Usually this is when dealing with someone who has committed a major offense against guild rules or policy, or with whom the guild has had multiple small problems. The guild leader is tempted to just kick the person out and wash his hands of it, but still feels the person deserves another chance. The essay is a way for the person to demonstrate that he regrets his action, understands why he should regret it, and will try harder. Often this essay takes the form of an essay on respect for one's guildmates or people in general.
This was exactly the situation with Kimberly. Previous problems in the guild, new problem that she refused to listen to the guild leader about, degeneration into a tantrum and disrespectful rudeness to the guild leader- but the guild leader gives her a chance to write an essay on respect and redeem herself. She refuses, more belligerance, and ends up outguilded.
Personally I understand the reasoning behind essays on "respect," but I don't approve of them generally. Too often the task is seen as meaningless drudge work and the situation is not adequately explained to the person required to write the essay. The whole point is to help them understand why the guild has such rules and why their behavior was not acceptable, but when the person doesn't understand and is refused an explanation, that person just becomes bitter and the whole point is lost.
By the by, I don't think that's what happened with Kimberly- it's just a general objection.
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