Here's a link to an EQ player's experience of guilds. It is well-written and articulate and quite philosophical. Yet, while insightful and intelligent, it lacks a tad more, how this relates to real-life. People who act this way also often act cold toward the people in their real lives, yet it is barely mentioned. People who treat people online like family also often do this in exchange for treating family member not like family at all. A high-quality family guild still requires the members to spend countless hours in front of the computer "helping" their guildmates thereby choosing to spend time away from the real family members... kind of ironic, isn't it?