I have crossed into many linkshells before, and I am in fact still a member of several of them. The thing that I have noticed most of all is that each ls has a different "philosophy" governing it.
One type of ls is the helping ls that I am part of. My example here is the devilwolfpack. They help each other out A LOT. It is an excellant learning ls (things in it have changed a lot...not all for the best in the world, but still better than when it was slammed in Tse's journal-partially by me). It is relatively easy to go up in rank there for everyone who can help often does.
Then there is the centerist linkshells. Another of my ls, Nightfallsfavor, is an excellant example of this. It is a hybrid of conversation and of helping, and thus is in the center. It is a nice, steady flow back and forth between the two. In this ls, I have been a part of whether homeschooling is a good idea or not, and I have also gotten my rank five partially because of them. (THANK YOU GUYS AND GIRLS!!!)
On the other extreme, there is the conversational ls. One I am in, IaCiel, is this. I cannot recall the last time that anyone has asked for ls help there (not that it would not have been refused or anything). It is just simply a place to chill and talk about random stuff. The same thing goes another one of my ls, CAPSLOCK. It is more of a random forum than anything also.
But like everything, there is the way out there groups. The new ls i am in, Nightmasks, is an excellant example of this. It is an ls dedicated pretty much to role playing. It does not fit into any paticular mold, and is instead just itself. If you want role playing, send me a tell, and chances are you are gonna get in.
The ls "philosophies" get even more complicated with recruiting for an ls.
For this, I shall draw upon various ls i have mentioned earlier again.
On one extreme, we have ls that never seem to recruit, EVER. I cite the ls CAPSLOCK here. I was originally a member of Scatmansworld, the predessor to this ls. Unfortunately, that ls went under, and it was reborn as CAPSLOCK. I don't log onto it all the time, but I have noticed that the ls list never seems to change all that much.
Then you got the always open recruiting with only the most basic requirements. Example: the ls Nightmasks. You rp and am not an asshat, you are in. Easy as that.
Then you got the won't close the door to adding new people ones. Example here is Nightfallsfavor. If someone with a sack pts or even just runs into someone he or she likes, they will probably get added. This gives a lot of diversity to the ls, and I perodically see new people.
Lastly, there are four more factors to consider.
The officers, ls activities, number of members, and the level make up of the ls.
In a lot of the ls I am in, the criteria for officers varies a lot. For example, in the DWP it is anyone who Devilwolf thinks is responsible enough to hold a sack, and who WISHES to hold a sack. In Nightfallsfavor and IaCiel, it is the original founders. In an ls that is pretty much dead now, BismarckKillers, it was anyone who joined could have a sack. If two ls that wish to join have different ideas about this, it could be a MAJOR problem.
LS activities include ideas like a weekly eco run, or ls meets. What does your ls believe in? The DWP for example meets weekly on Sundays in Windurst, while an ls that I was part of that broke up, LordsofDarkness, met whenever the mood stuck them. The ls TheDarkCarnival held an ls race from Jueno to Rabao just a couple weeks ago that I missed :( A couple of my other ls, IaCiel and Nightfallsfavor, don't really do ls events, and in fact, I still have yet to meet all the members face to face. The activeness of an ls is something to seriously consider.
The number of members is important in some cases too. Do the people in the ls like only having a few familiar faces? Then maybe you should not add that 450+ group to it. The devilwolfpack I have seen grow over a long period of time, to where it is probably the largest ls in Bismarck. There is always someone new to talk to or to meet. On the other extreme is IaCiel. It is a close knit friendship of people, who know each other in RW, well, except for me and one other. At times, I am POSITIVE that I was given a pearl by mistake. There is roughly seven people in it, and i don't see it getting much bigger. What your ls thinks about its size is a very important factor to consider.
Lastly, there is the level/rank make up of an ls. Some ls this really doesn't matter, but in the more goal oriented ones, it does. Is everyone in the ls around lvl 45-50 like in CAPSLOCK? If so, then a bunch of lvl 10's might not feel so welcome there. Is the whole ls rank six? This just might make a lower rank person feel left out somewhat. In a conversational ls, or an rp ls, this really doesn't matter. For example, in Nightmasks, I am probably the lowest level player in it, and I know it. But guess what? It really doesn't matter, simply because levels are not the focus here, but rather roleplaying is.
These are all important factors, I feel at least, in considering whether or not to merge with another ls. If the two groups have waaay differant "philosophies", than things could fall apart rather easily.
So just be careful, k?
____________________________
Proud citizen of Miranda.
-Currently on Pochacco Server of
Hello Kitty Online.