First off, let me start by saying that I have not been in MCP for long. Well, about 3 months. But in the short time i've been in this org i've realized it's potential, as well as it's current plight. That being said...
When I joined MCP I was a total n00b, I knew NOTHING about AO; and to be quite frank, I was sort of overwhelmed. Having come from MMORPG's like Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot, the nano skills, implants, even the skill building system, was all a bit lost on me. Then one day i dueled a fellow from MCP, a fixer named Deefrozt, who proceeded to beat me horrendously without batting an eyelash. After the fight he gave me a lot of tips on how to improve my character, including a big of tidbit of knowledge which saved me a LOT of wasted IPs: SMGs are not the best weapon for a low level soldier (i meant it when i said total n00b ;P). He told me that his main was a fairly high soldier, named Zneyphinx. He logged on his character just to give me buffs and cash, and asked me my email address so he could send me a small essay he'd written about building a good soldier character. I asked him class related questions on and off for the next few days, and he offered me an invite to his org, MCP. I thought about it for a day or two and then decided to join... and this guild is by far one of the best i've been a part of on any MMO.
The members of MCP put their fellow members' needs ahead of their own... and i'm not just saying this to try to get people to join. Zneyphinx went out of his way, getting me not just one div9 but 3 to last me for my next several levels, and also bought me a full set of Recruit Issue Omni Pol Elite armor. He walked me through what nanos i would need; the various experiences, masteries, etc., built implants for me, assembled them, everything i needed. The other members of MCP were equally helpful, being more hten happy to answer any questions i had no matter how 'n00b-ish' they were, as well as assisting on any matter they could for their level.
MCP is small, and that's our problem... I'm not going to lie to you, there are only 5 or 6 of us who are active. If you check our org in the list at the AO official site, you'll see a lot more names in the list then who actually plays anymore... people leaving to play other games or simply leaving the guild for whatever reason took a chunk out of MCP. It used to be that a smaller org could still recruit actively without worrying about losing members only mere days after recruiting them, but all that has changed with the release of the Notum Wars. Everyone wants a guild that can control land now, and MCP can't at it's current numbers. This has dealt a huge blow to MCP, and most people leave within a week except the five or so who have stuck it out ever since the org's founding shortly after this game was first released.
Hence the reason i'm here typing this long message... MCP is in dire straights. We need to expand, we need more people. People willing to stick it out, to help us expand. Somebody joining for a day, deciding the org is too small, and then leaving will not help us. Most will probably decide to leave and join a large org that is well established... But MCP is a great org, and the spirit of MCP is a great one in my opinion: to put your fellows' needs before your own. I've become close friends with everyone in this org, and they're all great people... I wish that others who joined would realize this and decide to stick it out with us, and help us see to it that MCP doesn't fade away into nothingness. Please, I'm asking, *begging*, if anybody is out there and wants an org that will try to be as helpful as it can, and is willing to stick out tough times to see the survival of something as great as MCP, then let either me (rejkavik), Hugov, Amaerlyn, Sozinho, or Hugov know... we have the ability to invite you, and we will do so if you have a good personality and are friendly. No lengthy interviews, no 'field-tests' to see your skill... we're not interested in any of that like most large orgs are. If you are not the best at AO, then we can help you become better to the best of our ability, and we will not hesitate to do so. I myself would rather join a smaller, 'underdog' organisation with great spirit and ideas like MCP, rather then an already large org in which i can't really expect to make a big difference or impact... Wouldn't it feel better to know you helped take a fragile guild and lead it to greatness, rather then joining an already-large guild and becoming just another name in guild chat? I hope not.... nor am I saying that *all* the large orgs on the Atlantean server are like this, but judging from my experience on other MMO's and human nature, i can almost bet you 10k credits that most are.
Alright, I think i've written enough... it's midnight, i'm already exhaused from staying up on AO last night, and i have work tomorrow starting at 6am... i've explained what MCP is about in what i hope is the clearest way possible, and even tho this whole thread probably sounds biased, the people of MCP are really how i described them. So if you'd like to be a part of our efforts to help this org realize it's former potential instead of remaining a shadow of it's former self, let one of us know in game... Zneyphinx, Hugov, Rejkavik, Amaerlyn, or Sozinho.. i hope to be hearing from some of you soon.