This article was written by the player Lexie, and posted on May 9, 2011.

Acknowledgements

This article is not solely the product of my own thinking. A number of players and builders suggested items that should be included in this article. I have rendered most into my own words, but the original intent is often someone else's. Thanks to all the people who responded to my request for information on board 7.

The vast majority of these points boil down to listen, participate, and use common sense. However, I am going to itemize so people can perhaps identify their own personal hang-ups.

Leader Issues:

The leader is the supreme authority. They should be leading, not chairing a committee. That having been said, it certainly behooves a leader to solicit information from followers when appropriate.

Remember as leader, your followers are trusting you to direct them effectively, keep them from death, and get them experience, gold, equipment, fame, etc. Do not lead a group frivolously.

Ensure that followers know what their roles are and what is expected of them.

See also here.

Follower Issues:

You are following for a reason. Do not bully or boss the leader around, or alternatively, spam the group with suggestions for areas/equipment/gold/experience/fame the group should run. Once is a suggestion, multiple times is annoying.

Trust the leader. The leaders job is to assign people where they will be most effective, inform the group of dangers they might face, and tell members what the best strategy for accomplishing a goal is. A follower that constantly second-guesses the leader is hurting the group by not performing his/her correct job as well as by undermining the authority and effectiveness of the leader.

Pay attention to the group. Do not get distracted by channel spam or other entertainments. Remember other people are depending on you to survive.

Be a full participant in the group. Do not just passively tag along. Show initiative and clear thinking.

Every group has a purpose, even if it is unstated. Understand that purpose and work toward accomplishing the groups goals.

Do not perform actions that you have not been asked to perform. Performing another job, opening doors, looting corpses, groupcasting, etc. You are working to promote the benefit of the entire group: performing actions you have not been asked to perform often leads to wasted time, duplicated effort, and death.

General Tips:

Do not engage in activities that can endanger the entire group. A short list includes the following and others: botting group members, excessive socials/emotes/group chatter, pickpocketing/stealing/shoplifting while the group regenerates, wandering off alone without the knowledge of the leader, etc.

Know which spells you need, which spells you should cast yourself, and do not waste hp/mana/movement. Hitters and healers generally do not need tons of defensive spells, blasters should be sitting occasionally to regen mana during battle, hitters should not constantly 'zerk and call for area. If you can cast a spell yourself do so. If you're unsure whether you need a spell or not, then assume not. The leader should inform you when utility or defensive spells are in order.

Don't follow or group join uninvited. It takes just a few moments to send a tell asking to join. Be patient, the leader you are sending tells to may have other potential followers requesting attention or may be in battle. Do not spam the leader with tells for attention.

Dont go idle without alerting the group. Life happens; however, it generally takes only a few seconds to tell the group "brb".

Avoid annoying triggers in groups. If you are savvy enough to do so, set up aliases to turn off annoying triggers when grouping. Such annoyance triggers include: recall triggers, automatic warning messages about your spell status, roleplaying triggers, etc.

Do not constantly search, scan, forage, etc. Many of these skills and commands create spam and/or use group resources (usually movement).

Conclusion

Keep in mind that this article provides advice, not iron-clad rules. Different groups may prefer different methods. Some groups play things fast and loose, and others expect strict adherence to assigned roles. If you're unsure about what you're supposed to be doing in a group, just ask!

Grouping is an important part of mudding, and for some people the most important and rewarding part. Most of these etiquette suggestions boil down to respect. The last thing to remember is this is a game: the entire purpose is to have fun!