I'd say, if I had to be clear cut, in the end it'd depend on the guild's size and orientation... i.e. if it's a social guild where people is expected to be "social" it's reasonable that most people will find strange if they ask a question and nobody answers...

OTOH, if it's a trade guild, big or otherwise, it stands to reason to expect that most people wouldn't be paying attention to the chat (if they even look at it at all!) unless it's for trading reasons (WTS/WTB or somesuch)

But that's personal opinion, ofc.

If no one answers, I usually say something like "sorry, I don't know", to be nice.

Mainly because I know how awkward it is and feels, when you ask something and the chat goes silent for x minutes. Really makes you feel like this unwelcome outsider.

While ofc most of us still know logically, that it's nothing personal. People only answer if it's something that grabs their attention. That's especially not questions they already answered 11111 times or more complicated ones, that requires a smaller essay to explain properly.

The wall of silence is mostly about that, not because people want you to gtfo. But it makes you feel like trash regardless, because kinda human nature to be unhappy when everyone ignores you lol.

I try to at least acknowledge the player that asked the question and got nothing but silence even if I don't know the answer.
When I get the "silent treatment" kinda feels like I'm being ignored and not really a part of the guild.

Depends on the question.

LFG comments require a direct response if others are interested, so silence automatically implies lack of interest.

Simple questions that could have gotten an immediate answer if instead typed in Google should always be answered with silence; anything else only invites more of them.


Tip for avoiding the silence when looking for a crafter. Never simply say "Looking for crafter". Crafters usually don't mind helping, especially if you have mats or are willing to pay for them, but want it to be quick so they can get back to their own game. Crafters don't like to explain the basics like armor weights, traits, levels, etc. and they certainly don't want to help a random peep decide what crafted set they want. Far too often "Looking for crafter" really means "I need someone to explain what kind of gear I should have made, then make it for me, and do it for free cause I'm special". They're only going to step in that mess so many times before learning their lesson. Allay their fears by stating exactly what you are looking for.

ex.: "Looking for crafter for 160 set med Hundings in Divines. Have mats and will tip."

I'd prefer silence to a bunch of negative answers. Those are just spam to me, and are in no way helpful and only push my question further up into oblivion lol.

Ozzymandius wrote: »

Sorry for the basic question but how do you switch to whisper. Seen it a few times in text chat but no idea what it means.

PC or Console?

In PC you can either:

type in "chat /w <account>" or "/w Character Name," (<- take notice of that last comma)

Or, you can right-click on the user's name on the chat and select "whisper" from the context menu.

Once you do that the chat switches to whisper mode... to go back to your normal mode just switch back to a guild (/g1 or /guild1) or zone (/z)

On Console I don't really know, but I've seen it done in steams, so there's a way for sure.

Guild chat? perhaps everyone is busy.
Zone chat? removed from my tab completely.
xD.