Small 3 person guilds need very deep pockets if they are to survive.
Wrong, I'm afraid ... well, potentially wrong, let's be fair here.
Take my guild as an example. When we started it, there were 2 of us and then we added a third - and it remained that way, pretty much, up until about Guild Level 1500 or so, maybe even higher. The two starters DID, admittedly, have the advantage of high stam banks so were making a goodly chunk of gold each hunt to fund stuff, but deep pockets ? - No.
I think, personally speaking, that I've donated once in the last twelve months ? - I used to donate FAR more frequently, but that was back in the day when the game got a LOT of attention, both from content builders AND designers / programmers. Those days now seem to be over, more's the pity.
A lot of new players make the mistake of starting their own guilds before realising exactly what that entails tho - I will agree with your point that THOSE players DO need deep pockets to fund it and, more often than not, they invest and then their guild collapses for one reason or another and, I'm betting, they get pretty disenfranchised about the game. Perhaps the "CREATE GUILD?" option needs FAR more explanation to make players REALLY think before they commit, but that's another discussion for another thread ...
Homer : Marge, don't discourage the boy. Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals .. except the weasel.
Eddie Izzard : The National Rifle Association say that guns don't kill people, people do. But I think the gun helps, you know ? I think it helps. I think just standing there going "BANG" - that's not going to kill too many people, is it ?
I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but it seems that everything I eat lately turns to poo ...