Many large guilds have been abuzz with the guild changes in Cataclysm for over a year. With features like guild experience, leveling, reputation, currency, and more, many plus-sized guilds had a lot to look forward to.
However, Blizzard announced that a cap of 300 members would be placed on all guilds. This would preclude guilds like Alea Iacta Est (AIE), <Taint>, and Goon Squad which each have upwards of 5,000 characters, from adding new members. There was lots of discussion on the official WoW forums and the officers of these guilds met to discuss possible solutions. Blizzard announced that the cap is largely for technical reasons, but that the developers were able to raise it to 1,000. Existing guilds would keep all current characters, but be unable to add more until they fell below the cap. All characters would be eligible for guild benefits.
The Goon Squad urged members of <Taint> to send letters directly to Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard, to ask him to take action in assisting the large player base that their decision affected. Many players pointed to the good press that <Taint> generates as a safe haven for LGBT players.
