VTTH: What does the name mean?

VSV: Now *there's* an involved story! As Raya related,
the name arose from a discussion on the EQ2 boards well before that game was
released. People were wondering whether EQ2's lack of most of the original EQ
team (quite a few of whom had moved on to start Sigil) would hurt the game,
and Brad McQuaid posted a few comments basically saying "The people who
make the games matter." A poster on the boards named Ratboy, upset by Brad's
comments, accused him of offering "silky venom" against the SOE board
moderators. It was a good phrase, and obviously the people who founded at SV
were more interested in what Brad was offering, silky venom or not, than anything
coming from other developers.

VTTH: What is the goal of the site?

VSV: Silky Venom is a site by fans for fans. We want to share both all the relevant
information about the game we can find as well as our enthusiasm and positive
attitude toward Vanguard. We'd like to be a place Vanguard fans come to have
their questions answered and learn what's going on with the game.

VTTH: Who are some of the faces of SV that make the site with it is today?

VSV: The SV team has grown by leaps and bounds since the site was founded.
Oloh is our fearless leader. Nolaquen, Feyshtey, and Dillgaar keep the site
beautiful. Pariath offers wise counsel and manages the site community, which
is developing rapidly. Nepenthia has been a key member of the site community,
and is a seasoned MMO fan site writer whose regular column will be starting
soon. Xyrrus came over when we merged with the Last Vanguard Fanboy and now
serves as our Sigil Liaison, while Elrar, who also came over, heads up the content
team. Ieranii is a veteran of the site and a founding member of the content
team, while Therian and Orlun are newer members (both long-time members of the
larger Vanguard community) who have done amazing things, particularly with the
SV FAQ and the Wiki. Fozzik is our tech columnist and The Man when it comes
to tech questions - his name should be familiar to those who have sought tech
advice on the official Vanguard forum. Finally, Labyrrinth is our superstar
reporter on the news team, and Eclipse is a very active member of the Vanguard
community who recently joined the news team and has gotten off to a great start.

VTTH: Are you looking for new staff currently?

VSV: I don't believe we are actively seeking new staff members - we have a
great bunch right now and there are no gaps that I know of. But we're always
willing to consider new talent.



VTTH: How can the community best interact with your site? What way can they
contribute to the site itself?

VSV: In addition to contributing to our increasingly-busy message boards, and
commenting on articles, community members can also contribute to the Vanguard
Wiki, a user-generated encyclopedia of all things Vanguard. Therian and the
content team have done a great job developing it, but community members like
Cloud Tiamat have also put a lot of effort into keeping the Wiki as up to date
as possible.

VTTH: What are your favorite features of SV?

VSV: I'm a huge fan of the Wiki, and the FAQ is amazing. I also love the site
design - I think Nola and Fey did a spectacular job of creating an aesthetically
spectacular website.

VTTH: What is your favorite class?

VSV: I'm a big fan of tank classes in general. I like warriors because they're
philosophically straightforward and because of the role they play in groups,
putting themselves in harm's way to protect their allies.

VTTH: What class do you think you will play in Vanguard?

VSV: For now, I'd say probably a warrior, possibly an inquisitor, with a slim
chance of either a paladin or cleric. I'm not much of an alt guy, so whatever
I pick, I'll probably play pretty exclusively for a good long while.

VTTH: Is there a class that you are watching as the game develops that really
interests you?

VSV: The diplomacy classes, about which we know basically nothing, really intrigue
me, but as far as the adventure classes go, I think the rescues and other reactive
moves of the tank classes will prove extremely interesting, the sorcerer's active
management of four different elemental types of magic could turn out to be delightfully
complex, and the druid sounds like it will knock our socks off as far as providing
interesting and fun abilities.

Next stop on our tour of the Vanguard Community will be Vanguard Warcry.
Join us in November to learn more about them! Let us know what you think of
this series or comment about Vanguard Silky Venom ...