What is going on with the Violet Flame In game?

[Nevermore]

So I have noticed that there is a lost of casters in CD and that the logical thing is to become involved with the Violet Flame. I just got a key yesterday on my character,*although is doesn't work* and was already rping around and even some ingame recruitement. 

And yet there is really nothing going on with it. I mean..here is this beautiful facillity that has so much rp possiblites that seems to be left alone most of the time until adventuers need scrolls. I mean is there like a council of people around it.. or teachers or leaders or whatnot? And if not..why not take the time to resurrect it? I mean it is not going to go to waste seeing as CD is such a high magic world and all. 

[The Red Mage]

It's caught in its own political web. Nothing is stopping it but itself as dumb as that sounds.

[Valimar Dragonbane]

Pretty much what RedMage said.  Make sure to ask for access to the subforums though - that should clue you in better.

[modronlove]

Exactly as above.  Personally, I believe the Flame is cursed .  It has always struggled against itself

[Not Batman]

I blame aliens.

[ClockworkMayhem]

It's always aliens. Just ask anyone at The History Channel.

EDIT: Or, well, when it's not aliens, it's Nazis. or James Bond.

[trylobyte]

The Flame has been mired in political infighting for well over a year.  Whenever we think we have it worked out a new factor comes in and ties it back up again, and none of the three(!) people with legitimate claims to leadership are on the same page.  Nor do they play at the same times.

[The Red Mage]

Introduce a NPC leader, imo. It doesn't need to be an all powerful mage, just someone to take the judicator position Xan has which will allow players free to pursue quests and events of their own and go in their own direction without all the red tape.

[Fire Wraith]

I don't know if you have a key from a previous edition of the area, or if someone just miscopied them.  Not all DMs may realize (or have been told) that to copy keys, they can't just use their clone wands, because that breaks the keys (it specifically tags something as a copy, for other reasons, which means copy keys won't work).  Instead you have to clone a bag with the keys in it, or clone the PC/NPC carrying the key item.  Eve can give you a new key if you need, though.

As for why the guild itself is semi-inactive, well, that, like pretty much everything else to do with the activity levels of any player guild or group, is entirely on the players involved.  The position of the Admins/Staff is and has been that that's exactly how it works - you all decide what you want to do.  If you want to replace your leaders, or start a new guild, or rename the old one, change it, etc, we're not going to stop you.  Step up, take charge, take initiative.  If the players want to change the guild to the Pretty Pink Princess Pony Academy of Cormyr School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and make it a My Little Pony/Harry Potter Hogwarts fusion clone, I won't stop you.

...now, I may will mock you mercilessly, but that's another matter.

Don't like the leader of a guild?  Think they're not on often enough?  Step up, take charge, start doing things.  Don't wait for permission.  This doesn't mean stage a forum coup outright (well, it might, but I'm not going to say all situations are the same), but it means be active and get things going.  Pretty soon everything else will fall into line, and we'll back up whatever the players are doing.  That goes for if a sergeant wants to take charge of the Purple Dragons, because nobody else is, or some mage wants to step up and actively run the VF, etc.  If other players are around from before, and want in, then let them get active too, and roleplay it out, but we're not going to "protect" old or former players' positions just because.

Bottom line - these factions were formed because of player interest and activity, and it can remake them, change them, replace them, whatever.  The only thing that truly ends them is lack of anyones' interest.