But some still post images such as making a swastika out of their guild on Heigan (hi soj), which can tell you a lot about their atmosphere.

Not focusing on success is not remotely the same thing as being incompetant. While farming something or other in Stratholme (NR shield?) a year or so ago, with five players in T2+ we managed to wipe on
Baroness Anastari twice because every time someone got mind controlled they'd get nuked so heavily they'd die before possesion broke. We had people who were willing to come to ZG only because they got to kill guildmates mind controlled by the piles (and sometimes Hakkar...). If you wanted a guild filled with 'more serious (but not nessesarily better) raiders', you'd hate it.

I really don't know how you can read that as saying that "swearing = shitty players" when I explicitly said the opposite multiple times.

I've been using the WoW Guild Recruitment forums for several weeks now to outsource away from my realm and it's been a fantastic resource so far. In fact, it only took me roughly two weeks to build a 25 man team consisting of the 10 original people that I had started my guild with and 20 or so new recruits, ~15 of which are transferers that I had recruited from the WoW forums.

So far everyone seems very happy and the quality of these transferred players is top notch. That's not to say that everyone on those boards are high caliber players. But as with anything in life, if you present yourself in a way that is representative of your attitude and maturity, then you will attract similar candidates.

The front page of a website should attract the kind of raider you want to have. Like it or not, potential recruits are going to see that first, and yes, they will judge your guild off the tone of your forums. I don't mind profanity in general, but it is an indication of maturity.

This is true, but it can also be a very positive experience. It's not something I would recommend if you think you have any options on your current server, since the culture shock can be severe. Raiding and raid management had gotten so frustrating with my old guild that I no longer wanted to log in. Now I'm raiding nearly every night with people whose level of play challenges me to improve my own play, and I'm doing it because it's fun.

The "hurrr ur 12 yrs old is school out today" burn wasn't even funny when people started using it 10 years ago.

But yes, the point is a guild's front page is a reflection of what you'll be dealing with on a daily basis were you to become a member of that guild. And if they post stuff like this, then you know right away they're a bunch of immature idiots who all think they're hilarious.

Definitely talk to the officers and members of a prospective guild to get a feel for the atmosphere you'll be dealing with on a daily basis. Don't rush into things and just transfer to the furthest progressed guild that will take you - you may well regret it a week or two down the road, but have nowhere to go for 3 months.

Other than that, I can say it has the potential for really revitalizing WoW for you, certainly did for me and my group of friends that transferred. A small group of a good players can be a huge difference to a raiding guilds core.

Wow.... Just...wow...

Back to the topic:

It's been my experience that most good, progression-based guilds value a combination of skill, maturity, and experience/gear. You don't have to show spades in all three, but if you're above average in two of them, they might be willing take a waiver on the third. The important thing is to watch if the guild is realistic. Meaning, they're straightforward with you when it comes to the kind of commitment they expect from you, and from everyone else in the guild. The recent EJ recruitment post was a good example of this: "We expect you to show up. We expect you to play hard. We expect you to be prepared. And we won't try to waste your time if you don't try to waste ours." Obviously everyone tries to have fun (this is why we play, right? right?), but trying to get dozens of people on the same page several days a week calls for a bit of...nad stomping, especially from the people in charge. If you're getting asked serious questions about gameplay, and not just a bunch of shallow "Do you like raiding?" questions, then there's a good chance you've found yourself a real raiding guild, and not just a group of wannabes who cleared Karazhan two weeks ago and think they're going to get into BT next month.

In short, if they're realistic with you about their expectations, and you are honest with them about where you stand, you're chances of finding a good match go up.

A really great way to get to know a guild, IMHO, is to get on vent. If they allow you to listen in on vent during a raid night, you'll get to hear how their raids are generally run and how people get along. Of course, there is always the issue that they know you're listening, but I doubt most people would care what you think of them in those circumstances =P .

Heh, well, in the case of our guild (the one from your screenshot), the front page updater/webmaster isn't the guild leader or even an officer, and most of the people think his front page updates are retarded and not funny, and pretty embarassing.

However, I'm not going to deny that my guild is largely racist and extremely immature, none of it is really serious, to each his own I guess.

edit: over stepped my bounds

Check the recruitment forum, check guild websites via the Bosskillers list, and take the time to fill out the apps properly. Spelling, grammar, and completeness weigh more heavily than gear in an app for me, as I usually won't bother to click the armory link if the app consists of "oh hai ur recruitin i good".