“An anti-social can really do just about everything a guild (called corporations in EVE). There are some small exceptions such as Voting for your NPC faction’s leadership, but ultimately I can mine, build, research, etc just like any corp. is able to do. Now, can I do it as effectively as a corporation?”

Yea, good luck not getting podded as you advance to the areas required for higher mining :)

Some games require guilds for meta-groups single-focus pursuits (WoW, EQ1, etc). Others require guilds as micro-economies (ATITD, SWG, Eve, some EQ2, etc). Still others require it for both and then general protection (SB, probably Huxley, some Eve, etc.). Ultimately, the style of a guild is based on the game itself. Of course, you could *try* to be a pacifist guild in SB if ya REALLY felt the need I guess ;)