I don't think the OP's generalizations apply to every shard chat, as each shard chat is different and is free to do their own thing. Some accept tons of people into chat and try to help everyone in the chat climb and even some of those outside chat (that's how mine works), but I know others which are small and the members like to stay in the top all day long, and still others that are controlled by one or two guilds. It really depends. I always suggest trying to find your shardmates. You may discover a bunch of new friends or make enemies of them all, but you won't know until you find them. And if your chat really is that bad, you can always form a resistance ;-)
