Not usually one to post on the forums, but I couldn't help it when I saw this topic. I think it all really boils down to just remembering that the pixels you're typing to are an actual person on the other end, and the general rule of human decency should ALWAYS apply: do unto others as you'd want done unto you.
Our story:
This past summer, my husband and I had a house fire. Not only did we have to deal with everything surrounding that, but the electrical company we used ended up severely screwing us over. We spent the ENTIRE summer (3 months) living in our home without power in 115+ degree temps. Luckily, the house wasn't damaged TOO badly; the fire was in the attic so the attic and the third second floor were destroyed, but the rest of the house wasn't unlivable. To say it was a nightmare would be giving the situation too much credit.
Our guild leader at the time, the current guild leader now, and a bunch of other members, started a donations thread on our forums for our guild members to send us money. Not only did this completely blow our minds (along with my parents, who generally try to keep away from our gamer lives, lol) but it was a huge help towards keeping our sanity and helping us through the most difficult time we've ever had to go through. I honestly don't think we would have been able to get through it without them. To put it in perspective: we had "close friends" and members of the family who didn't even ask us if we/the house/the animals/etc were okay, yet people we've never even met in real life went out of their way to help us. It says something about a person's character to do that, and I can guarantee if it happened to someone else, my husband and I would be the first to jump on the donation bandwagon.
*sniffle* I love my guild. <3
Fantastic example. Thank you for sharing!