PvE vs PvP: What's the difference?

In the world of Guild Wars, there always seems to be a ongoing "battle" between PvE and PvP. The longer you play Guild Wars, the more you understand the attitudes and emotions of the two different playing styles. Depending on the friends you make, it could lean you towards one way or another.

From my 3 years playing, I can tell you about my experiences with both the PvE and PvP world.

PvE - I find these players to be more mellow and relaxed. However, they are usually not very organized and seem to be more independent. They can be playful at times. Friends are formed more easily in PvE and you get to know the players more. PvE players are also more open to things that PvP players won't. However, they can be short tempered at times and rude if things don't go their way.

PvP - These players are insistent, aggressive and active. It's much harder to keep a PvP guild together than a PvE guild. In PvP, more teamwork is required and many teams force their team to play a specific skillbar or load certain equipment in order to gain an advantage over the other team. There's also a sort of "elitism" that goes on with PvP players as well. PvPers are very prideful and usually start arguments with each other easily if something goes wrong. I also find most Experienced PvPers unwilling to play with others that are of lower rank or "skill" than they are, because they are conditioned to play and act in a certain way. PvPers are more "close-minded" than PvEers and often times only stick to a particular build or refuse to run another build (A big example here is "Balanced" vs "Gimmick" builds). However, I find that you get to know more about the friends you do make while PvPing from their playing styles and quick decisions that you have to make on Ventrilo.

I love both communities, and they're both what Guild Wars is about. Maintaining a balance between the two is very difficult, but I'm one of the few exceptions that can handle it well. In fact, I've many times helped out my friends on both sides of the spectrum to look at the other side of the coin.