Heard alot of issues with the Thieves guild, from quests being bugged to it effecting the main quest progression. So i was hoping to avoid joining until they're sorted.

Is it possible to avoid joining the Thieves guild, or is it something that will trigger automatically if you wonder into a certain area on the map?

Anyone?

Just ignore the Nord in the fancy clothes in Riften.

Ah good, thanks

Don't bump a thread after a few minutes, that gets them closed.

As for your question, like any Faction, you may stumble across the invitation to join, but the actually joining takes effort and steps. All easily avoided.