11-19-2006, 04:46 PM
Düme’s How To On…
Greetings fellow gamers and welcome to the wonderful world of clans! (Heh, I made that one up!)
Basically, this FAQ is on two things. One – Joining a clan. Or two – Creating a clan. Here are some questions that you may ask that I’ve already answered for you.
What Is a Clan?
Clans are more focused on multiplayer gaming in this day and age. Ranging from first person shooters (FPS), role playing (RP), racing, and sports. Another way to put it would be “fun”.
Why join a clan?
Clans are about community, connectivity, common interests (for us, gaming). In joining a clan, you find people of similar interests as you, people whom you can talk, develop friendships with, learn from, and many other things. Got your attention? Keep reading.
How do I join one?
After reading the Rules*, you should know what not to make a thread requesting to join or asking how to make one (that’s why this FAQ is here!). Think about what you want in a clan. Some things to think about…
- Focus: Clans sometimes focus on game. Such as a clan would be interested in only one game, as other clans could have a bit of interest in other games.
- Themed Clan/ General Clan: Some clans could be based around one game. For example, one game could be based on Halo (Xbox), and another clan could be more so for Saint’s Row (Xbox 360).
- Activity: Clans may have activity requirement(s), so read the clan thread carefully. Do they want you to be active in-game, on their forums, or both?
- Size: Do you want a lot of people? Join a big clan. Do you want to get to know people better? That’s more likely in a smaller clan. It’s your decision of how big of a clan you want to join.
- Age: If you want a clan that’s proven itself, is well-established (on it’s feet) try an older clan. If you want one that’s going to ‘revolutionize’ by being the best out there, try a younger one.
- Style: Do you want your clan to have a more randomized style, or a more strategic style? This may be something that draws the line between being in a successful clan, or a losing clan.
Once you get your idea, start looking at clan threads, websites, and forums(if you’re allowed to see them) to find what interests you. When you find one, if any, follow the instructions given to join that clan. Congradulations! You’ve now started on the journey of clan hunting! Good luck and best wishes!
* Rules up after this is posted.
Creating a Clan
To start a clan, all you need is a name and base idea of what you want your clan to be based around. Obviously gaming, right? So what kind of gaming? Xbox? Xbox 360? PlayStation 2? PlayStation 3? Wii? DS? All-around? Make sure to include that in the first post in your clan thread. It gives the people the help needed to know what your clan is about. When you have a rough idea read the Clan Rules* to know what you need to include, then brainstorm - Don’t forget to write them ideas down! Note to clan makers: Make sure to check to see if your clan name isn’t taken yet.
Now, onto the biggie; Get people to join your clan, make a topic and put a description of what your clan is about, a reason to join, and requirements to join, and info on what they need to join. So put down what console(s) that are required to play these games, and other things such as posting in the topic, signing up on the clan forums, etc.
Now, onto some things that you probably might need to complete the community.
Forums
Forums are a basic need to any clan and are REQUIRED. Keeping all but applications and news on the clan’s forum is the best way to avoid trouble and keep your clan thread nice and need to make it looks like you guys are official. Look at the given links and decide on what one you like the most to host your website.
http://www.invisionfree.com
http://www.proboards.com
http://www.phpbbforfree.com
Website
A website isn’t required. But it would be a good idea. For reasons such as giving people info about the clan and other news, think of it as a way to have things for people to see sooner than have them search through a eighty-nine page thread and not find any news. Here are some sites that offer free web space.
http://www.geocities.com (Free 3 GB bandwidth, 15MB disk space)
http://www.50megs.com (Free: 5 GB bandwidth, 50MB disk space)
http://www.freewebs.com (Free: 500MB bandwidth, 40MB disk space)
http://www.sitekreator.com (Free: ? bandwidth, 10MB disk space)
Tips for Success
- Follow the rules*! Clans that can’t follow rules will not succeed.
- Easy to read thread. Try to keep it from being to long (like I said, eighty-nine pages isn’t fun). Writing an epic (big ol’ paragraph about your clan) or people will lose interest in the thread and possibly the clan. Try to keep things concise and short without too many paragraphs. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the formatting. This is helpful for headers and pointing out important info in your post, such as clan rules, and requirements. Don’t overuse it! Putting most things in bold will make it lose effectiveness and distract the person from really reading. Also, avoid light colors such as yellow, since it doesn’t show up well on a white/gray background. Proofread your thread. If you have problems with grammar and/or spelling, ask somebody to go through it, or at least put it through spell-checker.
- Use a neat layout. Keep things organized. Don’t have things scattered around. An example would be having requirements near the top of the thread and having instructions on how to apply near the bottom. The two are related, so they should be close together.
- Use images wisely. Using images can make any thread much more exciting, but it can also make things look messy and waste plenty of space. There’s really no need for a wallpaper-sized image on your page. Is the wasted space worth it? Do you want to drive away people making them wait too long for the thread to load? Do you want to make people scroll through the huge image that really needs to be avatar or signature-sized? Doubt it. A large image at the top of the thread as a banner catches attention well, but it interrupts the information later on. It’s better to use smaller banners, around 100 pixels high (enough to be noticed without dragging any attentions for too long) to divide sections of the thread. Or, if you don’t want to use image dividers, they can always be used to show off some signatures!
- A small group of quality members is always better than one with hundreds of spammy members! Unless people are obsessed about quantity. The best way to “advertise” is to have an active, but intelligent, and respectable clan members. Never beg or bother people to join your clan. That’s not annoying but also negatively reflects on your clan. Begging and spamming are also against the rules* as well. The number of members doesn’t matter. Following along with that, do not be afraid to ban/kick people from your clan/club. Missing a member or more is worth it. No one needs troublemakers ruining things for others.
- Keep your members. Keep people interested. That way, even if youdon’t have many members, the clan will stay alive. They’ll help you improve the clan/club and possibly provide some motivation. Things may start slow, small, and rough, but it’ll pick up. If not, it isn’t too big of a loss. Disappointing? Of course, but it isn’t the end of everything. You can try starting another clan after closing the dying/dead one, join another clan, or take some time off and restart the clan later.
- Respect. True leaders to not get inflated egos and start thinking that they can disrespect members or threaten with ‘power’ to gain ‘respect’. Member are the core of any group. Respect for each other is what will hold your clan together. Friendships will develop and further strengthen the bonds with members. It’s extremely important to know when to have fun within the bound of the rules, but knowing when to be serious is just as important, if not more so. All members pay attention when a fellow member brings up thinks like concerns, problems, suggestions, and questions. Don’t shrug it off. When people feel appreciated and that they have a voice in your clan, they’re much more likely to stay around. There are always times when people will be busy and/or stressed. Be careful when you are, and possibly tell clan members ahead of time.
- Leadership. Good leadership. Practice what you preach. Yep, that cliché. It’s true! The best way for people to take you as a serious person is to follow what you say. If you’re going to tell someone not to do something, you should be the first to never do it. Don’t be a hypocrite. Also, try not to think that the named leaders are the only ones that can help out, Don’t sit back and do nothing, if you think that you can help out, but don’t be a pest either. Volunteer with things, even when asked, since it’s obvious that help is wanted at that moment.
- Set goals. Goals can often be the driving force in clans. It gives people the idea of what the clan founder wants to happen in the future. Be realistic. Getting one thousand members in one week obviously isn’t practical. Try small numbers first, maybe 5, 15, 25, and so on. Also, numbers are easier, but make sure that the members are quality members, not just there to accomplish a goal. Some other things are ways to improve a clan like create new signatures, avatars. Another could be updates on your website and/or forum.
- Fun stuff. Many clans have things like groups, divisions, and ranks to promote member activity, dedication, and offer fun things to do. It isn’t crucial for a clan, but it should attract people and hold their attention for a while some clans like to hold contests and competitions in their clan as well. (Just a few ideas.)
- Allies/Enemies. Be mature about it. Don’t toss a clan onto an enemy list “just because”. Allies strengthen a clan’ enemies don’t, though some competition (not as much as “I hate your clan.”) is nice. The world isn’t always happy, but there are things that aren’t as important as other like “My clan is better, so your clan suck and is my new enemy. LOL1!!!!” Also, don’t let some personal squabble lead you to arbitrarily placing that person’s clan on your clan’s enemy list. NEVER attempt to get any enemy into trouble or insult them. It will only get YOUR clan into trouble. Of course, things aren’t always like that, but make sure avoid doing that.
Clans
Definition, Choosing, Joining, Starting
Greetings fellow gamers and welcome to the wonderful world of clans! (Heh, I made that one up!)
Basically, this FAQ is on two things. One – Joining a clan. Or two – Creating a clan. Here are some questions that you may ask that I’ve already answered for you.
What Is a Clan?
Clans are more focused on multiplayer gaming in this day and age. Ranging from first person shooters (FPS), role playing (RP), racing, and sports. Another way to put it would be “fun”.
Why join a clan?
Clans are about community, connectivity, common interests (for us, gaming). In joining a clan, you find people of similar interests as you, people whom you can talk, develop friendships with, learn from, and many other things. Got your attention? Keep reading.
How do I join one?
After reading the Rules*, you should know what not to make a thread requesting to join or asking how to make one (that’s why this FAQ is here!). Think about what you want in a clan. Some things to think about…
- Focus: Clans sometimes focus on game. Such as a clan would be interested in only one game, as other clans could have a bit of interest in other games.
- Themed Clan/ General Clan: Some clans could be based around one game. For example, one game could be based on Halo (Xbox), and another clan could be more so for Saint’s Row (Xbox 360).
- Activity: Clans may have activity requirement(s), so read the clan thread carefully. Do they want you to be active in-game, on their forums, or both?
- Size: Do you want a lot of people? Join a big clan. Do you want to get to know people better? That’s more likely in a smaller clan. It’s your decision of how big of a clan you want to join.
- Age: If you want a clan that’s proven itself, is well-established (on it’s feet) try an older clan. If you want one that’s going to ‘revolutionize’ by being the best out there, try a younger one.
- Style: Do you want your clan to have a more randomized style, or a more strategic style? This may be something that draws the line between being in a successful clan, or a losing clan.
Once you get your idea, start looking at clan threads, websites, and forums(if you’re allowed to see them) to find what interests you. When you find one, if any, follow the instructions given to join that clan. Congradulations! You’ve now started on the journey of clan hunting! Good luck and best wishes!
* Rules up after this is posted.
Creating a Clan
To start a clan, all you need is a name and base idea of what you want your clan to be based around. Obviously gaming, right? So what kind of gaming? Xbox? Xbox 360? PlayStation 2? PlayStation 3? Wii? DS? All-around? Make sure to include that in the first post in your clan thread. It gives the people the help needed to know what your clan is about. When you have a rough idea read the Clan Rules* to know what you need to include, then brainstorm - Don’t forget to write them ideas down! Note to clan makers: Make sure to check to see if your clan name isn’t taken yet.
Now, onto the biggie; Get people to join your clan, make a topic and put a description of what your clan is about, a reason to join, and requirements to join, and info on what they need to join. So put down what console(s) that are required to play these games, and other things such as posting in the topic, signing up on the clan forums, etc.
Now, onto some things that you probably might need to complete the community.
Forums
Forums are a basic need to any clan and are REQUIRED. Keeping all but applications and news on the clan’s forum is the best way to avoid trouble and keep your clan thread nice and need to make it looks like you guys are official. Look at the given links and decide on what one you like the most to host your website.
http://www.invisionfree.com
http://www.proboards.com
http://www.phpbbforfree.com
Website
A website isn’t required. But it would be a good idea. For reasons such as giving people info about the clan and other news, think of it as a way to have things for people to see sooner than have them search through a eighty-nine page thread and not find any news. Here are some sites that offer free web space.
http://www.geocities.com (Free 3 GB bandwidth, 15MB disk space)
http://www.50megs.com (Free: 5 GB bandwidth, 50MB disk space)
http://www.freewebs.com (Free: 500MB bandwidth, 40MB disk space)
http://www.sitekreator.com (Free: ? bandwidth, 10MB disk space)
Tips for Success
- Follow the rules*! Clans that can’t follow rules will not succeed.
- Easy to read thread. Try to keep it from being to long (like I said, eighty-nine pages isn’t fun). Writing an epic (big ol’ paragraph about your clan) or people will lose interest in the thread and possibly the clan. Try to keep things concise and short without too many paragraphs. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of the formatting. This is helpful for headers and pointing out important info in your post, such as clan rules, and requirements. Don’t overuse it! Putting most things in bold will make it lose effectiveness and distract the person from really reading. Also, avoid light colors such as yellow, since it doesn’t show up well on a white/gray background. Proofread your thread. If you have problems with grammar and/or spelling, ask somebody to go through it, or at least put it through spell-checker.
- Use a neat layout. Keep things organized. Don’t have things scattered around. An example would be having requirements near the top of the thread and having instructions on how to apply near the bottom. The two are related, so they should be close together.
- Use images wisely. Using images can make any thread much more exciting, but it can also make things look messy and waste plenty of space. There’s really no need for a wallpaper-sized image on your page. Is the wasted space worth it? Do you want to drive away people making them wait too long for the thread to load? Do you want to make people scroll through the huge image that really needs to be avatar or signature-sized? Doubt it. A large image at the top of the thread as a banner catches attention well, but it interrupts the information later on. It’s better to use smaller banners, around 100 pixels high (enough to be noticed without dragging any attentions for too long) to divide sections of the thread. Or, if you don’t want to use image dividers, they can always be used to show off some signatures!
- A small group of quality members is always better than one with hundreds of spammy members! Unless people are obsessed about quantity. The best way to “advertise” is to have an active, but intelligent, and respectable clan members. Never beg or bother people to join your clan. That’s not annoying but also negatively reflects on your clan. Begging and spamming are also against the rules* as well. The number of members doesn’t matter. Following along with that, do not be afraid to ban/kick people from your clan/club. Missing a member or more is worth it. No one needs troublemakers ruining things for others.
- Keep your members. Keep people interested. That way, even if youdon’t have many members, the clan will stay alive. They’ll help you improve the clan/club and possibly provide some motivation. Things may start slow, small, and rough, but it’ll pick up. If not, it isn’t too big of a loss. Disappointing? Of course, but it isn’t the end of everything. You can try starting another clan after closing the dying/dead one, join another clan, or take some time off and restart the clan later.
- Respect. True leaders to not get inflated egos and start thinking that they can disrespect members or threaten with ‘power’ to gain ‘respect’. Member are the core of any group. Respect for each other is what will hold your clan together. Friendships will develop and further strengthen the bonds with members. It’s extremely important to know when to have fun within the bound of the rules, but knowing when to be serious is just as important, if not more so. All members pay attention when a fellow member brings up thinks like concerns, problems, suggestions, and questions. Don’t shrug it off. When people feel appreciated and that they have a voice in your clan, they’re much more likely to stay around. There are always times when people will be busy and/or stressed. Be careful when you are, and possibly tell clan members ahead of time.
- Leadership. Good leadership. Practice what you preach. Yep, that cliché. It’s true! The best way for people to take you as a serious person is to follow what you say. If you’re going to tell someone not to do something, you should be the first to never do it. Don’t be a hypocrite. Also, try not to think that the named leaders are the only ones that can help out, Don’t sit back and do nothing, if you think that you can help out, but don’t be a pest either. Volunteer with things, even when asked, since it’s obvious that help is wanted at that moment.
- Set goals. Goals can often be the driving force in clans. It gives people the idea of what the clan founder wants to happen in the future. Be realistic. Getting one thousand members in one week obviously isn’t practical. Try small numbers first, maybe 5, 15, 25, and so on. Also, numbers are easier, but make sure that the members are quality members, not just there to accomplish a goal. Some other things are ways to improve a clan like create new signatures, avatars. Another could be updates on your website and/or forum.
- Fun stuff. Many clans have things like groups, divisions, and ranks to promote member activity, dedication, and offer fun things to do. It isn’t crucial for a clan, but it should attract people and hold their attention for a while some clans like to hold contests and competitions in their clan as well. (Just a few ideas.)
- Allies/Enemies. Be mature about it. Don’t toss a clan onto an enemy list “just because”. Allies strengthen a clan’ enemies don’t, though some competition (not as much as “I hate your clan.”) is nice. The world isn’t always happy, but there are things that aren’t as important as other like “My clan is better, so your clan suck and is my new enemy. LOL1!!!!” Also, don’t let some personal squabble lead you to arbitrarily placing that person’s clan on your clan’s enemy list. NEVER attempt to get any enemy into trouble or insult them. It will only get YOUR clan into trouble. Of course, things aren’t always like that, but make sure avoid doing that.
