24 Apr
How To Effectively Merge 2 Gaming Clans Together
Posted by JohnnyLocke as Articles, Clans | 0 Comments
First of all let me say that I do not agree with merging 2 clans, and it is very rare when it does happen. But if you happen to find yourself in this situation, best of luck! haha!
Merging 2 separate gaming clans together into one organization can be quite the delicate task. After all, they are 2 separate entities probably managed in 2 separate ways. Merging is tricky because everyone always wants to be at the top of the totem pole and no one is going to be willing to sacrifice. Let’s just assume, for complexities sake, that both clans have similar ranking systems. There is no sure fired way to have this run smoothly, but here are some points to remember;
You could merge them together, having all members keep their previous rank. That would be a happy solution to a daunting problem. But, is it realistic? Probably not. When a clans member base doubles, the size of their leadership staff probably does not need to double. Excessive amounts of members with power will almost certainly lead to power abuse. Try to avoid this.
ALWAYS merge the two organizations into the largest one of the two. There is no need for 2 clans to share channels or servers, and hold separate websites, and remain two different entities. By size alone, the larger clan is entitled to keep it’s name, channel, and website, and the smaller clan should be merged into the structure already set by the larger clan.
All ranking decisions should be made by the 2 leaders. There is no civil way to go about it. Some people are going to lose rank to their new members. The 2 leader’s shoudl sit down and discuss how well of a job their current leadership staff’s have been doing.
Make sure you know what you’re getting into. Make absolutely sure of it. A merger could effectively dismantle an entire organization if it’s not done right. Know who you’ll be leading the clan alongside, and know him well. Know how he likes to lead his clan, and make sure his your styles will coincide with each others.
Don’t rush into it. Set a date and try to make the shift as seamlessly as possible. Make sure the dissolving clan leaves its members lots of ways to find out where to locate the new channel/server, and website.
Make your new members feel at home. Offer to play games with them, and most importantly get to know them. There is most certainly going to be an awkward timeframe after the merger where the two sides are getting to know each other, but try to deal with it be forging new friendships, instead of pushing them away.
We are steadily adding to our database of free clan templates, and over the last 2-3 days we have made 2-3 more additions. Remember, we are still looking for template contributions, so if you are interested please let me know. RBozeman2@gmail.com.
22 Apr
Why Starcraft 2 Is A Great Expansion Option For Most Clans
Posted by JohnnyLocke as Articles, Clan Managment, Featured Articles | 0 Comments
As someone who extensively followed the clan world with Starcraft and Brood War, I saw how clans can prosper through the unique community that blizzard has set up. Starcraft clans always seemed to be the largest and most organized clans on the web. Some clans (DarkLegion, Overdosed, AH) even eclipsed the 400 member mark at points in their existance (although they are much smaller now, with their main game being a decade old.)
The community Blizzard has set up through it’s string of releases in Starcraft, Warcraft3, and World of Warcraft have created a buzzing, vibrant online community with potential for infinite growth for any gaming organization with the will and the time. Blizzard takes their fansites and clans very serious, and often will offer beta accounts to webmasters of prominent sites when their available.
With Warcraft3, their in-game support for clans was revolutionary, including ranking systems, memberlists, clan ladders and more. Keep in mind that Warcraft3 was released in 2003. Starcraft 2 will presumably be released in 2008 and will more than likely be leaps and bound beyond Warcraft 3 as far as in-game clan support. Hopefully it will feature customizable ranks and channel moderation abilities.
Beyond the technical aspect, Starcraft 2 is probably one of the most anticipated games of all time. Its launch should be huge, with many players eagerly awaiting to jump at the first clan opportunity presented to them. My recommendation would be to be completely prepared for the launch of Starcraft 2 ahead of time. Those clans who are ready for the launch will benefit the most from the surge at the launch.
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21 Apr
Staying Organized As A Clan Leader
Posted by JohnnyLocke as Articles, Clan Managment, Website Managment | 0 Comments
Running a gaming clan can get overwhelming for just about anyone. If you pile your clan responsibilities on top of school or work, sometimes it can get down right impossible. The key to dealing with this problem is making the most of your time. If you only have one hour a day to work on clan duties, make sure you work for that hour instead of becoming sidetracked with other things. Personally, I have a hard time staying on track, so there are a few things I like to do to keep myself headed in the right direction:
To-Do Lists. Write everything down. Have a plan before you go in. If you take care of all the thinking ahead of time, you can cut out the awkward “Ok….what now?” waiting periods in between different tasks. Make your to-do lists semi detailed, but don’t go overboard with it. Give yourself a basic outline of what you want to accomplish for that day.
Establish Priorities. Make sure whatever your working on is the absolute best thing you could be working on at the time. If what your doing at the time isn’t going to benefit you the most, change it up. Save the less important jobs for when you have a bit of free time.
Keep A Notebook (And up to date) You’d be surprised how much keeping a notebook can help. Just to have all of your thoughts there in front of you sometimes saves you alot of mental stress when you’re trrying to get things done. Write anything of any importance in the notebook.
Of course staying organized is really more of a personality trait than anything else, but if you’re trying to make strides in the right direction then there are always things you can do to help yourself out.
18 Apr
First Wave of Free Clan Templates Are Up!
Posted by JohnnyLocke as Announcements | 0 Comments
A few days ago we put our first round of our free gaming/clan templates up. We have several for both Starcraft and Call of Duty. Hopefully everyone takes a look. Keep in mind that we have many, many more on the way.
We are also still looking for designers who wouldn’t mind throwing some templates our way. If you’d like to become part of Clan-Man staff, please email me at RBozeman2@gmail.com.
Thanks everyone.
Mass leavings will always be a headache in any gaming clan leaders life. Sometimes it’s your own fault, sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. Either way, the problem persists and you shouldn’t spend your time kicking yourself over mistakes made, you should spend your time trying to correct the situation. A mass leaving will almost always be triggered by one person, or one group of people becoming upset with the current situation, and leaving to create their own clan. Of course, the idea of a high rank or other percs will excite members, and cause them to leave.
Don’t panic. Remember that these things happen alot, and most of the time they don’t work out and you’ll have those same members back within a few weeks. Most clans fail within their first month. But don’t just sit back and let your members desert the entity you’ve put so much time into!
Negotiate. Find out what their problem is, and what they feel the necessary changes should be. If it’s within reason, honor it. If it’s not, don’t, and tell them why it can’t be done. Try to have your members see things from your perspective.
Announce something. Sounds ridiculous, but trust me it isn’t. Right as the mass leaving begins, or just before, announce something of importance. Maybe it’s a new co-leader. Maybe you set up a committee to help implement the clan’s will. Doesn’t matter. Just do something to let your members know you are not going to sit back and let the clan fall apart because of a disagreement. This will also let your remaining members who weren’t part of the mass leaving know that it didn’t discourage you too much.
Turn Recruiting Up a Notch. With members leaving, you need new incoming members. You want it to seem to your on-the-fence members like the clan didn’t miss a beat. If they are considering leaving, and the clans situation worsens, you can bet they’re going to leave.
The bottom line is not to be discouraged. To start a clan from the ground up is a much harder task then dealing with a migration of members, and you’ve already been there, done that, right? Stay level headed and never become angry with those who are leaving. In fact, I like to go out of my way to let them know they are always welcome back.
Sometimes it can be hard to get members from your server/website/channel into your forum to participate in clan discussion. In fact, many of them feel like there is no reason to visit the forum at all. Your job is to curb this feeling, and help members (especially new members) understand that at times the forum is the bread and butter of your organization. A few things I did to populate my clans forum were:
Advertise it on my website
I put a link. I made news posts. I bolded my link. Changed the links color. ANYTHING to get your members to take notice to the forum. It is much easier to spread ideas through a forum and keep them on record than it is to do so through ventrilo or a chat channel.
Invite New Members to Join
When you recruit a new member, always inform him of the forum. Let him know that the forum is where most official decisions are made and where most members interact on a daily basis with one another. Make them feel like joining the forum is required for joining the clan.
Bot Spamming
This mostly applies to BNET/RTS clans, but in your channel make sure that your bot spams your forum link and the importance of joining the forum. Make the bot give the same schpeel as you would to a new recruit.
Encourage Active Posting
No one will post if there is nothing to talk about. Make sure that topics are created daily for new discussion.
Offer Rank for posts
Offer your clan members an upgrade in rank for so many posts. I realize it’s not conventional, but it has helped me in the past.
14 Apr
As A Clan Leader: Keeping It Professional
Posted by JohnnyLocke as Articles, Clan Managment | 0 Comments
No one wants to join a clan run by a 13 year old. If you want to attract new mature members, you have to act that way yourself, so my advice to you is to keep it professional. I’m not saying to throw all personality traits aside and not be friendly with your members, just try to conduct yourself in a professional manner when the matter is serious.
Too many times I have seen nerdy 25 year olds running immature clans full of pre-teens, acting as if they were the same age as their members. Remember, the way you conduct yourself will more than likely determine the type of members you attract. When making a forum or news post on a serious subject, try to use correct grammar and spelling. Act leader-like. You have to let your members know that you are indeed the right man for the job.
When some official happens or changes, always make a forum and news post about it on your clan website. Keep your members informed on your clan’s ever-changing policies and decisions. When the topic at hand isn’t so serious it’s fine to joke around and show your members your personal side, a leader of any organization always needs to be level headed.
Try to explain to your members why you made the decision you did. Present them with the negative and positive of any decision and explain to them why you reached the conclusion you did. People like to have things spelled out for them, and this makes them more likely to see your perspective on any subject. Run your clan as if it were a small business. (Which it is, you should be able to generate enough money to pay for the clans essential costs such as webservers, gaming servers, and website maintanence.)
