~60% of all clans DIE in less then 3 months.
~90% of all clans DIE in less then 6 months.
~Less then 5% of all clans live longer then a (1) year.
NOTE:
A clan that runs for 5 months,
dies and stays dead for 3 months,
then is restarted and goes another 4 months,
has -NOT- been alive for a year.
Here are the most common reasons "WHY" Clans FAIL:
(MOST clans FAIL, these are the MAIN reasons.)
I. The LEADER is a power hungry ego maniac:
-If- you are starting clan to "simply to be IN-charge" of it, I would suggest not bothering starting a clan at all. Because, that is the #1 reason so many clans DIE, it's their leader started the clan, simply to be "IN CHARGE" of 'a clan' and to boss people. The best clans are ran by people that actually enjoy helping other people. Immature ego maniacs usually have no idea how much work is involved with running a "SUCCESSFUL" clan, that LAST any amount of time. If you have a "BAD", UNFAIR", "LAZY", or "power hungry" leader, a CLAN WILL DIE.
To avoid this:
I. A clan should be ran by several people that SHARE the Work -AND- the SHARE the Authority AND ENJOY helping other people.
II. Too many of your MEMBERS are whinny lazy brats:
If you have a lot of immature and lazy members that demand everything from you, but NEVER help back (or help back very little), eventually YOU will get tired of doing ALL (or almost all) of the work, THEN THE CLAN WILL DIE.
To avoid this:
Make sure EVERYone understands that they absolutely must help their clan weekly by giving 10% of their online gaming time BACK to thier clan (they can help with: recruitment, writing web pages, run server searches, run practices and events, help other members, help members on their message board, organize nightly games, particapate, etc). Make sure that they all understand that a clan is "not a magical refrigerator" on the internet. The people that help MORE, should get MORE authority (or "say") in the clan. Please be fair and give the "workers" their "EARNED AUTHORITY". Make sure EVERYone knows "what is expected OUT of them" and "what to expect FROM the clan", -BEFORE- they join your clan. Basicly, each member should have a "clan job".
III. You let a troublemaker into the clan:
NEVER let a person into your clan JUST because he is a "very good player" or has a server. EVERY person has to be "friendly person" or you do NOT want them. You DO -NOT- WANT JERKS in your clan. Sometimes, some of the best players and server owners (not all), are the most arrogant self-centered "#$%^s" on the planet, and all they ever do, is think about their OWN scores, and not about the clan. A troublemaker will go on to KILL a clan, because of their rude UN-compromising behavior, "lack of team work", and nasty attitude. Fun and FRIENDS, are ALWAYS more important then winning. It's better to play by yourself, then be in a clan that is a huge collection of troublemaking morons.
To avoid this:
Simply talk to the people before you let them in your clan. Invite them on to a Roger Wilco channel for an 'interview' to see what they want out of a clan. You can tell them "what will be expected out of them" and "what to expect from your clan". Its always a lot easier to NOT let a troublemaker in, then it is to kick him/her out. You should give TRY OUTS to new guys, and screen the jerks. Note, not all great players or server operators are bad people, some are actually some of the nicest people in the World.
IV. A FIGHT starts, that grows bigger and BIGGER:
NO ONE IS PERFECT, therefore EVERYone must COMPROMISE from time to time. If any group of people are to get a long, people have to compromise once and a while. Any time you get a bunch of humans together, there is going to be "DISAGREEMENTS". If even loving "FAMLIES" have fights, you can guarantee that a clan, if it lives long enough and grows, will have a fight.
To avoid this:
Do NOT let a fight grow or "EXPLODE" and kill your clan. If a fight starts between 2 people, suggest that THOSE 2 people (and a moderator) get on a RW channel and discuss it face to face, do not start a flame war on the message board. If the fight is getting REALLY BAD, suggest to EVERYONE fighting, to """just take a break"" and ""cool off"" for a couple of hours, a couple of days, of if needed 3 weeks. Sometimes simply saying "LETs just all get in a game and play" will stop the fighting and SAVE your clan, remember that. By having monthly clan meetings, missunderstandings can usually be avoided. Communication between the Leaders, and between the members and Leaders is very important. I would recommend having scheduled monthly clan meetings for the clan. It helps prevent missunderstandings, and is also a good time to discuss issues and for Members to offer new ideas too. Also don't forget to reward the clan's hardworkers and keep them happy and give them "earned authority". It is EVERY MEMBERS' clan, btw, not just the Leaders' clan. Everyone should work a little, the ones that work the most, should have the most authority or "say", but it is ALL the members' clan and everyone should recognize that.
V. You FAILED to recruit any new members:
""A clan is like a sack of sand with a hole in at the bottom that is slowly losing it's contents.""
People have and will ALWAYs LEAVE clans, no matter how good they are.
We have had people leave our clan for just about any reason you can think about. We have had : a member that went to to jail, a member had his Wife yell at him to "Turn off the computer or she would leave him", people in serious auto accidents, people loose their jobs and not able to pay their ISP, people have their phone disconnected for not paying, one guy had his phone disconected for 3 weeks because of a construction backhoe, people bored with games, people doing poorly in school, people going away and starting college, people moving, missunderstandings, and of course FIGHTS.
To avoid this:
You have to CONTINUALLY RECRUIT new QUAILITY members if your clan is to survive. Make sure several people on the clan spend a few hours recruiting in open forums and in games each week. Becareful NOT to spam messages anywhere. Make someone responsible for this section of the clan, make sure that they are 100% loyal to your clan.
VI. UN-loyal "Clan-Hoppers", backstabbers, and "Quit-a-thons":
One out of many ....."E Pluribus Unum".
Making a clan is the EASY part, holding a clan together is the HARD part.
Un-loyal, bottom feeding, blood sucking, leeching "backstabbers", that go on to instagate "mutanies" or "quit-a-thons" can not be allowed around your clan at any time. I have seen backstabbers create fights, simply so that they could recruit members away from the current clan once people started to quit. These "split-off clans" always go on to be "flop-clans". The reason is: people that are un-loyal to your clan will only be un-loyal to the "split-off" clan, mutaneers NEVER stick together very long, NEVER!.
"Clan-hoppers" are guys that join a clan, then quit it, then join another clan, then quit it, then join another clan, then quit it, etc, etc. "Clan-hoppers" never do any work and do not have any loyality. "Clan-hoppers" are self-centered and only think of themselves. Usually they are whinners too. They seldom stay in a clan for more then 3 weeks. Sometimes they join several clans at one time and are not loyal to any of them.
To avoid this:
If someone quits your clan, they can NOT rejoin. It should take 2 Council members to let someone in your clan. It should take 2 Council members to kick someone out of your clan. This will make your clan stable and prevent it from being too easy to get in. Do not make your clan TOO easy to get into, that way members will VALUE your clan's MEMBERSHIP. You should give interviews to new guys, and give TRY OUTS before making someone a member, see, thats why running a "successful" clan takes a lot of work . Make getting into your clan a special time that is valued. Maybe have a "crowbar" initiation ceremony (Half-Life TFC) when a new guys passes their "TRY OUT" or gets "Promoted". Get all the members together and crowbar the new guy as you swear him into your clan. Do not let a "clan-hopper" in your clan, if someone says he has been in 16 clans, you do NOT want him in your clan, he is a fickled "clan-hopper". If someone is in another clan, they have ZERO loyality to your clan, do NOT let them hang around your clan's message board or RW channel. Telling the low-lifes "NO" or "GO AWAY", is the job of the COUNCIL Members. Be a STRONG and FAIR Leader and everyone will respect you.
VII. SOMEONE THINKING THE "CLAN" IS A "GAME":
A "clan' is not a "game". A Clan is made up of REAL people with REAL feelings. You might be looking at your monitor when you type or talk to a player a thousand miles away on the internet, but there actually is a REAL person on the other end of that conversation, typing and talking to you while looking at his monitor, they are both REAL PEOPLE. Just because you can't touch them, does not mean they are not real breathing people that should be treated with diginity and fairness, if possible. A clan is NOT a company, it's NOT a country, and it's NOT the military, it is a global internet clan and should be ran as such. In a company, people show up at a set time (8am) and stay for a set amount of time (8 hours) and get paid. The company charges for it's services. So a company is not much like a "GLOBAL clan", that is ran for free, at times convenient for those that show up. A clan will NEVER have this luxury, and so a clan will never be as efficient as a company. In the military and a Country, you can execute people if they mess up really baddly, need I say more.
On the other hand "Half-life" and "StarCraft" and "EverQuest" ARE "GAMES". They are simply a bunch of computer software code written to form a software program, that follows a set of rules. They are JUST a "game".
To avoid this:
Act civil to people and respect all people, if they will let you. Play games for fun, but dont "play with people" by mistreating them.
IX. "Net-Mosquitos" harrassing and wasting too much time:
"Net-mosquitos" are troublemaking morons that cause trouble simply to cause trouble. They have NO-life and have been known to hound clans that they could not get in or were kicked out of, for months sometimes. We had a net-mosquito that harrassed our clan for 15 months after he left our clan. "Net-Mosquitos" waste their life trying to ruin others' fun. They are a waste of life, a waste of time, a waste of fun, don't let them waste yours.
To handle this:
Report any harrassment to the net-mosquito's ISP in a polite and documented email complaint. If a troublemaker does anything illegal to one of your members, like sending a virus or hacking, report the net-mosquito to his local police. If the net-mosquito just does one thing, simply ignore the baffoon and let him get his "attention" from his momma.
X. TOO MUCH TIME WAS WASTED ON THE CLAN WEB PAGE:
I NEVER saw a clan die because of an ugly clan web page, but I have seen a LOT of clans DIE because their leaders spent WAY TOO much time working on their clan web page, instead of using that time recruiting, or practiceing, or having clan meetings to promoted good commuication in their clan.
A web page is simply a TOOL, a "web page" is NOT the clan. A clan is about the people, a web page doesn't help you capture the flag, but "CLAN MEMBERS" do. A "web page" is simply a "pieces of paper on the internet".
To avoid this:
Make a BASIC web page to hold your club for the first 3 months, then, after 3+ months, if your clan is still alive, worry about "dressing up" the web page. Worry about a dot.com later, if your clan survives 4+ months.
_________________
Respectfully,
[MC] Sgt. D`Organizer
[MC] Gamers Clan Leader
