Trafton
Sep 25, 2003, 09:17 AM
Lately, I have been noticing that clans have been falling into the various pitfalls that tend to kill clans in general. The following is a list of the seven mistakes that can do a clan in, whether via lack of members, too many members, or general disrespect from other clans.
Pride. No clan is perfect, and no clan leader should pretend that they lead a perfect one. Some clan leaders may take so much pride in their clan that they begin to think of themselves as the clan. It is somewhat egotistic, but natural, and not rare. Remember that the members of one's clan are just as important as the leader, and without the leader, the clan would not exist. Also remember that a clan does not have to be the best clan in the world. If you enjoy your clan, and it is the best clan in the world to you, congratulations: you have found a clan to stay with. However, others may disagree; embrace different opinions from yours and remember that there is no "i" in clan. Or "hamburger". But I'm not sharing my hamburgers. So stop looking at it.
Envy. I see this constantly: clans are mildly jealous of others so put them down. Do not feel that just because you are in a good clan means you have to put other clans down to show how superior you are. This is not being a bully, but it is envy, whether one realizes they are doing it or not. The urge to be better no matter what is equal in severity to the urge to not fall from grace. Enjoy time in clans, and do not feel as if you must prove how better the clan is than others. If you like where you are now, you should stay - not clanhop much, no matter how tempting it may be.
Anger. The competitive traits in clans is one of the things that makes the entire world of clans interesting. However, this competitive spirit tends to degrade from "good game" to "there were a few problems" to "OMG N00BS!!!" in regards to clan wars. If you lost a clan war, remember that this does not make you an inferior clan leader or member, nor your cohorts. It just means you lost that game, on that day, to that clan. Also, a clan is not just about battles. Every good clan that has survived a long time has invested itself in level making and similar markedly less competitive endeavors.
Sloth. If you are a clan leader, plan to be there for your members, or they will tend to assume that they have become superior in rank to you. This is not to say that you should force them down. The importance of staying active, however, is a major thing in clans. If you are unable to stay active in a clan, perhaps it is a bad time to start a clan? Wait, perhaps, for a time when you can handle a clan that may last for more than a week. Make sure to recruit people who you trust to not "take over the clan". Perhaps the best model is clans that have slightly elevated leaders, but no true complete officials, or at least have two to three people who have veto power. Members should not be pressed to raise in rank; this leads to hurt feelings and jealousy.
Greed. As mentioned in the above point, it is important to not horde all power to yourself. Make sure there are at least two backup co-leaders in case something goes wrong. That way, if one of the co-leaders proves to be troublesome, the other can intervene. Also, when I say co-leaders, I mean in the literal sense of "co-". They should have the same power as you. After all, it makes no sense to have a "leader" and then lower-ranking "co-leaders". That goes against the definition of "co-leader" in the first place; it means "to lead with".
Gluttony. A clan is all about compromise. If clan members never get what they like, or always get what they like, they will regard you as too strict or a pushover, respectively. In the first case, they will probably become unhappy and look for a less strict clan. In the second, they might attempt to trick you or oust you, and be unloyal. Balance is important. Listen to member's suggestions, take them into consideration, and vote. Do not immediately exercize veto power, even if you have it. In fact, exercize it rarely and only after hearing all sides of the story.
Lust. If a clan is failing, perhaps the best course of action is to change it. I have seen all too often clans that simply exist, die, and then re-exist under different names. The fact is, if an idea does not work the first time, it probably will not the second. Clans that are based soley on interests or geographic locations will not do well, mainly because there are not enough people interested in those certain things to keep them. And themed clans rarely do well. If an idea does not work at first, I would highly recommend not trying it again. Clans should be interesting, but not having something that is so specialized that it keeps people who are different than you from being in the clan. Having a variety of people, after all, is good for a clan. Additionally, do not just recruit everyone you see or have impossible or even very hard challenges to let them in. This will make your clan look desperate and overly strict, respectively. The latter also will make people who may turn out to be good and dedicated players later out of the clan.
These are all in my opinion, and obviously everyone else is just entitled to theirs as I am to mine. None of these feed from one specific case, and I have seen every example at least five times, and usually ten. These are obviously not required for a clan to be successful, but - in my experience - they help.
~ Traft
Pride. No clan is perfect, and no clan leader should pretend that they lead a perfect one. Some clan leaders may take so much pride in their clan that they begin to think of themselves as the clan. It is somewhat egotistic, but natural, and not rare. Remember that the members of one's clan are just as important as the leader, and without the leader, the clan would not exist. Also remember that a clan does not have to be the best clan in the world. If you enjoy your clan, and it is the best clan in the world to you, congratulations: you have found a clan to stay with. However, others may disagree; embrace different opinions from yours and remember that there is no "i" in clan. Or "hamburger". But I'm not sharing my hamburgers. So stop looking at it.
Envy. I see this constantly: clans are mildly jealous of others so put them down. Do not feel that just because you are in a good clan means you have to put other clans down to show how superior you are. This is not being a bully, but it is envy, whether one realizes they are doing it or not. The urge to be better no matter what is equal in severity to the urge to not fall from grace. Enjoy time in clans, and do not feel as if you must prove how better the clan is than others. If you like where you are now, you should stay - not clanhop much, no matter how tempting it may be.
Anger. The competitive traits in clans is one of the things that makes the entire world of clans interesting. However, this competitive spirit tends to degrade from "good game" to "there were a few problems" to "OMG N00BS!!!" in regards to clan wars. If you lost a clan war, remember that this does not make you an inferior clan leader or member, nor your cohorts. It just means you lost that game, on that day, to that clan. Also, a clan is not just about battles. Every good clan that has survived a long time has invested itself in level making and similar markedly less competitive endeavors.
Sloth. If you are a clan leader, plan to be there for your members, or they will tend to assume that they have become superior in rank to you. This is not to say that you should force them down. The importance of staying active, however, is a major thing in clans. If you are unable to stay active in a clan, perhaps it is a bad time to start a clan? Wait, perhaps, for a time when you can handle a clan that may last for more than a week. Make sure to recruit people who you trust to not "take over the clan". Perhaps the best model is clans that have slightly elevated leaders, but no true complete officials, or at least have two to three people who have veto power. Members should not be pressed to raise in rank; this leads to hurt feelings and jealousy.
Greed. As mentioned in the above point, it is important to not horde all power to yourself. Make sure there are at least two backup co-leaders in case something goes wrong. That way, if one of the co-leaders proves to be troublesome, the other can intervene. Also, when I say co-leaders, I mean in the literal sense of "co-". They should have the same power as you. After all, it makes no sense to have a "leader" and then lower-ranking "co-leaders". That goes against the definition of "co-leader" in the first place; it means "to lead with".
Gluttony. A clan is all about compromise. If clan members never get what they like, or always get what they like, they will regard you as too strict or a pushover, respectively. In the first case, they will probably become unhappy and look for a less strict clan. In the second, they might attempt to trick you or oust you, and be unloyal. Balance is important. Listen to member's suggestions, take them into consideration, and vote. Do not immediately exercize veto power, even if you have it. In fact, exercize it rarely and only after hearing all sides of the story.
Lust. If a clan is failing, perhaps the best course of action is to change it. I have seen all too often clans that simply exist, die, and then re-exist under different names. The fact is, if an idea does not work the first time, it probably will not the second. Clans that are based soley on interests or geographic locations will not do well, mainly because there are not enough people interested in those certain things to keep them. And themed clans rarely do well. If an idea does not work at first, I would highly recommend not trying it again. Clans should be interesting, but not having something that is so specialized that it keeps people who are different than you from being in the clan. Having a variety of people, after all, is good for a clan. Additionally, do not just recruit everyone you see or have impossible or even very hard challenges to let them in. This will make your clan look desperate and overly strict, respectively. The latter also will make people who may turn out to be good and dedicated players later out of the clan.
These are all in my opinion, and obviously everyone else is just entitled to theirs as I am to mine. None of these feed from one specific case, and I have seen every example at least five times, and usually ten. These are obviously not required for a clan to be successful, but - in my experience - they help.
~ Traft