Hmmm, Beauman (and Krezack a bit), I will have to disagree on some things that you said a clan needs.

1) You do NOT need a website. Yes it would be cool blah blah blah, but you do NOT need one. The main function of a website is for members to stay in touch and to advertise the clan. There are other ways to do both of these. An instant messenger (like icq) is nice for keeping in touch, but email can also be used. This is the MOST IMPORTANT part. It's total (ferrari sauce) if you do not know what member is doing what and if they left the clan or someone wants to join the clan and you don't have any way of finding out. Well, that fixes the communication bit, but now for the advertising. The easiest to do, but the toughest to master. Allow me to say, YOU are the biggest advertisement of your clan. Live, eat, sleep, breathe, and think THIS RULE! All you need to do to advertise your clan is play, and a lot of playing is needed. Even if you have no pre-members or any other thing, all you need to do is stick a tag in ur name and start playing! The better you are, the more members will want to join, so start playing!

2) To attempt clan events is right, but to pretend to attempt events is WRONG! DO NOT PRETEND ANYTHING! THIS IS REAL! IF you don't have enough members (4 is what u need these days) don't pretend to organize something. All you really need to do to organise something is a post right here. Say you want a clan war, and get the times and lvl right, I'm sure another clan would want to have a war (i don't think it ever failed on here). All you need to do is make sure your members want the war and that they will all be on when it is arranged.

3) I really think ranking is a no-no in clans, ESPECIALLY when it starts out. The only reason clans like GPW have rankings is because it's huge, and I mean really huge. Shadow doesn't just lead GPW, he leads the clan in EVERY OTHER GAME that GPW is in. Because of that he needs to have a leader in each game to make sure things are okay while he goes around in the other games. For now you can do everything, with a small clan you don't need a war arranger, recruiter, co-leader, vice-leader blah blah blah. In a clan your size you can manage everything, and the best part is you know exactly what is going on in your clan, not just dependng on other members to tell you what they arranged/did.

4) You don't really need clan meeting levels, most ppl (oldie critics like myself) don't like them and would prefer a good battle on a nicely designed lvl. If you are gonna sit in a meeting level all the time chatting away then you won't play as much as you need to actually advertise your clan. You can host your (or your member's) battle levels if you like, but it should have some nice gameplay to test people on (if someone plays and you like him, you can ask him to join). I would prefer just sitting in a hosted server from iCeD or Monolith and play in there with all my free time.

5) I would prefer tryouts in a clan, but I don't thinnk you should make it impossible for members to join. Usually they should be a little weaker than you, which leads to another rule. It is very unlikely that someone better than you will join your clan (it does happen though). You are almost always the strongest player, and need to practice to get better in order to get beter players in order to make your clan stronger and more popular. That's how it works. It does take a while to get a nice clan, but you must have PATIENCE! You will succeed eventually, but remember that being a clan leader is a lot of work, and you must be prepared to accept this work or your clan will fail.

6) Heck, I wouldn't really start a clan lately, but instead join another, have you considered this? Hehe, I know I always tell ppl to join other clans, but I think the should at least try with a new clan, it might just work out and become a new GPW/DL etc.

Oh, and speaking of clan names, there are tons to choose from, but if I started a clan I'd call it PFB (Pink Fluffy Bunnies). Haha, seriously, it is a lame name, but I'm weird, and it would be nice to have Pink Fluffy Bunnies wh00p ppl into oblivion. Hehe, how funny, but I'd raher stay in GPW

Well, I'm sure that should help you out (if you didn't fall asleep already). Enjoy!

PiZZa: Late content edit.