EPTOriginally, I intended to make a very thorough guide, but realized quickly that there’s so many ifs and buts that even as eager a butt man as I am, it’d be too much. Instead, I’m thinking to go through some general points which I think are applicable for most clans.
Whether you should listen to me or not is of course up to discussion. I’ve had some experience as a clan leader, but whether or not you should put any weight to this guide is up to my rivals, and former members to decide. With that out of the way – let’s get to it!
1. Just do it!
That’s really the first and most important thing to take to heart. Just do it! Don’t over-analyse, don’t worry if you’re competent enough or not, or whatever other excuse you may come up with. Start it alone, or have some friends join in. The worst thing that can happen is pretty much that the clan dies. But you’ll never know if you don’t try. And what’s more, starting and running a clan is in itself a great adventure – at least in my opinion. You’re going to make a ton of mistakes, even if you know what you’re doing. Don’t worry about it. Just get started and see how it goes!
2. Learn to apologize
I felt this point comes naturally pointing out that you’ll make mistakes. And you will. You should always be able to apologize to anyone you’ve wronged, however it’s imperative that you apologize if you do your clan members wrong. You won’t lose any more face if you do, but you’re likely to lose their respect if you don’t. It feels awful, but it’s the right and best option in the long run.
3. Have an idea of what sort of clan you want to run
You don’t necessarily need extensive plans for your clan, especially since you’re likely to have to moderate or completely change them anyway. But I think it’s important to consider what sort of clan you want to be. What’s your core values, your main goal? Do you want to be a social clan, with focus on personalities and how people get along? Do you want to be the strongest clan, with focus on the skill of the players, and player development? A rough idea is enough, but I strongly advise you have some core values. Your core values will be your compass to navigate you through the waves and challenges you’ll face.
4. Recruitment
This is one thing you’re just going to have to get used to. Recruitment is constant. You might get to periods in time where you don’t need to recruit more members, but these periods are most likely never anything but short lived. There’s a plethora of reasons as to why members leave or are removed, but you’re going to have to replenish what’s been lost. And there’s many ways to recruit. In my opinion you have to be “everywhere”. Join Discord channels all over the place, read forums, watch streams – be an active part of the community. Some members you might just happen to discover in some random chat, some players you might invite on ladder – both of which alternatives I found members who stayed for the long run.
But this is also a part where you can define yourself a bit as a clan. Do you invite anything and anyone? Do you set demands? And do you invite players who are already in a different clan? Personally, I have very little love for people who invite “taken” players. I feel it’s akin to trying to hook up with someone who’s in a relationship. But like adultery, it’s not illegal. Just be aware that you might get some reactions, and a reputation you’ll have to be sure you’re ready to get.
Else from that, there are a few pointers I think are important. Have some clear lines on who can invite or not. Sharing the responsibilities of recruitment with someone can help with your general workload, and even more so if they handle all recruitment. But keep in mind that that puts them in a position to form the clan more than you might realize, so make sure it’s someone who understands your visions and desires for the clan.
Whenever you get a new member, make sure you have a chat with them. Make sure new members know what’s expected of them as members. If you have any rules* (and I advise you to have some), make sure they have read and understood them.
*Example for rules:
+ Show Spoiler +
- All clan members must wear the clan tag in tournaments and clan wars.
- No bad manner
- No double teaming
- As long as you are of age, Bacardi is an accepted performance enhancement
- Clan members are expected to participate in clan wars
- Inactivity in periods longer than one month will result in removal
- No bad manner
- No double teaming
- As long as you are of age, Bacardi is an accepted performance enhancement
- Clan members are expected to participate in clan wars
- Inactivity in periods longer than one month will result in removal
5. Take responsibility for clan activities
Create events! Events are great for many things. It creates a sense of life in a clan, that there’s something going on. It can also be a great way for clan members to get to know one another. Tournaments are great for involving a lot of people at the same time, where there’s no real limit for how many who can join in. Show matches are great for putting a lot of focus on certain players, where you can present them to the others in your clan. It also opens the door for clan members who aspire to be streamers/casters, giving them a place to shine and make use of their ambitions/enjoyment. It’s also an easy way for the remaining members to participate without really doing much.
However, if you open your events to the general community, the events can serve as a commercial for your clan. A tool for recruitment. I do advise that you don’t participate in these events yourself, but rather put all focus on the admin job. There’s always going to be trouble in a tournament, and the moment you yourself start playing, chances are there’s players in the channel waiting for you to come back. Don’t be a bottle neck. Poor organization is a poor commercial.
When organizing events, always keep in mind that information has to be spoon fed. I’m not sure if I have ever experienced a clan war (well, maybe except in STPL), tournament or similar, without questions of “what’s the first map?”, “it’s TODAY?”, or “what time was it again?”. Don’t lose heart, this is normal!
6. Means of communication
Different players communicate best in different ways. Some players are most active on Discord, some on Facebook, some on the phone etc. Ideally, all players should be able to adapt to their respective clan’s chosen means of communication. However, it’s most important to make sure information reaches all players. Figure out where you can reach each player best. The information you want shared should be in one place, but you can share the link wherever you reach your players.
7. Conflict management
Conflict between the clan members is inevitable. Whether you’re directly involved or not, you should take responsibility to make sure it’s solved or contained. This might be something many disagree with, though, but in my opinion you are in a way the parent of your clan, and have to make sure your children learn to get along. Not all members need to be the best of friends, but ongoing conflicts are poison for a clan’s atmosphere. If the conflict goes too far, I’d advise you either pick a side and remove the player you think is in the wrong. Or simply remove both players, if it’s hard to tell. The clan as a whole comes first.
If you’re uncertain how you should handle it, it’s mostly a matter of hearing out both sides, ask if there’s any solutions to be found, and make suggestions of your own if they can’t come up with any.
If they try to tell you it’s none of your business, explain that anything that affects your clan is your business.
8. Different phases
This is something I reckon you'll figure out regardless. But it might be worth noting that a clan goes through many different phases, or perhaps obstacles. At first, you'll likely have a lot of work trying to get new members. Later on your clan might get to a place where members start seeking you out, so you'll have less work on recruitment. Some times you might have a really strong line up, and then you might end up losing them and your clan ends up plummeting in clan leagues. The strong attracts the strong, and if there are few others in their respective clan, they might seek out a stronger clan.
All this should be handled as it goes, but I think it's worth having in the back of your mind just how many changes your clan is likely to go through. And how normal it is - don't take it personally. Don't lose heart! Keep moving forward and keep fighting for your clan! I feel when it comes to the survival of a clan, it's more a matter of resillience, not brilliance. Stay true to yourself.
9. Don’t grow bitter
This is a bit of an odd one. I’m speaking primarily from my own experience, but I feel I’ve also seen tendencies of this in others as well.
When you’ve been a clan leader or an admin for a long time, it’s easy to get worn out. Admin work can often feel like sitting inside while everyone else is out in the sun playing, only you’re doing all their homework just so they can play. There’ll be times when all you want is to play, but someone wants to join your clan, so you end up spending time on the recruitment process instead. There’ll be time where you want to hang out, but instead you spend time brokering between two angry clan members. There’ll be events you organize where people don’t show up. There’ll be quarrels between other clan leaders, or admins, or maybe you’ll be frustrated with trying to find clan members within a too small pool of players.
Being an admin can be a very thankless job. A lot of people do great with thanking admins for their work and all that, but I believe few (except fellow admins/leaders) understand just how much work there is, and how lonely it can be. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re inconsiderate or anything. They just haven’t tried your shoes.
Don’t grow bitter. Do the work because you see the value of the job in itself. And remind yourself of all the good things. Goals reached, friendships made, and all the good whomever you might be annoyed with has done. No one Is perfect. If you find yourself being increasingly frustrated, try to take some time off (to the extent you can). Think of what you like about the people around you and keep focusing on it.
Conclusion:
The community needs clans, and it will always need them. In my opinion, there's always room for more clans - the more the merrier! Maybe you can offer something that's missing? Maybe you'll be surprised over how many people wants to join your team?
I hope this thread can be helpful and motivating for anyone wanting to start a clan. I haven't tried to sugar coat anything, so some of what I've written might not exactly be the best pep-talk. Nevertheless, I think it's important to know what you're going into, and that despite everything I think it's well worth it.
My biggest regret is however to grow bitter. This is something I deeply hope can be a lesson I've learned the hard way, that you can be saved from in the future. There's so many good things going on in StarCraft. So many people getting together for a common love of the best and most beautiful game to ever grace our planet.
Feel very free to ask for help or anything like that! I would very much love to help my rivals of tommorrow (even if I'm not a leader anymore, nor have I gotten back to playing yet - but I WILL!!).
