Clan & Forum Suggestions

I appreciate all of the thought you put into this.  I have a few things I'd like to comment on:

1.  I have reset the strawpoll.  Very good idea; it should now be more accurate.

2.  I love the usergroup ranks for the forum!  I think it makes it a bit more fun.  I don't believe there should be any advantages given to anyone in any of the groups, however.

3.  I do disagree with the heightened regulation of events.  Some of our best events are ones that aren't planned and are totally on the spot and spontaneous.  In addition, it can be tough for some people to log in 30 minutes before the event (I also see it as slightly unnecessary to put that much time in ahead).  We already have a policy of recording attendance, and anyone who doesn't record it is just losing out on giving credit where due.  I do like the part about the aftermath.  I don't know if it should be mandatory, but I think it would be neat to have a forums section or a website section with kind of a log of our events.

4.  As far as the ranking system goes, I have gone back and forth quite a bit on what I believe as far as the ranks go, and I am really happy with the current system.  I like that there aren't super-specific requirements - We do currently have some types of minimum-event attendance, which I do support, but I also greatly appreciate the fact that we are lenient enough not to create highly enforced regulations for our ranks, forcing people to do things they aren't interested in.  For example, I do not personally agree with you that there should be a minimum post-count in order to be a specific rank.  Many people just don't enjoy the forums, but are very active and very helpful members in the clan chat.  I appreciate that our ranking system allows fluidity which can bring in different types of members.  It requires some proof of loyalty (a very lenient event-attendance, as well as general proof of character, trustworthiness, and charisma [for lack of a better word]).


Thank you so much for taking the time to think of all of this and post it, Aneexul.  I really appreciate it .


Edit: I do agree that we could always use a higher forum user-count, however, I think that it is more a lack of advertising as opposed to a lack of motivation. You'd be shocked how many people don't even know we have a forum!

Due to an implementation of a forum user rank I feel obliged to weigh in now!

I think the forum ranking is a cracking idea, hopefully should encourage more participation and that will in turn get more mention and hopefully site traffic from the clan!

I agree with many aspects of the planning bit of events, but I don't think that an event should have a mandatory planning as Snowie said lots of events are spontaneous and work very well! The aftermath with more screenshots on the site would be a great idea! Again might increase the websites awareness, which helps!

I think the ranking system works well enough right now! We do have a high influx of new members right now which is good but this obviously leads to lots of stars, but this could just be due to the clan's popularity and the fact that osrs is growing! So lets bask in it!

Thank you @Berry 94.

@Snowie I was only suggesting about the ranks because I was thinking that some of the clan members were making fun of lots of Bronze Star as its easier to obtain. Nut other than that I have nothing against the current system ;P

Thanks for the replies guys.

I love the idea for the topic sections and the ranking system on the forum!
I would love to see it implemented
However there are some things I'd like to give my two cents on.

Planning events
I am all for planning events in good time before it actually begins, but there are a lot of great events that just happens spontaneously. I also don't think 3 days is needed to plan every event. It would however increase the number of people attending that event. (Presumably)
It might also decrease the total amount of events hosted, which is not a good thing. (Due to lack of just starting one at the spot)

Notifications
Notifying people in good time before the event is a great thing to do, and helps with the amount of event attendees aswell. However, I think this should be highly advised, not mandatory.

Pre-event
There aren't that many things you can do to get an event ready in all honesty. Especially not that takes 30minutes. The only thing I can think of is telling people it starts in 30minutes, which takes us back to to Notifying.

Post-event
I completely agree about the list

Aftermath
While this is a good idea, I feel it might discourage people from hosting events, because it can feel like more work and hassle, and less fun, which in the end is what events should be all about.

Ranks
I feel the amount of events you need to attend in order to get ranks (Especially the early ones) is very high. If you look at what the ranks "Mean" in the oldschool forum thread:
"Recruit - Congratulations, you are in the clan!
Corporal - You have established that you are more than someone who is just checking this clan out. "
I feel it would be quite a lot of requirements just to become a part of the clan.

People play in different ways, which is why we have the current ranking system. (I am all for improving it, because it is not perfect)
Someone who simply do not like events, and joined the clan just to chat and make friends, could stay in this clan for as long as they wanted and never get a rank due to the event requirements you are suggesting.
I don't think that sounds very fair.

As for the post count requirement, I disagree aswell. I want to see an increase in forum activity as much as the next person, but I don't think it should be mandatory in order to get a bronze star rank.
I'm a quality over quantity person. I would much rather see 5 outstanding posts instead of 25 posts like "Lol"  or something random. I feel people might be tempted to post just for the sake of getting their post count up.

One thing snowie said, which I completely 100% agree with is this:
"I do agree that we could always use a higher forum user-count, however, I think that it is more a lack of advertising as opposed to a lack of motivation. You'd be shocked how many people don't even know we have a forum!"

I think we need to make the forum more known, as well as implementing some of the ideas you said.
Again, I loved the Sections and Forum ranking and would like to see it implemented.

Thanks for the feedback Thea j! I can understand why the events should not be regulated as i mentioned. It might make it not fun for others, so we can probably ignore that suggestion ;p

"I'm a quality over quantity person. I would much rather see 5 outstanding posts instead of 25 posts like "Lol"  or something random."

I agree completely with this. Not every person posts or responds to everything a ton on the forums because everyone is different. This doesn't necessarily mean they're less active on the forums by their post count. For me personally, I read every section and make sure to check the forums every day or every other day. Though I remain pretty quiet and only speak up in necessity or when I feel contribution is needed. In any case, the idea of having forum ranks and whatnot would be totally fine as long as it was just a cosmetic feature of the forums that didn't affect any outside aspects.

As for the clan rankings being tied with the forum, I don't really agree with that. As Snowie said, some people just don't really care to be active outside of the game, and have joined the clan simply to play the game. The forums were made just to have an extra place in which clan members could communicate, post, plan and share permanently without disappearance of chat/ideas, etc like in game. I've always viewed it as an optional thing for the clan, for those who wanted a bit of extra connection outside of just playing the game and being in the clan chat. Instead of having forum posts be a necessity for any rank, I'd much rather the ranking system stay the same as it is now. The current flexibility of the ranking system is already pretty well thought out in my opinion, and seems to be working great now.
Again though, I wouldn't be opposed to the whole cosmetic idea of forum titles/rankings based on amount of posts as long as it remains just that -- cosmetic -- and doesn't affect any actual clan rankings or requirements for clan rankings.

Aneexul wrote:Thank you @Berry 94.

@Snowie I was only suggesting about the ranks because I was thinking that some of the clan members were making fun of lots of Bronze Star as its easier to obtain. Nut other than that I have nothing against the current system ;P

Thanks for the replies guys.

We do have a lot of bronze stars, and I have argued in the past that we need to be more strict.  Currently, I'm not sure where I sit on the subject.  After speaking with Shaby, I can see how we have this number of bronse stars because we have so many people who deserve it.  With our current ranking system, the current bronze stars all qualify and I can understand why each one of them is ranked how they are.  The only change I could see that would keep people rewarded for their activity would actually be a change in the lower 4 ranks (smiley through 3 "bananas").  I'm not sure I agree with the idea I'm mentioning, but if it were more challenging to go through the bottom ranks, then there would be fewer bronze (as opposed to it being easier to get to the 3-bananas and challenging to become a bronze, as it is currently).

Again, I don't know if I believe we need a change in the system, but this is the only way I could see it working.

Snowie wrote:

Aneexul wrote:Thank you @Berry 94.

@Snowie I was only suggesting about the ranks because I was thinking that some of the clan members were making fun of lots of Bronze Star as its easier to obtain. Nut other than that I have nothing against the current system ;P

Thanks for the replies guys.

We do have a lot of bronze stars, and I have argued in the past that we need to be more strict.  Currently, I'm not sure where I sit on the subject.  After speaking with Shaby, I can see how we have this number of bronse stars because we have so many people who deserve it.  With our current ranking system, the current bronze stars all qualify and I can understand why each one of them is ranked how they are.  The only change I could see that would keep people rewarded for their activity would actually be a change in the lower 4 ranks (smiley through 3 "bananas").  I'm not sure I agree with the idea I'm mentioning, but if it were more challenging to go through the bottom ranks, then there would be fewer bronze (as opposed to it being easier to get to the 3-bananas and challenging to become a bronze, as it is currently).

Again, I don't know if I believe we need a change in the system, but this is the only way I could see it working.

Well said Snowie, exactly my thought. If we were in need of a change, then we should do this way.

First, I'll go over the forum sections you suggested, Aneexul.

News and Announcement (including Updates)  This is the type of thing I was avoiding putting on the forums, because there's already a news page on the main site, and I don't want the forums to take away from the main site.
Clan Events  Events are already listed on the main site, which is updated very well. A whole forum section about event discussion is not necessary at this time because there's simply not enough people using the forums for niche sections to look good; if we had just a few people using the forums, and a lot of empty niche sections, it would make the forums look a lamer Imo. In theory, event discussion shouldn't spam the clan section because single-time events that are over will fall to the bottom of the thread list, and small event comments can go in the General Event Hype Thread. If we get a lot more people using the forums though, I can see a Clan Events section happening.
General Discussion (with a sub section for OSRS discussions) General discussion? You mean like the off topic section we have lol? And we have a OSRS discussion section; it's  one of the main sections. Your suggestion is basically to put the OSRS section inside the Off Topic section.
Introduction/Farewell Good idea, but I think just one thread would suffice.
Guides This is debatable. While we don't have enough people using the forums to need this section, it would be cool to archive people's guides.
Media If I see people talking about media a lot in the Off Topic section, I'll be happy to make a sub section in Off Topic about this.
Help/Support There's already a Help/Support section.
Off-Topic Already an Off Topic section.
Bronze Rank+ Section Already a bronze star + section.

Wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a list of only additional sections you want, or just a list of every section you wanted, including already existing ones. My feedback above was based on the assumption that these were all additional section suggestions.

About the "usergroup" ranks based on post count: First off, I don't think usergroups are what you're trying to talk about. A usergroup is a position on the forums that changes the color of one's name and can give one access to exclusive sections. What I think you're talking about Aneexul, are forum ranks. They don't change the color of  your name, but they add a title under your avatar based on your post count. I believe there can also be custom ranks, which are awarded for things besides post count. I will definitely add forum ranks in the near future.

About your event regulation suggestion: You said that events should be scheduled at least 3 days in advance. I think what we should do is have more consistency by making a point to schedule events for the next week every Sunday, while still allowing events to be scheduled at any time. When you suggested that hosters have to log in 30 mins before the event, get a screenshot of the event, and create a thread on the forums about every event... Forcing these would be too much regulation. If we got that tight and strict, we'd lose our token free atmosphere. Yes, being more punctual in scheduling stuff is very preferred, and taking screenshots is great. In fact, those who are more punctual and try harder at running the clan tend to get rewarded with better ranks. Strictness beyond the necessities needed to run the clan doesn't necessarily create enthusiasm. And at the end of the day, enthusiasm is what creates more clan activity, not regulations. I don't want to create an overly complicated and strict system that makes us appear better than we actually are, which it would be if we made such a system and it didn't work (see the rules the clan was founded on that we must follow). What is a necessity though, and is what you made a point about, is that event hosters need to record the attendance if I'm not there. This is crucial to the basic functionality of the system, and I want people to get better about this.

The ranking system you suggested looks to be more of a ladder format, in which after someone gets one rank, they need to do X to get the next step up. This is never how it has worked. The problem with rank requirements that depend on how much someone has achieved since the previous rank obtaintion (as opposed to altogether) is that... I would have to keep track of not just how many events everyone has total, but how much since the previous rank. If I had to do this for every member, it would take me a lot longer to keep records on you guys. Right now I can just quickly check people's stats and swiftly figure out if someone's rank is right. The criteria for obtaining recruit and corporal are currently a bit subjective (less stat based) on my part because if I were to have exact stat requirements for the low ranks, then I would have to check a lot more stats for new members, members who will likely leave the clan soon anyways. Sergeant currently does not have an event requirement, though it takes a long time to get without attending events. I feel that Sergeant not needing events is a good way to make the clan open to people who aren't crazy for events; the clan has always wanted to appeal to a variety of playstyles, and if corporal was the limit for non-event attendees that are otherwise great members... that's just not good enough of a rank for them. Bronze star though, should absolutely have an event requirement, as it always has. Should it be possible for someone who doesn't attend a lot of events to obtain bronze star if they are a veteran member that is great in other areas? Yes, which is why members who meet certain veteran requirements (such as being in the clan for a long set amount of time) only need 4 events, but most members need 8+ events (usually more than 8 ), plus other requirements such as maturity. We can't hugely increase the number of events needed for bronze star for people without this veteran status, because then it would almost be easier to earn the 4 event requirement than it would be to get the rank quickly with lots of events, the opposite of what the system is trying to incentivize.

Thank you for the suggestions Aneexul. Hopefully we will be a very productive and fun clan this month, to prove that we don't need more strictness.

Shabster wrote:First, I'll go over the forum sections you suggested, Aneexul.

News and Announcement (including Updates)  This is the type of thing I was avoiding putting on the forums, because there's already a news page on the main site, and I don't want the forums to take away from the main site.
Clan Events  Events are already listed on the main site, which is updated very well. A whole forum section about event discussion is not necessary at this time because there's simply not enough people using the forums for niche sections to look good; if we had just a few people using the forums, and a lot of empty niche sections, it would make the forums look a lamer Imo. In theory, event discussion shouldn't spam the clan section because single-time events that are over will fall to the bottom of the thread list, and small event comments can go in the General Event Hype Thread. If we get a lot more people using the forums though, I can see a Clan Events section happening.
General Discussion (with a sub section for OSRS discussions) General discussion? You mean like the off topic section we have lol? And we have a OSRS discussion section; it's  one of the main sections. Your suggestion is basically to put the OSRS section inside the Off Topic section.
Introduction/Farewell Good idea, but I think just one thread would suffice.
Guides This is debatable. While we don't have enough people using the forums to need this section, it would be cool to archive people's guides.
Media If I see people talking about media a lot in the Off Topic section, I'll be happy to make a sub section in Off Topic about this.
Help/Support There's already a Help/Support section.
Off-Topic Already an Off Topic section.
Bronze Rank+ Section Already a bronze star + section.

Wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a list of only additional sections you want, or just a list of every section you wanted, including already existing ones. My feedback above was based on the assumption that these were all additional section suggestions.

About the "usergroup" ranks based on post count: First off, I don't think usergroups are what you're trying to talk about. A usergroup is a position on the forums that changes the color of one's name and can give one access to exclusive sections. What I think you're talking about Aneexul, are forum ranks. They don't change the color of  your name, but they add a title under your avatar based on your post count. I believe there can also be custom ranks, which are awarded for things besides post count. I will definitely add forum ranks in the near future.

About your event regulation suggestion: You said that events should be scheduled at least 3 days in advance. I think what we should do is have more consistency by making a point to schedule events for the next week every Sunday, while still allowing events to be scheduled at any time. When you suggested that hosters have to log in 30 mins before the event, get a screenshot of the event, and create a thread on the forums about every event... Forcing these would be too much regulation. If we got that tight and strict, we'd lose our token free atmosphere. Yes, being more punctual in scheduling stuff is very preferred, and taking screenshots is great. In fact, those who are more punctual and try harder at running the clan tend to get rewarded with better ranks. Strictness beyond the necessities needed to run the clan doesn't necessarily create enthusiasm. And at the end of the day, enthusiasm is what creates more clan activity, not regulations. I don't want to create an overly complicated and strict system that makes us appear better than we actually are, which it would be if we made such a system and it didn't work (see the rules the clan was founded on that we must follow). What is a necessity though, and is what you made a point about, is that event hosters need to record the attendance if I'm not there. This is crucial to the basic functionality of the system, and I want people to get better about this.

The ranking system you suggested looks to be more of a ladder format, in which after someone gets one rank, they need to do X to get the next step up. This is never how it has worked. The problem with rank requirements that depend on how much someone has achieved since the previous rank obtaintion (as opposed to altogether) is that... I would have to keep track of not just how many events everyone has total, but how much since the previous rank. If I had to do this for every member, it would take me a lot longer to keep records on you guys. Right now I can just quickly check people's stats and swiftly figure out if someone's rank is right. The criteria for obtaining recruit and corporal are currently a bit subjective (less stat based) on my part because if I were to have exact stat requirements for the low ranks, then I would have to check a lot more stats for new members, members who will likely leave the clan soon anyways. Sergeant currently does not have an event requirement, though it takes a long time to get without attending events. I feel that Sergeant not needing events is a good way to make the clan open to people who aren't crazy for events; the clan has always wanted to appeal to a variety of playstyles, and if corporal was the limit for non-event attendees that are otherwise great members... that's just not good enough of a rank for them. Bronze star though, should absolutely have an event requirement, as it always has. Should it be possible for someone who doesn't attend a lot of events to obtain bronze star if they are a veteran member that is great in other areas? Yes, which is why members who meet certain veteran requirements (such as being in the clan for a long set amount of time) only need 4 events, but most members need 8+ events (usually more than 8 ), plus other requirements such as maturity. We can't hugely increase the number of events needed for bronze star for people without this veteran status, because then it would almost be easier to earn the 4 event requirement than it would be to get the rank quickly with lots of events, the opposite of what the system is trying to incentivize.

Thank you for the suggestions Aneexul. Hopefully we will be a very productive and fun clan this month, to prove that we don't need more strictness.

All very well said. I appreciate your transparency when it comes to the lower ranks and how you decide them. It was evident that it was subjective, but it makes a lot of sense understanding why it is a subjective decision.

Shabster wrote:First, I'll go over the forum sections you suggested, Aneexul.

News and Announcement (including Updates)  This is the type of thing I was avoiding putting on the forums, because there's already a news page on the main site, and I don't want the forums to take away from the main site.
Clan Events  Events are already listed on the main site, which is updated very well. A whole forum section about event discussion is not necessary at this time because there's simply not enough people using the forums for niche sections to look good; if we had just a few people using the forums, and a lot of empty niche sections, it would make the forums look a lamer Imo. In theory, event discussion shouldn't spam the clan section because single-time events that are over will fall to the bottom of the thread list, and small event comments can go in the General Event Hype Thread. If we get a lot more people using the forums though, I can see a Clan Events section happening.
General Discussion (with a sub section for OSRS discussions) General discussion? You mean like the off topic section we have lol? And we have a OSRS discussion section; it's  one of the main sections. Your suggestion is basically to put the OSRS section inside the Off Topic section.
Introduction/Farewell Good idea, but I think just one thread would suffice.
Guides This is debatable. While we don't have enough people using the forums to need this section, it would be cool to archive people's guides.
Media If I see people talking about media a lot in the Off Topic section, I'll be happy to make a sub section in Off Topic about this.
Help/Support There's already a Help/Support section.
Off-Topic Already an Off Topic section.
Bronze Rank+ Section Already a bronze star + section.

Wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a list of only additional sections you want, or just a list of every section you wanted, including already existing ones. My feedback above was based on the assumption that these were all additional section suggestions.

About the "usergroup" ranks based on post count: First off, I don't think usergroups are what you're trying to talk about. A usergroup is a position on the forums that changes the color of one's name and can give one access to exclusive sections. What I think you're talking about Aneexul, are forum ranks. They don't change the color of  your name, but they add a title under your avatar based on your post count. I believe there can also be custom ranks, which are awarded for things besides post count. I will definitely add forum ranks in the near future.

About your event regulation suggestion: You said that events should be scheduled at least 3 days in advance. I think what we should do is have more consistency by making a point to schedule events for the next week every Sunday, while still allowing events to be scheduled at any time. When you suggested that hosters have to log in 30 mins before the event, get a screenshot of the event, and create a thread on the forums about every event... Forcing these would be too much regulation. If we got that tight and strict, we'd lose our token free atmosphere. Yes, being more punctual in scheduling stuff is very preferred, and taking screenshots is great. In fact, those who are more punctual and try harder at running the clan tend to get rewarded with better ranks. Strictness beyond the necessities needed to run the clan doesn't necessarily create enthusiasm. And at the end of the day, enthusiasm is what creates more clan activity, not regulations. I don't want to create an overly complicated and strict system that makes us appear better than we actually are, which it would be if we made such a system and it didn't work (see the rules the clan was founded on that we must follow). What is a necessity though, and is what you made a point about, is that event hosters need to record the attendance if I'm not there. This is crucial to the basic functionality of the system, and I want people to get better about this.

The ranking system you suggested looks to be more of a ladder format, in which after someone gets one rank, they need to do X to get the next step up. This is never how it has worked. The problem with rank requirements that depend on how much someone has achieved since the previous rank obtaintion (as opposed to altogether) is that... I would have to keep track of not just how many events everyone has total, but how much since the previous rank. If I had to do this for every member, it would take me a lot longer to keep records on you guys. Right now I can just quickly check people's stats and swiftly figure out if someone's rank is right. The criteria for obtaining recruit and corporal are currently a bit subjective (less stat based) on my part because if I were to have exact stat requirements for the low ranks, then I would have to check a lot more stats for new members, members who will likely leave the clan soon anyways. Sergeant currently does not have an event requirement, though it takes a long time to get without attending events. I feel that Sergeant not needing events is a good way to make the clan open to people who aren't crazy for events; the clan has always wanted to appeal to a variety of playstyles, and if corporal was the limit for non-event attendees that are otherwise great members... that's just not good enough of a rank for them. Bronze star though, should absolutely have an event requirement, as it always has. Should it be possible for someone who doesn't attend a lot of events to obtain bronze star if they are a veteran member that is great in other areas? Yes, which is why members who meet certain veteran requirements (such as being in the clan for a long set amount of time) only need 4 events, but most members need 8+ events (usually more than 8 ), plus other requirements such as maturity. We can't hugely increase the number of events needed for bronze star for people without this veteran status, because then it would almost be easier to earn the 4 event requirement than it would be to get the rank quickly with lots of events, the opposite of what the system is trying to incentivize.

Thank you for the suggestions Aneexul. Hopefully we will be a very productive and fun clan this month, to prove that we don't need more strictness.

I really appreciate your thoughts on my suggestions.

My suggestions were more on an "idea", so I can understand why they won't fit in to our current clan system.

Thanks for the feed back!