~Tips & Guidelines to make a Successful Club~

[CinnamonStar]

[u][b]1. Choose a good topic[/b][/u]
With that I don’t mean something I or others would like to see, but it’s the first step to success. Think about something you’re interested in and that you think would engender some discussion. A good advice by another member (I can’t remember T_T BUT I CAN RHYME!!=D ok right) is to frame topics. Something about videogames in general is recommended if your mind is set on something big and active, but might quickly sway away from topic. A thread about the character X from the videogame X isn’t very recommendable unless it’s a hugely popular character and there’s a lot of tamtam around him/her/it. However chances are that your club might become inactive or not gain enough members who know character X. Clubs about a certain game franchise or a type of games (let’s say shooters) are a good golden middle though. Another advice: Nothing keeps you from doing it but incase you’re hesitating, don’t make clubs about something that already exists in masses. If you’re interested into Pokémon and surrounded by 10 different Pokémon clubs, then you should better join one of them. Don’t be afraid to start something original, think about what kinds of member groups exist on YCM, how can you contribute to it, do you have an interest into a particular hobby/history era/food recipes?

[u][b]2. Appoint co-leaders, people to overlook the thread, enforce the rules[/b][/u]
Yes like the forum rules say, every club must have a set of rules and follow them. We’re thinking about setting this up as an official rule, but for now I’ll just advice everyone to gather enough overview over the club. The mods are around to oversee the whole section and deal with rule breakers, but as the owner of a club, it’s your thread, thus you’re not supposed to accept or keep everyone into a club who spams, flames or trolls people. Enforce your rules before a moderator does it and if you’re too busy, then appoint someone to help you or give the leadership over to someone else. Again, having co-leaders or high-ranked people who are active is always useful.

[u][b]3. For everyone: “Quality before quantity” in posts[/b][/u]
I wanted to write something like “put as much content into your posts as possible” but quickly put it away because that’s not right. You know, I don’t mean that everyone should become super-economical and stuff as much content into a post as possible, especially since Clubs is supposed to be a leisure kind of section. But you get the point, extremely short and pointless posts like “I don’t understand”, “what don’t you understand”, “well all this”, “hmm…”, “so confusing”, “what shall we do?”, “bawwwwwww” are annoying and considered spam. Just refrain from posting extremely short sentences, try to contribute to a discussion and you should be fine.

[u][b]4. Refrain from the “what are we talking about?”, “dawww I’m bored, topic?” posts[/b][/u]
They are often annoying and probably the biggest problem in this section. Sure asking the others what they want to talk about or what the topic was again is fine, but better than that, start a new topic yourself without the whole questions.

[u][b]5. Keep the club lively[/b][/u]
A good way to do that is by starting events or projects regularly. It keeps people interested into posting and less likely to get shunned away. Suggestions can range from common things (card contests/series, RPs, popularity contests) to stuff like secret santa, presents, … (WILL ELABORATE MORE ON THIS) People are more likely to stay active and interested into a club when they can work on something rather than constant “what are we talking about?”s.

[u][b]6. Advertise your club[/b][/u]
Two things here: If you want to attract people, put a bit of time into your layout, try to make it look interesting and fresh-looking. No ridiculously small or very bright writings, it’s not prohibited but many people will grow annoyed by it and lose interest. I’d strongly advice people to get a banner or graphic of some sort to put into your sig and/or the first topic post as well. Post in the Requests section or try to catch up some members who are active in Graphics.

[u][b]7. Affiliates[/b][/u]
I have no personal experience with that but everywhere I looked, it seems that clubs who become partner clubs of others (= affiliates) tend to grow quite big, often having members join a partner club. Another useful advice would be to merge clubs if you realize that you have similar interests and want to become bigger. But it’s all how you want, I just noticed that clubs about certain fandoms joining together creates more activity.

[u][b]8. Don’t get upset about warnings or moderator interfering, use it as a ground for improvement[/b][/u]
If you think a warning you got is unfair, then we can discuss it. Just PM me, don’t make a new revolt thread on the forum. However a warning is not the end of the world, use it as a way to improve and get rid of bad habits. If I see improvement in a club, it’s possible that I will remove a warning.



That’s all for now, I might add some things as they come to mind. Feel free to make other suggestions though.=D