'Official' clans

[Baskingner]

Hello everyone,

Since the clan rules were recently updated i figured this would be a nice moment for a talk about clans. I currently have an issue how FL in general is dealing with its clans. From the clan page we can see quite an indepth ruleset about clans and even about wars between clans. (Clan wars & Clan basics)

When i, as a new member, read these threads about clans my immediate thought was 'wow, this is amazing, they have official, well run clans that can even fight and close eachother' but my enthousiasm was quickly removed by the sight of the 'official clans' page. In that time there were 3 official clans (Estleback, FUMUKU and one that barkles created, i forgot the name) and there was hardly any action between them. In my time on FL here i have never, ever seen more then 3 official clans at the same time. Thing is, the other clans who are all unofficial, were sometimes even more active as the official clans. This is where one of my issues regarding clans lies:

[Official] clan tag
Why are we having the concept of 'official' clans? Is this a legal thing so if someone creates an ISIS clan (which is against the rules anyway) FL can easier distantiate itself from said clan? I find this very hard to believe.
So why is this 'official' clan a thing then? To encourage good clans to become even more active to achieve that precious 'official' status? If this is the case, its really poorly done. Standards or guidelines on how to become an official clan are nowhere to be found. Clans that have been around for ages and have played a huge part in FL still arent official. That raises the question, how do you become official as a clan? Do you apply somewhere, do you need a certain amount of members, hours, roleplaypoints or simply the blessing of the current clan officers? Or is applying bad, does it reduce your chances to become official and does FL contact you if they deem your clan worthy of the official status?

[Unofficial] clan tag
My second issue has a little bit to do with the official status but mostly with the 'unofficial' status you automaticly have when youre not an official clan. Currently there is 1 official clan, and this has been the only one for quite a while mind you, so why are we forcing the other 20 clans to wear an (in my opinion) ugly and newbie looking [unofficial]  tag infront of their forum post? Why discourage people from creating a cool clan by forcing them to belittle themselves with [unofficial] tags if 99.9% of the clans from FL are 'unofficial'. If there was a bigger proportion of 'official' clans i'd get it but is this all worth it for this 1 (and in the future maybe 2 or 3) official clan(s)? I dont think so.

Guidelines & More official clans
Why arent we handing more clans the 'official' tag? If good guidelines are set people can actually work towards a goal and the best part is: rewards FL is offering its official clans are amazing! Having your own subforum protected which a password is a major asset and can help people interact with their clan from the forums, increasing activity. Why deny people this great feature that costs FL barely anything and should be a win/win for everyone? Im not saying everyone and their mothers dog should be able to get an official clan but some extra leniency regarding this would be very refreshing for the clan world.

I'd like to hear thoughts from other people regarding this, does FL need to change it ways regarding how clans work and operate? And if so, is it a problem where we need more guidelines or is it a more serious problem where our clan system has gotten stuck under the official tag?

TLDR: 
2 issues regarding clans on FL.
1: What is the deal with official clans, why is there only 1 and are guidelines regarding it pretty much non-existant.
2: Why are we forcing people the 'unofficial' tag down their throat when official clans are very, very rare.

[Forgee]

Aint no official clans now

[Joe Joe]

-Snip-

The aim of an 'Official' Status is to reward clans for their work and how their Clan generally Roleplay. There are not specific 'Guidelines' to get it, its like a Roleplay Point we don't give you a guide how to get them. Myself and DVN have been making quite some changes being Clan Officers in an aim to balance the whole scene and add more for Clans. Being 'Official' also means gaining a Sub-Forum which can be very useful for the clan and its progress. However I appreciate your concerns and will be sure to keep it in mind as we continue to change and improve the Clan and Group scene.

[mgdwszx]

and one that barkles created, i forgot the name

MEGA Corp. #neverforget
Also, SAA was about, right?

Yeah I generally agree with your points, I think the ‘Official’ tag is used to distinguish established, active and popular clans from lower effort newer clans. That said, perhaps guidelines to help new clans aspire to higher levels would be useful in cultivating a better clan culture. Clan models could help boost this, too.

[Baskingner]

-Snip-

The aim of an 'Official' Status is to reward clans for their work and how their Clan generally Roleplay. There are not specific 'Guidelines' to get it, its like a Roleplay Point we don't give you a guide how to get them. Myself and DVN have been making quite some changes being Clan Officers in an aim to balance the whole scene and add more for Clans. Being 'Official' also means gaining a Sub-Forum which can be very useful for the clan and its progress. However I appreciate your concerns and will be sure to keep it in mind as we continue to change and improve the Clan and Group scene.

Isnt that counter-productive? Ofcourse you can create certain guidelines of how you can obtain an official status, why wouldnt you? Keeping these guidelines secret or open to interpretation to clan officers creates tons of potential problems. 
What does it even mean if you are an 'official' clan on FL? Does FL officially approve of your roleplays and sees you as a extra cool clan or is it a reward for clan leaders who have led their clan exceptionally well? What does it mean to be an unofficial clan? An 'unofficial clan' honestly sounds like a bunch of people who have created a group of people which has been 'tolerated', but not supported or liked in any way. 

Like i said, the sub-forum is a great reward which can really help people with their clans. Why, in a time of decreasing player activity, are we still witholding these features from the people who have worked their asses of creating a cool clan?

[Fultz]

Two easy ways to get an official clan.

1. Be a passive clan
2. Have staff in your clan

If you do not meet either of those criteria, the odds of gaining the official status is very low. Whenever Rickets and I created Ace. It took us a very long time to receive official status. That included us showing presence on the server every day and posting actively on the forums.

Truthfully the official clan status should be handed out whenever a base level is reached. Example being having a nice looking clan page, having 5+ people, and not minging. At that point it should be treated as the clan officers can remove your official clan status for breaking those following terms. And lastly, I have always believed official clans should be able to receive clan specific skins.

This would encourage clan growth as well as clan interaction. As of right now clans are stale and need a revamp similar to this.

[Baskingner]

Two easy ways to get an official clan.

1. Be a passive clan
2. Have staff in your clan

If you do not meet either of those criteria, the odds of gaining the official status is very low. Whenever Rickets and I created Ace. It took us a very long time to receive official status. That included us showing presence on the server every day and posting actively on the forums.

Truthfully the official clan status should be handed out whenever a base level is reached. Example being having a nice looking clan page, having 5+ people, and not minging. At that point it should be treated as the clan officers can remove your official clan status for breaking those following terms. And lastly, I have always believed official clans should be able to receive clan specific skins.

This would encourage clan growth as well as clan interaction. As of right now clans are stale and need a revamp similar to this.

Those points have been my sentiment as well. It really feels like you only get the 'official' tag if you create a clan that is within the FL (and thus the staffteams) vision of how clans and players should behave and roleplay. This feeling might not be actually true or completely fair but it is reinforced by the huge lack of information that we are giving regarding the rank.

I couldnt agree more on your 'base level' point, this is my idea regarding clans as well and hopefully something like this will be implemented in the future. If more people can enjoy the benefits of the official status it might revive the FL clan system.

[Joe Joe]

-Snip-

Just for the heads up Clans are no-longer passive. We made a change to make it more fitting and give each category a better chance.

[Joe Joe]

-Snip-

Its because sadly not all Clans deserve or work for the title. Its not just a hand out cause we think FL is dying scenario. Its a reward. Older guidelines were not effectively used and therefore a newer system came into place where it is a reward for exceptional clans, not a "You've met the requirements" situation. However as stated we are open to others ideas and therefore discussing them here is a good idea.

[Fultz]

-Snip-

Just for the heads up Clans are no-longer passive. We made a change to make it more fitting and give each category a better chance.

You say that is if that makes any difference to what I said. Instead of "Passive Clan" I will just now say "Passive Group" to get "Verified Group."

Either way it doesnt matter. I would honestly rather you reply regarding the rest of what I posted in regards to my suggestion for the official clan system instead of this little tidbit.