If you are thinking about creating a new clan (especially if you are new to Altitude), please read the following advice about starting a clan.

Altitude is a community. The way that you present yourself in-game and on the forums will influence how people treat you, and how much interest other players have in your clan. There are many veteran players who will read your first post and either offer advice or ask questions to clarify your intent. The better your first post is, the fewer the questions you will receive.

Many new clans fail to get off the ground because the initial forum thread created for the clan shows little or no forethought about content and presentation. Because of this, many new clans do not attract new members, and the clan threads end up being closed soon after they are created. Use this guide to avoid that scenario.

As the leader and one of the founding members of {ball}, I have had experience starting and managing a large, successful, and well-respected clan. If you would like help organizing your thread and not turning into another name on the headstone, private message me with any questions about starting a clan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While a new clan thread post does not need to contain all of the following information, the more you can include, the better the chance of your clan succeeding.

Reverence - Many clans and many players have come before you. Some of them have succeeded in making and maintaining clans, and some have not. You can learn from them by visiting the clan threads and reading through at least their first few posts. Established clans such as ACE, {ball}, or IL are good places to start.

Maturity - Altitude is a game, and it is a lot of fun, but it also creates fierce competition at times. People of all ages play Altitude (from at least 9-39). It is important to think about the way you communicate to the community of players. Writing in full sentences and checking your spelling and grammar go a long way toward making your clan seem respectable. Try not to write tons of run-on sentences or use too many IM shorthands (like IM, omg, ur, etc.) when you are first establishing your clan and your thread. Also, a quick way to lose respect on the forums is to create a new clan and make claims about being the best, or to put other people/clans down.

Nomenclature - What is the name of your clan? What is the tag (i.e. the label that appears before or after players' names)? You may even want to include a unique graphic to represent your clan.

Pedigree - Is this a new clan, or the merger of existing clans? Is this a clan for newer players, or is it made from exisiting/veteran players?

Purpose - Stating a purpose will help other players decide if they are interested in joining your clan, and will explain to other clans what type of competition you expect. Is your clan going to play competitively, or is it just for fun? Are you specializing in a certain mode (e.g. TBD or BALL)?

Leadership - Who is in charge (e.g. the captain)? Even if you don't spell it out, you should also have in mind someone to handle scheduling of matches, someone to handle recruitment of new players, and someone to oversee communication (e.g. forum postings). You may want all of those responsibilities in one person's hands, or you may want to delegate to several people.

Roster - Who are your current members? You should have at least five members before creating a new clan thread. Some clans also have a training sub-clan with a different tag to designate interested players who are not yet official members.

Communication - Who should prospective members and players from clans wishing to compete with you speak to about joining, about scheduling matches, etc.?

Requirements - What is needed to join your clan? Are you looking for players with a certain amount of experience (e.g. hours played, level achieved)? Are you in need of specific types of planes/players? How many additional members are you looking to recruit? Consider whether you want to have a small clan where everyone plays and knows each other better, or a large clan where not everyone can participate in matches/tournaments, but there is a greater chance of having enough players online to play a match.

Recruitment - the best way to recruit new players is to make yourself known in-game by playing well in the mode you wish to recruit for (e.g. TBD or BALL). If you stand out among other players, people will naturally ask you about your clan and about joining. Another way to recruit is to observe good players and then chat with them in-game (or private message them on the forums) and ask them to join. Posting on the forums does not often result in new membership. Many newer players also may not read the forums, so communication in-game is key.