Pokémon Groups Rules: New "How-To Guide on Making Clubs" Included

Pokémon Groups Rules

When creating a club:

1. Make sure your club doesn't already exist.
   The Pokémon Groups Index is your quick guide to checking if a club on your topic already exists. Otherwise, you can use the search function or skim the existing pages on the forum.
2. No "anti" clubs.
   Let's try to keep a positive environment around here. No clubs that go against anything.
3. Don't be too broad.
   Perhaps the most hardest to explain, but try to dedicate your club to one cause or fandom. Clubs such as "May/Misty/Dawn/Iris Fanclub" can all be individual clubs. Likewise, keep your club to one primary focus rather than multiples ("Fire and Water Fanclub").
4. Don't be too specific.
   At the same time, try not to create a club that's too specific and excludes people from joining. For example, rather than a club for just Oshawott, make it a club for Oshawott's evolutionary line.
5. No clubs specifically made for the Pokémon Games or Manga.
   The Pokémon games and manga are very broad topics filled with a variety of discussions. Therefore, rather than a group made for each game or the manga as a whole, we urge that you bring these topics to their designated forums.
6. Clubs not related to Pokémon do not belong here.
   If your club is related to a topic unrelated to Pokémon, please post it in Other Clubs.
7. Wait for approval.
   This is a moderated forum, meaning when you create a thread, it won't show up until it's been manually approved. This happens several times a week and if your club meets all the rules, it will be approved eventually.

If you're unsure about the club you would like to make, just contact me (or the assigned moderator of this forum) and ask for clarification.

When posting in clubs:

1. Stay on topic.
   Topics can easily drift, but make sure you're always talking about the subject of the club. If you feel the need to branch off into something else, consider making a club for it!
2. Follow the discussion.
   If there's already a discussion going on in the club, try to contribute to it instead of coming in and immediately starting a different one. (If the old discussion isn't very active, this isn't as imperative.)
3. Do not post in inactive clubs.
   If a club has not been posted in for one month, please don't post in it. If you're still interested in the topic, feel free to remake the club yourself.
4. No "I'm joining!!"/"may I join?" posts.
   This, unfortunately, isn't very constructive. When joining a club, it's okay to make yourself known as a new member but please try to stay on topic too whenever you post in a club, even on your first post. You can't be denied entry to a club so just make your joining statement as an aside, instead of as the only thing in your post. Same goes for simple "welcome to the club" posts. Try to have some other substance in your posts too.

Tips for maintaining clubs:

Sometimes clubs can be hard to keep active. I've noticed the most successful clubs usually follow a combination of these ideas:

• Try to come up with topics of discussion.
  Maybe give a new question or statement for everyone to discuss every few days or every week--or just whenever discussion from the last one is dying down.
• Include a "sign up form" in the first post.
  Just with a few basic questions relating to the club's topic for new members to answer so everyone gets to know each other whenever a new member shows up.
• Don't forget about your club!
  Whether you're the owner of the club or just a member, try to stick with the clubs you join so they stay active! If you have problems remembering, try subscribing to the threads. You can subscribe by email or just check your User CP often for updates.
• You don't have to be the owner to give new topics of discussion.
  If the owner isn't quite as active as you'd like or if you have a good topic for the club, feel free to bring it up yourself if you're interested! Members don't just have to follow along and only reply to what's given to them and you can discuss things other than specific topics if it comes up.
• Make sure the opening post is easy to read and the club's purpose is clear.
  If people can't figure out exactly what the club is about, or how to join, they're going to be less likely to post. Make sure the thread title is clear and the first post isn't too cluttered. If you must have a list of members, consider putting it under spoiler tags. Include a short description and maybe a picture to appeal to people. This is a good example of an opening post!

As always, all other standard PokéCommunity Rules apply in this forum. If you see anyone acting out of line, use the report button and if you have any questions, feel free to contact the current Pokémon Groups Moderator or me.

[ Originally adapted by Other Club Rules written by Lightning ]

Your How-To Guide On Making a Successful Club

Your How-To Guide On Making a Successful Club

This is an easy and simple-to-follow guide that will help ensure your club is approved. This is just a skeleton format that will show you what is looked for when it comes to accepting clubs, as not all clubs are given enough effort in some cases.

Through this outline I will be making a club about Ash and Pikachu, so you can have an idea of how a club can be made. I will be using examples based on said club for every aspect of the outline. You don't have to follow them exactly, but it's just a general guideline.

Title

You need a title for your club. The most obvious title for a club is just what the club is about. You don't need to make it a cryptic clue, that will just drive people away. Just have something short and sweet for the title and you're good to go. You can have some sort of phrase in there as well, as long as you have the club name in the title.

Examples:

They don't have to be exactly like that, but they're a general standard for people who wish to make a club and don't know what to name it.

Information

You need a club with information, or else other people won't know what your club is about. It doesn't matter if you take information from another website (make sure to site your resources if you do) or make it up yourself. Letting people know what your club is about is crucial, or how will they know more about it?

Example:

Layout

Layout is just putting everything else in. Do you notice those clubs which may not look all fancy, but are successful because they have everything which makes a good club? They have a member's list, they have a sign-up sheet, they have a discussion topic to kick start the club. These make clubs have a really awesome start, so having these things to start with make clubs good.

Example:
Sign-up form:

Rules:

Members List:

Discussion Topics

Presentation

Presentation doesn't have to be amazingly good using CSS, but as long as you use some nice format and just set it out nicely, it's going to be approved. Use some nice fonts, pictures, colours, or anything else you can think of to make it better. I'll be using a picture and some nice colours for this example.


It's as simple as that. Just note that this is a guideline on how to make a nice club that will run effectively, so long as you put the time into it. You don't need to follow this exactly and you can have more or less information if you want to, but going by something similar to this, most of the time your club will be accepted.

[ Originally adapted by Other Club Guidelines written by Alternative ]