Welcome to Pokémon Clubs! (Rules & Regulations)

[Squirrel]

Welcome to Pokémon Clubs!
Welcome to the Pokémon Clubs forum! This is the forum where the real Pokémon fanboys and fangirls of various aspects of the Pokémon fandom can gather, scream and squeal on all the latest happenings in their addictions, which we all know is what keeps them running day-to-day.

Pokémon Groups Rules
Pokémon Clubs is a very easy-going forum and doesn't have a lot of rules, but the rules it does have are expected to be followed, in addition to the Community Guidelines.

Update: Due to most clubs becoming inactive due to the owner abandoning the club or simply not updating it, a new scheme has been introduced in which people opening up their first club will be interviewed before their club is approved to ensure this won't keep happening.

Pokémon Clubs Only
The name of this forum speaks for itself. Only Pokémon based Clubs are permitted in this forum. If your club isn't related to Pokémon, please create it in Other Clubs.

Specifics
It's important to remember that clubs here can't be too specific. If you want to create a club for Abra, since you love it so much, we'd rather you create a club for Abra's entire evolution line than Abra singularly.

Owning 3 (or more) Clubs
Pokémon Clubs is a laid back forum, like I said. The atmosphere is friendly and not at all strained. We don't want you to feel that way, so please remember that you are only permitted two active clubs unless you have permission to create another one from the moderator. Don't overwhelm yourself. Owning a club can be a very real responsibility and something that you may not be able to handle if you add two or more other clubs on top of the one you already own. Contact the moderator if you would like to add another club to your list, but be aware that they have the right to say no for whatever reason! If you are interested in adding to your list of clubs, however, here are some tips for gaining that approval:

• Update your original post with current information on what the club is discussing, the member list, etc. depending on the club and it's purpose.
• Participate in discussions, bring new topics to discussion, and communicate with others in the club actively and respectfully.
• Avoid getting into altercations with others.
• Follow the rules.

Clubss With Specific Forums
Clubs based around specific Pokémon games, the anime, or manga as a whole are not permitted. We have specific forums for these discussions where you can post.

Posting In Clubs
When posting in clubs, it's very important to remember to:

• Stay on topic.
• Follow the club's group specific rules.
• Follow the current discussion.
• Do not post "I'd like to join. This group looks fun" or anything like that. Have something to contribute in your first interaction in the group.
• If you'd like to join, submit the required "application" that every club tends to have. This is a better representation of "I'd like to join!" posts and provides everyone with a little information about yourself.
• Remember not to post in inactive clubs. Inactive clubs are clubs that have not been posted in within a month's time. It is highly suggested that if you belong to a club and it is almost about to meet a month's time since it's last active post to post in it before it becomes inactive.

So You'd Like to Create A Club?
Creating a club, maintaining that club, options for when you can't maintain that club any longer, and consequences for failing to maintain your club. Consider this the heartbeat to a successful life here at Pokémon Clubs!

Beforehand
First of all it is important to have a good idea for the club you want to create. If there's an area of Pokemon that you have a particular affinity for then that's probably the right topic for you to create a club about. If you're stuck for an idea or you can't choose between several of the ideas you have, check this thread to see what clubs people currently want to be made and see if it fits in with your ideas. Of course if you have an idea that isn't on there, that's okay too - they are just suggestions! Another way to find ideas or check your current ideas is by visiting the Pokemon Clubs Daily Chit-Chat Thread, an area perfect for these discussions. Once you have a good idea and you're keen on a topic, make sure you have a look at The Pokemon Clubs Index thread to see if there is already a group for it; if a club already exists for your topic then please do not create another one! Once you're completely set on your topic, its time to start creating the club! Before you start this, you might want to reserve your idea for creation in this thread, otherwise someone else might make it before you.

Club Creation
Club creation is a moderated process that requires a moderator to approve your club before it shows up in the thread index. This is for a wide variety of reasons, but the most important reasons are to cut out the sub-par clubs (the clubs that don't have the required information and details) and weeding out the clubs that are based on things that already has a club created.

Creating a club is simple, but it requires a bit of detail, and a person with an eye for detail and a sense of responsibility to lead the head. A proper club should include rules (which are specific to the club, and are expected to be followed in addition to both the Pokémon Club forum rules as well as the Community Guidelines), general information about the purpose of the club, an updated list of members who are involved in the club, and an application of sorts for others to join. Successful clubs usually include other things, like a points and rewards system, and their club leaders are actively involved in the discussions.

If you feel you have all the information and required details for creating a club, then by all means, create the club. Please keep the title of your thread appropriate. If you're creating a club for Grass Pokémon, name it Grass Pokémon Club or something of the sort. Club thread titles are supposed to be straight forward. The name of the thread doesn't necessarily have to be the name of the club. After you create the club, it will be submitted in an unapproved status. This means that staff members with the ability to moderate that forum (the moderator of the forum, super moderators, and administrators) have the ability to view that thread, but members and supporters do not. Do not create another thread with the impression that it didn't get submitted, it did. Now you wait.

Clubs are usually approved multiple times a day, every single day. All clubs approved are then visible to everyone, while clubs that are declined are soft deleted. This means that the content is still available to staff and still take up space on the forum. We have an update thread with an up to date list of groups that are approved or declined when they are approved or declined. Information on why the group was declined is provided, the exact name and username of the group and group owner (respectively) are included as well. Please make sure to check this thread regularly once you have submitted your group until it has been approved/rejected rather than re-submitting the thread. Some groups will take longer than others to approve as there may be aspects of the group which require editing or certain aspects may need to be checked/revised, so if you've been waiting for longer than you'd expect for your group to be approved don't hesitate to contact the current moderator or post in the Reservations & New Clubs thread asking about the thread's progress for being approved.

Due to most clubs becoming inactive due to the owner abandoning the group or simply not updating it, a new scheme has been introduced in which people opening up their first club will be interviewed before their club is approved to ensure this won't keep happening.

Club Maintenance
Having to maintain your group is the responsibility gained for creating it. If your group is approved, it is your responsibility to uphold the group in a two prime ways.

• Updating the member list to include forum members who actively contribute to the thread and have a sense of purpose and enjoyment among the group. Be sure to only include those who are genuinely interested in actively contributing to the group. Everyone has the ability to post in any group they choose, whether they are a member of that group or not, so you may get someone come in who may seem like they're interested in joining, yet only posts once or twice.
• While you don't have to be the group owner to introduce new topics, contributing to the group is of the upmost importance. As the group owner, it's important to remember that you set an unseen and unconscious standard of activity level. Nobody is going to want to join a group where the owner doesn't show up every now and then and converse with the rest.
• The double post still applies in Pokemon Clubs, expect in certain circumstances. If a group has been inactive for more than a week, the group's owner (and/or co-owner) may break the double post rule in order to revive the group.

If you aren't interested in participating and contributing to the club as well as updating the information and member list of the group, do not create a group.

Transferred Club Ownership
It's recognized that sometimes life gets in the ways we can't really predict. While it's important to try your best to maintain your club, if you don't have the ability to do so, options are available! If you're interested, you can change the owner of the group. This requires their consent as well as your approval. When you decide on a group owner, contact the forum moderator for more information.

Forced Change of Ownership
When the club's owner is no longer there to update, contribute, and participate in the thread, and the group remains active, the group will be transferred to another owner without notification of the group owner. This decision is made by the current moderator, and does not need the permission of the original thread creator to occur, unlike transferred group ownership. When this happens, an appropriate replacement is chosen and they are asked to repost the thread under their name. If it's under their name, it's under their ownership.

Questions, Comments & Concerns
If your cause for contact is any of the following, please feel free to send the current moderator a PM or VM:

• Your club was declined and you would like more information why.
• You're looking to create a club and need help getting it approved.
• You disagree with a revoked club decision. Remember to be respectful! People make mistakes, and something may have been overlooked.
• It has been 48 hours since you created your club and you have received no information on it being approved or revoked and the current moderator has been logged in within that time frame.
• You are the leader of two active clubs and would like permission to create another one.
• A club's leader is inactive for an extended period of time and you have reason for concern that a Forced Change of Ownership is necessary.
• You are the leader of a group and don't have the time to maintain that group and would like to look into transferring group ownership to another member you have chosen.
• You are having a problem that lies within the Pokémon Groups forum with another forum member.
• You have a question about Pokémon Clubs, the way it operates, or the condition of the forum.
• You have concerns over the Pokémon Clubs, the way it operates, or the condition of the forum.
• You have a suggestion on how to improve Pokémon Clubs, the way it operates, or the condition of the forum.
• It concerns your club and is something only a moderator would be able to do. Removing a post, removing a poll, adding a poll, changing the title of a thread, and the like are all permitted reasons.

IRC Channel
An IRC channel for the Pokemon Clubs section exists, so if you'd prefer a real-time chat with other members or a moderator about various aspects of Pokemon Clubs (or if you just feel like chatting and getting to know people!), then don't hesitate to join in the conversation! Use this link to get to the chat room, enter a nickname and start chatting! Check this announcement for more information.

Useful Links

• TwistedPuppy's CSS guide.
• Pokemon Sprites
• Basic Club Template

Rewards!
Obviously you should be posting in and creating clubs for fun and because you want to, not just for rewards, but here's a little extra incentive; a sample of some of the emblems you may end up with from Pokemon Clubs!

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