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  • Subject: dmk001's Guide To Make A Good Chapter
Subject: dmk001's Guide To Make A Good Chapter
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So you want to make a good Chapter?

Step One:
Starting a new group.
To start a new group click on the Create New Group button at the My Group or 7th Column page. You will be at the terms of agreement page. At the bottom you will see 2 buttons. Click on I Agree to accept. Clicking on I Disagree will cancel the process. Then you will be in the Create New Group page. The page will have the following fields.
Group Name: This is the name of your group. It can be at a maximum 24 of characters. Once you have created your group the name cannot be changed.
Membership requires approval: Checking this box will close group membership requiring you or a member with privileges to accept members. Unchecking this box will allow any user to join.
* Group Motto: This is like your group signature. It can have up to 255 characters. Text Markup tags will appear here. You can change this at any time.
* Group Description: This is a summary of your group and, who or what your group is for. It can have up to 500 characters. Like the Group Motto, Text Markup tags will appear and you can change this at any time.
* Group HQ Location: The following fields explain the location of your group's HQ. You can change any of the fields later if you need to. The following fields are:

* Group HQ City

* Group HQ State/Province

* Group HQ Country

* Group HQ Zip Code
Below you will see 2 buttons. Click Create Group to start your new group. Clicking Cancel will end all progress.

* Group Settings.
If you need to make changes you can find in your group site a Group Navbar under the banner. In the Home section under the navbar you will see a Group Home SubNavbar there you will see a button Group Settings. Click on it to take you to the Group Settings page. At the page you will see the following fields:
* Group Name: This field is locked and you cannot make any changes to your group's name.
* Quick Linkname: This is a name that will appear in the url address you use to visit your group. Bungie will automatically assign a group ID number. You can change your group ID to any name at a maximum of 35 characters at any time. Your Group url address will look like this:
http://www.bungie.net/fanclub/Quick Linkname/Group/GroupHome.aspx
* Group Membership:

* Closed - Requires Approval: This box will have new members wait in the membership que for approval by you or another member with privileges.

* Open to the public: This box will allow any b.net user that clicks on the Join this Group button accepted as a default member.
* Group Skin: This field changes the appearance of your group. As for now the only available option is Default. Bungie is working on a theme builder to allow groups to have other options later.
* Group Motto: You can make changes to this field at any time. 225 character maximum is the limit. Text Markup tags will appear here as well.
* Group Description: Again you can make changes to this field at any time. Text Markup tags will also appear here too. You can have only up to 500 characters.
* Group HQ Location: If you need to you can change these fields at any time. The following fields are:

* Group HQ City

* Group HQ State/Province

* Group HQ Country

* Group HQ Zip Code
Bellow you will see 2 buttons. Click Save Changes to edit your Group Settings. Clicking on Cancel Profile Edit will leave your settings the way they were.

Step 2:
Recruitment

First of all, you'll need to decide what kind of members your chapter wants, which coincides with the purpose of your chapter. For example, you may have a chapter for all to share in, which opens up a variety of recruitment methods; however, there are plenty of different chapter types that you might want, including chapters made for exclusive purposes (like this one is for Chapter help), or chapters for a group of friends.

When that's decided, you should set up your group membership security. Go to Group settings, scroll down to Group Membership, and select the option that is best for you. Exclusive groups, obviously, need approval, but groups for anyone can have either (depending on your style).

Then you can let the recruitment commence.

A good idea is to get yourself fairly well known around the Bungie Forums/7th Column before you found, so people will join if they like you.

Open/general chapters have the best chance of recruiting by posting adverts in the Classifieds, the official Bungie advertising forum. Make sure any adverts you post are good and informative. Also add your chapter to the Group Directory, which will remain pinned for all to see. However, make sure you follow the rules of this forum - no bumping, no advertising or bumping in other threads, and no other posts in the Group Directory save your advert.

Of course, if you set up a good image for yourself, users will want to join your chapter if it is right for them. People you meet and become friendly with will likely join your chapter, so (providing you know them pretty well), just send them a polite PM informing them of your chapter's existance. Remember, you are not to randomly message people asking if they want to join; this can be classed as spam and is disallowed.

Obviously exclusive chapters may well be by invitation only - if this is the case, only invite a select few of people you know enough about.

That about covers recruitment; you can either get friends to join, or advertise in the appropriate forum. Some chapters may even let you advertise in them, and don't forget to put an advert in your signature!

  • 09.04.2006 11:35 AM PDT
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Step 3
How to become a better Founder: Moderating and The Ninja Users Manual

Being a good founder is something good to be. There are alot, Psyched, Doctor Evol., Blackhawk, and alot more. But you can't just become a good founder. It takes hard work, perserverence, and most of all, dedication. This guide will help you become a good founder of a chapter that is open to the public.

When you first open, [color=white]you're not instantly going to be a big, successful chapter[/color]. You've got to work for it. Try getting yourself liked and you'll become a more respected person, founder, and a better chapter.

Databases/Resources: Your databases should be varied. Some should be informative and some should be ones that the members fill out. Be creative, try and get something new. Or something rare. Informative databases should have to do with something your chapter is based around. If it's around Halo, give out facts about Halo, not facts about you toe fungus.

Forum: This is the most used part of your chapter. Lay down some ground rules, get some mods(Who you trust) and you've got a great forum. Keep your topics interesting, not about your meeting with the loser club last night.

News: Keep news imformative and focused on your chapters topic. Other news is always welcome, but it has to be important.

Staff: Keep a group of staff to help you run a chapter. Give them forum mod privs, post news directly privs, and more. Admins CAN kick you, so make sure you trust your admins.

Members: Keep your membershappy. Keep a suggestion database around. Check it regularly.

This should help you become a better founder.

Additional tips:

Authors: Psyched, Banshee Barron, SurgeK

Before you start bringing in the members, have your chapter firmly established.

Good advice is; get something unique going in your chapter. Make it good for it's purpose.

If members like your chapter, they will be more active. So keep them happy, and make sure you stay active to help out and bring new content. The more mature you handle your chapter, the more likely people will want to join, so take that into account.

Organisation is also a good idea - keep your chapter organised, and keep your content organised. You want to be able to present everything clearly, so that's helpful.

Charisma on the founder’s part is also very important. You have to be trusted or likeable, or both, for people to wish to join your chapter, and keep your members in mind at all times. Give them a way to leave suggestions and feedback. Let them know you want their constructive critisism and get them involved.

A final point I think you should consider is something catchy, to grab potential members' attention, and draw them in.

Moderating

So, your chapter has a forum. But how do you keep it under control, I hear you ask?

Well, you should start by setting up some basic rules for your forum. Some of the likely points you'll want to cover are such things as spam, advertising, and flaming. Whether you want to expand on that (add additional rules or go into detail) is up to you. Probably the best method of posting these rules is to make a topic in the forums, then pin and lock it. Of course, you can always post your rules in one of the resources, but the forum is the best way to make sure members see them.

Now, let's get down to moderating (this guide presumes you have full moderation powers). For starters, check out your brand new options - in addition to the new topic, reply and edit post (for your own posts)/msg user (for everybody else's posts), you now get a Moderator's Toolbar at the top of threads/reply screens with four sub-options (Delete, Move, Pin/Unpin, Lock/Unlock), and the abilities to edit every post and Unleash Ninjas.

When do you need to moderate? If somebody breaks your rules or does something that you don't like.

The Edit Post button can be quite useful if you want to 'snip' (cut out) a part of a post (or, indeed, the whole post), to make it acceptable. And of course, there may be some posts that just deserve deletion, if that is the case then click reply or edit, then delete in the new Toolbar that appears (please note; you cannot just delete the first post of a thread; doing so will delete the entire thread, so use edit if you must remove it).

If you see a thread that's out of hand, or wants/needs no further replies, then you can lock it. As soon as you have locked it, it will return you to the thread with the oppurtunity to add a last action (edit or reply). Bear in mind -- not even you or other moderators may reply or edit posts in locked threads, you must unlock to give you that option (remember, you can just unlock then lock straight after, which will allow you to do whatever you want). Don't forget your powers against individual posts, and that if you use delete in the thread (or first post), the whole topic will get deleted.

Your final power is pinning. Pinning a topic makes it a 'sticky', and it will remain pinned with other stickies at the top of the forum. Use this for important/useful topics. You may also unpin topics just as easily.

As of yet, the Move function has no effect (there is nowhere to move the topic to), so ignore it.

If the member's offence is enough, you may want to ban them. If this is the case, you can either access the blacklist through Admin Tools, or Unleash Ninjas (temporarily banning the member for a period of 7 days).

Now get moderating!

Examples of moderating:

[li]
Posted by: antin00bdude
j00 stoopid n00b, im gunna smash u up

Moderator's action:
a) Edit post to: Post snipped by Moderator. Lay off with the flaming.
b) Delete post
c) Either of above & Ninjas
d) If it is a repeat offence, blacklist.[/li]

[li]
Posted by: iluvHaLo
i wish halo 2 could have more spartans.
Posted by: antin00bdude
u stupid n00b! thats nut gunna happen. ur such a stupid n00b.
Posted by: iluvHaLo
i wish halo 2 could have more spartans.
screw you stupid blammer.

Moderator's action:
a) Snip/delete posts as appropriate.
b) Lock/delete thread.
c) Any of above & Ninjas for both.
d) Any of above & Ninjas for anti, PM warning to iluvHaLo
e) Other blacklist options.[/li]

[li]
Posted by: iluvHaLo
i've got a great idea! what if this chapter had a huge halo guide?

Moderator's action:
Pin.[/li]

Ninja's

As you can see you now have a verry important and powerful tool, Ninja. Ninja is a tool which alows you to blacklist anymember who is violating b.net and/or group rules. It helps suport good discipline and order as well as protect other rule obbideing members. However it is a powerful tool that can have serious consiquences if used improperly.

Unleashing Ninjas

If you havn't notice before. Under everyones avatar (including yours) in the forum you can see the words unleash ninjas. Clicking on that link will automaticly blacklist any one temporarily for 7 days. You can blacklist youself and any one else so please don't click on it unless you have to. All baned personel cannot view the forum, post news, or make any entries in any fields in the group resources. Any thread the banned use has posted will have a message inplace of his post. Any replies to another thread will be hidden.

The Blacklist

The blacklist is the list of all banned members. It is where you can ban someone, set how long they are banned for, or remove some one from the blacklist alowing them back in. If you accidently banned someone you'll need to delete their name from the blacklist.

Removeing and blacklisting users. Next to the member list you may see the words blacklist or remove. Remove just removes user from member status. A way for removing defunct or inactive users. Blacklist will ban a user. blacklisting user wil bring up a blacklist screen.

Username: Name of user being blacklisted

Blacklist reason: A message to the blacklisted user telling him/her why he cannot post to the group.

Experation Date:Date when blacklist ends and user can get back on the forum. Leaving this blank will result in no experation date and permanitely bann user.

  • 09.04.2006 11:39 AM PDT
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Step Four
How to Boost Activity in Your Chapter

Acvtivity Myths
Let's cover some myths that seem like easy ways to boost your activity, but in the end, may even do the opposite.


Sending chapter invites to everyone via personal messages
This has pretty much the same effect as advertising, an in it's essence, is pretty much the same thing. Chapter invites pretty much are the equivelance of e-mail spam. If you have to ask people to join your chapter, you probably don't got much going on. People can sense this.


Claiming to have "exclusive material" when it's not
This may not be as big now, but it was a while ago. If you claim to have "special Halo info" or other things that are supposedly exclusive to your chapter, you had better be right!


Making you chapter sound better than it is
It is better for a person to come to your chapter with low expectations, than to go with high expectations and be let down.


Putting down other chapters
Although MSXL was often hailed as a great chapter, we never once "went to war" with, or flamed another chapter. This is absolutely pointless, and only degrades the quality of your chapter and makes your members look bad.


Making tons of databases
Overdoing it never helped anyone. I have been to chapters that have 25 different databases going. Although it may seem like they have "alot to offer", it ends up being too much! Half of the databases fail due to lack of maintenance, and many of the good ones get overlooked. Find a couple cool ideas, and stick to those. If they do really well, maybe add on a couple more. The more you have, the easier it is to get confused and lost in your chapter!

Boosting Your Chapter's Activity
Notice how I titled this whole thread "How to Boost Activity in Your Chapter," not "How to Boost You Membership." It is very important that, as a founder, you understand the difference between the two! On average, I would say that in an active chapter, no more than about 1/4 of it's members are actually active. This means doing things like posting in the forum, submitting news, attending online events, participating in contest and databases, etc. Your number of members does not directly relate to how active your chapter is!


Give your members something to come back for
This generally means more than just a decent forum. You need to find something that your chapter can offer that will keep members coming back for more. A good fanfic maybe? I cool database? Awesome contests? At MSXL, we have a Members Only Area. Thos basically a link from the chapter to an off-chapter site containing videos, polls, comics, etc. If you have access to a webserver (even a free one), this is a great way to boost the value of your chapter's content!


Make weekly or monthly activities
Some ideas for this are a monthly poll, a weekly member interview, or maybe even something as simple as a quote of the day. Consistency will capture members like nothing else. If you decide to add a new to chapter to your fan fiction, do it on a certain day every week. That can be your "update" day.


Find yourself a commited staff
Although it may not be this way now, MSXL had, in my opinion, some of the best staff members that could be found. They were commited to running the chapter "like a tight ship" (as Sketchfactor once said about us). Each of my staff members had different duties to carry out. Some were in charge of finding good news tidbits, others were in charge of modding the forum, etc. The new 7th column makes it easier that ever to categorize your staff members, so I recommend doing it!


Treat your members with respect
Back when MSXL was in it's prime, we sent a welcome message to every member that joined. It was about a paragraph long, and listed some of the features of our chapter, as well as a warm welcome. Make your members feel welcome, and they will really appreciate it.


Put a link to your chapter in your signature
I don't really consider this advertising, but either way, it works. This is the most un-intrusive way to let people know about your chapter. They can go to it on their own free will, and browse around. However, keep in mind that what you post will reflect how people view your chapter. If you are an all-around jerk, no one is going to click the link!

Be Content-Focused
The conent of your chapter will be the deciding factor of your chapter's activity. If you realize this, you will be better off that 80% of other chapter founders. Most people think the number of members makes the chapter. This ins't true at all. If you have a chapter that is sporting some good content, and only has 25 member - all of them active, you are doing great!I would rather have a chapter with 10 active members than one with 100 inactive ones!

Still stuck? go to Chapter Founders

[Edited on 9/4/2006]

  • 09.04.2006 11:41 AM PDT

Posted by: dmk001
Step Four
How to Boost Activity in Your Chapter


First off, who am I? And why am I qualified to tell you how to run your chapter? Well, my name is mrsmiley, and I have been on the column before most of you guys were even playing Halo! I am the founder of MSXL (Mr. Smiley's Xbox Lounge), which at one point was arguably the most active chapter on the 7th Column. (It may not be right now cuz I left it for so long, but we are working on it!) At one point, MSXL had over 400 members, with about 1/4 of those actively participating in the chapter's forum and events. I am not saying this to brag or to advertise, but to show you that I have quite a bit of experience in this area! I know that anyone who has been here a while will vouch for me. (MSXL was Chapter Founders' very first "Awesome Chapter"!)


Still stuck? go to Chapter Founders


Isn't this Mr. Smiley's guide? If it is, why are you taking credit for his work?

  • 09.04.2006 11:59 AM PDT
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  • Exalted Mythic Member
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"Whatever exists, whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent. These anonymous creatures may seem little or nothing in the world. Yet the smallest crumb can devour us. Any smallest thing beneath yon rock out of men's knowing. Only nature can enslave man and only when the existence of each last entity is routed out and made to stand naked before him will he be properly suzerain of the earth."

Not to mention there is another guide in the Septagon Stickies concerning the same things which is equally detailed (if not, only very slightly more).

  • 09.04.2006 12:09 PM PDT
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I've been around these parts for almost eight years now...wow! Maybe I should be concerned about that...

Hey guys, be nice...this is a very well done guide. Good job.

  • 09.04.2006 12:12 PM PDT

Add the email above to your MSN to contact me with emergencies on the forum.

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  • 09.04.2006 1:12 PM PDT