Advice needed from those who run large FCs

Note: this is a re-post from my blog. Wanted to put it here for visibility and hopefully some good advice. :)

I'm thrilled that Harmonium has become such a juggernaut on Atomos! Happily a large, friendly juggernaut... It's such a great bunch of people now. But I'll admit I do feel like I'm in charge of Howl's Moving Castle. It just feels like a bit more than I can handle. XD

My leadership style is very hands-on. I watch FC chat like a hawk for anyone asking questions or requesting help. I do my best to make sure no one feels ignored or slips through the cracks. Due to ongoing health problems, I know that sometimes I have to say "no, I can't dungeon right now", but it does make me feel like a heel. ; ;

We decided recently to adopt an inactive policy after all. (Since a few folks returned after long time away, I'd not been kicking inactives.) It's pretty generous. A couple weeks ago, I dismissed 30 for inactivity. (If I accidentally removed a visitor's alt, I'm sorry! Let me know. ><) So we went from 203 to 175. We'll probably have a handful more coming up before it evens out.

But in the past couple weeks since I kicked inactives, we've added 12 more people. (As of last night, 14 more people)

That's almost one a day.

My brain is shouting "PUT ON THE BRAKES!!!"

Why is it a thing? HARM isn't about the big numbers; we're a group of folks who work together to promote an atmosphere of friendliness and consideration for each other. We have a No "You Suck" policy in place (Anti Harassment Policy has been in place for several months. It's on the HARM forums.)

I do have 5 officers now and a Mentor rank to help out any new players. Many others are willing to help each other too, of course. So the burden isn't all on me. :)

We figure we'll get a few more before it slows down again. (It's a pattern we've had before.)

Since we are an international FC, we have two prime times basically. During mornings my time, there are about 15-20 online. During my evenings, we're seeing 20-30 online at once. Folks drift in and out depending on their schedules. We have people at all levels and different play styles (so it's not like we have 5 raid groups or anything. xD )

So, what do I do?

Do we just bulldoze forward, adding anyone who wants in? The FC's info states that we welcome anyone (ofc there's the bit about being friendly and helpful and looking for others who are the same. I hope folks actually look at that when they go to join up. ><; ).

Or do I pull in the welcome mat a bit? Set it up so that folks have to apply for entry on our forums (or a website if we build one)? This wouldn't be a problem for those who have heard of us and really want to join. It would also put the No "You Suck" Policy in a very visible spot so that people can't miss it.

Continue with the open door policy or set up a gate. It's a tough decision, I won't lie.

What are your thoughts?

A couple comments I added:

There's a sweet spot. Too few/low activity feels WAY worse than "omg where'd all these people come from?!1"

Having this many means that we have enough folks to help each other and we can take time for ourselves to do our own things. Sometimes. Sometimes it's "how tf am I going to help all these people at once?" and we get close to burn out on some of those who help the most. :(

Actually, USUALLY it's the latter. >< I'll stack dungeon runs three deep sometimes. And I'm not the only one who does this.

Hey there Sadana!

I'm a fellow FC leader on PHX and many of the topics you've raised are very similar to items I was randomly blogging out with FC's and Purpose. My crew used to be in the high 200's and we've been around since Oct 2013. To say the ride has been eventful would be putting it mildly lol as I have a very consistent EU and NA player base with some Aussies in there too.

I very much understand the feeling of being hands on with our crew as its how I roll as well. As you and I both know, the seasonal swings always bring a mixed bag of folks into our FC homes. Most are in need of help, many of those always ask for it and very few decide to give back.

From the tone of your letter you sound really grounded, approachable and sincere in your care of the FC. That in itself says a lot!

As for what to do, on my end it comes down to not just adding players, but adding the "right" players who will continue to build the wonderful community you've grown. Your still gonna have those unsavory, lone wolves, vocal and needy ones join but in my experience they usually show their intent to be a team player or be a thorn pretty quick.

What you don't want to lose is your own game time or dilute your awesome officers with too much influx of new blood. My crew awhile back grew too fast and it prompted us to increase ranks too fast.

I say even if your numbers were only 100 or less, its about finding that balance in your game play before you get to they burn out zone. If your crew knows your equally committed to seeking your own game time in addition to being a super helper, it relieves a lot of the stress. Some folks may leave, but those that stay with you are worth their weight in gil! If you got time, search out my character page Zuko Koga'kumo on PHX.

-Zuko