To FC Leaders.

[CodeCass]

Not exactly, but you'll exclude a lot of people who would normally fit in despite their age. Just asking for a more mature mindset would be good enough in my opinion. Once a long time ago we found out a member was only 16 and we were absolutely shocked because he was quite mature and had a deep voice even.

Thanks for that! And that is great advice! I think that would be a much better way to go as well.

[Autumnfire]

We try to keep everyone as included as possible. We have about a medium sized FC. We fluctuate between about 50 to 70 active members at any given point. But we make a strong attempt to keep everyone engaged and let everyone get to know each other. Because of this we have a pretty strong bond in spite of the rather large number. We also recognize people's merits. We created ranks for our Coil Captains because they were strong leaders who took initiative in creating and maintaining their teams. We created ranks for our maxed out crafters who always help everyone out. We even created a new rank recently for a gardener who was a guy that really did a lot of research into the gardening system and has maintained our gardens really well.

[Desidious]

Quick question: when recruiting, is it wrong/frowned upon to have age as a factor? Thus far, the entirety of my 9-man FC are all 21 or older. Not that I want to exclude younger gamers, but our language/humor/values are on the mature side.

The world is your oyster. Set what age limit you want. I started out just 21+ and now I've gotten rid of the limit now that we've settled a lot. Don't worry what others thinks and do what you'd like.

[Kyros]

There is currently a bug (That SE refuses to fix) where someone with access to modifying members rank can assign someone above their own rank. This has been used to empty FC chests in the past. Be on the lookout for this and under no circumstance allow rank modifications.

[Sadana]

Have fun!

Leaders need to remember to take time for themselves too.

Be willing to listen with patience. Sometimes it is like being a parent... or a cat herder. :3

Be willing to help those who need it. Don't just wait for them to ask for help; be proactive and know where in the game your members are and what their interests are.

Don't be afraid to delegate!

Try to have a 'focus' of sorts for your FC. Whether it's rp, endgame firsts, all lalas (lalas are friends, not food ), etc.

Be transparent in leadership. Be up front and honest and respectful of your FC mates. Have solid reasons why you make the decisions you do.

Be a cheerleader. Everyone's energies in the game flag at some point. Show them you care! Don't berate anyone. Watch for bad feels or low morale and see what you can do to mitigate it.

Say Hi to everyone. Spend a little time running dungeons or doing events with everyone if you can. (My FC has about 80 members currently as a point of reference.)

Rank and hierarchy - your mileage may vary. I use lots of "vanity titles" in my FC to recognize those who really help out and are generally awesome people or have achieved some rank in game (example: Gold Chocobo, Monky King, Yojimbo, Sensei, etc.)

Use outside static communication like FC website or the FC forums on Lodestone. This is a good way to coordinate stuff if you have many people who play during drastically different times. Also, group photos are fun!

[Lord_Zlatan]

remember your multiples of 8 ^^

[Desidious]

Have fun!

Leaders need to remember to take time for themselves too.

This. Being a leader is quite a full time responsibility but don't let things that go wrong being you down. If your morale is lowered because members leave and such then others might start to question their place in your FC. Can't state how many times I took to the rod and reel so I could collect myself and make better decisions not based on personal feelings.

Oh and about that zero tolerance policy being a bad idea. It isn't depending on what it is. I have no tolerance on drama or folks that belittle other members. We might curse like sailors and have tons of sarcasm but we do not allow bullying or demoralizing members at all.

[Sadana]

Oh and about that zero tolerance policy being a bad idea. It isn't depending on what it is. I have no tolerance on drama or folks that belittle other members. We might curse like sailors and have tons of sarcasm but we do not allow bullying or demoralizing members at all.

Yes, after some issues between a few members, I created, posted, and publicized our Anti-Harassment Policy. It's a good thing to have in place. It's not like such a policy means I'm swinging the ban hammer freely or have any "one strike and you're out" policy. I talk privately with people and try to explain as best I can how/why what they say/do has a negative affect on others. Only if they continue to be an ass/creeper would I encourage them to play elsewhere. Fortunately it has never gotten this far.