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 Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:55 pm
Original credit goes to badloki for creating this guide-GGN: The Captain's Guide- Welcome to the Captain's Guild! If you're here, that means you're either a Captain or Vice Captain of a GGN guild. Congrats! Please take the time to read through this thread if you have a question or are having problems with your guild.
If you're a new Captain or Vice Captain, I bet you probably have a lot of questions. No worries, that's what this sticky is for. I will also be covering info that would be useful for older, more experienced Captains and Vice Captains as well.
I know we have a FAQ and various other stickies and helpful threads about this floating about, but this one will hopefully be very comprehensive and tackle all related subjects in just one thread.
So, what exactly will this thread be covering? The basics of being a Captain/Vice Captain, features (new and old), helpful links, rumors, buying new and used guilds, and much more!Topic NavigationPost 1 - Welcome! You are here
Post 2 - Your Moderator Panel and You
Post 3 - The Basics
Post 4 - Gaia's ToS and the GGN
Post 5 - Guild Settings and Guild Homepage
Post 6 - Subforums
Post 7 - Guild Banners
Post 8 - Guild Account and Donating
Post 9 - Buying and Selling Used Guilds
Post 10 - Helpful Hints and Tips
Post 11 - The Future of the GGN
Post 12 - Quick Answers FAQ
Post 13 - Links
Post 14 - Vice Captains FAQ
Post 15 - Reserved (no content)
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:56 pm
-Your Moderator Panel and You- In this post I will be explaining your most important tool, the Moderator Panel. Through the Moderator Panel, Captains, Vice Captains, and Crew members can do lots of things. But first, let's discuss what a Captain can do.
The Captain is the top position in your guild's pecking order. Captains can assign Crew members and Vice Captains, demote Crew members and Vice Captains, edit the guild's homepage and settings, lock/delete/edit/move topics, make Announcements and Stickies, delete/edit other members' posts, purchase subforums, ban members, accept/decline new join requests, and invite new members to the guild.
Now that we've covered that, let's pick apart that Moderator Panel, shall we?
First off, your Moderator Panel is located at the top of your guild next to the "Report this Guild" button. It looks like this:
Once you enter your Moderator Panel, you will see this: Click Here For Image!Crew and Captain ControlsYou will notice there are two sections, "Crew Controls" and "Captain Controls." Let's discuss what each is for, shall we?
Crew Controls is accessible to all Crew members and to the Captain and Vice Captain. It contains the following tools:
Invite users to this guild
Clicking here brings you to a page that allows you to input a Gaian's name and invite them to your guild.
View current join requests
Clicking here brings you to a page where your newest join requests are displayed. Anyone who requests to join your guild will have to fill out a short application. That application will show up on this page. You can either "accept" or "decline" their request to join.
View Crew activity log
Clicking here bring you to a page that displays all "Crew" activity in the guild. This page lists actvity by all members of the guild that has to do with deleting posts, locking/moving/deleting threads, promoting or demoting members, and bannings.
Captain Controls is accessible only to the Captain and Vice Captain. It contains the following tools:
Edit guild settings
Clicking here brings you to a page where you can customize your guild's settings. This is the place where you can change the name of your guild, add content to your guild's homepage, input your guild's 200x40 banner, set your guild's entry fee, chose whether or not to allow join requests, choose whether or not you'd like to hide your guild from being listed in the registry, pick the category you'd like your guild to be in, choose which type you'd like your guild to be and choose whether or not anyone (captains, vice captains, crew members and members) can IM each other in the guild. I will discuss the guild homepage in more detail in another post.
Edit guild forums
Clicking here brings you to a page where you can change your forums. You can do this by purchasing subforums for your guild. You can buy as many as you'd like, but there is currently no way to delete them or return them, so buy wisely. I will talk more about subforums in detail in another post.
Change guild ownership
Clicking here brings you to a page where you can change the ownership of your guild. You must enter the name of the new owner (the person your handing your guild over to) and your password. Once you have done this, you will NO LONGER be Captain, so be sure this is really what you want to do!
View transaction log
Clicking here brings you to a page that displays all your guild's transactions. It lists donations, entry fees, and expendatures for the whole guild. If a Gaian donates 23gold to your guild, it'll be listed on this page. If your entry fee is 500gold, then everytime it is paid, it will be listed on this page. If you buy a subforum, it will be listed as a deduction on this page.
View Captain activity log
Clicking here brings you to a page that displays "Captain Only" activity. Like the purchasing of subforums and so forth.
Captain's Guild
By crakey! It's a link back to The Captain's Guild! How convenient.
That basically covers everything in your Moderator Panel. Periodically, new features and other such things are released by the Admins/Developers of Gaia. When this happens, there may or may not be new additions to your Moderator Panel, so always look out for updates!
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:58 pm
-The Basics- Now that you've learned about your Moderator Panel, you'll need to know a few other things about getting your guild up and running.
In this post I will break down "the basics" of starting a guild. These are things that all Captains and Vice Captains should know if they hope to run a successful guild. Making Announcement and Sticky TopicsThese kinds of topics are good to use for your guild's rules and important announcements as well as for other things. How many you have is up to you... you can have a lot or you can have only a few. Make Announcements and Stickies at your discretion!
 Announcements will always be at the top of your forum.
 Stickies will always be right under Announcements. If there are no Announcements, then Stickies will be at the top of your forum.
 Normal topics are always under Announcements and Stickies.
To make an Announcement or Sticky, just start a new topic as you normally would. Under the text field you will see this: Click Here for Image!
'Normal' is the default setting. If you'd like to make your topic a sticky, then select 'Sticky' and if you'd like your topic to be an announcement, then select 'Announcement.' It's that easy!
At anytime, you can go back and edit your stickies and announcements and change them up. You can change them to normal topics or whatever you like! Moving, Deleting, Locking, and Unlocking TopicsEventually, you will need to know how to move, delete, lock, and unlock topics. These options can be found in the bottom left hand corner of each thread in your guild. Let's discuss what they do and how to use them.
Move
Pressing this button will allow you to move a topic from one of your guild's forums to another one. When you press the move button, you will see this: Click Here for Image . Simply select the forum you wish to move the thread to and then press 'submit'.
Lock
Pressing this button will allow you to lock any topic in your guild. Locking a topic means that no other regular members will be able to make any new posts to the topic. You may unlock any locked topic at anytime.
Unlock
Pressing this button will allow you to unlock any locked topic in your guild. This icon ONLY appears in topics that have been locked. It will not appear in regular, unlocked topics. Unlocking a topic means that regular members will be allowed to make new posts to the topic. You may lock and unlock any topic as many times as desired/needed.
Delete
Pressing this button will allow you to delete any topic in your guild. Be very careful what you delete, because once it is gone, it cannot be brought back. Vice Captain and Crew Members AbilitiesLet's talk about what abilities the Vice Captain and Crew members have.
Vice Captain
Second in command and/or a stand in for when the Captain is indisposed. Vice Captains can do EVERYTHING a Captain can do (except appoint other Vice Captains). So when picking a Vice Captain, please pick someone you trust. Vice Captain is an 'optional' position. This means, you don't have to have a Vice Captain, but it's probably a good idea to have one. They can act in the Captain's stead should something happen to the Captain (like loss of computer access, being banned from Gaia, and etc). Also, you can appoint more than one VC if you'd like.
Crew
Every Captain needs a loyal Crew to help run things. They can be very helpful and handy to have around, especially if you have a very large, active guild! But, if you think you can handle it on your own, then you don't have to assign any Crew members. However, Crew members have the power to lock/delete/edit/move topics, make Announcements and Stickies, delete/edit other members' posts, ban members, accept/decline new join requests, and invite new members to the guild.
You cannot pick and choose which specific abilities Crew members and Vice Captains can have. For instance, you cannot make it to where a Crew member can move threads, but not ban guild members, and etc. All Crew members have all Crew abilities. All Vice Captains have all Vice Captain abilities. Period. So choose well!
Now let's talk about how to assign your Vice Captain and Crew!Assigning a Vice Captain and Crew MembersThis is up to the Captain. Some guilds need no Crew or Vice Captain, while other guilds need them (and a lot of them!). Always make sure you trust the person/people you assign to be your Crew. Make sure they are dependable and actually want to help and have time to help. Lots of Captains like to assign their real life or Gaian friends as Crew members, but that may not always be the best option. So choose carefully! And if it isn't working out, you can always demote them back to normal members.
Assigning
... Or picking who you want for the positions. There are tons of ways to do this. You can pick them yourself, ask for applications, have the whole guild vote on candidates, have a private discussion with pre-exsisting Vice Captain and Crew, randomly pick people, pick your Gaia or real life friends, PM individuals and ask them if they'd like the job.... the list goes on.
You basically need to do what you feel is best for you and your guild. Just bear in mind that you will be trusting these people with a lot of responsibility. Here is a short list of example criteria you should look for when assigning a Vice Captain or Crew Member:
How active is this person in your guild?
How fair is this person?
How level-headed and objectional is this person?
How long have they been a member of your guild?
Are they comitted to your guild?
In what way can this person specifically contribute to improving your guild?
Is this person dependable and trustworthy?
Is this person likely to go on a "power trip"?
How decisive is this person?
Does this person follow rules very well?
This is but a short list. There are many more things you should look for before assigning anyone, but all these are the types of things should be taken into consideration before promoting someone to a higher permission level.
Changing Member Permissions"Changing permissions" means you are changing what any given member in your guild has permission to do. For example, you give Guild Member Bob permission to be a Crew Member. Guild Member Bob now has the permission to do all the things Crew Members can do. Adversely, banning somone from your guild takes away their permission to be a member of your guild. Got it? Now let's discuss these permission changes in detail.
Promote and Demote
So, you've made up your mind who you'd like to promote? Good for you! Now you need to do it! I'll show you how.
To promote members of your guild to higher positions, you'll need to go to you guild's memberlist. Pressing the memberlist button will take you to a page (or several pages) that lists all the members of your guild. To the right of each member's name you will find various info, such as:
Level - This tells whether the member is a Captain, Vice Captain, Crew, or regular member.
Donated - This tells how much gold that member has donated to the guild.
Posts - This tells how many posts that member has made in the guild.
All the above things are viewable to ALL members of the guild. However, further to the right you will see more options, Promote, Demote, and Ban. Only the Captain and Vice Captain can see the promote and demote options. However the Captain, Vice Captain, and Crew can see the ban option.
To make a regular member into a Crew member: Press the "Promote" link beside their name. Once you do you will be brought to a page with a text field. You have the option to fill in the text field with an explanation as to why you are changing their permission. Press 'submit' once you are ready to change their permission.
To make a Crew member into a Vice Captain: Press the "Promote" link beside their name. Once you do you will be brought to the same page as above. You have the option to fill in the text field with an explanation as to why you are changing their permission. Press 'submit' once you are ready to change their permission. A person *must* be a Crew member before you can promote them to the position of Vice Captain.
And, of course, sometimes there will be instances where you'll need to demote your Vice Captain or members or your Crew. This can be for many reasons: they didn't want to be in that position anymore, you didn't want them in that position anymore, inactivity, breaking the rules, and etc. But for whatever the reason, it is your call as Captain.
To demote a Crew member back to a regular member: Press the "Demote" link beside their name. Once you do you will be brought to a page with a text field. You have the option to fill in the text field with an explanation as to why you are changing their permission. Press 'submit' once you are ready to change their permission.
To demote a Vice Captain back to a Crew member: Press the "Demote" link beside their name. Once you do you will be brought to the same page as above. You have the option to fill in the text field with an explanation as to why you are changing their permission. Press 'submit' once you are ready to change their permission. To further demote them back to regular members, follow the same instruction provided for demoting Crew members.
If a Vice Captain or Crew member voluntarily quits the guild, their permission level is automatically changed. If they were to rejoin, they would rejoin as regular members.
Ban
Unfortunately, sometimes members will need to be banned from your guild. This can be for many reasons: breaking the rules, inactivity, fighting with other members, etc. As a Captain, that's your call. However, Vice Captains and Crew members also have the power to ban members, so you may want to discuss this with them before they go banning members without knowing what you'd like done.
Vice Captains and Crew members must be demoted all the way back down to regular members before they can be banned. Regular members can be banned anytime.
To ban a regular member: Press the "Ban" link beside their name. Once you do you will be brought to a page with a text field. You have the option to fill in the text field with an explanation as to why you are changing their permission. Press 'submit' once you are ready to change their permission.
Once banned, that person will have to wait 2 weeks to submit a new join request to your guild. Then you can decide if they should be accepted back or declined. Or you can send them an invitation to allow the to immediately rejoin your guild. If your guild is public, banned members will still be able to read and post in it even if they are banned. If your guild is private, they will only be able to read in it. If your guild is hidden, then they can neither read nor post in your guild.
Unban
There is no "unban" option available. None whatsoever. The only way to allow a banned person to immediately rejoin your guild is to send them an invitation. Once they accept the invitation, they will be a regular guild member again.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:00 pm
-Gaia's ToS and the GGN-All GGN guilds MUST adhere to Gaia's ToS and R&G. No exceptions. Here are links to Gaia's Terms of Service and Gaia's Rules and Guidelines:
ToS - This is the terms of service that you agreed to upon making an account on Gaia.
R&G - These are the rules and guidelines Gaia expects you to abide by.
As a Captain (or Vice Captain) it is your responsibility to enforce Gaia's ToS and R&G within your guild. Failure to do so could resort in losing your guild and possibly other consequences. So be sure and keep things within the boundaries set by Gaia.
While GGN moderators are certainly here to help, you should NOT contact them for inter-guild problems. As a Captain (or Vice Captain) you chose to take the responsibility to run a guild. So it is your job to quell conflicts, ban, promote, demote, and decide things yourself! Moderators should only be called in if things get out of your control or if there is a major ToS/R&G violation.
Also, make use of the "Report this Guild" button only when necessary. Guilds that should be reported are guilds that are breaking the ToS/R&G and the Captain (or Vice Captain) of that guild does nothing about it.
And to anyone who is thinking about making a guild that will break the ToS/R&G, all Gaia Moderators can see all GGN guilds even if they're "hidden".
Should you need a Moderator's help, here is a link to the list of Gaia Guild Network Moderators:
GGN Moderators
If a GGN Moderator is unavailable, you can still contact ANY Gaia Moderator for assistance.
In short, please take the running of your guild seriously, or you could be in big trouble!How to Properly Report a GuildA lot of times when mods receive reports on guilds, they end up having to sit there and read through the ENTIRE guild before they find specifically what was being reported. As you can well imagine, it is rather time consuming and irritating to have to read though an entire guild. So, with this in mind, I'd like to ask that the following things be included in your report when you report a guild to them:
A link (or links) to the specific topic(s), post(s), or page(s) that is the cause of the violation. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Screenshots when applicable (this would be for images or posts that you're afraid may be edited before they have a chance to see them).
Describe your specific reasons for reporting the guild so that they actually know what you mean.
In the end, including the above listed things will GREATLY help them to better and more efficiently handle GGN reports.Repeated Random InvitesFor some time now people have been asking what to do about repeat random invites. The mods are still working on hammering out something concrete for this.
However, in the meantime, I have some suggestions to help with the problem:
Suggestions for those who do NOT want repeat random invites:
If you recieve a random invite from a guild and do not wish to join, please send a POLITE PM to that guild's Captain asking them not to send you anymore invites.
On the invite itself, do NOT press the "Decline" option. DELETE the invite! If you simply DELETE the invite (without pressing "Decline"), then you will automatically be blocked from recieving another invite from that guild.
Suggestions for Guilds who send random invites:
Start keeping a list somewhere in your guild where ALL Crew members can see it. This list would be people who have PMed the Captain asking them NOT to send anymore invites to them.
I know this seems like a lot of work and hassle, but if it will help keep you/your guild out of the crossfire, then it's worth it. If you can take the time to enter someone's name into the invite system, then you can take the time to make a list, update it, maintain it, and check it when sending invites out.
Now, that being said, I'd like to point out that repeated random invites sent to the same person after they have asked you to stop CAN be considered spam. So please take measures to prevent/correct this!
This spam, like all other spam, can be reported to your nearest Dedicated Moderator. Please include a screen capture and quote of the PM-Invite. If you need instructions on how to make a screen shot, please check here:
]http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8978556SMALL UPDATE FOR THE GUILD INVITE SYSTEM! Jul 13, 2006Thanks to the wonderful efforts of DARKNRGY, we now have some more control over who can send us guild invites and what we can do about it!
Now, through your profile, you have the option to toggle your guild invites on and off. Simply go to your profile index page (the one with NPC Rina on it) and select the "Account" option.
Scroll down until you see "Accept Guild Invites". There will be a small box next to it with a "Yes" and "No" option. Pick the one you want. "Yes" to accept all invites. "No" to accpet absolutely no invites.
Also, DARK tweaked some other related things a bit. Here's a quote explaining:DARKNRGY Also, now if you are invited to a guild and you deleted the PM, click Request to Join on that guild's home page. You will have the option to CLEAR your invite. This was to work around that problem where people had been invited with an amount that was too high, then they deleted the PM and couldn't afford to get in. Also, if you decline an invite it clears it, so they can send again. If people are complaining of the spam invites, have them turn off the setting on profile.
]http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=4268473
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:06 pm
-Guild Settings and Guild Homepage- Here I will talk about the specifics of your Guild Settings page and how to make a nifty homepage! In order to edit your guild's settings, you'll need to go to your Moderator Panel and then to "Edit guild settings". When you click "Edit guild settings" you'll see this: Guild Settings Page
As you can see, in my example screen shot, I have filled in all the areas with text. Your's will all be blank the first time you access it though. But let's talk about this page and what you can do with it. I will list, in order, all the options on your guild setting page:NameLike my example image states, this is where you type in the name you wish your guild to have. It can be anything you'd like (as long as it follows Gaia's ToS and RaG) and you can change it as often as you'd like for free. DescriptionLike my example image says, this is where the content of your guild's homepage goes. If you do not know what a guild homepage is, here is a link to the Captain's Guild 2.0 homepage: Captain`s Guild 2.0 homepage
All GGN guilds have a homepage and it's totally customizable! You can add images, text, lists, links, banners, formatted text, and etc. It's very open-ended!
To customize your homepage, you will need to use BBCode and HTML. Now, I'm not going to sit here and list all the different HTML and BBCodes. If you look around (hint: use Google) you'll find them easily enough. Or here is a link to what Wikipedia says about BBCode: WikiBBCodeBannerThis is where the URL (web address) of your guild's 200x40 banner goes. Simply input the address in the text field and, VOILA! Banner! I will discuss guild banners in more detail in a later post.Entry FeeThis is where you input the amount of your guild's entry fee. It can be as little as 0gold or as much as you'd like. but please bear in mind, that people who join your guild will AUTOMATICALLY have your entry fee deducted from their gold! If they do not have enough, then they won't be allowed to join.
All entry fee gold goes to your guild's account, not to the Captain's personal gold. Entry fee gold CANNOT be returned to a member for any reason. I will discuss guild accounts in more detail in a later post.Allow Join RequestsThis is just a check box. Check it if you'd like to allow join requests. If you allow join requests, that means people will be able to submit a join request form if they'd like to join your guild. If you do not allow join requests, then the only way for new members to join is if you invite them.Hide From RegistryThis is just a check box. Check it if you'd like to hide your guild from the registry (the big list of GGN guilds that people can search through). If you hide your guild from the registry, then it will not appear in the search list and you may miss out on possibly attracting new members. If you do not hide your guild from the registry, then it will appear in the search list and everyone will be able to see it listed.CategoryThis is a select box where you'll need to scroll through different categories and pick one that you feel best describes your guild. Kava has a great list of categories and their descriptions here.Type This is a select box where you'll need to scroll through different types and pick the one you want. There are 3 types of guilds:
Public - All members of Gaia can read and/or post in your guild even if they are NOT members of your guild.
Private - All members of Gaia can read things in your guild, but only guild members can post.
Hidden - ONLY guild members can read and/or post in your guild.
Just a reminder though, all Gaia Moderators and Administrators can read and post in ALL types of guilds. So please don't think that if you make your guild hidden, you can break Gaia's ToS/R&G and not be busted. You WILL be busted!
Broadcasts[/color
This is a select box where you can pick who can send broadcasts in your guild (who can IM each other using the guild). There are four check boxes: Captains, Vice Captains, Crew, and Members. Basically, which ever check boxes you click on is who can IM in the guild. If you don't check any of the boxes, then no one will be able to IM in the guild.
And that's everything you need to know about editing your guild's settings and your guild's homepage.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:10 pm
-Subforums- A VERY versitile and neat-o feature indeed. Let's step into the wonderful realm of superior guild organization!
First off, some basic info:
Subforums cost 2,500 gold each.
This gold will come out of your guild's account, NOT your own personal gold.
You can buy as many subforums as your guild account can afford.
You cannot delete, trade, sell back, or return any subforum once it is purchased.
There is no option for rearranging your subforums. If you want them listed in a certain order, you must purchase them in that order, or maunally rename them and then move all relevent threads to the appropriate subforum.
You can rename your subforums and change their settings as many times as you'd like.
Now that the basic info is out of the way, let's discuss how to make a subforum, shall we?Making SubforumsStep OneFirst check to see if your guild account contains enough gold. As I stated, each subforum costs 2,500 gold. So spend it wisely!
Step Two
Decide why and what you want a subforum for. Is this subject something that could be better made into a simple sticky or announcement topic? Is the subject worth its own subforum? Will having a subforum for it help to better organize the guild? Like stated before, these subforums are non-refundable, so make sure you really want one before shelling out all that gold!
Step Three
Ok, you got the cash, you got the reason, so now let's make a subforum! You'll need to go to your Moderator Panel. Once there, click on "Edit guild forums" under Captain Controls. When you click on that link, you will be brought to a page that looks like this: Click Here for Image (This is what it will look like for some who has never purchased a subforum before)
Now I'm going to break down each part of this page to explain what each section is for.
Main Forum
This is your guild's default forum. It will be named whatever your guild is named. You can change it if you like. Changing what your main forum is called will NOT change your guild's name.
Crew Only Checkbox
By checking this box, you make that forum accessible to your Guild's Captain, Vice Captain, and Crew members only! No regular guild members will be able to view nor post in any "Crew Only" forums.
Save changes
Clicking this saves any changes you made to any of your guild's forums.
Purchase additional forum
Clicking this link allows you to purchase additional subforums for your guild (this is what costs 2,500 gold).
Step Four
Let's click that "Purchase additional forums" link and get us a subforum! Once you click it, you will be brought to a page that says this:Confirmation Page Creating a subforum will charge 2,500 gold to your guild account. Please confirm that you want to create a subforum. Your guild account currently has XXXXXX gold.
Yes, I want to create subforum
Step Five
After you purchase your subforum, you will be returned to your "Forum Administration" page where you can name your subforum and choose whether you'd like to make it "Crew Only" or not.
Step Six
Organize it! It will be up to you (and your Crew) to move any threads to your new subforum, or make new sticky/announcement topics if you wish to do that.
Now that you know how to make a subforum, let's cover a few more things concerning them.
All subforums can be seen by all Gaia Online Moderators. Even "Crew Only" subforums.
All subforums must adhere to Gaia's ToS and RaG just like the rest of your guild.
The Captain of the guild is responsible for keeping their subforums' content compliant with Gaia's ToS and RaG. Super Short Subforum Technical FAQ~Is there a way to have subforums within subforums?
No. There is no way to have subforums within subforums. This idea has been suggested many times, but so far, it's a no-go.
~Is there a way to have descriptions out to the side of my subforum's name like Gaia's forums have for its subforums?
Not currently. The only thing you can do is to include the subforum's description in its name.
~Why doesn't the "new posts" icon beside my subforum work? Will it ever work?
I do not know why it doesn't work nor when it will be fixed. So in the meantime you have no ther choice than to manually check your subforums for new posts.
~Is there a way to automatically reorganize your subforums after they're purchased?
Nope. You either need to name them in a specific order when you rpurchase them, or manually reorganize them by renaming them and then moving all the threads again to the appropriate subforum.
~I wanna make a subforum where all my guild members can read, but only Crew can post. Is that possible?
There is no option for that, but it is possible. Simply lock all the threads in that subforum and leave it as a public subforum. That way regular members can read those topics, but only Crew can post in them.
~Can you assign certain Crew to certain subforums? Like make it to where they only have their Crew abilities in that subforum?
No. You can informally request that a certain Crew member (or members) be responsible for certain subforums, but you cannot pick and choose your Crew's abilities to go with certain subforums.
Well, I think that pretty much covers subforums. I may add more if necessary.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:12 pm
-Guild Banners- Those nifty little banners that go in the top right hand corner of your guild pages (and beside your guild's name in the search list). I'm gonna tell you all about them.Technical StuffMeasurementsGuild banners should be 200 pixels wide and 40 pixels high. This measurement is usually shortened to "200x40" when typed out.
File Type
You can use .GIF, .JPG, or .PNG
File Size
As far as I know they can be any size. Though I would not recommend taking extreme advantage of this as larger file sizes will cause the page and image to load slower... especially for those who use dial-up. This could possibly discourage potential members!
Animated Banners
You may have animated banners.
Randomized Banners
You may randomize your banners as well. I'm not going to go into how to randomize them, but there are PLENTY of tutorials floating around on Gaia, particularly in the Gaia Guides and Resources subforum. So you should be able to find out how rather easily. Hosting Your BannerThis is your responsibility. You must find a host to upload your banner to. You can use your own webspace (if you have any), or there are plenty of free hosts on the internet that you can use. www.photobucket.com and www.tinypic.com are a couple you can use, but I'm not going to list them all here since this info is covered all over Gaia.
Just make sure your host allows hotlinking (ie: linking to just an image). Also be sure to check what their bandwidth limits are, what their content rules are, what kinds of file types they allow, and how reliable they are.
Once you banner is hosted, you'll need to go to your Moderator Panel. Then to "Edit guild settings". Then all you will need to do is copy and paste the banner's URL (that's web address) into the space you see marked "Banner". Do NOT include any  How to Make a BannerThis is also your responsibility. You can use any kind of art/image manipulation software you'd like: programs like MS Paint or even Photoshop. It doesn't matter. Whatever you have available to you. Just stick within the measurement requirements and Gaia's ToS and you're good to go.
Or...
You can have a banner made for you. There are plenty of talented people on Gaia who are willing to use their abilities to make images for you. Some do it for free and others charge gold for their work. Some are of average skill while others are exceptionally talented with their imagery skills. You have to chose who you like and, possibly, who you can afford!
But like with any transaction with another user on Gaia, use common sense. Do some checking around. find someone reliable who won't try to scam you. Be courteous and polite. Follow their guidelines for requesting work. Be precise with what you want. Give credit for their work afterward!! Helpful Banner/Graphic Related LinksThe BEST place to look for help (aside from the Guide here) will be these links:
Here are some forum links as well:
Captains Market - This is our own guild's subforum dedicated to requesting/offering services. Many people offer to make banners in here, so check it out! You can also post your own request for one in here. Read the stickies first though!!
Personalized Graphics - This subforum is dedicated ENTIRELY to graphic making services. This is an EXCELLENT place to go to buy/request graphics from another Gaian.
And this is pretty much everything you should know about Guild Banners. Good luck to ya.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:15 pm
-Guild Account and Donating- So, what's that guild account for anyway? Why should you donate to a guild? Why should your members donate to your guild? What does that gold get used for? All these questions, and more, ANSWERED! Read this post and become enlightened. ^__^Basic Guild Account InfoWhat's a guild account? What's it for?
A guild account is a place to store gold just to use for your guild. It is accessible only to the Captain and Vice Captain of the guild to use to make guild-related purchases.
Who can withdrawl gold from this account?
No one. The only way to get gold out is by purchasing a feature or option for your guild.
What can be bought with it then?
Guild features and options. Currently, the only feature available for purchase are subforums. They cost 2,500 gold each. That gold is deducted directly from your guild account automatically upon purchasing one. In the future, more options and features will be made available to purchase, so save up that gold! Yuo never know what may come next!
How does gold get into that account?
By donations and/or guild entry fees. If your guild has an entry fee, then that amount will automatically be deducted from a person's personal gold upon them joining your guild. That fee is then automatically deposited into your guild's account. Donations is when a person freely gives some of their gold to your guild. They can do this by filling in certain info at the bottom of your guild's homepage. Here is an image showing what they must fill in: Click Here for Image
Also, once gold has been donated to a guild (or once the entry fee has been paid) it's there forever. Even if that member who donated (or paid the entry fee) quits your guild or you ban them, the gold will remain in your guild account until you spend it on a feature or option.
Can this gold be used for my own purposes? Or for prize money in a contest my guild is holding?
No. You'd have to use your own personal gold for that.
And there you have it. That's all the info about guild accounts that you should know! I may add more later if need be.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:16 pm
-Buying and Selling Used Guilds- In the market for a guild? You've got options! Buy new or used. There are pros and cons to each though, so this post will be dedicated to talking about buying and selling used guilds.Buying New GuildsThis is when your buy a brand new guild directly from Gaia. It will cost 20,000 gold and will come with no subforums. It's completely blank and you must start from scratch.
Some people perfer to buy guilds this way. It's quick, easy, no muss-no fuss. However, there *is* another option for those in the market for a GGN guild.Buying Used GuildsThis is when you buy a previously used guild from another Gaian. Members selling a guild that already exists may sell the guild for more or less than 20,000 gold -- which is how much it costs to create a new guild on your own. These guilds can come in many different states as well: blank and completely cleaned out; or a fully established guild with members, Crew, threads, and etc. Please make sure you know what you're looking for and what you're selling/buying when dealing with used guilds!What Determines the Price of a Used Guild?Ultimately, this is up to the seller. However, here is a short list of things you should look for:
The guild's ID number
Usually lower ID numbers sell for more than higher ID numbers.
Post
Usually guilds with a high post count sell for more than guilds with a low post count.
Gold in the Guild Account
Guilds with more gold in their account sell for more than guilds with little to no gold in their accounts.
Subforums
Guilds with a few subforums usually sell for more than guilds with little to no subforums.
Activity
Usually previously active guilds sell for more than previously inactive guilds.
Whether the guild is cleaned out or not
Usually guilds that are "blank", or that have been cleared out of all topics, members, Crew members, and etc. sell for more than guilds that have not been cleaned out. Safety and EtiquetteAs with any expensive purchase or trade here on Gaia, there are always safety precautions to take and some simple courtesy to follow.
Safety
It's a good idea to include the guild's ID and its price along with whether you're buying or selling it in the subject line of your trade. Here is what an example trade subject would look like: Selling Guild_id=12345 17k Gaia User Bob
For people who want extra insurance, post somewhere public (in an appropriate place) that you are buying/selling guild (with a link to the guild) for the price you have agreed on. Then have the buyer/seller quote the post and agree to it. Then you can make a simple screen capture of this for your records in case anything goes wrong. This way you will have proof that you were selling/buying a specific guild for a mutually agreed upon price.
Also, once you've become the owner of your used guild. Immediately demote (and/or ban) any remaining Vice Captains or Crew members.
Etiquette
Don't scam people. If you're selling/buying a guild for an already agreed upon price, then don't go changing your mind in the middle of the trade.
Also, it's a good idea not to list your guild to sell at some completely outrageous price. You may think it's worth that, but potential customers may not.
Do not harass people to buy/sell guilds. Be polite and politeness will be returned to you!
Finally, please don't assume a member is trying scam you if they are asking for more than 20,000 gold for their guild. There are LOTS of things that can increase the value of a guild, such as guild subforums and the amount of gold in the guild account.
And that about covers the what you should know about buying and/or selling used guilds. Many thanks to Galvatron for generously sharing his knowledge of buying/selling used guilds!!
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:17 pm
-Helpful Hints and Tips- In this post I will discuss things like guild mules, how to attract new members, how to encourage activity and more.Guild MulesWhat is a Guild Mule?
A guild mule is an "extra" Gaia account used for guild purposes. Guild mules are NOT an official GGN feature or option, but rather a user-made thing. You can make one or not, it doesn't matter.
Who has access to a Guild Mule?
That's entirely up to the person who makes it. The creator can keep access only to themselves, or they can share access with other trusted guild members.
What would you use a Guild Mule for?
Lots of things! Here's a short list:
To store gold or items in for guild purposes.
To hand out warnings or such if you or your Crew feel uncomfortable doing so on your personal accounts.
For writing all your stickies or announcements (which makes things a bit more uniform if you have several people wanting to make stickies or announcements).
To be your guild's official mascot/spokesperson or etc.
To be the account that your members contact for various thing (this keeps your own PM inbox from being flooded with too many guild-related PMs).
It can be used to send out "official" guild PMs to members.
This is just a short list though. There are plenty of other uses for Guild Mules. It's all up to you!Attracting New Members/Encouraging ActivityHere I will write a list of ideas you can use to attract new members to your guild or to encourage more activity.
Advertise, advertise, advertise! This is key!! However, only advertise in appropriate areas. Please do not spam-vertise your guild in forums, subforums, or threads that do not allow it.
Make an [AD] for your guild in the Registered Guild Forum and any other area on Gaia that allows it. Be sure and include a link to your guild and some basic info about it.
Make banners for your members to put in their sigs.
Put links/banners in your sig.
Encourage interesting topics. An interesting guild is a place people want to be!
Make sure your guild is well organized and easy to navigate. People don't want to be in a guild that confuses them.
Make sure your guild is in the correct category.
Make sure your guild's name accurately describes your guild.
Host guild lottos, contests, or give-aways. Use common sense when doing this. Don't scam your own members! gonk
Browse other forums on Gaia and send out invites to people whom you think would enjoy your guild. But please don't harrass anyone about joining!
Make sure your guild is run and maintained well. If a conflict or problem arises in your guild, then take care of it ASAP! People don't want to be in a guild where they feel problems aren't being taken care of.
Make an interesting, eye-catching homepage. Also don't forget to describe your guild well and maybe even post up a few guild rules on your homepage.
Get your real life and/or Gaia friends to join, then ask them to ask their friends to join and so on.
And that list could probably go on forever! But those are a few good ideas that you can use to help get your guild going or to keep your guild active! If anyone else has a good idea for this, please let me know and I may add it.
I will add more to this post as needed.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:19 pm
-The Future of the GGN- Rumors, possibilities, upcoming features? The GGN is rather open-ended with its possibilities. New things are always on the horizon. Some Current RumorsUpdate - Jan 10th, 2006 DARKNRGY has informed me that this feature is still in the works. It IS coming, but still requires some more significant development time. At this time there is no ETA on its release.
Guild quests
Guild-only items
More features and customization for your guild
And lots more!!
I will try to keep this post updated with the latest confirmations and rumors. So stock up those guild accounts with plenty of gold, 'cause you never know what may be released next!
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:20 pm
-Quick Answers FAQ- In this post I will attempt to give quick answers to as many commonly asked GGN-related questions as possible! Some of these questions may have been covered in other parts of this topic, but I'd like to list them all together for easier access.Subforum Questions~How much do subforums cost?
2,500 gold each.
~When buying a subforum, does that 2,500 gold come out of my own personal gold?
No. It comes out of your guild's account.
~Can you delete, return, trade, sell subforums?
Nope. So purchase wisely 'cause once you buy it, you're stuck with it.
~Is there a limit to how many subforums you can have?
The only limit is the amount of gold in your guild's account.
~Is there a way to arrange them after you purchase them?
The only way you can do that is to go through and manually rename each subforum in the order you want it, and then manually move all the topics to the appropriate subforums.Guild Banner Questions~What measurements are guild banners supposed to have?
200 pixels in width and 40 pixels in height.
~What kind of file can it be?
GIFs, JPGs, and PNGs work best.
~Can they be animated?
Yes.
~Is there a filesize limit?
As far as I know, there isn't.
~Can you randomize them?
Yes. You can use practically any of the more commonly used randomizer methods for Gaia. More info on randomization can be found in the Gaia Guides and Resources subforum.Crew Member Questions~How do you choose Vice Captains/Crew members? What criteria do you use?
It's really up to each individual Captain. However, I would recommend chosing people who are trustworthy, reliable, active, fair, comitted, and honest.
~What should I do if the Vice Captain or a Crew member does something I don't like?
Again, this is really up to each individual Captain... you can demote them, ban them, talk to them, warn them, or whatever. However, I would recommend talking to them about it and making sure they understand what you do and do not want them doing, then proceed from there.Guild Activity Questions~How do you make members more active?
Lots of ways! Make your guild more interesting, make sure it's well organized, start interesting topics, run contests, run lottos, run giveaways, be active yourself, invite active people to join, and etc. The list could go on, but you get the picture.
~How do you attract new members?
Advertise, advertise, advertise (but only where it is allowed)! Make banners for signatures, make an [AD] in the Captain's Guild and the Registered Guilds Forum, surf the forums and other guilds and such and send invites to those who you think would like your guild, spread the word!
~How do you make your guild more popular?
Popularity is relative, really..... but a lot of the suggestions I gave for the two previous questions apply to this question as well. All in all though, you just need to do a good job running your guild. Make it a place that poeple WANT to come and hangout in! Make it fun and enjoyable!Technical Questions~How is your guild's rank determined?
It's determined by a secret ancient Mayan numerical code based on the cycles of Jupiter's moons. It also has to do with guild activity, number of members, and etc.... but mostly Jupiter's moons!!!
~Can you reset the member number?
Nope.
~Can you see a guild member's join date?
Nope.
HOWEVER, if you have set a join fee, you can determine when they joined by looking a member up in your transaction log. The day the paid the join fee would be the same day they joined your guild. 3nodding - Thankyou to KTweirdchick for pointing this out to me.~How many times can you change your guild's name? Is there a limit? Does it cost gold?
You can change your guild's name as many times as you want and it doesn't cost a thing.
~Is there a way to remove members without bannning them?
Nope. You must either ban them or they must voluntarily quit.
~Why is the price for a guild so high?
Because a guild is supposed to be a "community". And, as a community, all members should pull together for a common goal. The high price is supposed to promote team work and such to raise enough gold for the guild. If you'd like to shop cheaper though, try buying a used guild."Mass" Options Questions~Mass topic deleting, is it possible?
No.
~Mass banning, is it possible?
No.
~Mass PMing to members, Crew members, is it possible? When will it be available?
Currently, this is not possible. However, DARKNRGY has stated that such a feature may be forthcoming after much programming work is done.Update - Jan 10th, 2006 DARKNRGY has informed me that this feature is still in the works. It IS coming, but still requires some more significant development time. At this time there is no ETA on its release.
A guild account is for members of your guild to donate gold to. It is an account STRICTLY for guild use only. Not even Captains can "withdrawal" gold from it. Once you donate your gold, you won't be able to retrieve it for personal usage.
~What can be bought with the donated gold?
Guild-related things. Right now, only subforums can be bought. However, there are plans for future features and things that will require gold from your guild's account. Buying/Selling Guilds Questions~What's a reasonable selling price for used guilds?
Depends on what all you're getting. Is the guild cleared out for you already? Does it include any subforums? How much gold is in the guild's account? What are you comfortable paying? All these questions must be considered when pricing used guilds.Miscellaneous~What's a guild mule?
A Gaia account sometimes shared by the Captain, Vice Captain, and/or Crew Members for guild purposes. Guild mules can be useful in some instances, but are not something every guild needs to have.
The Quick Answers FAQ may be updated at anytime.
For more info, please see Kava's GGN FAQ here:
]http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10057029
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:22 pm
-Links- Here is a list of useful GGN-related links! Please make use of them!
If you have a useful GGN-related link you'd like to share, please PM the link to me and I will give it a look over. Not all submitted links will be added to this list, however.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:26 pm
-Vice Captains FAQ- This post is dedicated to discussing the very important position of Vice Captain (also referred to as VC).
Here is a break down of the Vice Captain basics:
VC's have all of the same abilities that a Captain does except VCs cannot appoint other VCs.
VC's can change ownership of your guild anytime.
VC's can even ban the Captain after changing ownership!
VC's are meant to help run a guild if something happens that prevents the Captain from doing so. The Vice Captain FAQ!So, you really mean that Vice Captains have all the same abilities as a Captain?Yes. And I mean YES. The only exception to this is the fact the only Captains can appoint VCs. VCs cannot appoint other VCs.What is the purpose of a Vice Captain?Vice Captains are meant to be a sort of "back-up" Captain. That's why they are given all the same abilities as a Captain. A Vice Captain to continue running the guild in the Captain's place if the Captain is inactive or unable to be online to run the guild (ex. if the Captain is banned from Gaia or quits Gaia). And to help otherwise run and maintain the guild along with the Captain.How many VC's can a guild have?As many as the Captain wishes to appoint. There is no limit.Who should I pick to be my VC?Someone who is trustworthy, responsible, honest, familiar with your guild, its members and how you run it and preferably who has been on the Crew for a long time already.Wah! My VC took over my guild without my permission! What do I do??!!Contact an online GGN Dedicated Moderator. (Click here to view the list of GGN mods) If none are online feel free to contact an online mod from another forum.I don't like my VC anymore. Can I demote/ban them?Yes. You may demote or ban anyone at anytime as you see fit.Can a mule account be my VC?Yes. Many guilds do this.However, in most cases there is little benefit in this practice. The point of the VC is to help run the guild above the Crew, and to act as leader if something is preventing the captain from doing so. If the captain himself is the only VC, the VC isn't doing much in the way of what it's there for.Can I limit my VC's controls?No. You do not have that option at this time.Can VC's purchase subforums and change other guild settings?Yes. They can do everything that a Captain can do except appoint VCs.Can a VC change ownership of my guild?Once again, yes. If a Captain can do it, a VC can as well.Can a VC demote a Captain and change ownership of the guild?Yes. Yes they can.So, you seriously mean a Vice Captain has every single ability as a Captain then? They can access all of the options from the Captain's moderator panel? They can do all this stuff?Yes, yes, and yes. Everything except appoint other VCs.Is there anything a Captain can do that a VC can't?Yes. One thing. A VC cannot appoint other VCs. Only the Captain can appoint VCs.And this is why it is vitally important to think carefully when appointing a Vice Captain. This is an important decision for any guild and should be made with caution and a lot of thought. Sure, GaiaBob may be your best buddy right now, but are you sure GaiaBob won't abuse his VC abilities to harm your guild?
On the other hand, it's silly to not appoint a VC because you never know what may happen either on Gaia or in real life that may keep you from effectively running and maintaining your guild. If a Captain got banned, then at least the guild could continue on under the VC. Without the VC, that guild would be left leaderless!
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:31 pm
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