Dealing with Forum Cliques
What is a forum clique?
Everybody will have their own definition of a clique, but the
general concept is an exclusive group of members in your forums
who are slow to welcome new members.
Why should I be concerned?
All visitors will read posts by these cliques, and this will in
turn discourage many guests from ever registering and even
discourage new members from saying hello. Sometimes when a new
member will try to say hello, the veterans are quick to either
ignore them or tell them they don't know what they're talking
about. This is a nasty recipe for non-expansion.
What can I do?
Truthfully, this is one of the toughest problems you will ever
face as a forum administrator. Disciplining these cliques is not
easy because the members of the cliques are often close friends
of staff. If you are too hard on the clique members, you risk
losing them all together, which could be a serious hit for any
community if the clique was at the root of the member base.
* Allow introductions
It is important that your new members can "break the ice" with
ease. Create a section for introductions in which members can
introduce themselves to the community and get to know the
current members. The first post is often the hardest for many
members, but if you make it easy for new registrants, this will
not be the case.
* Staff friendliness (set an example)
Make it a point to all your administrators and moderators to
welcome all new members and be very willing to fulfill any
requests. Never let a post from a new member go unanswered. Your
staff represents your forums; if your staff is not welcoming, do
not expect your members to be.
* Employ non-clique members
Find a regular member in the forums who is well respected, but
not a part of the clique. Ask this person to inadvertantly
"break up" any clique-like discussions. Odds are, the members of
the clique will respect this person, ultimately ending these
personal discussions.
* Interviews
Each week, pick a random new member and interview him or her
with interesting questions. Once finished, post this interview
in public as to expose your clique members to your new members.
Often times, your clique members will become interested in these
new members and will want to find out more about them.
* Personal contact
Contact each member of the clique one by one and explain the
problem. Explain to them how it is harming the community, and
ask that they please refrain from doing so. You might be
surprised to find that your members never even realized what
they were doing.
* Keep clique discussions in private
Some owners will create a forum dedicated to these clique-like
discussions, as to hide them from the public. Unfortunately this
will often prove to not solve the problem completely, as your
veterans will still find time to slip in their inside jokes to
the public eye.
* Punishment
If worse comes to worst, you might be forced to suspend members
of the clique. Be very careful doing this, as you do not want to
risk losing them in the long run.
* Privacy is important
Try your hardest to keep this clique controversy out of public
eye, as it leaves a bad impression on new members if they see
your veterans are not even enjoying themselves. If you must make
your point in public, do so once in a very short manner. Leave
the rest to private and instant messengers.
Does anything good come of cliques?
Subtle cliques here and there are definitely good and encouraged
in many communities. You want your potential members to see that
your veterans enjoy themselves in your community, but you also
need your potential members to feel welcome to join in. Do not
encourage clique discussion at the expense of new members. Find
an appropriate balance where your members can both have fun
while welcoming new members to do the same.
Your task
Remember, your role as an admin is like that of a host to a
party. Your job is to keep everyone happy and provide help when
needed. If only part of your community is happy, you are not
doing your job somewhere. Ask your members (both old and new)
what you can do to make their stay more enjoyable - and act on
this! Finally, remember that you are a community. All
communities will naturally have individual groups, and that is
not necessarily a bad thing. Do not, however, allow these groups
to become noninviting and exclusive.