Tutorial: How Do I Create A Group? · 10:21pm Jan 6th, 2017
This is sort of a repost. A long time ago, I helped out the founder of a group, and they gave me admin rights. So I wrote up a tutorial in that group. Barely anypony saw it. I thought it was worth copying it, dusting it off, and posting it as a blog, as others might be interested, and I think it was a good tutorial.
So here's my tutorial on how to make a group:
While some of you may be looking more to become admins of existing groups, I'm sure some of you want to create your own group. And why wouldn't you? It's fun, and it's satisfying watching everypony join and like your idea for a group. That is, if they do join.
What you might be wondering, though, is how to go about it.
Well, the trivial answer would be to go to your user menu at the top of the screen, hit Groups, then go to where it says "Add Group", type a name in next to it, click the button, and create a group. But if you don't think it out more than that, it likely won't be a very successful one.
What you really want to do is plan ahead.
First, is there already an existing group that does what you had in mind?
Go ahead and look around a bit. If there is, you might still want to create a new one if that group is dead, but you could always join that group, see if you can help out, and so on. We don't really need ten fan groups for the same pony.
Now that you've figured that out, here are other things to think about.
How about fanfics?
Most groups do have fanfics in them, and even if that isn't the main purpose of your group, somepony's gonna want to add some. So, what folders do you want to have, and can anypony add to them, just contributors, or just admins? Remember that if you change what folders you have midway, things that have already been added won't be sorted right!
You'll need to come up with a name. For fan groups, often just the name of the character is enough. Otherwise, try and think of something clever, and make absolutely sure you are spelling it right. First impressions are important. Do a search for the name, too, and make sure it isn't already in use.
You'll also need a banner and an icon. The banner is gonna be 1000 x 250. If it's larger, it'll be cropped, and it'll be repeated if it's smaller. Either looks bad. Also, the icon'll cover part of it, so keep that in mind. Cropping part of a picture or screenshot often works for the banner, but it's a bit of an art. If you know somepony that does it, you could always ask them. I usually make my own, though.
The icon is going to be 512 x 512, and will be rescaled. Oh, and both should be safe for work. All pictures on fimfiction have to be, even if the group isn't. It's a site rule.
You'll also need to think about if the group is gonna be NFSW or not. If it is, anypony with Mature off won't see it, but you can talk about NSFW things and link to NSFW stories. If it's SFW, everypony can see it, but you can't link directly to NSFW stories, though you can add them to the group. If your group is mainly about mature topics, make it NSFW, though.
Now, what about the front page? You'll probably want a few paragraphs there about the group, and some pictures, preferably cute ones. Make sure it's all spelled correctly here, too. It's all about impressions.
Some groups like to have all the admins listed on the front page. Others put links to important threads, the rules, or even other groups on there. It's all up to you! This is one of the fun bits, actually.
Then there's rules. Most groups do need rules. Sometimes with small or one track groups, you can get away with not having them, but that really just means that the members don't know what they are, which is something you don't normally want. If you have rules, you can point to them when somepony breaks 'em.
They can be pretty simple if you want, but it all depends on what you are doing with the group. If it's a review group, or something similar, they can get pretty complex. They should really all be there to focus the group on its subject and encourage good discussion, or whatever the group is mainly about. Here's an example rules thread from one of my groups.
A picture thread is often fun, too. My rules are usually that you can only post three or less pictures a post, and the smaller version, 'cause you don't want the picture thread to take forever to load.
You should probably make at least one discussion thread, too, or everypony will be afraid to be the first one, and maybe get in trouble!
Now how about admins? All groups should have at least two. After all, what if something happens to one of you? You might even plan the group with somepony else, and make them a second admin. Any admin should be somepony you trust, and preferably somepony who is good at adminning. That's really a topic in and of itself, though.
The more members you have, the more admins you need. What times everypony is usually on can be important, too, because for moderation, it's best to have at least one admin on at all times, though groups that don't need much moderation can get by without it.
Of course, the big question is, is anypony going to come to your group? If you just create it and don't do anything else, they won't. So you need to advertise.
If you go over to the groups button for a moment, take a look at the trending groups list on the right. Look at how many members the bottom group says joined this week. You want to have more then that number join before the week is up, so your group will be in that list where everypony can see it.
First, head over to the New Groups group. As long as it's within the first week, you can advertise the group there. You can even ask to be an admin of the group while you're at it!
Next, head over to the Shameless Self-Promotion Bureau and promote it there, too. Read the rules first, and try and avoid fights in the group thread, or it might get locked. Possibly by me.
Don't worry if off-topic conversations start in your promotional thread. Every time somepony posts a new comment in the thread, the thread goes to the top of the thread list, and it's more likely to get seen! Don't be too blatant about taking advantage of this, though.
Also, blog about it. Your followers might be interested in the group too. If there are other groups that are related to yours and might be interested, check to see if you're allowed to post about it in them, too. Get some help!
Assuming you've got that far, and have a bunch of members, the big thing is going to be keeping it going, because after a bit, the momentum will die down, and everypony may forget they joined if nothing's happening. That bit's up to you, though.
I'm sure I left things out, but they can always be discussed here. In the meantime, enjoy your new group!
--Sweetie Belle
Neat.