Guild Creation and Maintenance Tips

This page is still in its very early stages and in its brainstorming phase. Feel free to add ideas without worrying too much about structure and format. When in doubt, you should probably just add your description to a similar one instead of overwriting it - we can then condense them to the best phrasing in the end.

If you want to contribute here, you might also find this page's associated Talk page interesting!

The plan is that in the end, everyone who creates a public guild (possibly also a private guild?) or is made guild leader should automatically be directed to this page and given a friendly nudge to actually read it.

Until then, the plan is that this wiki page should be linked to from the wiki Guilds page.

About
It is technically rather easy to create a new guild. It is much more difficult to create a guild that has the potential to be useful, interesting, or entertaining. Once the guild is created, it can take some effort to keep it active and alive. If the guild stays inactive nonetheless, and threatens to become a "dead" guild cluttering up the list of public guilds, the guild leader has several options to prevent this. And lastly, if the guild is active but the guild leader doesn't find the time anymore to lead the guild, it is helpful to know how to hand over guild leadership to a new guild leader easily - in such a way that even a very stressed and busy guild leader can do it.

Please read this page carefully before creating a guild, or if you're planning to become guild leader of an existing guild, or if you are already the leader of a guild and don't quite know what to do with it!

Guild Creation
One of the main problems with Habitican guilds is that there are already very many inactive guilds. They make it harder to find the active guilds, and they put additional strain on the server. So, if you are thinking about a creating a new guild, how can you make sure your new guild doesn't become one of those comatose ones? Should you create a new guild at all?

What are guilds?
The wiki page about guilds describes the concept and the technicalities of guilds. Please read it thoroughly before creating your own guild! If you have technical questions about guilds that aren't answered there, please ask (in the Newbies guild or the Guild Leaders & Challenge Creators guild) before creating a new guild.

Guilds are for people who share an idea, an ideal, a hobby, fellow fans, or have some other common ground and want to challenge others who share that passion. Members of a guild can create and share challenges with other guild members and have a forum discussing the guild's topic (and anything else).

Should I make a party instead?
The wiki page about parties describes the concept and the technicalities of parties. Please read it and make sure you understand how they are different from guilds! If you have questions about the differences that aren't answered there, please ask (in the Newbies guild or the Guild Leaders & Challenge Creators guild) before creating a new guild.

Guilds cannot quest together; if you want to fight monsters with other people, you will need to form a party instead.

Should I make my guild public or private? What are the differences, advantages, disadvantages?
[To-do: Link to section of Guilds wiki page where private guilds are explained?]

There are pros and cons to both public and private guilds. Here are a few of them:

Private:

Pros:
 * Better fit for very marginal subjects
 * Great for large groups of friends, even if they are in different parties
 * If the guild becomes inactive (or never really becomes active at all), and the guild leader doesn't take steps to delete it, at least it won't clutter up the list of public guilds.

Cons:
 * More difficult to find niche members (though try by looking in other guilds)
 * A guild member must (find and) invite members

Conclusion: While private guilds are great for large groups of friends or secret societies who want to stay accountable or used as a private chat for certain members of a larger guild, they are terrible for broader subjects.

Public:

Pros:
 * Members can flow in and out easily
 * Can be revived by pirates (or plundered)

Cons:
 * Too many guilds kills the concept of guilds
 * Trolls may come in (quite rarely though)
 * Harder to keep track of members

Neutral:
 * Anyone can invite members

Conclusion: Great for general topics, bad for teams or restricted communities, or very marginal subjects, that are only partially present in other guilds.

[To-do: The method of having both a public and a private guild - the public guild is findable and Habiticans can ask for invites there, but all the other chat happens in the private guild - should be mentioned in this chapter and/or somewhere in the Guild Promotion chapter. Good for delicate subjects.]

Who should make a public guild?
Someone who plans to stay active in Habitica for a while. It also helps a lot if you already more or less know your way around Habitica, know what features there are, and have seen some good examples of thriving guilds and bad examples of dead guilds.

Does a similar public guild already exist?
You should always check if a similar public guild already exists before creating a new one. Many "dead" guilds are duplicates of existing ones which the guild leader didn't notice before creating their new one.

Which similar guilds should I look for?
A similar guild can be:
 * A guild with the same name (yes, that's technically possible) or a very similar name.
 * A guild with the same topic.
 * A guild with a very similar topic. (Example: A gardening guild and a guild about planting. Planting can be outside one's garden, and gardening can include things like garden gnomes and nest boxes for birds, but the two topics clearly overlap.)
 * A guild with a broader topic that includes the one you have in mind. (Example: You want to start a guild about crocheting, but there is already a guild about knitting, crocheting, stitching and similar needlework. Then that guild already includes the topic you had in mind.)
 * A guild with a narrower topic that is already included in the one you have in mind. (Example: You want to start a guild about sleeping habits, and there is already one for getting up in time, and another one for people with irregular sleeping schedules, and another one for keeping a dream journal.)
 * A guild with the same topic (or a similar topic) in another language.

How do I find out if a similar guild already exists?
There is a complete list of public guilds on the Guilds Page. There is a search bar at the top of the page, and you can search for terms related to your topic.

The search is for exactly the text you type in. For example, if you type "school exam", the search doesn't find all guilds that include either the word "school" or the word "exam", nor even all guilds that contain both words, but only guilds that contain exactly the term "school exam". (A feature that fixes that has already been requested.) If you want to find all guilds that contain either the word "school" or the word "exam", you have to do separate searches for each word.

Before creating a new guild, you should look for all (or most of) the search terms you can think of in connection with your guild's topic: The search terms you would use for your own guild, the name (and parts of the name) of your new guild, and search terms that would fit a guild with a slightly broader or narrower topic. Of course you can't be expected to look for search terms in many different languages. But if your new guild has something to do with a particular language (for example, a guild about learning Russian, or a fandom guild about a Japanese manga), you should look for search terms in both English and that other language.

If you want to be really sure, and have the time to do it, you can also read the whole list of public guilds. It takes a while, and it isn't required. But it can be quite helpful for a future guild leader to see which guilds exist, and which of them can or can't be found easily by a keyword search, and which guild descriptions you find informative, intriguing, or useless, and which of the guilds thrive or are inactive.

You might also find guilds with similar topics by looking at the Guilds Guide wiki page - but that page doesn't contain all public guilds, only the larger and/or more important ones.

What should I do if I find a similar public guild?
If a similar public guild already exists, please check first if what you're trying to do can already be done within the existing guild! Please only create a new guild if you think that is the best solution.

In more detail:
 * You should never create a public guild with exactly the same name as an already existing public guild. (Or if you think there is a special reason why you should, you should definitely ask an admin first.)
 * If a guild with the same topic (or a very similar one) already exists, it usually isn't a good idea to start a duplicate one. Possible exceptions:
 * The existing guild is very popular and already overflowing with chat - so there is enough demand for several such guilds. (Example: There are currently at least two thriving book guilds.)
 * The existing guild has some problem that can't be solved within that guild. (Many problems can be solved within the guild though. Examples: If a guild leader is inactive, admins can transfer leadership to someone else if the old leader has been away for more than a year. If search terms are missing or there are other problems with the guild description, moderators can add search terms and change wording if the guild leader can't be contacted.)
 * If a guild with a broader topic already exists, try to discuss your topic in that guild first instead of creating a new guild. (Example: You are trying to produce less CO2. There is no guild for that topic alone, but there are several guilds about living eco-friendly and sustainably where you can discuss how to improve your carbon footprint.) If, in the long run, this creates too much chat for one guild, you can then ask inside that guild if people would like to have an extra guild for that subtopic. If you think that people who are looking for the narrower topic might not find the more general guild, the solution is probably not to create a new guild but to add more search terms to the already existing guild. (In our example, if a lot of people are searching for the words "CO2", "carbon footprint", "global warming", etc., a guild about eco-friendliness in general should add those to its search terms instead of creating an new guild.)
 * If a guild with a narrower topic already exists, you can discuss your idea to create a guild with a broader topic there. You can also (politely and respectfully) ask if the members of the existing guild would like to broaden the topic of their guild instead of you creating a new one. It is their guild, however, and if the guild leader and/or other guild members would rather keep the guild topic as it is, that has to be respected. (Examples for guilds that broadened their topic: A guild about polyphasic sleep schedules became the more general guild "Naps of Power: Habiticans for Better Sleep", and "Gaming Addicts Anonymous" became "Digital Addicts Anonymous", thus including more computer activities than just gaming.)
 * [To-do: What to do if there is a similar guild in a different language.]

Does my guild have a chance to survive with such a topic? How can I make an educated guess?
(add stuff. Topic not too narrow, not too vague)

If the topic is very narrow (for example: basket weaving), the guild is unlikely to survive. It's probably a good idea to look for a guild with a similar but broader topic (in this example: arts and crafts, crafting handmade things), and start talking about the topic there. (If you find very many people there who are interested in the topic, you can always ask them if they would like the topic to have its own guild.)

Additional examples : a guild about a certain activity in a certain language should be discussed in the guild about that language or in the guild of that activity in english (often is the widest) ; a guild focused on a place (university, town, small country) shouldn't be public, unless there was active information about Habitica in that place ; same goes for websites with small communities. ''[To-do: Sounds unclear, could use rephrasing. Lots of not-so-big countries have public guilds in Habitica (usually, but not always, to have a guild where that country's language is spoken). If you invite an existing, limited, small group of people (for example, a school class), that guild should be private. But a guild about the town Bielefeld in Germany makes even less sense as a private guild than as a public guild.]''

If the topic is too broad and vague though, the guild is unlikely to survive, too. (Example: Self improvement! Well, isn't most of Habitica about self improvement? What could people talk about in such a guild that they couldn't already talk about more specifically in other guilds?) In such a case, it would be a good idea to think about how you want that guild to be different from those that already exist, and narrow down the topic accordingly.

Additional examples : art in general should be divided into more specific art ; sciences can be divided into more specific subjects for more focused discussions ; communication is to be divided by mean of communication ; crafting can probably be separated depending on the raw material used or the goal.

You never know until you try! Actually, one good suggestion is to ask in the Tavern if people would be interested in a guild on your topic. If a few people think it's a good idea, go for it.

What do I need to get started?
Four gems and a good idea. (The reason guilds cost gems is to avoid people just randomly making guilds.) The idea is much more important! If you don't have the gems, there are workarounds. (You can ask at the Pirate Cove if they currently have a "used guild" to give away for free. Or you can ask someone with gems if they can make a guild for you, then take their gems back from the guild bank via challenge, then make you guild leader there. Or if you already have a private guild, you can ask an admin to make it public.) But usually those workarounds involve at least one other person - so you'd better have a good idea what your new guild should be about, because they are much more likely to help you create one if they like your guild concept!

Guild name and descriptions?
Should really make clear what the guild is about. Include search terms! For goodness' sake, add all the right search terms, or no one will ever find it!

Search Terms
Habitica has so many guilds now that few Habiticans read the whole list of public guilds when they are looking for guilds. They use the search function instead to find guilds with a topic they are interested in. But that way, they can only find guilds whose name or description contains the words they are searching for!

If you just choose a fitting guild name and write a guild description without thinking of search keywords, they will probably already include some words that people are likely to search for, but not all. A good way to add more search terms is to add a paragraph at the end of your guild description which says:"Search terms (to make it easier to find this guild): pets, animals, cats, dogs, birds, fish, ... (Please suggest more in chat and/or send the guild leader a message if you can think of more!)"or something similar. Of course, the "pets, animals, cats, dogs, birds, fish" are just examples (for a pet owners' guild, in that case, and there would be many more for such a guild). And you can and should modify the sentence about suggesting more search terms to your liking (depending on which method of communication you prefer, and whether you would really see every chat post suggesting new search terms).

More details of how to find good search terms:
 * Try to imagine Habiticans looking for a guild like yours. Which search words would they use?
 * Include search terms that are a bit broader or narrower than your guild's topic. Try to imagine Habiticans who don't think a guild like yours even exists, but are looking for a guild with a related topic. Which search terms would they use? (For example, you just started a triathlon guild. Habiticans might not dare to hope that there is a triathlon guild, so they might just search for "exercise", "sports", "cardio", "fitness", "running", "marathon", "swimming", "cycling", "biking", "bike", "bicycle", and "long distance".) Also try to imagine Habiticans who are looking for something very specific which is part of your guild's topic. (In the triathlon example, that might be "ironman", "iron man", "half triathlon", "aquathlon", etc.)
 * Check spelling! Search terms with spelling mistakes won't work. If there are several correct (or at least frequently used) spellings and/or abbreviations, include them all. (Example: "roleplay, role-play, role play, RP".)
 * The built-in guild search of Habitica is a simple text search. That means it finds exactly the term that was entered in the search field - even if it is part of another word. So, if you add "cats" as a search term, both searches for "cat" and "cats" will find your guild (because "cat" is part of "cats"). If you only add "cat", a search for "cats" will not find your guild. So it is better to add "cats". (Obviously, that doesn't work with all plural forms: If your guild is about geese, you should add both "goose" and "geese".) It also works for composites: For example, if you already have "household chores" in your list of search terms, you don't need to add "house", "chore", or "chores", because they are already part of that search term.
 * Should words that are already in the guild name and/or in the rest of the guild description be added to the search terms paragraph? The advantage of adding them is that if you decide to change the guild name and/or description later, the search terms are still in the search term paragraph, and you don't have to check again whether they're all still somewhere in the guild description. The disadvantage is that the search term paragraph gets longer than necessary. It's your decision!
 * If the main language in your guild isn't English, please include the name of the language (in that language and also in English if possible) in your search terms! (Otherwise it will be very hard for speakers of that language to find your guild!) If possible, also include other search words in both languages. (For example, if you have a French guild about health, search terms should include "Français", "French", "santé", "health", etc.)
 * Ask other guild members if they have more ideas. You can also ask in the Guild Leaders & Challenge Creators guild.
 * Look at similar guilds. Which search terms do they use?

Guild logo?
Copyright is complicated. Pictures are pretty.

If you really want a logo, get a member to do you a pixel art (or photo, drawing, etc.), or do it yourself.

Public domain (CC0) should usually also be ok. [Uh, at least I think so?]

What is that speech bubble thingy for?
The official name of the speech bubble thingy is "Message from group leader".

The speech bubble is a good place to put additional information, helpful links, and temporary info about current events.

Markdown formatting in the speech bubble works and makes sense. (Excessive formatting and linking in the guild description itself will just show up messed-up in the guilds list at the moment - though that may change in the future?)

(For an example of a well-formatted speech bubble with links, maybe look at the one of the Guild Leaders & Challenge Creators?)

Note that if there's a leader change, the name of the new leader will appear over that speech bubble thingy, and it will look as if the new leader said what the old leader said, if they doesn't remember to change it. (No, wait that's unimportant for creation and should go somewhere under "leader change".)

One of the main problems for guilds is guild leaders going "missing in action", i.e., not logging into Habitica anymore (or just neither posting in guild chat nor answering to messages anymore). If they don't "resign" and hand over guild leadership to another guild member first, the process of having Habitica admins assign a new, active guild leader can be rather lengthy, and the waiting period (to see if the old guild leader really doesn't come back) rather long. To prevent this, you can state in the group leader message: "If I am inactive in this guild for at least two months, and don't answer to private messages within a week, the admins of Habitica have my permission to assign a new guild leader as they see fit." or something similar. (Don't worry - when assigning a new guild leader, the admins will usually ask the other guild members about their wishes first. They will also usually give any gems still in the guild bank back to the old guild leader.)

Wait, there are settings? I can allow or forbid others to make challenges?
The guild leader can:
 * Change the name.
 * Change/add the description.
 * Change/add the logo.
 * Choose whether anyone besides the guild leader can make challenges.
 * Choose another leader.
 * Change/add the speech bubble.

Gems and Guild Bank
The Guild Bank originally consists of the 4 gems required to open the guild. If you are guild leader of the guild and create a challenge, the gems are first taken from the Guild Bank, and any more gems needed are taken from your account. Note that neither the guild leader nor the guild members can refill the guild bank. If you have a good guild idea but no gems, see What do I need to get started?

[To-do How to get your gems back.]

Guild Promotion
is meant to attract members to the guild. Help them find and notice the guild (they'll find that useful), but don't spam!

The Bulletin Board
A great place to share the news of your guild is The Bulletin Board 📌.

Guilds Guide
Many Habiticans use the Guilds Guide to find guilds. If your guild qualifies for it, you can add it to the Guilds Guide. Please read the Guild Guide's introductory notes first to see if it qualifies. (Currently, according to the notes, the guild can be put in the Guilds Guide if it has at least 35 members or "fits perfectly into one of the important categories".)

As guild leader, you have a say in whether your guild should be in the Guilds Guide at all. (You can veto it if you want to make your guild harder to find.) You can also decide how your guild should be described in the Guilds Guide, and in which category it should be listed there (as long as the description and category are halfway reasonable and not completely misleading).

When in doubt about any of these things (Does the guild qualify for the Guilds Guide? Which category is best? Is the description okay? etc.), please ask in the Wizards of the Wiki guild. The Wizards of the Wiki can also do the actual wiki editing for you.

Tavern Challenge
You can create a Tavern Challenge (note: this requires at least 1 gem) that sends people towards your guild. Examples have included To-do tasks to join the guild, post in the guild, and participate in a guild challenge.

Tavern Chat
Posting about the guild in Tavern chat usually isn't very useful (the post will scroll out quickly), but can be done additionally to announcing the guild on The Bulletin Board 📌.

Guilds with Related Topics
Posting about the guild in guilds with closely related topics can also help to find a few new members. (Example: If you want to start a stitching guild, you might want to talk about it in guilds dedicated to knitting, crocheting, or sewing.) This should only be done in some few guilds though, otherwise it could be seen as spamming.

Guild Wiki Page
Most guilds don't need an own wiki page. But it can be helpful if you want to provide guild members with more information than fits into the guild description and "message from group leader" speech bubble. (Examples: Helpful info about the guild's topic, long link lists, rules of productivity games played in the guild, "guild history" such as memorable old chat or information about who won former challenges, or resources for you guild's theme.)

Guild wiki pages should always be Armory pages. If desired, they can have subpages.

If your guild has its own wiki guild page, a link to it can (and usually should) be added to the guild's entry in the Guilds Guide. See examples there. (Look for sentences like "This guild also has its own guild page in the Armory.")

A wiki guild page can be hard to keep up to date! Please think about whether you or other guild members have the time and enthusiasm to maintain it, and which parts of it are really helpful. If you'd rather have your guild's wiki page deleted again, please mark it for deletion (or ask in the Wizards of the Wiki guild if someone can do it for you).

Awww, ya guild leaders know what more stuff to add here...
please add more such subheaders + text

Being Active in the Guild
As guild leader, it is good practice to look in on your guild as often as possible. Daily is ideal, but at least a couple of times a week is essential.

It is not necessary to post in your guild every day or even every week if the chat is flowing steadily. You will soon get used to the normal level of activity in the guild. Some guilds are very active with dozens of posts each day. Others tick over more slowly with just one or two posts per week. If conversation flags, try to post something of interest, respond to something a guild member has said, remind them of an ongoing challenge, etc. A successful guild will usually at least have one or two members who do this quite naturally, but as leader, it should be your responsibility to ensure that a guild doesn't die simply for the lack of a little input on your part.

Being Contactable
It is possible to opt out of the Habitica private message system. However, if you are going to run a public guild and especially if you plan to run challenges in your guild, it is very important that your guild members can contact you if they have any queries about the guild or any challenges being run in it. If you don't feel comfortable accepting private messages, then perhaps running a public guild is not for you. If you have previously opted out of the private message system, please make sure you opt back in before creating your public guild. If you absolutely don't want to get involved in the Habitica inbox, provide an email as an alternative to contact you in your profile description. Also, please remember that the iOS and Android apps do not give access to your personal inbox. If you normally interact with Habitica by means of an app, you need to remember to log in using the browser to check your inbox at least once a week in case anyone has tried to contact you with a query.

Moderating
If you notice a post that violates community guidelines (e.g., swearing, mean behaviour, invasive advertising, other spam), flag it, even if you don't yourself feel offended by what was said. Flagging posts alerts the moderators and they will take any necessary action. Any member of your guild can do the same - flagging posts in a guild is not restricted to the guild leader. However a good guild leader might wish to be more present and more vigilant than the members.

You (or other guild members) can politely and gently remind the author of an inappropriate post about the community guidelines, but be careful to not issue instructions as that is "back seat moderating" and is itself a violation of the guidelines. For example, an acceptable response would be "FYI, Habitica does not allow language like that. You might want to review the Community Guidelines." An unacceptable response would be "Don't use language like that. Delete your message." If you are in any doubt, don't respond; allow the moderators to handle it. As soon as a post has been flagged by two players, it will become invisible to all non-moderators, so bad posts are likely to disappear quickly without the need for you to say anything.

Challenges
Challenges are a great way to get some activity in your guild. One of the main barriers to the growth of a guild is people joining, saying hi and then getting stuck at the "now what?" stage. Having one or two interesting challenges (especially recurring challenges that run every month, or every week) can give new members an accessible next step.

Using challenges promote discussion can be helpful too. Having a task or two that requires posting in the chat can be a great way to liven up your guild. Be careful though, since too many of these can end up spamming the guild and drowning out meaningful conversation. If this does occur, emojis can be used to "label" chats that correspond to a certain challenge, and you can put this description into the task's notes.

Leaders-in-effect
Some larger guilds may choose to have "leaders-in-effect". These are people that are active in the guild and have agreed to help encourage discussion and even make challenges. It is not an official title recognized by Habitica, but because only one guild leader is allowed per guild, it can help split leadership responsibilities between multiple people.

How do I find a new leader?
PM active members and ask if they would like to take over, or ask for volunteers in chat. One way is to create a challenge and add tasks such as "Explain why you should be the guild leader" and "Vote in the election" (with a link to a Google poll) to it. If you have a guild wiki page, this can be a useful place to post candidate statements.

How do I assign a new guild leader?
Click "Edit Group" near the Guild name. Near the bottom of that box, you can select any member of the guild to be a guild leader under "Assign Group Leader". Pressing "Save" at the top will put the new guild leader into effect.

When should my guild be deleted, when privatized, and how do I do this?
If your guild is inactive, small, and there is no useful information (resources, chat posts, challenges, etc.) that guild members may want to return back to, the guild should be deleted to keep it from adding to the numerous inactive guilds already present in Habitica. If there is a lot of information that you or your members would like to be able to reference when needed, the guild can be privatized to prevent other members from entering into the guild without a direct invite. This keeps it from cluttering up the public guilds, but retains all information within the guild. You can ask for the deletion or privatization of a guild by emailing the admins.

What happens if I just leave the guild or delete my account?
While you should make every effort to elect or choose a new leader before you leave, if you leave the guild as a leader, the next member at the top of the list (i.e., the member who has been in the guild the longest) will then become guild leader.

What happens if I keep my account but never log into Habitica again?
If you are inactive for 6 months or more, an active member can request a leadership change by emailing the admins.

What happens if I keep using Habitica but don't answer messages about the guild, and don't say anything in guild chat?
If you are not actively participating in the guild or answering any messages pertaining to the guild, another active member may request a leadership change. Generally, however, admins will try to do everything they can to contact you and not take the guild away from an active Habitica user.

=== I can't/don't want to lead my guild anymore. And I don't have time to look for a new guild leader, or make any detailed decisions about its future. How can I hand over responsibility for the guild within 30 seconds? ===

Yes, I remember which guilds I'm leader of
Theoretically, you can just name someone a guild leader or leave the guild, resulting in the top listed member becoming the new guild leader, but this is not recommended without consulting the user who would be taking over.

No, I don't remember all the guilds I'm leader of, and don't have time to check
You can send an email to an admin, and they can reassign the guild leader in your absence. They will likely check in to see if anyone is willing to take over; if no one wants to take on the leadership role, the guild may be deleted.

=== Help! I'm suddenly leader of a guild! I'm sure I didn't create it! I'm sure I didn't get a message about becoming guild leader! I don't even know since when I'm guild leader there! But now people are suddenly messaging me about that guild! === It's not your fault. Another guild leader likely either left the guild or deleted their account and you were automatically chosen as leader by being the most senior user within the guild, or they made you leader without contacting you. While it's not polite of the former guild leader to dump leadership on you without asking or notifying you, there are a few things you can do. First, you can accept leadership responsibilities. You can also try to find a new guild leader if you don't wish to take the responsibilities (see above). Lastly, if the guild is inactive or if no one is interested in becoming the new guild leader, you can delete or repurpose the guild. [To-do: Feature for automatic notification is already requested (trello/github link).]