There is something that I really think is needed for Clans, and that is a way for the members to get rid of an inactive or otherwise bad leader. As it is, imms have to step in and do it, and that always creates unnecessary drama and accusations of favoritism. Clans should be run 100% by morts, but as it is, that isn't possible.
At present the DJ is the only Clan that provides a possibility for the CCL to challenge the CL, and take over leadership if he wins the fight. But you still need an imm to do the actual demotion. And - as Nauzhror rightly pointed out - it isn't necessarily the strongest fighter that would make the best CL.
Leadership is more about social skills, being a 'group player', being able to inspire and motivate the members, your own personal enthusiasm, motivation and goals - and above all - being an active player. Ego-tripped players, who are mostly focused on their own goals, seldom make good Clanleaders. And inactive leaders are always detrimental to a Clan. Without an active leader a Clan dies very quickly. We have seen that happen too many times over the years, even to the most prestigious Clans. And we've also seen Clans being resurrected, as soon as someone took an interest in them and did some active recruiting.
Clans played a much larger role in 4D in the past, and it is a real pity that, with a few exceptions, they seem to have gone 'out of fashion' nowadays. Clans are good for many things; roleplay, group spirit and social interaction, but also for intrigues, rivalry and prestige, which brings some extra spice to the game.
So what could be done?
One suggestion would be to automatically demote the CL two ranks, if they haven't logged in to the Mud for a month, and at the same time automatically promote the second in command to top level. That would get rid of the ones that just fade out and disappear without providing for their Clan.
Of course there are some people who refuse to admit to themselves and others that they actually lost interest, and would log on once a month just to keep their status. So there also needs to be a way for the Clan members to get rid of an inactive, or otherwise unsuited leaders. This could be done by some sort of member vote, where one member could initiate the vote to get rid of the CL with a special command. After that, all the active Clan members get a week or a month to vote yes or no, with a reminder that prompts them each time they log in, until they cast their vote. (The ones that still refrain, or don't log on at all, lose their vote). Both the initiation and the voting should be anonymous, to avoid retaliation from the CL. If the majority votes yes, the CL is demoted 2 steps, and the highest in rank below is promoted to top rank instead. If the majority votes no, the CL stays in power, and the member who initiated the vote cannot activate it again for a month.
But I also have a suggestion that would sweeten the deal a bit for the retiring CL. Create a separate level for retired Clanleaders. It could be higher than the CL level, but once there, the retired CL would no longer have access to the Clan commands, like promote, demote, appfee etc. This would make it easier for a CL to retire on their own accord, when they feel that they no longer have the time and motivation to be an active leader. Keeping their status would make it easier Some Clans have several CLs, because the old ones were kept for mostly sentimental reasons. Sicilians for instance has five, of which only one is active, although Soulstar and Tocharaeh occasionally log in.
The CL should be able to promote himself to the 'Retired' Rank, but after that, he shouldn't be able to go back to being 'normal' CL on his own. The new CL should however be able to promote a retired CL back to power, if they decide that would be a good move. After all, the RL situation always plays a roll, and sometimes players do return after a long absence.
We could also put all the CLS that already left 4D at this 'retired' rank, to add to their and the Clan's status, (which would be have to be done by imm). Having a legendary player as retired CL would naturally be good PR for a Clan. However, you should only be allowed to be a retired CL of one Clan. Normally this won't be a problem, but with all the Clan-hopping going on, there are some players who have been CL of more than one Clan. In those cases they would have to choose which Clan they'd like to grace with their name.
I am not sure if this can be coded, but my guess is that both the member vote and the 'retired' rank should be possible codewise.
So what do you think?
