May 15, 2004
Liyin: Firstly, can you give me some brief history of your clan, The White Rose?
Cirque: The White Rose was founded by Marshall after he and others split from a previous clan to build one more suited to their needs. We strive to be a clan suited for players of all levels, and not locked into any specific type of player as long as they are of a positive nature. I believe the clan was created perhaps in January of 97, but I cannot be certain. There have been a few leaders through the ages, and I have lost count as to which I am, although I have been leader for a few years now.
Liyin: What made you decide to join the clan?
Cirque: I decided to join The White Rose clan after one of its members was kind to me and took the time to ask me if I needed anything. After I replied, like many newbies often do, he gave me an egg sack without a second thought. Compared to the bag I started with, which was very tiny, this seemed like a great gift. A clan with people so kind had to be a good place to grow up in and so I found out the requirements and quickly leveled up to prove my worth and was accepted.
Liyin: Is leading a clan all that you expected it to be? Why or why not?
Cirque: It was more then I expected. Thankfully Marshall had spent some time with me beforehand in an attempt to prepare me for leading someday, and has even stopped by from time to time to offer advice. No matter what you expect, something new will always come up eventually, so you can never prepare for everything, especially with Medievia changing and improving.
Liyin: On a scale from 1 to 5 how would you rate yourself as a clan leader?
Cirque: I rate myself very low; I would have to say a 2 perhaps. I see myself more as the current owner of the clan and delegate responsibility onto my Coleader, who delegates some to the Dukes, etc. I am more concerned with the clan morals and behavior towards other Medievians than going to find a shiny new item.
Liyin: Shiny new item?
Cirque: A new ring or piece of equipment. I am more concerned with the quality of person we enroll then the equipment we find. Every member of our clan and our town will hopefully be with us for a long time and it matters to all of us that we have people we can be proud of, people with honor and respect for others that enjoy helping. Some clans are all about running zones non stop, getting the best stuff. That’s not us. We want the best people. It is great if you have all the best equipment in the game, but your not enjoying the company even the best equipment won't make Medievia fun.
Liyin: Do you actively seek out new clan members, do you expect them to come to you, or is it a mixture of both?
Cirque: Both. We have people actively recruiting from unclanned players, and we also get players leaving other clans to join our clan or town. In that case we like to encourage them to stay and make their town what they want it, but most often their mind is made up already. If they fit our requirements, we will accept them providing there is room.
Liyin: How do you evaluate candidates for enrollment?
Cirque: They must be at a certain level, depending on how full the clan is and how active, that level can change. Also players must be asked a few general questions to determine if they will "fit" with the clan or town personality and goals. We attempt to find active players that will be on a lot of course, but we also take players that are somewhat limited with their playtime. It really comes down to, is this person going to help our clan or waste one of our enrollment slots that someone else can fill, who will actually contribute to the clan by helping and being active.
Liyin: How active would you require the player to be?
Cirque: Generally, we ask that if a player is going to be gone for more then two weeks that they post a note on our clan board to inform us so we don't remove them while they are gone. Currently we will remove people who have disappeared for a month but at times that can go down to two weeks absent equals removal. Of course, we ENCOURAGE every member to log on every single day, because its the people in the clan that make it a success or a failure.
Liyin: What would you say would be the strongest factor about your clan that makes your clan members enjoy being in the clan?
Cirque: From what I can tell, it is simply that they enjoy each others company and they are so willing to lend a hand when someone asks a question or needs help accomplishing something on Medievia such as a trade run, fighting off a mob faction, or even just giving directions.
Liyin: What are your most memorable events or greatest accomplishments so far with this clan?
Cirque: Every time someone levels, shows off something they are proud of and worked to get, anything that makes my clan members happy, is a memorable event for me. My greatest accomplishment is helped to start our sister clan, The Black Rose clan while keeping this clan together for so many years even though some tough times. Most recently we have even expanded to include Dark Union of Smugglers into our town, making a total of 3 clans in our town.
Liyin: You mention how you would normally delegate tasks to your co-leader earlier. What do you think makes a good co-leader and what made you choose your current co-leader?
Cirque: To me a good Co-Leader is active and patient. It is not always easy but taking the time to understand the other person’s point of view goes a long way towards solving any problems you encounter. My current Co-Leader was recommended by my previous Co-Leader, and after talking to Rhykiah, my current co-leader, I also agreed that she would make a fine Co-Leader.
Liyin: How liberal are you in giving clan members various privileges and clanranks?
Cirque: It depends on the privlage. Enrollment we are fairly liberal on because there are only ever so many free slots open at a time. Remove (privileges) is more limited. People must be known and trusted so they don’t cause a major problem by removing lots of people. Clanranks have gone through some changes over the years and are still being modified from time to time. They used to be done solely by level but we have switched more to activity and how much you contribute to the clan. If you help people and your active, you will get noticed and get a higher rank. At least, I think that’s how we are doing it, currently Rhykiah is in charge of our rank system.
Liyin: Describe a typical day for your town, and for the clan.
Cirque: A typical day goes though various cycles of lots of people to fewer people to lots of people. As the amount of people in town varies, that opens up various opportunities for things to do. For example, when people log on they usually ask for partners to gain experience with or perhaps they are short on funds and would like to trade. Since people are logging on and off at various times there’s always a variety. When there’s a reasonable amount of people in town who wish to do a towngame, we will request one of those. They can be quite fun and are great for getting the whole town involved in something fast paced and exciting.
Liyin: Are there any towngames which your town particularly enjoys?
Cirque: It depends on the person; usually I hear requests for different types of games like XP-Tug-of-War or Egg Races. It seems no matter what kind of game we get however, its always fun and exciting win or loose. We have a good time and that’s what matters.
Liyin: Do you have any concluding remarks or anything else you would like to add?
Cirque: I hope everyone who is not in a clan takes the time to consider what they want out of their Medievia experience and then find a clan suited to their tastes. Join the clan and be loyal and stick around. Make it the kind of place it should be and can be with your help. Every person in a clan IS that clan. Without its members, any clan is just an empty name. I hope to see some new faces in our town soon. Good luck everyone.
A Note from Kimetan:
Is your clan interested in being featured in the Clan Spotlight? Sharing in the limelight is easy! All you have to do is submit a MedWeb Clan Page, if you haven't done so already, and send me (Kimetan) an e-mail expressing your interest in an interview!
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