Okay, first off, that tiêu đề is a lie.

Based on the way things are going with the new club update feature so far, I thought we could use some guidelines. These are not official, they are merely suggestions on how to decide on a new biểu tượng hoặc banner as a team. Only large các câu lạc bộ have the new suggestion options, so there are thousands of people there whose opinions count! (Not that smaller spots aren't valuable, bạn guys rock just as hard.) The suggested steps for changing a club's look are the same up until Step 3 for both large các câu lạc bộ with the new phiếu bầu feature, and smaller ones with user-run số phiếu bầu for change.

It's important to remember that fanpop is a community, and should do things as a group. Randomly starting a phiếu bầu for a new icon, banner hoặc background is rude to other club members. Making các biểu tượng and banners takes time, and the first options (likely made bởi the person who started the poll) are được trao the unfair advantage of being there the longest. Early voters aren't likely to check back in every ngày to see if new options have been added. Following these steps will help ensure that everyone has a fair chance to participate and that all options are được trao the same amount of consideration. (It'll also keep bạn from getting yelled at.) Now, let's get to it, eh?

Step 1: Ask the fans!
Make a phiếu bầu to determine if the club even WANTS a new icon, banner hoặc background.

I usually leave this phiếu bầu up for a week, unless the results are overwhelmingly in favor of one option hoặc another after a few days.

If the club sự bỏ phiếu no, try again in a few months. If the club sự bỏ phiếu yes, proceed to step 2.




Step 2: các diễn đàn & Advertisements
Create a diễn đàn for suggestions from other users. link is a gần đây example of a spot makeover that went smoothly, if you'd like to see how that goes.

I like to leave a suggestion diễn đàn open for a week hoặc two. If it's a small spot with just a few participants, just a week will probably do. Users can always ask for thêm time on submission các diễn đàn I start. You'll need to include the dimensions of the biểu tượng and banner in your diễn đàn post. các biểu tượng are square and 100x100 pixels hoặc larger. Banners are 800x100 pixels, hoặc a size that scales down to that. (1600x200, 2400x300, etc.) This is important, because hình ảnh that are not those dimensions will be stretched when uploaded to the spot, and that ain't pretty.





It's also a good idea to quảng cáo the suggestions forum, in case someone missed the initial poll. The most effective ways to do that are đường dẫn and polls, but adding a tường post too wouldn't hurt. đường dẫn are probably the best way, because adding đường dẫn to a club bumps it to the front of the mosaics on user profiles. This lets users know that something is going on in a club even if they've overlooked it in their updates, especially for inactive spots.








Step 3: Voting & Change
Once everyone has đã đệ trình their creations, this is where it can get a little tricky...

If you're voting in sets, make a graphic with all the options paired together. Then bạn can create your phiếu bầu and link to the image in the comments, so users can see it all at once and pick the set they like most. I've found that this is the fastest and simplest way, as it only requires one phiếu bầu and it's very unlikely that the club will end up with a mismatched set. (I'm not quite sure how to accomplish this with the new voting feature for large các câu lạc bộ yet.)

If users didn't đệ trình their graphics as sets (or if you're running the contest in a large spot with the special polls), I prefer to vote for the banner first. It's larger, it took thêm work, and it's easier for users modify their các biểu tượng to work with the new banner instead of vice versa. After the new banner is determined (a week should be enough time if it's a small club, fanpop sets its own deadline for số phiếu bầu in large clubs), it's time to pick an icon. What I like to do for these is to pair each biểu tượng contender with the winning banner in one graphic, so users can see what each biểu tượng will look like with the new banner. Link to it in the các bình luận of the biểu tượng poll. This doesn't guarantee a matching set, but it helps reduce the Clash of the Graphics that often happens when the biểu tượng and banner sự bỏ phiếu run simultaneously.

Unless the spot in need of a change doesn't have an biểu tượng hoặc banner at all, bạn should include the current ones in the polls.

The special số phiếu bầu for large các câu lạc bộ are monitored bởi fanpop, so bạn don't need to do anything once those are over. If you're overseeing a change in a smaller spot without that options, a moderator will help bạn with the change if bạn ask nicely and provide đường dẫn to the suggestion diễn đàn and the winning polls. (link is my go-to Mod.)

Told bạn the tiêu đề was a lie.
As bạn can see, there's a lot thêm to changing a club's look than just clicking a link and uploading an image. It takes a responsible user willing to put in the time and effort of organizing, advertising, making sure everyone is included and following the guidelines, and in the case of smaller spots, reporting the results to a moderator. If bạn can't handle that, please leave the job of overseeing a spot change to someone who can. There's no shame in letting someone thêm experienced take the reins!