Rank Removed? Read this!

by **Bear** Thu Mar 19, 2020 3:51 pm

Hello friend,

I'm often asked "why did I get removed??" or told "wtf I'm always online don't DARE remove me ever again!", so I thought I'd give you all a little peak behind-the-scenes at how and why friend list cleanups are done, and what you should do, should you ever find your rank removed.

Update: Some of this thread was updated with new information with the Clan Chat overhaul, but the process and whatnot remains the same. Smile

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TL;DR:
If you're here for the short version, it's that we're very popular. We get a lot of new members resulting in inactive members being removed. We've gotten SO popular, that the cleanup and activity threshold is now every few weeks whereas it used to occur every few months.
No, you were not permanently demoted for inactivity. Yes, you can have your rank fully restored upon request.

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If you were removed either due to inactivity or error, you can have it restored through any of these methods:

- PM me here
- PM me in-game (RSN: Bearrows/OSRS Advice)
- PM me on Discord ("Papa Bear" in the server or Bearmageddon#1066 otherwise)
- Ask your favorite Silver Key rank
- Post in.. this thread!
- Be sure to include your RSN (the RSN you had when you were ranked and your current RSN) and the rank that is being restored.

(All ranks are verified via moderator spreadsheets and documents, no cheating!)

If you're sticking around for the why and how:

Well, let's start with why? The answer is that our chat rarely goes a day without being mostly full for most of it. That's because we're awesome!

You know what's not awesome? A 500-friend cap on the friends list.

Yes, even though we have over 3,500 historical members signed up here on the offsite, we can only host a max of 500 ranks at any given time. This is because you need to be on the OSRS Advice clan member list to receive said rank, which indeed maxes out at 500.

If you look solely at the amount of posts in the old "Looking for a Smiley?" thread, we'd see dozens-hundreds of new members sign up, join us, and post in said thread. This is not counting the people who get added outside of that thread, returning members, people who don't want to sign up here on the offsite at all, etc.
We are indeed as popular as ever which means I have to personally look for and remove inactive members every few weeks just to make room for all the new members we bring in, whereas it used to be every few months.

How do I do this, you may ask?

Why, a very tedious and accurate process of course! This takes me several hours to do, I don't do it for fun, and it's not personal if you do get removed. It sucks. Trust me, I want to have less work just as much as you don't want to be removed.

When the friend list starts becoming full once more, I go into observance. This means logging in 4+ times a day across multiple timezones and screenshotting the ranks/smileys that are logged in and in the cc, then placing those screenshots into a separate "Active Clannies" folder. This occurs every day until cleaning day. For reference, the most recent cleanups were comprised of roughly 150 screenshots each, give or take a few.

On the day of cleanup, I screenshot the entire ranks list on the "Clan Setup" screen in-game for recordkeeping and future restorations. I then combine all the "Active Clannie" screenies into one very, very large picture. Crop and adjust colors for maximum legibility, and feed them through an OCR software which reads and grabs any text in the picture and outputs it into a text document. I take this list and run it through Excel to remove any duplicates (because the same person may very likely be in the screenies multiple times/days), usually resulting in about 200-250 unique names which I then have to go through and error-correct. OSRS font isn't exactly a standard one and therefore isn't 100% accurate, so names like ladybird2 for example may appear as 1adgbirdZ.

Once I complete error checking and correcting for all 200+ names as needed, I can then start removing everyone else from the friend list. During the removal, no names on that list are removed. Period.
While I could remove the other 150-200 members and call it a day, that's not accurate enough for me. Other members I do remove, are removed based on a few different criteria.

Have I seen them online and chatting in cc?
Have they logged into the offsite anytime recently?
Have I seen them online but not in the cc?
For members I'm not sure on, such as those who were once very active but aren't caught by the previous criteria, I will even go as far as tracking their xp via Temple or CML to see if they're at least still active in-game.

Even after all of this data, I prefer to err on the side of caution and most recently only ended up removing about 40 members that weren't on the list AND weren't caught in the critera.
If you still fell through the cracks somehow and got removed, maybe even due to a simple misclick, the solution is as simple as following the steps at the top of this thread. Most restorations are done within 30 seconds of me being notified if I'm available. It is very rare that it takes longer than half a day for me to restore your rank.

Who is safe from this madness?!

No one.

Cleanups affect both the newest and oldest members of the clan, members and moderators alike. Cleanups may affect the same person multiple times. Some may have yet to be caught in a cleanup at all. When we are exceptionally low on space, say on cleanup day, and I need to quickly add someone but we're already at 400/400, who is the first to go? That's right, it's Bearrows. There is no favoritism, you don't escape the cleanup because you've been with the clan since the beginning, you don't get preferential treatment because you're a friend-of-a-friend-of-my-mother-in-law's-uncle's-second-cousin-twice-removed. All that matters is activity.

~~The good news is that Jagex's new Clan Overhaul system should alleviate some of these issues and hopefully make cleanup not take me hours. Only time will tell.~~

Narrator: It did not.

So, once again in case you've ignored everything and scrolled to the bottom, if you've been removed in error or are simply coming back from a break and would like your rank back, follow the procedures listed at the top of the thread!

I hope this provides some insight to the (likely 2 or 3) people who took the time to read through this mess.

Feel free to reach out privately or post here if you have any questions!

Bear

Bear Wave

by **ladybird2** Thu Mar 19, 2020 4:45 pm

Brilliant , thanks...its such a good job we have you, and you care so much , and try so hard for us...thankyou Very Happy

by **The_Gamed** Thu Mar 19, 2020 8:22 pm

Very well written and explained Bear, i'm sure this will help clear up most if not all questions regarding the issues!

by **Purple Dude** Fri Mar 20, 2020 10:10 pm

Well you are definitely proving that being a Clan Leader is not always all fun and games! Smile

As one of the few that read the entire thing, it is very well explained and should give others some insight in why they aren't being personally targeted or something Very Happy

by **ythunt20** Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:58 pm

Hey all, just now getting back into the game after being gone for a few months. I was hoping i could get my smiley back Smile

my in game name is also YTHunt20, thanks!

by **Bear** Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:31 pm

Restored, welcome back yt! Smile

by Va Tue Apr 07, 2020 9:48 pm

Hey Bear, I'd like my smiley back please. I've been away for like 2 weeks lol. thank you in advanced Smile

RSN - Snolly

by **de11taV** Wed Apr 08, 2020 2:26 am

Hoping that OSRS updates the clan system! Would love my smiley back when you get a chance

RSN: de1taV

by **Anilusion** Thu Apr 09, 2020 5:02 pm

New clan system can't come soon enough. Been inactive for a while and I would love my smiley back when you have the time.

RSN: Anilusiion

by **Bear** Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:45 pm

As posted in the original smiley thread, smileys may be on a small delay while I find room and inactive members to remove. Appreciate the patience Smile

by **IzzetSo** Sat Apr 11, 2020 3:35 pm

bless you for having the patience to write all this information out for us! because I would not have the patience for it.

I look forward to the day my smiley is back, but I totally understand the wait! <3
RSN: iMafia Don

Thanks Bear!

by **TGOD1991** Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:46 pm

I sorry I am inactive Sad

. Lack of comfortable area to play in for hours Sad

@Bear

by **COCOMARBELLA** Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:28 pm

Hi There

I have been gone for quite some time for a few months actually but I recently returned to OSRS I was still in the cc chat but just did not think i could restore my rank. Its Risa I think at the time i had a different RSN but quite few of you guys know me such as Syllabic, Ladybird, Pidalou and many others im sorry if i have forgotten your names my friends <3 I missed you all and im back on runescape for good picking up where i last left off. i had a rough few months IRL lost my grandparents but im now back up again.

I remember I was last a 2 banana rank please can this be restored?

Thank You Smile

@Bear

by **cigarettos** Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:49 pm

Hello, this is Cigarettos requesting a rank reinstatement please.

by **Bear** Wed Apr 15, 2020 8:49 pm

Friends list has been cleaned. Ranks updated to this point. Thank you all for your patience.

@ASUNAX0XX I think you may be misremembering your rank, as you were listed as a Recruit (one nana) under the RSN "Suuperwoman" on November 11th, 2019 when you were initially removed:

by **Hey Zeus** Thu Apr 16, 2020 8:28 am

Hey Bear, can I get my recruit rank back please. G Zus.

by **Bear** Thu Apr 16, 2020 1:28 pm

Gotcha G Zus, readded and rank restored

by **Highschool** Fri Apr 17, 2020 1:34 pm

woop, went inactive for 4-5 days and lost my 2nanners, whenever you get a chance Bear. Thanks in advance if I don't happen to see you.

by **Bear** Fri Apr 17, 2020 2:45 pm

Whoops, sorry about that. Fixed!

by **Billy H-M** Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:17 am

Hi there, i've recently come back to osrs and it would be great to have my rank put back, thanks! Smile

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