For me it started at the end of 2006. I joined a lesser-known clan, of which I cannot even remember the name, as a pure with stats in the 50s and had attended one event before it eventually closed. The same happened with a different lesser-known clan directly after that and I coincidentally cannot remember the name of that one, either (all I remember about it was that one of the ranks had a dancing spiderman as his avatar).
Anyway, after my first two pure clans had failed on me, I was introduced to Pure Community and was looking to join one that promised a shred of longevity. That clan happened to be one of P0ke's clans floating around at the time, but as I did not have the stats to join that one, I joined a relatively new community called The Dreaded, and this decision would shape the rest of my Runescape clanning career and mentality. I wasn't the most active member, but the trips that I attended were the most fun I had had in Runescape hitherto. The community was really laid back. Here it was that I met most of the people whom I consider my closest friends. My fondest memories were the castle lures we would do around the time I came home from school.
The Wilderness died, and so did The Dreaded. Our combat levels were torn between the low and medium crater, our time was over. Our 'mother' clan, The Hatred, hesitantly allowed the members of TD to join them with slightly adjusted requirements. I was among the group that used this opportunity and had some fun in TH during the multi-combat BH era. It was thoroughly enjoyable. On the side, the two cousins, the founders of TD, had opened a new clan, called Sanctity, which I also joined. Conflict between two leading figures of the clan caused a branch-off named Malice, to which most members eventaully migrated.
Malice was a wonderful clan, yet it took a very long time for the ball to start rolling. I had my first taste of being a rank and started really devoting my time to the game. We had our ups and downs. I'm sure many of us from that time remember the huge PCL battle between M and Dy and the Summer of 09 when we were pulling high 70s, more forgettable were the lows we faced, however. I remember, for instance, how rough our first winter was. We had a weekend a bit after christmas where we pulled 7 on a regular Saturday trip and I believe this was the first official event I had ever lead, as gloriful as that was. In december 10 the leaders, already inactive for the most part, decided to move on in life and close the clan.
Then I joined Epidemic. The events were great, but you could really tell that the clan was fuelling itself on wins rather than having fun. I'm sure many will disagree with me but ultimately that's the vibe I felt. I quit shortly before they closed after having reached #1 F2P for a few weekends.
Then MM. They had a really diverse community and I still frequent the forums to this day, but eventually the trips became monotonous, so I left after several months.
The Wilderness was coming back, at last, and Grim Torture among others showed interest in reopening Malice, the consequence of which was my infinite excitement. When, before it had even begun, it became obvious that the interest among former leaders was fading, the forums had already been established and the public informed of our reopening. Eventually, it seemed that everybody who was once important to the growth of the original Malice started to get discouraged by the disinterest that originated from our Founder, Grim Torture, and like dominos they decided against leaving whichever clan they were now ranks in. It seemed I was the only one left. It became a matter of pride for me to not disappoint those who had not given up on the thought of the redemption of Malice, and the thought of Malice being a clan that couldn't even generate enough interest to reopen haunted my dreams. So, perhaps against all common sense, I took up the leadership of Malice with my Asian koala bear Inu and the British rasta-man Pierz.
The mentality of this Malice was different than the Malice of years past. We felt pressured to prove ourselves and suddenly we slipped into the state of being win-orientated instead of fun-orientated. I am ashamed to say that I failed horrendously leading Malice. I left the clan shortly before the Summer of 2011 had started and the clan closed near the end of Summer.
Since then, I have drawn back from the world of Runescape, only to log in occasionally to PK.