What are the Pro & cons of being in a clan?

pro:
training
friends
good battles
team spirit (hopefully)

cons:
troubles between clans sometimes
often time consuming

Yep, more pros:
-Make the same RP with more people
-medals, competition, more fun ( on organized clans)

Pros:
- You form a tighter bond with your clanmates than you generally would with other players on the server
- Your clanmates are there to back you up if you are ever in a tight spot, whether it be running from pirates (or the police) or whether you be trapped in a system running from someone else.
- Through your actions, you can garner respect for both you and your clan among the rest of the server. Never underestimate the value of respect on this server, or in real life.

Cons:
- Clan meetings may conflict with your real life schedule
- Conflicts with other clans may arise
- Politics between different clans can be complicated at times.

Pros:

Sharing of resources, i.e. money, equipment, weapons (if well organized)
Help with collecting information and sharing information (again, if well organized)
Friendship and comradery
If you love role-playing, a clan with a role you like can enhance the experience
Wingman to help you out in far off hostile systems (like the Inner Core) or hostile situations (like with pirates, cops or mercs)

Cons:

If you are a "loner" type, you will have to loose this ideal
Less freedom to go and do what you want at will (see previous con)
If you are against the concept of clans, of course this is obviously a con
This can be rather time consuming, especially the more active you are within a clan
Politics usually come into play, especially when dealing with RP situations at times

well..
pro of NOT being in a clan is:

you are free to chose whatever license (if even any) you wanna have on your ship
you can switch license as much and as often as you want (if you prefer to have a license. cop, smuggler, pirate)
you dont have to follow anyones rules (exept the server rules, whether you are a clan-member, or a freelancer)
you pick YOUR own way, and dont have to go the way others made up already
you can still be friend with everyone on the server (clan-member or not) and you dont have to worry about enemies (unless you prefer to jump into a huge pile of trouble, on purpose)
you can still get support from others (if you are friends with, or a known member, due long term presence)
you can still support others (if you can afford it)
you dont have to bother with any ongoing clan-wars (unless you get hired to support)

pro of being in a clan:

I dont know any, cause I've never been in any clan (since 2006)

Quote from AbrasDevil

well..
pro of NOT being in a clan is:

you can still be friend with everyone on the server (clan-member or not) and you dont have to worry about enemies (unless you prefer to jump into a huge pile of trouble, on purpose)

You can be in a clan on this server and be friends with members of opposing clans. It's not like we hate each other simply because of our opposing RP, that's just stupid. Even though you may not interact with the opposing clan members as much as you would with friendly clans, you can still be friends with them anyways. This is a multiplayer game after all, and one of the reasons that people play MP games is to meet people and make friends online (though the community has had it's rough spots in the past). It's simply part of the modern digital age that we live in. And as for not having to worry about enemies, that's not entirely true either. If you piss off a clan member, they can very easily issue a KOS (Kill On Sight) for you or simply place a bounty on your head, and that's much worse than if another Freelancer decides to place a bounty on your head. Or, someone may simply decide that they don't like you and hunt you down because you said the wrong thing to them, or they may not have any reason at all. You never know who you're going to meet online, which is why you should choose your words carefully when interacting with players that you don't know.

I just wanted to clear up that point for you, I didn't mean to go off on a wild tangent.

I say its hard to point out advantages as well as disadvantages as you can turn advantages into disadvantages and the other way round.
Under pretty normal conditions meeting other players that enjoy to play the same role as you are is probably the most enjoyable part for belonging to a clan. Besides the fact that you can rise your position within a clan - that you cant when you are not in one. But thats only important if you decide to put any importance on ranks. If you don't - then not^^

So the best way to figure it out is: Join a clan of your choice - try to take part in clan actions and make your own mind about both side (guess that you are now freelancer and already have noticed parts of playing non-aligned to any clan). Though, both sides have their pros and contras - its just what you feel more comfortable with.

and you can also be a freelancer and be at war with almost everyone (trust me :P)

I would like to hear some more pros and cons

more?

what are you missing?

i think most of the post mentioned above tell almost everything.
When i was a freelancer i was chased by cops when my train was full of bmg ( ahh good old times)
pirates were like hungry dogs chasing us in NB and a bounty on my head means mercs chase me even half universe
When i join PX the whole ideia of Freelancer changed... i remenber to say.. What a hell so many things to learn yet... OMG...
Ehehe i made huge friends for my life i know i can count on then anytime i need. I still can do many things i want if i have time. Even when RL gets us lotta time on work we all know RL comes first.
When a clan has a good enviromment and we all are close theres noting more cool than that.
I think one of the reasons many players play this mod for so many years is becouse of the friendship and bonds he make. I also have many friends that are cops, pirates and we know when we are RP or when we are joking or drinking in earth bar
i think the main problem nowadays is that newcomers dont try all RP. Does they know what is like to be a pirate/merc or cop?
i remenber i use 3 licences as freelancer...i had invitations from the 3 major RP and after a month i decided i wanna be a merc. Great choice imo i love my clan and my clanmates.
My only advice is take your time, try all RP explore this huge mod, make some money and friends. Then if u feel u are ready u just need to chose a side

Yes, don't get in the first clan which tells you "Hey, wanna be XX ?" You loose nice part of the fun... that you didn't experienced

Thats great news to hear Uncle....I look forward to killing you.

Yay!!!
This will make filling my monthly quota so much easier.
Thanks for the declaration, Uncle...that saves me so much time on interrogation.

See...THIS is one of the times that joining a clan might come in handy...
if you had clanmates to protect you, i'd be less inclined to come after you alone.

Uncle, I invite/dare you tell me an "arr" in-game so I can put in front of you and give you 5 seconds to fire at me (sitting) at your pleasure Then it'd be my turn which will last until you'll be a peaceful boy... xD with me

Quote from Incognito

Yay!!!
if you had clanmates to protect you, i'd be less inclined to come after you alone.

Fortunately, there are mercenaries, and you never know if someone (like, your target) hired them...

Quote from Michael

Uncle, I invite/dare you tell me an "arr" in-game so I can put in front of you and give you 5 seconds to fire at me (sitting) at your pleasure Then it'd be my turn which will last until you'll be a peaceful boy... xD with me

Both did as told... his arr then his BS dieing about 5 times and his fighter which was actually bankrupt (then a friendly transfer from his BS to his fighter then more deaths with his fighter ).

Also gave you over 5 seconds to fire at me but not rlly sitting... vs a BS ... lol

You were a peaceful boy when you left Arena to make some $