im getting kind of confused about clans. ive heard a lot of different things about them. Could someone clearify things for me?

What are you confused about? There are good clans and bad ones, Competitive and social, Old and new. Mostly they're for folks to gather teams to fight other clans. Most real clans (ones who've been around more than a few weeks and want to survive) have their own forums to make it easier for members to know what's going on within their clan. I’ve been in mine for a year and a half and love being able to have friends online who’ll be there to back you up in a battle. People you know, how you play, and watch your back as you watch theirs. It increases the fun factor knowing what to do to win a battle with friends who you can coordinate attacks with. Clans aren’t for everyone as there are some folks who only like to be solo. But there are clans for all types of personalities. You just have to check them out, get to know how what clan is like.