Originally posted by Scayde
Funny, I never experienced anything like what you are talking about. Everyone here has been very warm and friendly to me since the first night I showed up. The political debates get a little hairy, but I think that is more about ideals and issues than anything personal. There are a lot of people here with many different interests and those with like interests tend to gravitate to one another....but where those interests overlap, so does the social interaction. There might be the occasional member who is antagonistic, and once in a while I have seen a person be down right mean..but it is not a 'Group thing' where the group shuns and excludes someone who is not 'in'.
You probably don't see it because you are in fact of one(or more) of these cliques. That is a prime difference between us, as I have stayed out of this extremly tight knit groups. If someone were to ask which aspect of SYM I am part of, I can't be classified. That is why I can see this progression. It is a sad, but true fact of not only internet forums, but life as well. Conformity, or appearance of, is a must, or risk being shunned by the group.
In a sense, I am rarely responded to, even when I offer valid points, or if I am responded to, I'm dismissed, yet other people can say something that's half as true, or that is merely being rehashed, and is greeted by applauds and congradulations. This is an example of the elitest mentality I see here, and it has led me to limit my posting on these boards, and mostly just look after the couple of forums I moderate, and peruse SYM. There are a few others who remain outside the majority(if not all) of these cliques, of which I won't name, but some have shared similar concerns with me when I've spoken to them.
Even though new members are always welcomed, if they are unable to find a group, they don't stay very long, because the groups that exist will only pay them lip service. It is a truth of people and soceity, and the internet does not escape those aspects of life.
