Is this board 'cliquey'

[K'Ehleyr]

There was a thread recently which said how great this board was, with which I totally agree.
Some replies said it may have 'cliques' of posters.
Personally I have not found this.

I see this board as a beautiful, big house with many levels, full of people that mingle ~ an hors deuvre or two ~ talking about something in a group, then moving on ~ with a glass in hand ~ to join another conversation here and there. It's very hard to transfer the on-line experience to a party, because in real life you can smile and excuse yourself to go elsewhere, where-as in a forum it can seem abrupt.

I can 'butterfly' from one forum to another but always check and reply if anyone has responded to a post I've made.

If I start a thread, I see it as starting a conversation at a party and feel responsible to keep it going. I will reply to as many people that give their time to post. Having said that I usually get bored with the idea after a day or so and leave it to go it's own way

There are some posters that I do not post with because their views are so different from mine and I don't want to argue for argue's sake, but that's what TNZ's for.

So do you feel ignored?
Are other posters dismissive or plain rude?
Or do you just let it all go over your head?

So are there cliques on Trek BBS?


PM me for membership fees

 

[SPOCKED]

oh oh... now you've stepped in it

(your question brings back many memories lol)

 

[K'Ehleyr]

oh oh... now you've stepped in it

(your question brings back many memories lol)

Just curious

 

[blablover5]

One day the Ignored shall rise up from their exile and uh probably stumble around in the lobby trying to get an appointment to plan their attacks.]

If, of course, you guys aren't too busy.

 

[Niorah]

It's as clique-y as it can get. I'd say on par with kindergarten and high school. If you haven't seen it yet, you're not in the right clique.

 

[Vulcan Princess]

I personally don't feel like it's cliquey around here. I'm relatively new (I joined several months ago, but I didn't become active until last month), but I feel welcome. I think participating in the lounges and in miscellaneous has helped me get to know a little more about people.

 

[John Clark]

I've been to boards that are far more cliquey (in my opinion)

For me, the issue here would be that it can be so busy that some posts get missed (and hence some people feel ignored). However, I will admit I don't bother to read certain peoples posts precisely because of the reason you state

 

[Gertch]

It's as clique-y as it can get. I'd say on par with kindergarten and high school. If you haven't seen it yet, you're not in the right clique.

+1

 

[Canadave]

I think it used to be cliquey, around three or four years ago, but it's not so much anymore.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

One day the Ignored shall rise up from their exile and uh probably stumble around in the lobby trying to get an appointment to plan their attacks.]

If, of course, you guys aren't too busy.

Sorry, who are you
ps I'll distract them ~ you get the door

It's as clique-y as it can get. I'd say on par with kindergarten and high school. If you haven't seen it yet, you're not in the right clique.

No, I'm obviously not

I personally don't feel like it's cliquey around here. I'm relatively new (I joined several months ago, but I didn't become active until last month), but I feel welcome. I think participating in the lounges and in miscellaneous has helped me get to know a little more about people.

Excellent, I've seen your posts before welcome VP to the non-clique

I've been to boards that are far more cliquey (in my opinion)

For me, the issue here would be that it can be so busy that some posts get missed (and hence some people feel ignored). However, I will admit I don't bother to read certain peoples posts precisely because of the reason you state

I concur! I just can't be bothered to go round in circles

 

[trampledamage]

I think it used to be cliquey, around three or four years ago, but it's not so much anymore.

I agree.

Either it has got more open here, or I've been around so long I no longer care!

 

[Ashu]

It's as clique-y as it can get. I'd say on par with kindergarten and high school. If you haven't seen it yet, you're not in the right clique.

Or we aren't doing are job of making the division clear.

 

[RevDMV]

Oh no, the ignored thread...

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Of course. There's the Crusher Disciple Clique that I maintain, and then there's the rest of the riff raff.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I think there are cliques here but they are probably the exception and not the rule. I've not seen evidence of meetups where only certain people were invited, for instance. I mean, I started meeting up with people from here just a couple months ago, and I wouldn't say I know anyone here all that well, so even if there are cliques their influence is pretty limited. TrekBBS is too big to really be an exclusive club, you know?

 

[K'Ehleyr]

I think it used to be cliquey, around three or four years ago, but it's not so much anymore.

I agree.

Either it has got more open here, or I've been around so long I no longer care!

How do you recognise a clique?

It's as clique-y as it can get. I'd say on par with kindergarten and high school. If you haven't seen it yet, you're not in the right clique.

Or we aren't doing are job of making the division clear.

Or your English revision ~ it should be 'our job'. Is there an English pedant's clique you could join?

Oh no, the ignored thread...

Of course. There's the Crusher Disciple Clique that I maintain, and then there's the rest of the riff raff.

Yes, but £1,000 to join is a bit rich for me

 

[An Officer]

There are cliques, but not in the traditional sense. There may be handfuls of people who post together because they understand one another, or have similar preferences - but we do not have a typical clique, as I see it. If you address anyone here directly in a polite and friendly manner, 99 times out of a 100, they will respond positively if they've seen your post.

Having said that, in the past, there have been changeable groups, who have been somewhat actively exclusive and unpleasant, and even bullying in some cases, oh yes. These people were cool in each others eyes, but I do think the vast majority of this crowd thinks that kind of thing pretty pathetic and neurotic and steers clear of it, no doubt these sort of people have little inkling of how the majority might view them. You have to have an inbuilt level of insensitivity to engage in that sort of behaviour in the first place, so I wouldn't expect them to know how they are viewed by others.

I was once publicly accused of being part of a small clique in the Voyager forum around 2002 and thereafter... so I know how it feels to bandy that kind of thing about. I genuinely believe I was always willing to have fun with anyone who wanted to swap a few messages, nothing stopping them. It's not anyone's fault if a few posters have more time and enthusiasm than others and post prolifically in several places together. It's fine as long as it's on topic and not spam.

I remember a few posters actually leaving over this. I never actively ignored anybody, however. How can you? It's a board of thousands. It might mean you merely don't run across certain people on a regular basis, or perhaps you're not online at similar times enough to whip up a raport. One poster who I actively admired, but hadn't had an opportunity to get to know, actually said he was leaving on account of myself and some others in the VOY forum "taking over". I was shocked and somewhat hurt. Sometimes, you might think you're entertaining people, it might just be that you're annoying! Just goes to show the damage you can do without realising. Although I'm not sure if this problem actually has a fair solution. You can't just tell certain people to shut up, if they've done nothing to break the rules. All you can do is steer clear. Plenty room for that!

I concede these things can be a matter of perspective - you might think you're inclusive - others might see you as exclusive. The truth lies somewhere in between, and perhaps in your own opinion of yourself. No one is truly inaccessible on a bloody message board - if you are friendly, you can have a good time with anyone.

So, be careful, K'ehleyr, you might find your own self being accused of cliquishness without having any idea about it...

To sum up, the way I see it, right at this moment, MISC is not cliquey, at all, and if it is, anyone can overcome that, with a little effort.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Of course. There's the Crusher Disciple Clique that I maintain, and then there's the rest of the riff raff.

Yes, but £1,000 to join is a bit rich for me

We do take payment plans. What with this economy, it's the logical thing to do....

 

[Hermiod]

Of course it bloody is.

 

[K'Ehleyr]

There are cliques, but not in the traditional sense. There may be handfuls of people who post together because they understand one another, or have similar preferences - but we do not have a typical clique, as I see it. If you address anyone here directly in a polite and friendly manner, 99 times out of a 100, they will respond positively if they've seen your post.

Having said that, in the past, there have been changeable groups, who have been somewhat actively exclusive and unpleasant, and even bullying in some cases, oh yes. These people were cool in each others eyes, but I do think the vast majority of this crowd thinks that kind of thing pretty pathetic and neurotic and steers clear of it, no doubt these sort of people have little inkling of how the majority might view them. You have to have an inbuilt level of insensitivity to engage in that sort of behaviour in the first place, so I wouldn't expect them to know how they are viewed.

I used to be accused of being part of a small clique in the Voyager forum around 2002 and thereafter, but I was always willing to have fun with anyone who wanted to swap a few messages, nothing stopping them. It's not anyone's fault if a few posters have more time and enthusiasm than others and post prolifically in several places together. I remember a few posters actually leaving over this. I never actively ignored anybody, however. One poster who I actively admired, but hadn't had an opportunity to get to know, actually said he was leaving on account of a few posters in the VOY forum "taking over". I was shocked and somewhat hurt and still miss him. Just goes to show the damage you can do without realising. Although I'm not sure if this problem actually has a fair solution.

I concede these things can be a matter of perspective - you might think you're inclusive - others might see you as exclusive. The truth lies somewhere in between, and perhaps in your own opinion of yourself. No one is truly inaccessible on a bloody message board - if you are friendly, you can have a good time with anyone.

So, be careful, K'ehleyr, you might find your own self being accused of cliqueness without having any idea about it...

To sum up, the way I see it, right at this moment, the place is not cliquey, at all, and if it is, you can always overcome that.

Wise words An Officer. I think you've summed it up with this;

"I concede these things can be a matter of perspective - you might think you're inclusive - others might see you as exclusive. The truth lies somewhere in between, and perhaps in your own opinion of yourself. No one is truly inaccessible on a bloody message board - if you are friendly, you can have a good time with anyone."

I certainly don't consider myself part of a clique, but as you say there are some posters that you identify with and maybe reply to more than others because you have a rapport. I always take time to be polite and friendly but it would be nice to have a way of moving on from a thread without causing offence by not replying.

I'm pleased though that the majority of posters on this thread do not think it's cliquey, but then maybe those in the cliques have not posted