Is R&S becoming too cliquish?

Question

...am I the only one who kind of feels left out? This is usually the reason I stop posting on forums. The familiarity amongst the regulars ends up defining who's 'cool' and who's 'there', and the whole "Top Contributor" badges aren't helping all that much.

Don't get me wrong, I adore all of you, it's just that I've never been all that good at remaining in large social situations.

38 answers in a half hour?! Wow.

I think Sally Field put it best.
"You like me! You really like me!"

I appreciate every single one of the answers I've seen so far and I'm glad that there's plenty of accord and constructive criticism to go around.

Thanks for making me feel comfortable to be a part of this community, all. :-)

Answer 1

I know what you mean, and I think it's really brave of you to come out and say it.

I don't like the TC badges for the same reason - also it makes you too much of a target in here *looks over shoulder nervously*.

Trouble is, it always happens, like Deke said. That's why I often don't stay in places like this more than a few months too.

Oooh, not that I'm fickle guys, it's not you, it's me!

Answer 2

I think that you may be overly sensitive! I still consider myself a relative newcomer to Qs & As, but I do not feel at all as if I am being excluded by a clique. Anyone is free to express an opinion, and, in truth, the R & S section seems the most popular one here; almost every question receives numerous answers, including the two or three which I have asked. I enjoy this forum because, to my thinking, the most provocative and thoughtful questions are asked here...

Answer 3

I feel your pain. I'm rarely here anymore for the same reason, stopping by only occasionally instead of spending a large portion of my time here.

Once in awhile I'll find a large group of familiar faces, and those are the days that I hang here and have a blast. Like you, I guess I'm more of a loner. I've considered taking a break, and I assume that when the weather gets nice I probably will.

As for the TC badges, the only good they do is alert you to clones. When I see a familiar face without one, I check my contacts. If that person hasn't been suspended then I know it's just somebody cloning and I ignore them.

Answer 4

I think what you are seeing is the natural flow of religion which is to seperate and alienate the differences. Everyone here that answers a question can immediately be defined as to which "group" they belong too. Nature of the beast. No real debating or answering will ever occur here. I am just as guilty as anyone else, because when I see someone pull a quote from a fictional book, and use it as some proof, I just want to smack the person upside the head to possibly knock some sense into them.

Answer 5

Yeah at times it feels that way. It's as if you're on one side or the other side and if you aren't on either side you're pretty much left out. But that's not necessarily always a bad thing. Anyway just ask and answer whatever questions you feel like asking and answering as that's what this forum was meant for. Unfortunately people on here abuse the privilege to use this section and site and the whole forum to gain insight.

Answer 6

I don't feel left out, but I can understand you feel that way. I don't feel left out, because I don't really wanna get in.

I truly adore silliness, but I prefer unattached silliness. You are right, it gets way too cliquish on here.

In my student years I was the chairman of some student club. I always saw it as my most important task to make newcommers feel welcome. Therefore I had to try and avoid any form of cliquish behavior.

Here in R&S I can almost feel the newcommers running away screaming. Inside jokes can be funny, but it's only funne for a small group of people.

Like most of them said, I also like many people on here. Some are part of the in-crowd, others are people like you. I just try to avoid being part of a 'group'.

The Top Contributor thingy isn't helping much, you're spot on there. I've actually mailed Yahoo on how to get rid of that ugly orange badge. They never even bothered to answer, of course.

Answer 7

It's hard Rev...but I always considered you one of the regulars, long before I felt accepted as one. I would hate to see you go. Look at this bunch, a lot, like me, are a schraggly bunch of people on the fringes...we are nothing so elite or special. I answer a lot of questions because I cannot work right now and I hate day time television and I cannot just do nothing. I have problems reading because of my blindness in my right eye. I do not know if I am accepted here...but they are stuck with me.

You can call me Peg if it helps...all my real friends do.

The Skeptical Christian
Grace, Peace and Love
Peg

Answer 8

I'm sorry you're feeling that way -- I don't think anyone would intentionally ignore or leave others out of the conversations around here. I like to talk to everybody, so fire away with your questions.

And that Top Contributor badge may be Y!A's idea of a way to be nice to people who post a lot, but it's just an orange blob under my name as far as I'm concerned. Means nothing to me except that I'm probably on this computer a lot more than I should be. :-)

So welcome to the forum, my friend. . .I'm glad you're here.

Answer 9

I enjoy meeting people and socializing as much as I can, but I don't stress over not being here every single day and taking part in each and every theme day and drinking game. I log on when I can and participate whenever I think I have something to contribute. In the end, my primary goals for being here are unchanged: to better understand how others view issues and share my own views.

Answer 10

I'm back in High School again. I'm unaffiliated, and somewhat indifferent to the 'clique' thing. I like to read the q&a, but have noticed a campy thing tending to drive some of the q&a.

Just so you feel included in my very little universe on YA, I'm going to add you as a contact. Let me know if it bothers you.