Clique? Exclusive club?

[jean]

Does your front room look like this ? ...Do you recognise this ? ...Do you know where this is ?
and can you tell what they are singing from the posture of the conductor ? ...Which Orchestra is this ?

But surely my answers to those questions would place me in - or remove me from - a variety of sub-cliques?

[mercia]

doesn't length of membership of the forum inevitably bring with it a sort of 'clubiness' ? some people here probably date back to the beginning of the old BBC messageboards - how many years is that now ? they must know eachother pretty well by now, know what eachother would say on any given subject even before they've said it. Then some people seem to know eachother personally away from the forum, and others regularly send eachother private messages/emails which might create a sense of clique (?).

[PJPJ]

......

[The last picture is surely the VPO. The answers to each of the others are: No, No and No.]

Playing Wagner. Is it Christ Church, at evensong, Byrd? Otherwise, no, it's not my living room, but thanks for a good idea for wallpaper for the bathroom.

[jean]

I think there is a sort of 'clubbiness' - I have sometimes wondered if I am allowed to use a particular abbreviation of someone's board name - but what matters surely is how unwelcome outsiders feel?

This interests me...

...others regularly send each other private messages/emails which might create a sense of clique (?).

...because how would you ever know?

What started this discussion was the perception that members of the clique rush to defend one of their own or attack perceived enemies. I've even heard accusations (not Radio 3 related I hasten to say) that clique members organised these concerted defence/attack strategies by means of private-message networking.

[teamsaint]

The forum can't be that exclusive or cliquey when yours truly is the sixth highest posting member !
(Owner of a solitary ten quid ring cycle,and a veteran of countless punk gigs ).
You have to live with this "clique" stuff on message boards. Footy boards are just as bad.(e g if you haven't done every away game since 1970 you aren't a real fan......type of post).

Fwiw i hope @noggin comes back soon,as he, like every other goodwilled forumite, has plenty to offer to our discussions around our shared love of music.

Right, off to see the Dorset county youth orchestra in Bruges Cathedral.

[mercia]

...because how would you ever know?

how would I know that people send eachother PMs and emails ? because they say they do

"I shall PM you" - "I have received your PM" - "I shall send X an email to see how he is" - "I have received an email from ... "

[teamsaint]

Oh, and an early vote for Gongers for "post of the day".

[jean]

I see what you mean...but that sort of PM might well be exchanged between people who barely know each other.

I was thinking of the sort of PMs which aren't talked about, or not by those exchanging them - the sort that cement one's status as member of the clique, and foment dislike of disapproved-of posters, even to inciting attacks on them.

No, I don't believe this happens either!

[Nick Armstrong]

Or on the other hand, there's a limit to how long one can string out the discussion of a word that's not all that interesting.

We are in perfect accord there, Pablo

[Nick Armstrong]

....ooootake me....take me....I've got an hour, lunch break just starting....

You are awful. But I like you.

[Nick Armstrong]

Right, off to see the Dorset county youth orchestra in Bruges Cathedral.

As you do...




Sounds like a great excuse for a or

[french frank]

I've obviously been busy this morning, not to have noticed this!

I think the main thing that the forum could do to seem unfriendly and unwelcoming to newcomers is to ignore them when they post or perhaps behave a little sharply - as we might to someone whose reaction we know would be suitably robust, but we must assume new arrivals will feel more uncertain.

Ease people in to what can seem a bit of a hurly-burley, and then it's up to them. I do, however, feel strongly that it puts people off joining in the first place if there are constant squabbles and insults flying around.

It's also a commonsense procedure for new people study the place and see whether they thing they will enjoy posting here. It's no good people joining in order to take issue with what is pretty plainly a forum, erm, characteristic ... well, not if they want to be friends!

[teamsaint]

As you do...




Sounds like a great excuse for a or

I happened to be on, close to our b and b.......beer coming up

[Simon]

I don't see the music side as being particularly problematic - generally, most people seem to be welcomed and most of us are pleased to interact happily within the various topics and genres that interest us.

But the political side is different: the forum is, in general, left/liberal inclined, and anyone favouring policies of a different slant has routinely been ridiculed by the same group - clique, gang, whatever - of a handful of people who seem to spend a lot of time here and who probably contact each other off board when a row crops up, with a few more coming in to offer "support" as things progress. So, what used to happen (IMO) was that real and valuable political discussion, with logical comment form courteous persons holding different views, didn't really have a chance, but was stymied by one-liners, smileys, sarcastic comments, pictures, general irrelevancies and by interventions from those who simply missed the point.

There do exist online forums where political debate does take place in a far better fashion, but even there one finds this happening from time to time, usually from a few individuals intellectually incapable of proper debate.

I expect it's probably better largely to ignore the politics side on here if you are centre or right, and just enjoy the rest of it, which is still, IMO, one of the best forums on the net.

[jean]

...a handful of people who seem to spend a lot of time here and who probably contact each other off board when a row crops up, with a few more coming in to offer "support" as things progress...

It's this assumption that makes me angry, because there is no evidence - there could never be any - that it happens.

It's what I was talking about it above. It is corrosive.