What do you feel about the growing number of cliques that seem to populate sites like this?

Cliques are for those to weak to stand by themselves. I have the fortitude to stand on my own.

I simply cant stand ‘cliques’. They have to ‘join up’ to take a stand, cant do it on their own.

I’ve never been able to feel comfortable in a clique. I have friends in many different cliques though.

@Poopy Good for you can’t stand the sheep

@RubyReds Echo that!

I haven’t really noticed cliques on Fluther, but it may be true of other sites. People who have a lot in common and gravitate together because their perspectives are similar. This is true in RL so it would be true online as well.

There is a theory called Dunbar’s number that relates indirectly to this question, and makes me think that some people are hardwired to function better in closer groups than others.

I don’t do cliques so I don’t pay them any attention. If that’s what someone needs in order to feel “accepted”, that’s their problem. Maybe they simply don’t have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for their own convictions so they feel the need to follow in the shadow of someone else.

To answer a question; it doesn’t bother me unless it really has nothing to do with the topic.
As to a cliche question; it only bugs me if they don’t elaborate further. Some people just have very shelter lives and I have no way of evaluating it unless I read through their profile and find something that tells me they are just trying to get people upset.

I’m familiar with Dunbar’s Number, and think it applies to many of the members of this site. There are several excellent things I’ve noticed about the membership here, so I can’t blame them for wanting to be together. There has been an edge to some of the comments that is curt, and when those curt answers are rewarded with GA’s, it indicates that indeed, they ARE cliques.

Don’t belong to any cliques, never have. Not on the internet or real life. I am an only lonely kind of person. If people want to belong to cliques I won’t stop them, but it’s not for me.

I guess I think of cliques existing more in a real time chat room with private messages floating all around. While PMs can exist on Fluther, what I am interested in is the questions and answers out in the public area where everyone can see them.

I reward answers and questions with GA and GQ respectively—WHO made the comment isn’t part of that decision-making process..

@phillis, I’m not so sure that your example is indicative of a clique as it is that sometimes a curt answer may speak for a silent majority who monitor questions without posting an answer. There are lots of times when posters will start to answer, then think the better of it, and GA an answer that they are in agreement with. Sometimes that may be a curt answer, because people who are reading the question share the sentiment expressed in the curt answer and want to indicate support, but don’t want to directly add any gathering drama.

Sorry for the incomplete sentences!

We’ve had this question before and I really don’t think there are cliques here. Just people that have common interests and those that have become friends, but these same people are friendly with others also and never exclude anyone. I may get along well with the “mommy” crowd, but I also get along well with the younger crowd and those that are older than me.

I reward answers and questions to anyone that says something I agree with or think is funny or helpful.

I’m all for them. I see nothing wrong with people wanting a close knit group of friends but on sites like this they really can’t keep their interactions exclusive. It’s an open forum and everyone can get involved in the question or answer. I’m not the type of person who enjoys a clique for myself. I’m more of an all inclusive kind of girl.

I have noticed that there there is segmentation on Fluther that have to do with style of question asking/response, and people seem to have preferences for people with similar styles. For example: People who ask questions based on the assumption that everyone has the same perspective on a subject as them, vs. those who are looking for broader perspective; people who don’t give enough detail to have the question answered adequately vs. too much detail. Relevant vs irrelevant question tagging; People who read all the answers before answering vs. people who jump in and answer without reading any of the other answers. People who tend to validate answers of others vs. unique value add to the question. All of these characteristics are stylistic and are not an indictment of the person. I imagine that some of the most insightful people on here have painful social interactions in RL.

People gravitate to Fluther for a number of different reasons, and come from varied backgrounds and experiences. I find it interesting and exciting when I bond on Fluther with someone who I have little in common with in RL and would not have the opportunity to interact with otherwise.

@PandoraBoxx, I’ve seen your response, and wanted to acknowledge it. I see a lot clearer now. If indeed the “silent majority” has spoken, as you indicate, then the situation is
worse than I thought. It means that there will be no acceptance, regardless of input, for a much longer time than is actually necessary. That’s a shame, because I’ve greatly admired some of the intelligence on this site. From what I gather from you, that appreciation is rather one-sided. So be it. If I am wrong, please do let me know.

It would seem that the type of intelligence primarily appreciated includes massive amounts of links and pure, scientific data from master’s degree toting geniuses.

While my daughter will easily fit that description one day, I am not able to keep up with that, so I won’t pretend. I do, however, greatly enjoy and appreciate the very human approaches that many jellies have extended to me, personally.

I may naive but I do not notice any cliques. The last time I really witnessed a clique was in high school. Maybe my definition is wrong. I define them as a group of people that gather simply because of status. In high school it seemed it was a group of the rich, the middle class and the poor. They would hang out together and they didn’t even like each other or have anything in common.

I see friendships here. I am developing friendships, based on things we have in common but it does not effect my answers on the board or my questions. Maybe I am not paying that close attention because I am more focused on the Q&A here and enjoying the conversations. I am too new I guess to notice? LOL

I have talked with so many here I guess I just don’t see it.

I intend no disrespect and have no intentions of fostering an “us” and “them” atmosphere. I shared this only because of comments made directly to me, and things others have had said to them. I thought it would be helpful for those involved. If they care to notice, that’s great! You can’t very well do anything about an issue if an issue isn’t communcated to you, right? One way I foster good will and the spirit of open community IS to communicate. But I won’t allow this to turn into a feeding frenzy. That was never my motive :)

@phillis, It would seem that the type of intelligence primarily appreciated includes massive amounts of links and pure, scientific data from master’s degree toting geniuses.

If I were a sensitive person, I could construe this comment to mean me. However, as I’m neither sensitive nor in possession of a master’s degree, but am perhaps sometimes guilty of answering questions in this manner, I will say that it comes from a different approach to learning and using social media sites. There are a lot of people on here who are committed lifelong learners and are naturally inquisitive. This is primarily a question and answer site first, and a social site second. There are people who learn and grow through thinking about and developing answers to questions. Perhaps they’re natural Socratic learners.

For people whose focus is to come here and have fun, then that is a fundamentally different approach to the usage of the site. Neither side is right or wrong, but you cannot fairly leap to the assumption that the purpose for and approach to the site for everyone on here is the same as yours, or you will get your feelings hurt.

Actually, I’ve not had the pleasure of reading any of your answers, as yet. We seem to travel in different circles :)

Don’t look too closely; there are some pretty clueless ones out there under my name. :-)

Interesting! You had that much in common :)

Everyone brings valuable insights to the site, whether through life experience or insightfulness or knowledge. Some questions, it takes a village to answer.

Now THAT is strong common ground, PB. I couldn’t agree more! I have, well…..I guess you could say, a very human approach to things. And I’ll bet you a boxx of donuts that if we kept running into each other, we’d likely find a lot more. I look forward to that!

@ucme look at how fast ABers climbed up the ladder here. Why call out one and not all?

“Click, click click click click…and uhmmmm click.”

Actually, I’ve been quite generous with point-giving, paying special attention to the jellies that were here before me. So have other Abers. I feel it’s the least I can do, considering how nice most of them have been to us. I dare say most jellies, especially the ones with whom we’ve interracted, have seen an INCREASE in their points since we came here.

You have us to thank for that. We are very generous folks :)

@Poopy Explain?

Poopy has gone underground (again). You may find someone with a similar attitude on my latest question @ucme

Yeah. I’d like to change my answer. There are definitely some childish cliques here. That is part of the reason why I am spending less time on this site. sigh