Is WrongPlanet cliquey?

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Just seems like unless you have 5000 posts, you are considered as being a bit of a lightweight or a newbie.

Also, it does seem like a certain 'tone' is required to really fit in here. Don't ask me what I mean, I can't describe it any better than that. But whatever it is, I am reasonably certain that I lack it.

Oh well. You'll either get used to me or you won't. #philosophical

I don't know, I guess I don't really see these kinds of things. I just enjoy the threads and conversations I enjoy and I am glad to get to know people and have cyber friends here so I guess I don't really see it that deeply like you talked about. I don't know that you have to have a certain tone to fit in because we are all different. And I guess technically someone is pretty much new if they don't have a lot of posts but some people might not post often. Some like to read more so you can't really tell by number of posts. You can look at join date but some have lingered around for years before joining so it's kind of hard to tell. But I think context of posts is more telling than number of posts so, I don't know, I guess it's just what it is.

No

I think it depends on which forums you are going into. The PPR forum tends to be very split into 2 separate camps, with a very harsh for me/against me focus.

It can also seem like you are being ignored in forums that are a back and forth between just two people, but I think that is more a result of those two being focused on each other to the point of not even registering others.

As for needing a lot of posts, it can be difficult for (some) people here to get a handle on your style and how to take your words, so some people seem to refrain from engaging until they can figure out how to come across the right way or are worried about misinterpreting what you say.

So it may be a combination of these things that are giving you that impression.

I can't speak for everyone, but I don't really even keep track of how many posts people have.....more content of posts. I mean if there is a conflict provoking topic and the OP never returns after posting it I might think they where trolling but I don't really look at how many posts people have and judge them on it. I mean sure if someone has less posts maybe they are a 'newbie' but all that should mean is new to the site not nothing to be judged for in my opinion I mean how does the site grow if no one new joins....also some people might just read threads more than posting.

I think that's how it might seem being new. But when i see someone new i am interested in them and want them to feel welcome and part of the group. In my teen forum i am part of a definite clique called the "Misfits" and i am a "big shot" there with nearly 10,000 posts....but me and everyone else loves it when someone new takes an interest in joining us. Some of my favorite members in forums have low post counts. Having a lot of time on a forum or a lot of posts doesn't make anyone special.

Last edited by EzraS on 15 Sep 2014, 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Oh heck yes, us Aspies are clicky

I do not really count posts, and I pretty much reply to posts as necessary. I guess I do have some favourite members but only through familiarity. Checking the homepage, I might read/reply to any given post of interest. While I do like, e.g., math/science forum, the haven, I tend to focus on the general autism discussion most.

I dunno. I haven't made many posts, but I have lurked for several months and tried to get a 'feel' for the place. Not sure it's helped a whole lot. It seems to take absolutely forever for me to get to "know" the inhabitants of a forum - probably why I join forums so infrequently. I still feel a bit weird and awkward on WP, and think I will do for some time to come.

On the other hand, if I settle into a forum then I'm probably there for life :p

Just plunge in and post away; others will get to know you. Can't say the site is cliquey but some members have been here for a long time and know each other quite well, and can often relate to each others posts better. The only place that is accidentally cliquey is the PPR (Politics, Philosophy and Religion) forum, but that is simply because of the subject matter and debates tend to split members according to their political stance, religious beliefs or atheism.

There's a bunch of regulars here i hardly know. Plus i'm only 14 in a mostly adults forum. And i forget people easily like face blindness. I just post to whatever thread triggers a response from me. My advice is always be nice friendly polite....and concise....and have an avatar that stands out and you'll become well known, liked and recognized by all in no time

Last edited by EzraS on 15 Sep 2014, 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think it's cliquey - I'm here sometimes and not others and always feel welcome when I am here.

I post like that as well. We welcome teens too. BTW, if you're interested: http://www.wrongplanet.net/forum22.html

That section is a bit on the slow side, but i really should check it on regular basis.

Don't know about cliqueyness, but elitism like a form of racism, for sure.

Concise definitely; very few people will read a wall of text, or they'll just read the first and last sentence of it. A distinct avatar is also a good idea. It makes it easier to recognise particular members if they stick to the same avatar. I tend to mix members up who change their avatar often or use one of the stock avatars (and share it with other members! ) or have no avatar at all. I also mix up members who have "aspie" as part of their user name, there are lots of members with the user name aspie(something).

It can help enormously to post a large number of posts over time to help you improve your skill at being able to express yourself and to present a logical argument.

Of course, for that to happen you sometimes have to go out of your way to work at it. A number of people here like to just post a link to something and feel like they accomplished something, but that doesn't do anything to help them learn to express themselves. (I'm not saying that you have done that.) The best practice is to provide some kind of self-written executive summary of what is found at the link. If nothing else, quoting a paragraph or two of an article can at least be helpful to getting a discussion going.

So work at it and don't take things personally and you should be able to build up a good reputation here or wherever else you post.