[pinkmichk]

nope it shouldnt be allowed but some of the mods turn a blind eye on there
and no thats not me i have no idea who you are on about

[Shaun]

Darenn and Z will remember from a few nights ago my analysis on forum-cliques using the Mean Girls terminology

The sex-obsessed teens, the wash-outs, the plastics, the best people you'll ever meet

Obviously can't repeat it because I slagged off a LOT of people lmao.

[MarkWaldorf]

Originally posted by Shaun
Darenn and Z will remember from a few nights ago my analysis on forum-cliques using the Mean Girls terminology

The sex-obsessed teens, the wash-outs, the plastics, the best people you'll ever meet

Obviously can't repeat it because I slagged off a LOT of people lmao.

[Shaun]

Originally posted by Markus

Don't worry dear, you weren't one of them

[Amy]

Cliques - Tough one as I know most forums do not suggest that you ever talk to people away from the forum. Reason for that being that you could think you're talking to Gill and really you are talking to Gerry a 50 old guy from swizzledon. But in the real world we all know regardless of any of that we all do it.
As long as people can keep talk that happened on a msn convo away from a forum and not pick on people for their own amusement then it's fine I guess. The only problem with forums are that people think they are being funny and having a good laugh at someone else's expense but that in turn can turn out to hurt the other person or turn into a nightmare forum war.

[MarkWaldorf]

Originally posted by Shaun

Don't worry dear, you weren't one of them

LMAO

[James]

There is two major downsides of forum cliques for this forum as I see it... one is it can make the forum look like a bit of a private club which is off-putting for new members wishing to join and get involved.

And second is that it can lead to arguments as rival cliques turn on each other - again bad for the forum.

But on the other hand with any virtual community that is relatively successful you are going to get members that become friends with other members. (Of course be wary about who you are communication with online and the type of information you give out).

One thing that I think is relevant and needs to be pointed out is that although we don't mind chit-chat and banter threads between people who know each other they should only be posted in the Chat and Games forum. The distinction with the General Chat forum as I see it is that it should be for specific topics that anyone - not just long-standing members - could potentially want to have an opinion on.

You only have to put yourself in the position of a new member to see that cliquey topics can put people off.

[Nurse57]

"Come on, some people need to grow up a bit"

Yes they do Angie.

The only problem I have with cliques is that the people in them will tend to follow each other stand point in an argument and not look at the facts and think for themselves.

[Fom]

I dont think I am in a "Cliques" and if I am I really dont care, to me all that matters is that I am enjoying myself having a good debate about things and just talking to some nice people.
I dont come on this forum to be 'Popular' or to be in a cool group. I just like to talk to people and pass the time talking about some fun things. If that means I am in a "Cliques" well then so be it, I would rather be in one then not.

And people that call us 'Elimination people' annoying... get over it because we aint gonna stop because we are enjoying ourselves. Sorry to place the truth on you like that, but if I am having fun. And no one should have the right to stop me.

And to add to the 'New members' thing. Elimination has brought alot of new people out of their shell, Gavin and Joshua always seemed quiet in my opinion but now they talk loads, so yes in one circumtance they can make people feel left out but tbh... in the other circumstance it makes people feel accepted and makes them more involved in the thread. I rest my case.

[Chrizzle]

A few points to make on my behalf:

1) I hope people dont refer to me saying 'Elimination people' because in my opinion being in a group of '? people' isnt a bad thing. I mentioned it in the Nominations thread, because it was a point a few people have put towards me. I dont neccessarily think people having a group of friends and having fun is a bit thing, it just doesnt work when nominating in the TiBB Nominations.

2) I am not in a 'clique' yet I still manage to have friends and speak to people, because I give everyone a fair chance. We had a little group last year, but the difference with us was we never at all had 'matching avatars, matching signatures' and never even nominated eachother in the TiBB Nominations, we just had fun. I do think some people take things to far on TiBB and make others uncomfortable.

3) I agree with Billys point about 'imaginary mod status' is worse. Theres one person in particular who seems to think they are a mod, and its very cringeworthy. I just think what happened to having fun?

[Lauren]

I dislike the idea of a "clique" as such, but that doesn't include forum friendships.

There's a clear difference.

Clear friendship on a forum will obviously happen, because people associate and get on with other people moreso, and so will obviously favour some members over others in that respect. I think 99% of the time, groups are just friendships, and banter being thrown around. This is totally fine, and fun.

However, I personally have noticed a steady increase in "cliques". Now, set apart from just general friendships I think these are possibly a bad thing. The cliques usually make "in joke" threads. I know I sound boring, but they all say "but these are fun" etc... yeah, they're only fun to the people that know what they're about! For everyone else, they can't reply in it because i/ They're not involved in what's being discussed ii/ They don't understand it, and iii/ Most likely will be ignored.

This, I feel, is bad enough - but then the cliques usually start chatting in general interest/general topic threads and take over THEM with in jokes too, so other members can't (or feel intimidated to) reply to them for the reasons listed above.

But, my main issue is this. When one member of the clique forms an argument with another member, then the others will join in and "back them up" just because they're cliquey. They don't bother forming their own opinions, or daring to go against the clique, or just not getting involved at all - they all just follow and jump controversial bandwagons. Not only does this separate them, but I can totally understand why newer members may be then weary about joining in conversation and banter for this reason.

Edit: One more point. There was a thread on here recently about how people bring MSN onto the forum too much, and in some respects I agree. Like with my point on in-jokes. Usually someone will make a thread after something was said on MSN, and then only the people involved will obviously reply. Could this not just be taken back to msn then? It's not very welcoming to other members, cos they can't get involved. It's not an "issue" as such, it's just annoying.

[Emzy-!!]

I am not part of one.... I don't think.

[MrGaryy]

I absolutely DETEST when a decent thread just becomes one big in joke. There are certain members who definetly do that. I also am nto too fond of the sorta 3 month old members clique.

[Rocko]

Why don't everyone just name names?

Seems to be a lot of egg-shell treading "people do this, people do that" when you are aware of which exact members are doing it. It's not to be intimidating, it's just a mature thing to reason it out with the person you have a problem with rather than being vague and letting conclusions form on their own about what it is you're on about.

[Lauren]

I'd just like to say - people shouldn't name names cos it will end up in a slanging match and personal insults will end up being thrown. At the moment it's a general discussion about forum cliques as a whole, we don't want to go around mass-offending.

[Z]

Originally posted by Shaun
Darenn and Z will remember from a few nights ago my analysis on forum-cliques using the Mean Girls terminology

The sex-obsessed teens, the wash-outs, the plastics, the best people you'll ever meet

Obviously can't repeat it because I slagged off a LOT of people lmao.

It was very funny though.


As for Lauren's point about a gang mentality - I've felt the effects of that and it wasn't nice, I had something of a disagreement with Chrizzle and found myself added into a conversation with four or five members who were friendlier with Chrizzle than they were with me, and every time I tried to be reasonable, I got a wall of text from people who weren't willing to listen to anything I had to say.

Of course there are cliques on TiBB, and I consider myself as a member with very few connections with other members on here - I am a fairly regular poster yet I have very few friends on here that I regularly speak to, so I find it hard to get involved with a lot of things. This "midnight crew" thing that I've seen going around is a prime example of it - I'm often online past midnight, but I'm not a part of the "midnight crew" and, while I know it's not meant to offend intentionally, it is a bit of a kick in the teeth to see people with signatures declaring they are part of a group, and I'm sitting here thinking "so what have I done that's so bad I'm being 'left out' all the time?"



Just some observations. I've tried to avoid "walking on eggshells" as somebody said earlier, but without being offensive (sorry if I have been!!)

[Annie]

What do you mean about these 'cliques' - Maybe having a blonde moment but what are you talking about??????

[Lauren]

Originally posted by Annie
What do you mean about these 'cliques' - Maybe having a blonde moment but what are you talking about??????

It's kinda like a group of people that always speak to each other and have in-jokes all the time... kinda like a gang.

But like I said in my first post - I think we need to form a distinction between just people who are friends with each other, and cliques (whom I feel ignore other members, and, as Z said, have a "gang mentality").

[Annie]

Oh I am totally in one of these things then... I'm always involved in wee threads like that.

Not in a gang way though - just in banter. And normally other people join in and just have a laugh!

[Z]

Originally posted by Lauren

It's kinda like a group of people that always speak to each other and have in-jokes all the time... kinda like a gang.

But like I said in my first post - I think we need to form a distinction between just people who are friends with each other, and cliques (whom I feel ignore other members, and, as Z said, have a "gang mentality").

Yeah.

I honestly think that it's unintentional, but it happens a lot and people are unaware of the consequence of their actions. If you walked past a group of 15 people who were all "loud" (i.e. post in lots of topics) and "taking up space" (i.e. post a lot) in the street, you would find it intimidating if you were by yourself, most likely. Well, transferring that logic onto a forum, it's the same idea, even though it's unintentional, it's slightly intimidating, especially if you offend one member of the group, because there are a dozen other users who will jump in the line of fire and defend their friend.

[Benjamin]

Originally posted by Chrizzle
A few points to make on my behalf:

1) I hope people dont refer to me saying 'Elimination people' because in my opinion being in a group of '? people' isnt a bad thing. I mentioned it in the Nominations thread, because it was a point a few people have put towards me. I dont neccessarily think people having a group of friends and having fun is a bit thing, it just doesnt work when nominating in the TiBB Nominations.

2) I am not in a 'clique' yet I still manage to have friends and speak to people, because I give everyone a fair chance. We had a little group last year, but the difference with us was we never at all had 'matching avatars, matching signatures' and never even nominated eachother in the TiBB Nominations, we just had fun. I do think some people take things to far on TiBB and make others uncomfortable.

3) I agree with Billys point about 'imaginary mod status' is worse. Theres one person in particular who seems to think they are a mod, and its very cringeworthy. I just think what happened to having fun?

My god it's like the first Tibb War. lol. Were you referring to me in number 3? I'm sorry if I come across a bit patronising and rude towards people, that is never my intention, and I don't ignore members or insult them, I don't think. Me and Rayheartbliss have our moments of a spat, but we still keep it civil. Again I am sorry If I offend anyone, if I do, just say to me.

[Lauren]

Originally posted by Annie
Oh I am totally in one of these things then... I'm always involved in wee threads like that.

Not in a gang way though - just in banter. And normally other people join in and just have a laugh!

Often people can't just join in, cos the jokes are usually things that don't involve them and they don't understand, so it automatically means they're not involved in it.

It's fair enough having a laugh, but sometimes it's actively causing a divide cos of it.

Z mentioned the midnight group or something? (Lmao, I'm not "up with" the gossip atm). Well, like he said... this names specific members, in a specific game or something and so others can't just get involved.

Also not to mention that if a group of people are discussing banter and in-jokes then it's intimidating for one single person to just "join in" even if they do understand the jokes.

I do think it only happens occasionally, though, but it's happening more often than it did.

[supernoodles!]

imo cliques are nothing new on tibb they`ve been around ever since i joined and before im sure.I don`t have a problem with them other than in some thread such as the gameshows or tibb nominations.im starting to think that those type of threads shouldn`t even be alloud on here becuase as fun as they can be they seem pretty pointless when a clique of people just nominate/vote each other and the whole thing just seems to get taken over by a certain clique.

[Benjamin]

Originally posted by Lauren

Often people can't just join in, cos the jokes are usually things that don't involve them and they don't understand, so it automatically means they're not involved in it.

It's fair enough having a laugh, but sometimes it's actively causing a divide cos of it.

Z mentioned the midnight group or something? (Lmao, I'm not "up with" the gossip atm). Well, like he said... this names specific members, in a specific game or something and so others can't just get involved.

Also not to mention that if a group of people are discussing banter and in-jokes then it's intimidating for one single person to just "join in" even if they do understand the jokes.

I do think it only happens occasionally, though, but it's happening more often than it did.

But the midnight crew (lol) me included was never a mean thing, it was just a name cos we were generally the only ones on here that late at night. We don't bully people, and I like when people come and join in banter. I always try and start a convo with people. Am I digging myself a deeper whole. If I have offended anyone or annoyed them please U2U me and I'll send a personal apology.

[andyman]

If i was the TiBB Caesar i would ban the lot of you!!