As a relative newcomer, I can write that I have neither observed, nor felt any pressure or bullying from any group of members on this board. Neither have I observed anything resembling a clique here. Yes, there are many long-time members, but I have not observed them acting like a clique.

When I first joined, several of the confirmed members of the board (no pun intended), “Carpal Tunnels”, along with other long-time members of the board, sent me kind words of welcome and encouragement, both in posts and in personal messages (PMs). Since then 99.9% of the members responding to my posts and PMs have treated me, my posts, and PMs with kind civility, at the low end of the spectrum, and affectionate appreciation, at the high end of the spectrum.

As I have mentioned to other members in PMs, I have wondered about a few responses to my posts, which seemed to me to be purely argumentative (in the pejorative sense) in nature, and specifically designed to annoy me with the hope of getting a negative reaction from me. I can only write, “seemed to me” however, because I don’t truly know the mind of the person who posted the reply, and it may only be their personality. I can’t really say for sure because I have not had enough interaction with the person to form a firm opinion. Nevertheless, the few replies from this person constitute the remaining 0.1%.

The only shadow in the picture (if I may borrow a line from Isak Dinesen) I’ve seen is the irritation caused by the person who, as I’ve read in some posts, seems to post using many different personae and names. One of this person’s personae (at least) apparently seems intent on behaving in such a disagreeable way as to incur the rancor of many of the members. Perhaps this is the same person I mentioned above; I don’t know. Perhaps this person with the Multiple Persona Disorder is the same person claiming there to be a bullying clique here as well. Unfortunately, I am still trying to match this person to his many personae, so I can’t really speak (write) to this point much more than I already have.

To conclude: my overall experience here has been quite enjoyable and stimulating, and I am happy to have found such a board.