# What's with the cliques?



## Eluvan (Nov 3, 2004)

Having been here only a short time, I can say that so far my experience of EnWorld has been a good one. I have found the people welcoming, witty, and responsive, and the atmosphere warm and friendly. 

 Yet one thing bothers me. Why is it that people stick so much to their own forums? The PbPers stick to the PbP forums, and everybody else talks amongst themselves in the general forums. Both groups have some presence in the Story Hour forum, but it is dominated by the General forum crowd. So... why? Why is there no interaction between the forums? Why do none of the general forum crowd PbP? Why do none of the PbPers chat?


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## Michael Morris (Nov 3, 2004)

People tend to post in the areas they are most interested in, or in my case where they have the most work to do.

Now if you'll excuse me, the forums need more repairs.


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## Teflon Billy (Nov 4, 2004)

I find I get on well with the good, solid folks of *General RPG Discussion*, while I find it hard to contemplate deigning to speak to the inuhuman bastards of, say, *Meta*.


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## JoeBlank (Nov 4, 2004)

I think once the lure of PbP sucks you in, it consumes all of your time and you are no longer able to participate in General, Rules, or other discussions.


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## Crothian (Nov 4, 2004)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> I find I get on well with the good, solid folks of *General RPG Discussion*, while I find it hard to contemplate deigning to speak to the inuhuman bastards of, say, *Meta*.




Don't even get me started on those Off Topic people though......They are actually worse then the Staff Forum people.


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## barsoomcore (Nov 4, 2004)

I only ever talk to myself, so I avoid the whole problem.


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## Teflon Billy (Nov 4, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> Don't even get me started on those Off Topic people though......They are actually worse then the Staff Forum people...




Surely you jest!


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## BSF (Nov 4, 2004)

What about those Publishers?  Sheesh!  Oh wait, I post in that area even though I'm not a publisher.

I don't think it is so much about cliques as it is about time and opportunity.  You want a clique?  I have a private hosted forum for my game and only allow my players access.  Of course, we discuss such mundane things as game scheduling and have been known to hand out email addresses & phone numbers in there.  I keep it private because it has to do with our game.  

I don't post to PbP because I am not in any of the games and don't have the time/motivation to join one right now.  Other than that, I spend time in General Discussion, Rules, House Rules, D20, Publishers, Story Hour, the Art Gallery, Meta, and sometimes in Off Topic.  I also stop by in the EN Publishing, Creature Catalog, Marketplace and the Rogues Gallery every once in a while.  I devote a lot of time to EN World.  Not everyone else does.  I know people that peek out of General once in a blue moon when they have the time.  

Enough of my rambling for the moment.


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## Hypersmurf (Nov 4, 2004)

Eluvan said:
			
		

> The PbPers stick to the PbP forums, and everybody else talks amongst themselves in the general forums. Both groups have some presence in the Story Hour forum, but it is dominated by the General forum crowd.




PbP?  Story Hour?  General?

I'm missing something.  Are these just fancy new names for 'Rules', or are you telling me there are other forums around here?

I don't understand 

-Hyp.


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## Len (Nov 4, 2004)

Hyp, those are the Play-by-Post Rules, Story Rules and General Rules forums. They're a mess, pretty much, because they don't have you posting all the right answers.


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## Dinkeldog (Nov 4, 2004)

Eluvan, it's simple human nature.  The boards are _huge_ (trust me, I know) and it's impossible to keep up with all of it.  So people with limited time hit the topics they're most interested in.  Then people tend to develop relationships with people that they talk to more.  So if someone rarely talks to someone else, then the relationship is stunted in comparison to a relationship with someone they communicate with several times a day.

Just thought it was a good question, got me thinking, and I thought maybe I'd putout a serious post.  For once.  Um, mostly.


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## EricNoah (Nov 4, 2004)

You'd think a guy like me might have visited all forums all the time even in "my day" -- but it wasn't the case.  I have never, for instance, read Piratecat's (or anyone else's) Story Hour.  I also almost never go into the Rules forum or the House Rules forum.  I don't know why, it's just not my thing.  Maybe it's just too much to keep up with.  That's one of the effects (good or bad) of chopping a forum up into sections, though -- people will stick with the topics that interest them.


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## Zappo (Nov 4, 2004)

I basically can't keep up with everything. So, I only check what I'm most interested in. I'd like to follow a few more forums, but I'm spending too much time on enworld already.


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## RangerWickett (Nov 5, 2004)

Yeah, the Daemonforge forums can get pretty cliquish, but you know, with all the posts going on, it's hard to just jump right in.

Aside from E.N. Publishing obviously (I work for them, for those who don't know), I personally favor General and Storyhour, followed by Sci-fi, Publishers, and House Rules.  The third tier is Rules, Computers, and Off-Topic, then finally everything else.  I used to hit the d20 system games forum more, but I'm just not seeing as much there as I'd like to of the games I'm interested in.

Still, I think I spend more than enough time online.  In fact, I'm off to write something . . .

. . . for the Ceramic DM competition.  Good luck to you, Eluvan.


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## Xath (Nov 5, 2004)

I spend most of my time in General, Talking the Talk, Off Topic, and Story Hour.  I occasionally check other boards, like right now, but I don't usually have the time.


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## Morrus (Nov 5, 2004)

My "must visit" forums are General, Sci-fi, Meta and Publishers.  House Rules and Rules are a bit behind that.  I have to admit that I've never spent much time in the Story Hour forum, but I keep meaning to - people are always recommending great Story Hours to me.


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## James Heard (Nov 5, 2004)

Normally I stick with the Art forums (because hey, that's what I do), the Media forum or whatever it's called (television and movies, I can't keep up so it's nice to leech off those that do), and Meta even though I don't post much (becuase  it's nice to feel like you're informed even if you're not). This is my second forum stop actually though, so by the time I'm here I don't feel a pressing need to communicate much anyways. ENWorld is so big someone else usually says anything worth saying anways, why just chime in with "me too"?


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## Tarrasque Wrangler (Nov 10, 2004)

We, the united masses of the People's Glorious Fantasy & Sci-Fi Books, Movies and TV Forum will purge the oppressed proletariat of the insidious influence of the Creature Catalog boyars! To the barricades! To revolution! Hail, hail Marx and Lenin!


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## Hand of Evil (Nov 10, 2004)

There be lurkers...it is not that we are not there, just that you can't see us.  Bahaaahaaaahaaaaahaaaa


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## Desdichado (Nov 10, 2004)

Tarrasque Wrangler said:
			
		

> We, the united masses of the People's Glorious Fantasy & Sci-Fi Books, Movies and TV Forum will purge the oppressed proletariat of the insidious influence of the Creature Catalog boyars! To the barricades! To revolution! Hail, hail Marx and Lenin!



TW, you rock!


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## Henry (Nov 10, 2004)

TW. you inhuman monster, you deride the names of the Great Marx and Lennon!

Richard and Julian will NOT stand for this insult!


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## Jaws (Nov 10, 2004)

TW and Henry, you both gave me a good laugh.


Peace and smiles 

j.


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## Brother Shatterstone (Nov 11, 2004)

Eluvan said:
			
		

> *snip*The PbPers stick to the PbP forums. *snip*




That's because its the only forums that Crothian doesn't post in...     

Honestly, I can think of many of the PbPers that post in other forums, including myself, but you are right alot of the PbPers are simply here for the games...  (They lack group(s), or their group(s) doesn't fill all their needs.)

MM summed it up best:



			
				Michael Morris said:
			
		

> People tend to post in the areas they are most interested in, or in my case where they have the most work to do.




and PbPing is labor intensive...


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## Crothian (Nov 11, 2004)

Brother Shatterstone said:
			
		

> That's because its the only forums that Crothian doesn't post in...




Don't tempt me


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## Brother Shatterstone (Nov 11, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> Don't tempt me



Okay


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