talkmagic.co.uk

I dont think its cliquey, but it is a forum of many different people from different societies, social groups, countries etc etc.

i know theres a heck of a lot of Psycrets peeps on here and they socialise away from this board so they tend to make quips and jokes to each other, as do the meet up groups of Leeds, Manchester and the god awful London lot.

Then include those who have worked together in variety nights or whatever, convention buddys and meet up and lastly visitors to others shows.

Its surprising just how many people you actually have met off a forum ... well I am anyway now I think about it lol x

But this is one of the most friendly places out there for sure ...

From the very beginning, I have kindly been helped and accepted by all people who are usually very dedicated in helping solving problems.

So the answer is definetly no.


There are times when I wittnessed, what one could perceive as cliquery, but in all those accounts, the impression might have risen because of the closed front that builds towards people who are joining this forum only to pos rude insulting demands, which are not only filled with inpoliteness, but also ignore whole sets of established standard rules that this forum works by.
Usually this concerns immature people who join the forums, declare themselves superior and try to insult their way through the day, in the assumption that people won't mind.

This front building is not cliquery in my opinion, but a good thing to maintain the forums quality and the kind way of how people in this forum treat each other with respect.

What one might perceive as cliques are imho only the people most active and as a natural consequence the ones that by statistic have had more interaction with each other, as they have with less active people, but at the same moment those people imho, are also the ones most helpfull. So the impression of a clique is imho due to the fact, that one allways encounters very helpfull people which occur in bunches.

I for my part, have allways found an open ear and a many solutions to the topics I suggested. Even as I admit, my topics are strange at times, I have allways met open minded folks engaging the discussion.

So should there be a cliquery going on beside the natural dynamic of warding off rude people. It has to be of an exclusivity, that I myself might not have had contact with a member of this clique yet .

I also highly value the, uhm well more matured nature of this forum, as opposed to some other magic forums google brings up at times, which in my opinion lack a certain seriousness. This doesn't goes agains't the occasional joke found at times, but regards the quality of the content.

In summary, some groups of people in this forum may know each other for long times and IRL and as such form cliques, but not imho not in a way, that drives people away from the forum or anything like that. It's natural dynamics.

In a way I think I repeated what other people said, but I tried to express my experience with this forum.

Regards,
Tak

I do find it friendly except for the odd lunatic that sends me nasty private messages. I find that easy to deal with since I have the power to put psychic curses on them. However I never do that as it would be unethical and besides a few of them seem to be cursed already.

I have not found any particular "cliques" here. The Magic Circle I remember as being far snobbier. If people here read what they see and take it with a heavy pinch of salt they will get along just fine. They should also remember that people often have different personalities away from the internet.

For example I have met personally people that I have liked on forums and when I met them personally couldn't stand them. But the reverse applies too. I have often met seemingly obnoxious people that I have had friction with but got on with them like a house on fire once I actually met them in person.

I certainly don't approve of ganging up on beginners and being rude to them. In fact it appalls me. Or people who ask persistent questions and don't like the answer you give them. For example I don't mind Eshly one bit. I never attack anyone unless they are silly enough to attack me first.

And I always share my knowledge if anyone asks. Or even if nobody asks. No secrets from me.

As a member of the same gaming chatroom and community for well over a decade, I'm pretty sure I can say TM isn't cliquey. In the time I have lurked here, I have seen more people welcomed than the gamers for the last few years, and stick around for longer on average.

I've also met more people through TM in real life than the gaming, although I have had a wedding invite from someone I've chatted to on a daily basis.

(...I would give more examples but I'm being distracted by the Ikea Cat commercial and I've lost my train of thought...)

I have at times been members of other forums, and found that they were very touchy, especially if you are unashamedly a rationalist. One even banned me for expressing doubts about one members silly ghost story.

Here people are mature enough to express their views without whining to moderators when others disagree with them.

And we have Mark Lewis. Overall a very pleasant place to post.

Yes Tony. I read that thread where they banned you. I couldn't believe that. You were polite and factual and not rude at all. Blunt but not rude.
Obviously whoever banned you was a control freak.

Mind you Quentin Reynolds once told me he saw a ghost. Pity it didn't frighten him to death but that is another story.

He is practical and down to earth and would tend to be sceptical rather than believing but he was quite adamant that he actually saw a ghost when he was young. And unlike most Irish he doesn't drink.

I'm not talking to any of you lot.


I have to say I love it with you guys and no matter how long I disappear for I always seem to wander back here.

I don't think that TM is cliquey as I believe that the majority of people on here treat everyone fairly equally.

I was not referring to individual clique's but the forum as a whole being one big clique but reading through everyone's replies I think I do agree with the consensus.

Unless it's someone being downright rude or retarded things seem to tick along quite nicely. I guess if people insist on being either then they should really expect people to lose patience with them eventually.

I think TM is a very friendly, open and accepting forum. I've been a memeber of a few different magic forums and always come back here for that very reason. There are a few friendship groups but that's perfectly natural and something that you'll get anywhere in life.

Being someone who doesn't post all that much, I've always found people (except for the occasional pillock that crops up) to be friendly, accepting and helpful both on the boards and at the occasional meetup and psycrets meet I've been to.

Trust me, there are far far worse places out there in forum land.

people think they can say what they want on forums - not so...

everything posted acts as a record, anyone can find it - the truth will out...

think of forums as a private members club...if you dont like the rules, dont join, dont drink and dont socialise there...

its weird, forums do strange things to some peoples personalities - good and bad...

to the original poster - you'll often find yourself wanting to leave certain forums at different times...please do so, give yourself a break - these places can become habit forming - and you end up spending time on here, rather than practicing or performing...

you can learn, share and even make friends that exist in reality, but always remember that its you who uses the forum, and not the other way round...

7 years now I have been a member and not once have I felt it to be cliquey here. It's always been a friendly place and much friendlier than say the cafe or bunny boards. I didn't last long on those boards at all.

Here it is always welcoming, well thought out questions are answered comprehensively and you only see people rounding on someone when they are exposing or after exposure.

I can disappear for ages at a time and come back to find it is still warm and welcoming.

I think Mandrake has a lot to do with the atmosphere. Some of the most sensible moderating I have seen without being too heavy handed. He lets people have their say and knows when to stop things before they get out of hand. The magic cafe could take lessons from him.

And I still don't know who the hell he is!

mark lewis wrote:I think Mandrake has a lot to do with the atmosphere. Some of the most sensible moderating I have seen without being too heavy handed. He lets people have their say and knows when to stop things before they get out of hand. The magic cafe could take lessons from him.

And I still don't know who the hell he is!

I'll second that thought... with one exception...the cafe will never listen to anyone but their own high Mullet... that all knowing, locked in the 70's fool that started it all.

Mandrake along with one or two others here, really are what makes TM a genuine sense of "home"... as far as Magicians forums are concerned, this is one of the few that ever gave me that feeling, which is one big reason why I stick around and still contribute.

IAIN wrote:to the original poster - you'll often find yourself wanting to leave certain forums at different times

I'm fine thanks Iain.

What spurred this thought was actually a thread where someone new was looking for some information but became agitated and decided to leave. Re-reading it though I think the way they phrased their posts could have been better and whether intentional or otherwise appeared rude.

As for the habit forming, could not agree more. I post a lot less now than when I first joined and get much more reading and practice in as a result!

The keen-eyed will note a certain amount of editing has been carried out - in one case for the second time today - and further posts in similar vein will not make for a happy TM. Please understand that, as per the rules and regs, personal attacks and jibes will not be tolerated, I’d like to think we're more mature than that... or should be .