Well, I'm a newbie here (thanks to Jed whom I actually did meet), and consequently my observations are formed on the basis of my newness. I thought it was kind of "cliquey" too, when I first started. I felt like a voyeur, or a snoop reading other people's mail, but then I noticed that there are groups of people who share interests in music, sailing, baseball (Hi Rick! I'm a Red Sox fan!) and they behave like close friends. And the others seem to be really good casual acquaintances. I also noted during "the unpleasantness" folks taking both sides - "He's an asshole, get rid of him." and others saying, "He may be an asshole, but he's OUR asshole." Just like a real family squabble, or an argument between close friends. The two I find myself closest to in outlook, humor and age, are Catspaw and Kendall, and they have become my heroes, and the ones I would most like to emasculate. All the best. Seamus