A clique, as Rick pointed out, is a group that seeks to include only whom they want and will exclude all others. We do not have cliques here. What we have is a variant on the opposite. We have people who seek to stop others from having free discussion with anyone who chooses to take part. We also have people who seek to rename spirited discussion to alienating others. The facts are that in any kind of human interaction there will be those that feel alienated. When one looks and doesn't see anyone trying to exclude others, then the alienation is probably caused by the insecurities of, or the different values of the person feeling the alienation. Bottom line here? Mudcat is a community that doesn't seek to exclude anyone. It is what it is. If you like what it is, or want to be a part of the discussion/debate, then fair enough. If you don't think it is for you, then you should look for a place that suits your needs. There is nothing exclusionary about that statement, but someone will certainly try to make it into something.

All the best,

Mick