There have been many concepts raised in this thread I play in the SCA, i have also been in reenactment, Rolelaying and done the Goth life style All have a core of people who believe and keep them afloat All have people that TRULY believe and TRULY hate them Once a discussion starts you get the hackneyed stories which "people know to be true" I found that I play SCA still as I can find my niche and plug it. If people join my band waggon then i'm off and running. Most people in these groups will defend their hobby while opening themselves and the hobby to continual scrutiny. Many people in these groups have a hard time getting past the outer shell to the yummy inner as most people that decide to continue have had to go through the process of explaining what they do to others The Ren faire, SCA and the Live roleplayers come from different basic viewpoints but many people cross over sometime quietly. I find that people avoid historical reenactors due to the problems getting to the speed to play at their leve, The Ren faires due to the percieved commercial level presentation. The SCA for their cane sword, The Live Roleplayers for their fantasy content I agree that all of these are superficial But wasnt an earlier comment taht people only knew each other by their society names, rather than the names they use in the society we call real life? In All these groups there are people doing serious work and have a true dedication to their life style but there are many more that are occasional players and drop ins If you have a bad experience with them sometimes its the culture some times its the person sometimes its the timing or it can even be the other newcomer.