Social Hierarchies

[Redemption]

[size=1]I'm not sure whether this will cause a stir with the recent thread in the Suggestions forum or not, but here goes.

I've been on this site for about 2 years now and I've seen a lot of things change around here. When I was a newbie, I was very intimidated by the posting standards of this place. I also realised that there were some sort of social hierarchy to this site. As I stayed longer, I saw these social groups more and more closely.

I pose the question to you. Do you think OB has a social ladder where there is a 'top' group and other groups? Are some users categorised because of where they post most often?[/size]

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='Dare][size=1']I pose the question to you. Do you think OB has a social ladder where there is a 'top' group and other groups? Are some users categorised because of where they post most often?[/size][/quote]

[color=crimson]Perhaps. What does it matter if there is? I don't see any exclusivity being given to anyone, no one is benefiting from things that others are not. The only people that are [i]really[/i] treated different are people who arrive and post like little twits all over the place.[/color]

[Redemption]

[quote name='DeathKnight][color=crimson']Perhaps. What does it matter if there is? I don't see any exclusivity being given to anyone, no one is benefiting from things that others are not.[/color][/quote]

[size=1]I am aware of that. I was just wondering if anyone, particularly new users, felt that there are groups in OB.

I was told, before I entered university, that there was no social hierarchy there, but after experiencing a year of it, I know well that there are such things. I was curious to know if this situation was applied to the internet as well, forums specifically.[/size]

[Guest D. Resurrected]

Yes there is definetly one.For example I used to post a bunch in the anime area but now I post in the loung.My social group has shifted.

But this is not to say that I dont talk to poeple from the anime area.So now that I think about it.what are the boundrys to define it as a group?

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='Dare][size=1']I am aware of that. I was just wondering if anyone, particularly new users, felt that there are groups in OB.[/size][/quote]

[color=crimson]I think so. It might be inevitable that as soon as you get a large enough community some sort of ladder forms. How long you've been here seems to be a common division amongst people. The oldbies, the newbies. That kind of thing.[/color]

[Redemption]

[quote name='D. Resurrected']What are the boundrys to define it as a group?[/quote]

[size=1]Well, it could be anything. As you stated, [b]D. Resurrected[/b], it could be grouped by which forum you post in the most often. Also as [b]DeathKnight[/b] states, it could be by how long you've been here.

I started this thread to hear any concerns held by new users (and regular users if they wish), if they feel that they're singled out.

When I first started, I felt that it was going to be hard getting into the community. So I PMed a lot of people who were online (yes... I was one of those types of newbies). I had never been on a boards-type of site before, so I was completely lost, and that was the first thing I could think of to make new friends.[/size]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#af992f][SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS][quote name='Dare][size=1'] So I PMed a lot of people who were online (yes... I was one of those types of newbies).[/size][/quote]
Ah, I remeber these, they are actually rather intresting, I think one time one asked me to help them with something that was 100% not anywhere near associated with the OB.

More or less though, if I was to say that the OB did have a social ladder and I had to put myself somewhere on there, I really have not clue where I wouild go. Even though it feels like it has been forever for me I am yet to even been here for a year. I guess if I had to say so I am on the younger side of the average ages of those people seen on the OB. So yeah, I just draw up question marks on where I would go on a social ladder on the OB, so in saying that I am willing to say there isnt. (Even though there kinda is, the thread in the Suggestions & Feedback forum kinda proved that.)

The only real kind of a ladder thing I can imagine though is like what Deathknight said in it being older and younger members. Kinda like a school for example, the people just going in and starting the school. Kind of look up to/respect/feel intimidated by those who are in the final grades of the school.

The one thing that I have seemed to notice though, is that when most of the new members join the OB, they tend to automaticly think of it as just the same kind of form where thay can just say "OMG I LYKE LUVS HIM!" on some kind of a topic somewhere and think its alright. Then there are the others who have been here for a while and see this and automaticly say somewhere, somehow in their minds. "There goes another newbie" just because they didn't read the rules or that kind of stuff.

Just to say, OB can be like a stuffed monster, even though it looks scary on the outside, its still all warm and cuddly on the inside. (bad comparison)[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Cat]

[size=2][color=purple]I feel that there is some ladder in OB. I don't really care if you are a new member of old it what you post. I really don't know where I am. I think I might be in the new still. I have been on OB for like a year and half. I do how ever get mad some times at the new members when they post stuff like "[/color][/size][font=Comic Sans MS][size=1][color=#af992f][font=Tahoma][size=2][color=purple]OMG I LYKE LUVS HIM!". But the new members then learn what OB asks of them and they become good members of OB.[/color][/size][/font][/color][/size][/font]

[Delta]

[COLOR=#656446][SIZE=1][quote name='Dare][size=1']Do you think OB has a social ladder where there is a 'top' group and other groups?[/size][/quote]Yes, but not [i]a[/i] top group; it's more like top [i]groups[/i] to me. They're okay with me but I do get offended whenever their asinine affairs (iow, SPAM or OOT's) drown out posts with sense and substance. It's like one will post this and then immediately gets followed up with an inside joke and another 'til one actually has to go back a few pages to remember what the thread really was about. Precious waste of Internet time. Especially when I take the intarwebs srsly. Tut tut tut.

(Well, that probably was off-topic. Sorry for ranting in your thread, Dare. I really am glad you put something like this up. :3)[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]I think you do end up getting a hierarchy in the different forums, especially when one has been around for a while. Seeing as I frequent the arena most, I'll use an example from there:

People know for a fact who the best writers are. You have Gavin, DeathKnight, Corey and Dragon Warrior, to name a few, who will always have a flock of people coming to their roleplays because even before one opens the thread, you know that it's going to be good. I think this means that those people garner more respect, which puts them higher up on the ladder, if you will. People lower down like myself look up to them and see them as something to aspire to, which I guess puts us in different groups. However, my 'social' group includes quite a few of the people who I respect, so I guess the same doesn't always follow off the 'Boards. You tend to hang around with people you're comfortable with, though. I guess that's why people in the art studio will talk more with each other, and Arena Babies like myself will talk with other writers.

Sorry if that sounded confusing, my brain has been mangled by a Religious Studies exam. =/[/SIZE]

[Sandy]

There are definitely different cliques here - as said, the "Complaint" thread proves it.

If I may comment on the oldies - newbies division, I don't think it's that straightforward. I mean, I've been an active member here for four years, so in theory I'd be an old member, but then there are the "ancient" members like James and Sara, who've been here since the beginning. They aren't as intimidating to me as they were when I was a newbie, but in my mind I still can't seem to be able to lift myself up to their level, no matter in how good terms I am with them.

I guess it's just my own thing, though. It's my ideal that we could be one big [I]happy[/I] family here, but unfortunately we seem to be just a one big family.

[Redemption]

[quote name='Delta][COLOR=#656446][SIZE=1]They're okay with me but I do get offended whenever their asinine affairs (iow, SPAM or OOT's) drown out posts with sense and substance. It's like one will post this and then immediately gets followed up with an inside joke and another 'til one actually has to go back a few pages to remember what the thread really was about.[/size'][/color][/quote]

[size=1]I agree with that a lot. It makes people feel like they're on the sidelines and their voices aren't heard. It's very frustrating as a member, and must be more frustrating for newer members because, maybe, they feel their opinion or what they posted wasn't taken in.[/size]

[quote name='Delta][COLOR=#656446][SIZE=1](Well, that probably was off-topic. Sorry for ranting in your thread, Dare. I really am glad you put something like this up. :3)[/SIZE'][/COLOR][/quote]

[size=1]It's all right hun. I was hoping I wasn't taking an unnecessary risk by putting this thread up and making enemies. :animeswea [/size]

[quote name='Cat14][size=1][color=Purple]I do how ever get mad some times at the new members when they post stuff like "OMG I LYKE LUVS HIM!". But the new members then learn what OB asks of them and they become good members of OB.[/size'][/color][/quote]

[size=1]Yes. Some people need to give newbies a break. The posting standard of this forum is very high and it's also ...hmm... difficult isn't the word I want to use but I can't think of a better one. It's also difficult to make friends around here because of the groups and whatnot. That's what I found when I was a newbie.[/size]

[quote name='Sandy']If I may comment on the oldies - newbies division, I don't think it's that straightforward. I mean, I've been an active member here for four years, so in theory I'd be an old member, but then there are the "ancient" members like James and Sara, who've been here since the beginning. They aren't as intimidating to me as they were when I was a newbie, but in my mind I still can't seem to be able to lift myself up to their level, no matter in how good terms I am with them.[/quote]

[size=1]I think if you ask most members, they feel the same way Sandy. I know I'm in the same boat as you. We created a rift between ourselves and others we respect because we don't see ourselves as good as them? That's not exactly how I wanted to put it but it was close enough.[/size]

[Shy]

[size=1]It's not so much a ladder when I'm on the top, and everyone else is below me. [i]Ahem.[/i]

People with similar interests tend to attract the company of one another. The anime nerds like to be with other anime nerds, as do the roleplayers, etc. There are obviously cliques on the forums, but I don't think of it as some sort of elitist, 'We're better than them,' thing.

People claim the moderators are somehow divine and as a result there are certain members who worship the ground we walk on. It's not that I don't like being worshipped (quite the contrary!) but it's the individual members who place staff on such a high pedestal. As is often the case in real life, a social ladder only exists because people create them in their heads.

The best way to make friends on this place is to be active and interesting. Having a title or being here for half a decade might seem cool, but some of the most boring people on this forum have been around for years. No matter what clique they belong to, some members are just lame. I'm looking at you, Shinmaru.

-Shy[/size]

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=slategray]Wow, if there is a ladder, I haven't been doing much climbing in the past three years. Seriously, I don't get too involved with making and contacting "buddies." I'm sort of all over the place.

But, sure. There is bound to be social groups or classes wherever there are people. Work, school, chat rooms, forums. You name it.

And that's the story.[/color][/size]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][quote name='Dare][size=1] When I was a newbie, I was very intimidated by the posting standards of this place. [/size][/QUOTE]When I first joined I wasn?t intimidated by the posting standards, I had been a member at a couple of other forums and the better posting is actually what attracted me to this site in the first place. The other forums had become boring within a very quick time since the conversations lacked much in the way of depth. At least to me, I didn?t know how much I was looking for more involvement until I found OB. Some of the other sites you could scratch the surface, but trying to expand on the topic just turned others off. [QUOTE=Dare][size=1] I also realised that there were some sort of social hierarchy to this site. As I stayed longer, I saw these social groups more and more closely.[/size][/QUOTE] On some level it?s unavoidable. I don?t think there is a set top group per se, but there are definitely groups with different interests. The standard older group and newer group, I suppose the big difference between OB and other Internet forums is that the groups or social hierarchy here isn?t exclusive towards other members. I know when I first joined I sent Panda PM?s on a regular basis and she always took the time to address any questions I had.[QUOTE=Dare][size=1]Are some users categorised because of where they post most often?[/size][/QUOTE] Actually I think someone is categorized more by how they post instead of where. Where they post just seems to be more of a way to reflect their interests instead of a way to categorize them. [QUOTE=Dare][size=1']Yes. Some people need to give newbies a break. The posting standard of this forum is very high and it's also ...hmm... difficult isn't the word I want to use but I can't think of a better one. It's also difficult to make friends around here because of the groups and whatnot. That's what I found when I was a newbie.[/size][/quote]I agree, especially since a lot of people come here from forums where poor posting is common so I honestly think it doesn?t occur to new members to check out the rules before they post. Once you?ve spent a lot of time visiting other boards like that you have to get into a different mind set altogether when you come here.

As for making friends, well I had a hard time at first, but that was primarily because I was still working as a truck driver so I was gone a lot. It?s kind of hard to be friends when you?re gone most of the time. Since I changed jobs and I?m here more, I?ve gotten to know some pretty cool people. [QUOTE=Shy][size=1]As is often the case in real life, a social ladder only exists because people create them in their heads.

The best way to make friends on this place is to be active and interesting.[/size][/QUOTE]I think that?s truer than say a 'set' social ladder here at OB. It?s more of a perceived ladder than an attitude of you can?t become part of a group or participate in something just because you haven?t been around long enough. [/COLOR]