Im not referring to clique's sticking to certain sports , rather names they are familiar with across the street. The traffic here has easily doubled since the onset of 2023 , and it is the very same groups of individuals that clung together there and found a new playground to do the same. It is a closed door scenario where, as you stated , the trolls arent as prominent here. To have 3,000 views on a thread and have the usual BOL, Gl from moderators like Genie , Wager, JJ and yourself ( only a matter of time that they acknowledge you in that capacity ) is futile. Again , i have nothing but respect for you and your constant input in my threads, but the term relationship infers a two way street. Supporting other posters threads to merely pamper an over zealous ego has zero to do with 2 way interaction.Relative to the old place a few years ago, the traffic is much lower. Of couse, as a relatively new forum, it takes time to build up. Hoping football season picks things up.
As far as cliques, people probably trend to areas of the forum they are most comfortable in. Not many are willing to commit to posting their plays and records or stick their neck out with a lot of sharing of info. Many are gun shy out of fear of being hammered by some posters when they're wrong. I don't think that occurs as much here as it did across the street in the old days.
As Howard Cossell always said " Tell it like it is ", and thats my 2 cents worth.
Time to find a site with an " open minded " group of individuals who are all looking for a common goal ..... TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE ON A WAGER through the process of sharing , thoughts , information etc. I have seen it play out many years ago at Covers and hope to find it again