I like that because I can then look at other forums to get a feel for what’s going on in their area.
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I for one feel isolated in debates, it feels like everyone on here is of similar age and therefore for some reason has the same mentality. I disagree with 99% of the topics on here but it’s good for a laugh every now and again
Sorry, I should have said live or work or likes to visit.
I’m intrigued. What age bracket do you think everyone is in on here?
I’m about to go cycling round Richmond Park but this would be a great time for a reply-as-new-topic and a poll (click the cog in the editor window and click “Build Poll”).
I’ll let someone else take the baton 
Yes, let’s open a poll. I’m guessing the majority is in their 30s or 40s.
lol that’s a wide range
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I know, 20 years is quite large, so would be saying middle aged people. let’s say 35-45?
Not at all. The mere blinking of an eye, from my perspective.
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No fallouts or hard feelings from my side Chris & I also class you as a friend, but as the original poll probably came about after some posts by me it’s probably best & fair I don’t get a vote on this
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Only verified members can view the lounge category.
sigh
I wish.
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I’d say no, it’s not too cliquey at all.
Frankly, like ‘real life’, people can choose to chat and get involved in the banter, or they can choose to observe and (hopefully) enjoy that too.
Yes I definitely see some more familiar chat amongst the regulars here, and it seems like there’s some well formed friendships, but I don’t see how that’s cliquey. To be cliquey would be to make others feel unwelcome… But I’ve never seen someone trying to get involved and being shunned in any way.
Whether or not there’s a particular age range or demographic, that’s not really something that bothers me, it’s just another network of people that might be likeminded and I’m interested to hear the views of as a collective anyway. And again, as in real life, if you feel you’re an ‘outsider’ in terms of age or whatever, all the more reason to get stuck in and open the debate with a different view on the topic… that’s how we broaden our lives isn’t it?
The ONLY thing that I find a bit irksome is the regular discussion about whether something should move to politicos… To be fair, I haven’t fully understood what it means, but if it’s generally that we should avoid making threads too heated and political, I find that sometimes puts me off posting, as I don’t want to be told off… but maybe that’s the school kid in me
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This forum is more alive than the other place and isn’t full of trolls or those looking for a wisecrack as on EDF.
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All forums feel cliquey, this is in their nature and not a criticism of anyone, but this one is very welcoming to my mind. I am sure its good effects operate as much via its many lurkers as via those who participate.
Other special-interest forums I use have an ‘off-topic’ category which people can choose to ignore/opt out of, and I think we need one. It’s a different function to ‘the Lounge’ and should not require the same level of qualification in order to post to it. Favourite movies etc belong there.
‘Verification’ is an unfortunate and rather Orwellian term but I completely support its intentions – I am sure this is a more civilised place because of it.
Dick (aged 64 & 5/6)
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Thanks Dick
I like this idea. What do others think?
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That sounds like a good idea from my perspective.
In terms of cliquey, there is a certain amount of that but no more than you can find in regular social circles and people do put in an effort to try to include non-regular posters as well. Overall I don’t find it off-putting.
Also I do recommend people to go to the meet-ups as they make you feel more included on the forum afterwards and also meet a great bunch of people.
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It may be time to review the purpose of the Lounge, which was set up in the early days of the forum. I think the idea then was to have a safe space from potential trolls and spam - correct me if I’m wrong, Chris.
I like the idea of morphing the Lounge into an opt-in Anything Goes / Off Topic section. The reason I suggest opt-in is because of how the landing page here works. Rather than having sections we have a ‘feed’ style home page. I think we would want non-members browsing to see SE23 related topics on the home page and not random musings of regular members.
But having a place for random musings does seem like a good idea. Pedants Corner, for example, is entirely off-topic and would fit in nicely with a new section.
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I think the feed system works well and gives you the most active at the top which generally is there for a reason. These are the posts that people are passionate about whether serious or trivial. I think the forum being cliquey is neither good nor bad but other forums do show the last poster which allows you to skip threads that you sense may not be to your liking.