I think the main difference between close friends and being a clique is the exclusiveness of the friendship. A group of friends provides no threat really to those around it because they happily accept other friends into their group. Cliques tend to exclude people and have a criteria for allowing people to join their group.

I have been involved in differnent groups and communities over the years and it is normal for people to become close to a couple of friends but I don't necessarily think that makes them a clique, it just makes them close friends. I can understand that some people feel left behind when others become close friends but I don't think there is really any ill intention there to leave others out.

On BB, I really don't see that there are groups that have any intention of being exclusive and intentionally leaving people out. I have found most people here to be quite accepting and open. I think in these kinds of situations if I feel left out, I try and let people know that I want to be involved and I can't recall a single bad experience with telling people that I would like to be a part of something. It usually leads to being included and it is a great feeling. I have encountered cliques that are exclusive groups in my life and honestly, I don't want to be a part of them. I have no desire to be that exclusive and shut myself off from the rest of the world. I find they are usually nasty too which is how they maintain their exclusiveness - which I suppose is the 'mean girls' mentality.

I don't think that cliques come into existence just to throw mud at someone else either. Usually if there are lots of people ganging up on someone else in a community such as this, I find it is because they all have a common dislike, not a mutual friendship (also because it is often a random collection of people). That kind of thing is also bullying and I think it is awful to watch no matter what I think of the person being bullied. Bullying is completely unacceptable but I think the mods do a great job staying on top of it here. If this was like a lot of other internet chat pages, where bullying was accepted or a blind eye was turned, I don't think I would bother coming back.

I find most disagreements - whether they are here, on FB or spoken words between people - follow a fairly similar sort of pattern. I love this link about a FB argument and as much as it is trying to be comical, I actually think it is pretty insightful - "An Honest Facebook Political Argument" by Chase Mitchell on CollegeHumor If you have a few mins, I reckon it is worth a read.