An awful lot of nastiness these days, don’t you think?

I really don’t believe there are cliques whywhy which ones are you thinking of?
Some posters may agree with another poster’s views, this does not make a clique.
Every so often posters claim they are being ‘ignored’, it really doesn’t make any sense.
If somebody agrees with you and feels moved to say so then they will, others agree with you but don’t actually say so.
What does it matter.

I think that people are anxious at the moment because of the pandemic and that is causing some people to have a shorter fuse than normal, particularly if another poster says something that increases that anxiety .
Having said that, there are periodically threads such as this one, that appeal for less contentious disagreements.
Some people are more affected by differences of opinion and react very strongly when another poster does not agree with how they see things, or has different priorities to their own. That in turn makes them more anxious, and more likely to snap at another poster.

I must lead a sheltered life because I haven't noticed any nasty threads.

I don't read as many as I used to because I keep myself very busy if I can so maybe I'm only looking at the nice ones.

Lemongrove - thank you for pointing that out but there are cliques on certain thread.

Oh, come on girls there're plenty of non-nasty threads to post on, and they are the majority.

The rough & tumble political ones are easily avoided if you're of a delicate disposition.

I agree too. I haven't been on GN as much as I used to be and don't post nearly as often as I used too. There's always been a degree of unpleasantness from time to time but IMO it's getting worse and I've noticed that there are GN's I used to see post quite often, who rarely do so now, if at all.

Well, have to say that I am surprised things aren’t worse on GN considering what’s happening everywhere and people are unhappy/ worried/ bored / fed up generally.

whywhywhy posters don’t often ‘recognise’ another poster’s comments, this doesn’t mean they don’t read it, or agree with it.

I’m usually ignored but I seem to be out of step with a lot of the more fervent posters and would appear to be deemed silly or simple.
I try hard now not to express an opinion that might be viewed as contentious.
Such a shame.
I feel that newcomers are not very welcome unless they fit into a certain box.

Same here. It's such a shame as proper debate can be so interesting - and informative. Even if it doesn't result in a change of mind, it can often lead to us seeing matters from a different viewpoint.

I post less and less as I either get my head bitten off or ignored totally. There is a certain clique with some threads and I could streak naked across them and nobody would notice me so I have stopped posting on them. They just do not “see” me or comment on about me, ever.

I’ve noticed only certain people get criticism even if their points of view are similar to others. I don’t think it will stop me as that would be giving in to the bully’s which I despise. I am happy to see other points of view as long as it’s not one trying to belittle the poster which is a very common occurrence on gransnet.

This is one reason why I am a lurker on Good Morning and am rarely off soop's kitchen.

It was only fairly recently I was hauled over the coals about something so simple it really was not worth bothering about so now I stay clear.

I did break that promise a couple of days ago because the advice being given to a poster would/could have harmed her physically so I could not allow my professional knowledge to remain stagnant.

Must admit I've become more of a lurker/stroller now

I rarely post or read threads now

I totally agree Daddima.I have been put off posting too Marydoll and I’m sure we aren’t the only ones.

Daddima, I totally agree. Someone starts a thread and if some posters politely disagree, they are accused of being nasty.
It certainly puts me off posting. I find it easier to withdraw, rather than try defend myself.