Maybe opening up a can of worms here, but still figuring out who's who on this board as I am new. I still see people ignored, not so much a question like 'what's to do in Portland', but maybe they will comment on a trip report but the o.p. ignores them, doesn't answer. Or they mention a special occasion or happening in their lives, and nobody congratulates them, and so on.

Is it my imagination or are a lot of posters cliquish? I wouldn't mention my birthday here for fear of being totally ignored, and then feel foolish for even mentioning it at all. Guess it shouldn't matter on a travel board, of course, but a lot of people do chat to each other about 'stuff'.

A question: if for some reason you ignore a poster, what is your reason usually? Like real life, some will always be the "in' crowd. As a psychology major, I'm just interested in these things.

In my opinion, you have to be creative with your title. If you're first post doesn't work, rephrase your title. I once posted something relating to motion sickness. I got a TON of replies. Then, I've posted several other times and got no responses. It's the luck of the draw to some extent. But, truth be know, a catchy title will always work! Or, pick a topic people can relate to!

It is indeed very cliqe-y (sp). Leave the personal stuff out and you'll be fine.

It's very much like high-school or the catty women at the office.

Keep it travel related and you should get your questions answered.

I have no use here other than travel related inquires and an occasional laugh.

Happy Travels!

To me Leelani you seem insecure and a little bit paranoid.

This is a travel forum so why would you worry about someone ignoring your birthday if you mentioned it. If this was "The Birthday Forum" them you might have a reasonable issue.

If I ignore a post here on Fodor's, it is usually (except in this case I guess) because it either has nothing to do with travel or I have never been to the location mentioned so I have nothing to offer.

The question is; why did I bother to respond to this post. Probably just to pick on you Leelani.

I'm just funnin' ya so please, don't freak out.

You'll gradually see that a clique posts on weekends and late at night, so it's easy to figure out who travels and thus to whom you ought to address your travel-related questions. Most of them apparently don't travel much.

The only posts I ignore are ones that I have no information about.

For example: I don't comment on Road To Hana questions or Alaska questions but I can give travel industry inside knowledge on airfare to Alaska and Hawaii.

Leelani, sometimes it has to do with what time you post. For example your post might get buried and remain unanswered if posted after midnight when many of us are getting our zzz's. By morning other posts may have relegated yours down lower and the people who could help you may not have noticed it. In that case, you can top it to bring it to the fore again. Or, as mlarson recommended, retitle and repost it.

As was mentioned earlier, personal posts are not relevent here, since it is a travel forum.

I hvae to agree with Peter, you might be reading too much into this.

Like many others, I don't discriminate against specific posters, but against posting styles -- like vague headers, or requests for information that's better gotten elsewhere (like the hours or admission fees for a museum). I also won't answer questions that indicate that the poster hasn't done any basic research first.

IMHO it's inappropriate to mention birthdays etc. on a board like this that moves so quickly that irrelevant posts and chat would quickly bury the relevant ones.

I reply to posts that deal with subjects I have experience with. If the title is too vague, I might not even open it because I don't know what the post is going to be about and usually it's about Hawaii anyway

Non-travel related posts, I might answer, but I might not. Posts about birthdays, new pets, and so forth - who cares? We all know plenty of people IRL who have these events in their lives. We come here to talk about travel.

Goodness, perpective, please. For an unimporttant travel site, people follow an entire life plan to guide their interaction. A system of do's and don't do's! How amazing.

This forum is cliquish because it is dominated by by women sitting around the house all day looking for someway to spend "hubby's" money. They have no other social life aside from this pathetic forum. They come here looking for advice to their dysfunctional lives when they should comtact DR. Phil.

I mostly answer the ?'s I know the answer to when I'm around. But when I see the same question about Hawaai for the 100th time I either ignore it or answer depending on how chatty I'm feeling.
In general if someone mentions a special occasion I am sure to give congrats. To me it has nothing to do with the "in" crowd, whoever that is, who knows what they look like in real life(not that it makes any difference). I try to answer posts from experience alone and many posters have been here for several years so of course posters do start to bond with familiar names.
But the repitition of the same names (myself included) can get boring- I like lots of posts from many different readers. But with registration a lot of the board's spontinaity has left.

And then there's always the mean spirited posters that do no traveling whatsoever and come here for the sole purpose of trying to upset people that do travel because they are jealous, never offering one piece of useful information to anyone.

I've visited more countries in one week than you have in your whole life,wifey. Don't blow smoke up your own arse,no one is jealous of you.

"Message: This forum is cliquish because it is dominated by by women sitting around the house all day looking for someway to spend "hubby's" money. They have no other social life aside from this pathetic forum. They come here looking for advice to their dysfunctional lives when they should comtact DR. Phil."

I think you may have revealed a little too much about yourself gojack.
What did Dr. Phil suggest as s solution to your dysfunctional life?

That's really interresting gojacks considering you have never posted one helpful answer to anyone here. Nor do you know anthing about me or where I've traveled to. I'm sorry you are such a mean person and hope one day you can make peace with with people that are only offering kindness and positive experience.

...LOL, gojacks, careful, careful, refreshing, but you'll win no popularity contests here! I'd imagine some posters are doing a slow burn, you hit a bit too close to home, if I had to guess!

travelinwifey, I admire your sincerity, but maybe you're taking this chat room a bit too seriously.

Dr. Phil has advised me to spend more time harassing posters on this forum. Its fun, I have to admit.

Gojacks is a troll on these boards (a male without a job, I fear since he is here all day). He has been downright nasty to me several times before, that is all he has to offer.

I don't take these boards seriously at all since most people are kind, unlike the above mentioned. I regret that I even let my temper get to me and responded to the unnamed. Won't happen again

Hey gojacks, out of curiousity, how do you know it isn't the women on this board with the money?

Most women I know out earn their husbands. No kidding.