Inevitably there is a core group of people who know each other well, either because they have been on the Forum longest and/or they take part in the publically advertised Forum social events. Those newer people that attend the social events find them inclusive and welcoming e.g the very new people came to the curry club a few days ago and had good time - see the thread. Once people know each other and have a mutual understanding it is not surprising that they provide mutual support. There have been two occasions recently when members that I know have been unfairly criticised by people who simply do not know them, I defended my friends; whats wrong with that? The "Gang" are simply those people that have taken the time to get to know each other, the "Gang" is constantly growing in size. Take some time and get to know people, if you wish to do so. Of course there are people who chose to be outside the core group because this allows them to toss the occasional grenade just to create an explosion. Thats fine, just dont whinge when you get grenades thrown back