Hi lonehitchhiker
I echo all those who say give it a chance, join in the chat and/or events and you'll soon realise it's not cliquey really, just folk know each other from meeting in real-time.
I've been a member almost since the beginning and I still don't fit in
lol
BTW (= By The Way) the Karma score does NOT increase if someone justs puts 'LOL' or a smiley. Matt has already stated that.
As for 'only getting a hi if your karma is low' I have no idea what that is about.
I suggest you, and those who said it to you, read the Karma rating page.
http://www.bikermatch.co.uk/sites/bm/misc/...asp
karma is just an indication of your activity on the site, the more karma you have just means you use the facilities (no I don't mean the loo) more than others, and/or you send and receive nods and PMs more than others. it's nothing sinister or cliquey just Matt's idea of a bit of competitive fun. If you pay for the use of something it makes sense to use it, yea?
Most newbies, those who introduce themselves on the forum, will be given a warm welcome by everyone who uses the forum. We can't welcome those who don't let us know they are there.
I hope you start to enjoy your time with us soon.
ATB
Sandi
P S (this comment to all) Don't worry about spelling if we don't understand what you've typed we can ask you, it's not a school test, we can't all be perfect. Those of you who are perfect will just have to learn a bit of tolerance