I'm not a "popular" member or a "power user" or part of a group so I'm not sure how much my contribution is worth. But I've been following this thread a while now and feel like a creep for lurking and not contributing.
I don't find group threads intimidating, just tiring. I tend not to post in threads with more than a couple of pages worth of replies because (to be perfectly honest) I can't be arsed scrolling through pages and pages of posts to gain the gist of what the thread is about/where the conversation has gone from etc. I also assume (more with threads in GA but to some extent other more "support" group threads) that the thread has become more directed to the frequent members of said thread, rather than a place for newcomers to parade in with their ideas or problems. That's just a general assumption and not something I can base on fact. I can see how they are intimidating to some people, especially if you are in a delicate state. I think when you are in a group and know the people it is very hard to see that group as anything but supportive and lovely (which I'm sure everyone in them is) but from an outside perspective the group appears tight-knit and threatening. You upset one, you upset them all sort of thing? And for many people RYL is somewhere that they use as a safe environment and that threat of ostracisation is very upsetting. It's not a problem that should be set down entirely at the groups door, I think it's a problem with the assumptions made about these groups as well as perhaps some actions (not all) that reinforce these assumptions (such as the in-jokes and such.)
However, I don't feel these things detract from my experience on RYL. I don't see group threads pushing support threads off the boards but I think perhaps it can become upsetting for people who have posted (especially in support boards) where a group thread such as The Uni one continually get updated and replied to where their thread posted hours ago has no replies. However, this isn't something I have noticed recently.
I guess I really didn't have a lot to say....
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