Quote Originally Posted by sirdaniel1975 View Post
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But, unfortunately we are not a clan.. because there is no chief or appointed commander in a chief's absence. Although I do suppose we are a club of sorts, a free one that is. There have been folks that have had "X marks" tents at highland games and such.
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The Scottish clans no longer exist, of course, and haven't for over 250 years. New ones are not "invented" and given Lord Lyon's seal of approval.

I agree with you. Sometimes in the cyberworld it becomes difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality.


Those of us who have grown up in cultures, like the American South, where extended, biological families are still important, have no trouble distinguishing between something one is born into and lives in throughout one's life, and something whose members are self-selected based passing affinities. The dynamics are totally different.

In a clan the bonds were formed by birth and blood, and lasted until death. One knows the others in it since childhood, and people take up for each other through thick and thin, whether they are respected, affluent members of their community or whether they are imprisoned criminals. They are always family, nothing ever changes that, nor is it possible for anything to change that.

On an internet bulletin board on the other hand, posters come and go. No one has been here more than a few years at most. Many will not be here a few years from now. The majority of us have never met in real life, and those who have, do not see each other often. Posters can be excluded by moderators on the basis of an extensive list of rules, or like Dreadbelly, be made to feel as if they are not welcome, and leave.

It's more like a society or club, like the St Andrew's or Caledonian societies, and based on a common, chosen interest.