a general observation...

i've always considered forums as a free space for people to park issues and ideas for public consumption... forums are like imaginary worlds where people exists anonymously thru their user id's. yet the people may not be real but many of the issues indeed are very very real and are worthy reading. these issues, and not our identities, is the center element of every forum.

People get offended by certain threads but sometimes it all depends on their intellectual maturity… some enter their emotional highways while others, go towards the more narrower streets of knowledge by trying to understand the “other side” of things... 

i've joined a certain group and i realized some members do develop a higher level of affinity with it… they then elevate their relationships by organizing social gatherings effectively forming a cult following… this somehow creates boundaries with members who simply want to remain a plain ol’ and anonymous story contributor for threads containing public and realistic issues… and not want to join parties or sportsfest for personal reasons. sometimes members talk in contexts filling the space with alienation... like in an exclusive chatroom.

my general observation, QL site is an excellent forum and perhaps the best source of relevant information for expats in Qatar!

cheers!