peaceatlast and Mildred, I think the experience of not being replied to individually is across the board, exactly as someone said, because there are so many people posting. It is impossible to reply to everyone and it isn't meant personally. If you go into the 'Soop's kitchen' thread, you will find that Soop replies personally to everyone, bless her. Don't know how she manages the keep track.
Many a time I have been the last to post on a thread, just because everyone has said all they want to. Nothing unpleasant is meant by it, I don't take it like that anyway.
Re: cliques, I don't see myself as part of a clique just the community as a whole. You can do 1:1 contact by PM if you want that. Personally, I have learnt a lot from a range of replies to various situations and problems without getting too involved.
Sad that you feel GN isn't for you, but hope you find what you need in some other form of social media.