Question for the resident Weres (II)

Maybe it's part of the whole "Were" thing... maybe it's being empathic... maybe it's paranoia... don't know. Not sure if it matters either.

I suppose the reason why I posed this question in the first place is because I've always had the feeling that most of what are called "packs" have felt like cliques to me... especially online. From unexplained inside jokes, to words only they understand, to the "silent treatment", to gossip, to back stabbing... it is rather adolescent.

Then, pack dynamics are often similar. "Outsiders" are often growled at... hierarchies are set and when you show up challenging them, you get your ass bit. Sometimes members of one pack wander off and find a new pack. Sometimes they start one of their own. Sometimes members are chased off. Pissing on trees attempting to expand one's territory is normal.

So, why is it that these "packs" feel like cliques to me?

I guess I'm just trying to put my finger on it.