Chat room clique....

I have been in my fair share of chat rooms....99% of them G-rated ;o).  My favorites are the game chats in the AOL Parenting section.  It's great to relax in the evening with a fun game, and lighthearted chat.  However, trying to break into the regular "mom" chatrooms is not as easy as one would think.  Usually, I begin by entering and quietly watching.  Most of the time, the chat is already going full steam so no one notices.  After acclimating myself to the conversations that are going on, I decide to say "hi".  Nothing.  The chat continues and I wait.  Someone new comes in and I am the first to give a "hi" to them....nothing.  Invariably, they are already a part of the "parent clique" and get (((((hugs))))) from everyone else. So, I wait and read some more.  Okay!  They are talking about a subject I am familiar with.  I come up with a witty remark, wait for juuussst the right moment and BAM!  Hit send.  Nothing.  What exactly is it that one must do to break into these cliques?  Perhaps I need to be on for hours at a time. Maybe I need to be more forthcoming with my hugs. (I'm just not a hugger.)  How is it that while searching for a community that embraces stay at home mom's, I am rejected?  I find that this is a commonality in most of the chat rooms I visit.  In my old transatlantic chat, you knew who the "leaders" were. They were the ones that told the worst jokes, yet got the most LOL's.  I tried the 30's chats, only to find that those are basically for people looking for, well, encounters.  There was only one chat room where I was accepted and felt like a friend from the beginning.....and that was a Canadian chat.  Chatrooms are sort of like being in high school again.  The "popular" people take over, with the lesser known chatters left on their own, to live vicariously.  And not unlike high school, as you are sitting there, waiting to be noticed, the one and only pervert surfer decides to talk to you.  I tell you, you just can't win!