I think that this is a matter of opinion and taste.
Many of the people who live in "foreign" countries like to associate with others from their homeland. In the Philippines you find some Brits / Americans / etc who form little cliques and some who only socialise with their fellow countrymen, whilst others adopt the opposite approach and will never socialise with other than the native population.

I can only speak of Filipino associations in the UK, and feel that they offer some contact with the Philippines plus providing some useful links for newcomers, which I would have expected to alleviate some of the problems of homesickness.

Possibly moving to the Philippines is an ideal, but one that few people can manage to achieve.


To return to the initial topic. I straed this thread with a question, rather than expressing an opinion, as I wanted to see what others think.

I am aware of the potential problems, and indeed, mentioned them in the first post.
However, from other boards / groups, it appears that only some 10% to 20% of peopel post regularly, and a moderator of several groups, I reckon that things are generally quiet until one reaches some 100-150 members, which appears to be a reasonable level.

As for off-topic posts, I think that these will always occur, exactly the same as normal conversation drifts off-topic, but it does need to be kept in check, as others have pointed out.