[quote=@Sierra]
Human beings are human beings. We're evolved to compete for survival. For as long as humans have interacted with other humans with any physical/cultural differences, they've tried to kill each other. The anonymity of the Internet lowers the power of those behaviors but also effectively negates the risks. Ergo the problem is inherent and systemic to humans. It has existed since the creation of intelligent life and it will last until the heat death of the universe.
[/quote]

I would put forth the idea of society as a counter argument. The greatest advances in mankind's history are the accomplishments of the many, not the one. While yes we are a competitive and combatant species, it's only by working together we ever have made progress or progression. Approaching a problem with the above attitude is accepting the issue and a reluctance to work towards fixing it, it's adding to the problem instead of being a solution.

[quote=@Inkarnate]
People hold grudges, people let their opinions influence others (which can lead to ostracization), and generally, it’s kind of a stonewall issue – especially so when people just don’t let things be and move on. Internet interactions don’t often work out as it does in everyone’s day-to-day life.[/quote] 

The Guild is a large place and while yes, certain groups do seem to have the majority of say over what happens within certain RP genres, I don't think total ostracization is possible. If there's one group of people who have ostracized you, then there's bound to be another that will accept you even if it takes some time to find them. If there's a repeated pattern of ostracization, then the statistics would say you're the common denominator in which case it isn't fair to throw the blame elsewhere when it might be time to re-examine yourself. 

[quote=@Inkarnate]Honestly, as much as I'd like a great "reset" it's probably an impossibility.[/quote]

On the internet, a reset is a lot easier than in real life. A new user account, a new aesthetic, etc. Though I guess that's arguably cheating since you're skirting around the underlying issues by pretending to be somebody else. I guess the real challenge here is not how to 'end cliques' or how to break into new ones, but how can we repair bridges and allow ourselves to be seen for who we are instead of who people say we are. Mods talk, GMs talk, players talk. It's impossible to escape a reputation of some kind, so the best step forward would be to put the onus on yourself to be the difference instead of waiting for everyone else to make the change first.