Writers' Groups

I have had horrible experiences with writers' groups. I don't know why. I can't begin to fathom a guess. There are so many worthwhile aspects to them and I am loathe to give them up altogether but...

Perhaps it is online writing groups. I must admit now, before you call me on it, that I have never been in an in-person group. For me, it is impossible to travel long distances and the only one around here meets in various locations (sometimes 40 minutes away). So, online groups then.

Oh, I already hear the objections. I must also say these are my experiences and I hope everyone else has had better ones.
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So, a brief history:

The first one was on an independent site where the people seemingly set it up to ridicule "bad" work and rip off the "good" work. I got out of this quickly without ever posting any of my pieces. Others weren't so lucky.

I tried a writing group on a popular social site because it had a fair amount of members and seemed very supportive but there were SO many that it turned into a "who can post the most offensive or strangest stories to get noticed" contest. It wasn't what I was looking for.

I decided to make my own. I promoted it, asked some writer acquaintances to join and posted often. No one had the interest I did at that time. It is now an abandoned project somewhere on the web.

My last failure was on a site NOT associated with writing and was more a side project of a person I know. It started off well, they all do. Soon, those with no check on their egos paraded around and put everyone else down. No, not honest critique, nasty stuff. I dislike people who act like they're the best in any field and had no tolerance for them.
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No, the purpose of this isn't to ask for recommendations. I suppose I am just done with them. I don't want to be but I have to be; at least, I have to be for now.

What is your experience with writing groups?


Ticked and Peeved,

Jennifer