Please understand that clique isn't the same word as click.
I get it, in your state's accent it is but the correct way to say it (even in an American accent) is 'cleek'. A Clique is not what we have here but it IS what was on DDO. What we have here is called an oligarchy and unlike a clique, an oligarchy doesn't pretend to be democratic, it is openly dictatorial and that allows the leaders to not have to pander to particular groups more than others (based on voting influence) but rather to equally pander to all (so as to avoid any one group being so furious they topple the regime by garnering resentment in other groups).
This is the inverse of clique-mentality because you can join the group in power given enough time and effort. Virtuoso and Tejretics are hardly 'popular' or socially suave members, they just worked to impress the right people in the right ways. You can even become a mod, I guarantee it, just be ready to put a lot of time into impressing others.
The only reason I won't become a mod is that I am a person who'd sooner ban everyone than cower to a certain group and that's always gonna be my mentality. I'm not really an 'alpha' as such, I'm a sigma... A dominant persona who works around the power scheme, not within it. The inverse of me is the Gamma (who conforms as an end in itself).