History Main / TerminallyExclusiveClub

* Often veterans will form groups based on who fought in a specific war (such as UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, UsefulNotes/WorldWarI or UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) or battle (e.g. the attack on Pearl Harbor, El Alamein, etc.).

* Virtually all members of an organized athletic team develop a bond that lasts a lifetime and can never quite be duplicated, the more so when that season's team achieves something memorable. However, the UrbanLegend that has arisen around the 1972 UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} Dolphins is probably unique. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball team]] went undefeated through the regular season, the playoffs and the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl -- a feat unequalled since. Now the story circulates regularly that every year since, when the last undefeated team in the league finally loses, the surviving members of the team and their legendary coach, Don Shula, gather for a champagne celebration. The truth is that apparently ''some'' members of the team did it ''once,'' without Shula present and more or less as a joke, and the legend took off from there. With Shula's passing in 2020 (preceded in death by several members of the team), perhaps the legend will start to pass as well. [[NeverLiveItDown Probably not, though.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MissionHill'', Andy and his friends are denied entry into a trendy nightclub, and decide to get back at them by opening their own nightclub. They create "The Meter Room", which is actually a literal electrical meter room, with the intention not actually letting anyone into the club but themselves. It works, and they get a huge lineup of people outside, including the snooty club owner that denied them entry. They then decide to set off a smoke bomb inside, making everyone think the club burned down. All of the people in the line who never got in treat this as a tragic loss, completely unaware that they never had a chance of getting entry in the first place.

** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-Military_Union Russian All-Military Union]] was initially restricted to White veterans of the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Civil War]].

This can have very serious consequences if this a Terminally Exclusive HeirClubForMen--in other words, the organization is a noble or royal dynasty. Male-line-only successions (which do exist) can become a major problem if you have several generations where only one son has been born--and then you have a monarch with ''no'' male heirs. This can and has resulted in a messy SuccessionCrisis.

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[[folder: Play-By-EmailRoleplaying]]

* '''The Club Is Based Around An Experience''': These could be comrades from a former war, a major disaster (such as the sinking of the Titanic), a team that pulled off something that can never be duplicated.

* Wrestling/TheBigShow may be [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} The WWE's]] last Grand Slam Champion, as some of the prerequisite belts have been retired. There are four others who may join him, but they too are aging.

* '''The Club Is Based Around A Bygone Era''' The club is made of people who lived a lifestyle impossible in the modern world, or were part of a now-faded fandom.

* '''The Club Is Based Around An Experience''' These could be comrades from a former war, a major disaster (such as the sinking of the Titanic), a team that pulled off something that can never be duplicated.

* '''The Club Is A Bunch Of Old Friends''' The members have known each other for years, and simply do not accept newcomers who couldn't possibly understand what they've gone through.

* '''The Club Just Doesn't Accept Newcomers''' For whatever reason, this group simply doesn't accept anyone new. The membership is closed, done, and dusted.

* '''The Club Takes SuffersNewbiesPoorly To Its LogicalExtreme''' The club requires new members to have experience before joining, [[Catch22Dilemma but nobody can get experience without joining]]. The demise of the club is generally ''not'' the intention, but just as inevitable unless the requirements are relaxed.

* '''The Requirements Become Impossible To Meet''' The club has a certain set of prerequisites, but those prerequisites for one reason or another become impossible to fulfill.

[[AC:Military Organizations]]

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic Grand Army of the Republic]] was restricted to Union veterans of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, and folded when the last Union veteran, Albert Woolson, died on 1956.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-Military_Union Russian All-Military Union]] was initially restricted to White veterans of the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober Russian Civil War]].

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' reveals that the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel fell victim to this. The Codex they follow demands that they only recruit from their own children. This was possible when they were the most powerful faction in the wasteland. However, [[TechnologyMarchesOn other factions have managed to close the technology gap]] in the 100 years since the [[VideoGame/Fallout1 first game]]. The casualty rate rose higher than they can replenish their ranks and they are on the verge of collapse when [[PlayerCharacter the Courier]] finds them. Even the otherwise ReasonableAuthorityFigure in charge is unable to change things due to his[[LawfulStupid rigid adherence]] to the Codex. The Mid-West and East Coast chapters decided to ignore that particular rule for practical reasons and have thrived. [[spoiler: Their only chance for a decent ending is if the Courier manages to negotiate peace between them and the NCR]].

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' reveals that the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel fell victim to this. The Codex they follow demands that they only recruit from their own children. This was possible when they were the most powerful faction in the wasteland. However, [[TechnologyMarchesOn other factions have managed to close the technology gap]] in the 100 years since the [[VideoGame/Fallout1 first game]]. The casualty rate rose higher than they can replenish their ranks and they are on the verge of collapse when [[PlayerCharacter the Courier]] finds them. The Mid-West and East Coast chapters decided to ignore that particular rule for practical reasons and have thrived.

!!!Literature

!!!Music

* Jazz ensembles often demand players have years of experience, shutting out younger players who don't have that experience, leaving that ensemble with an aging and dwindling membership. Meanwhile, those who would have joined give up, sell their instruments and leave their dreams of musicianship behind--meaning they aren't available anymore if/when the jazz ensembles open their doors to the less-experienced.

!!!Play-By-Email Roleplaying
* In the roleplaying club ''Star Trek:Shadow Operations'', Reepchip Charatetet is part of an informal club known as the Madcap Engineers, a group of seven cadets at Starfleet Academy. They originally started out with bizarre experiments with antiquated equipment, but then an officer in Starfleet Intelligence took control of the club to give the members something meaningful to do, on the requirement that they maintain a code of silence and admit no new members. This academy club effectively ended when the cadets all graduated. The true "secret password" of this group is that the members personally know each other.

!!!ProfessionalWrestling

!!!VideoGames

!!!WebOriginal

!!!WesternAnimation

!!!Real Life

* Virtually all members of an organized athletic team develop a bond that lasts a lifetime and can never quite be duplicated, the more so when that season's team achieves something memorable. However, the UrbanLegend that has arisen around the 1972 UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} Dolphins is probably unique. The [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball team]] went undefeated through the regular season, the playoffs and the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl -- a feat unequalled since. Now the story circulates regularly that every year since, when the last undefeated team in the league finally loses, the surviving members of the team and their legendary coach, Don Shula, gather for a champagne celebration. The truth is that apparently ''some'' members of the team did it ''once,'' without Shula present and more or less as a joke, and the legend took off from there. With Shula's passing in 2020 (preceded in death by several members of the team), perhaps the legend will start to pass as well. [[NeverLiveItDown Probably not, though.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' Cotton Hill's chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars almost suffers this because of Cotton's dislike of Vietnam War veterans. With the local UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar veterans dying off, the chapter cannot collect enough membership dues to maintain its meeting hall and might have to disband. There are plenty of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar veterans around but Cotton is disrespectful to them and for years has discouraged them from joining the VFW. He finally has a change of heart, invites them to join and the new members rescue the Arlen VFW.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter_Day_Saints_(Strangite) Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)]] faction led by a Presiding High Priest no longer emphasize missionary work, the death of three prophets (Joseph and Hyram Smith, Strang) having caused God to have closed his dispensation to the "gentiles" of the West.

!!!Academia
* Any batch who graduated in any school of that particular academic year.

''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' reveals that the West Coast Brotherhood of Steel fell victim to this. The Codex they follow demands that they only recruit from their own children. This was possible when they were the most powerful faction in the wasteland. However, [[TechnologyMarchesOn other factions have managed to close the technology gap]] in the 100 years since the [[VideoGame/Fallout1 first game]]. The casualty rate rose higher than they can replenish their ranks and they are on the verge of collapse when [[PlayerCharacter the Courier]] finds them. The Mid-West and East Coast chapters decided to ignore that particular rule for practical reasons and have thrived.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' Cotton Hill's chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars almost suffers this because of Cotton's dislike of Vietnam War veterans. With the local WW2 and Korean War veterans dying off, the chapter cannot collect enough membership dues to maintain its meeting hall and might have to disband. There are plenty of Vietnam War veterans around but Cotton is disrespectful to them and for years has discouraged them from joining the VFW. He finally has a change of heart, invites them to join and the new members rescue the Arlen VFW.

* ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} NightWatch]]'' has the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road, the survivors of a short-lived rebellion that sprung up during the anarchy between the assassination of one Patrician and the ascension of the next. They memorialize the event every May 25th by [[UsefulNotes/ThePoppy wearing a lilac]], and tend to be surly about explaining its meaning to others. Only those who were "there" are encouraged to join in, most of whom happen to have become members of the night watch since.

* Often veterans will form groups based on who fought in a specific war (such as The American Civil War, World War I or World War II) or battle (e.g. the attack on Pearl Harbor, El Alamein, etc.).

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-Military_Union Russian All-Military Union]] was initially restricted to White veterans of the [[UsefulNotes/RedOctober RussianCivilWar]].

* ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} NightWatch]]'' has the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road, the survivors of a short-lived rebellion that sprung up during the anarchy between the assassination of one Patrician and the ascension of the next. They memorialize the event every May 25th by [[UselfulNotes/ThePoppy wearing a lilac]], and tend to be surly about explaining its meaning to others. Only those who were "there" are encouraged to join in, most of whom happen to have become members of the night watch since.

** Since 1946, no person can receive the French [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Liberation Order of Liberation]], reserved for outstanding acts for LaResistence.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_All-Military_Union Russian All-Military Union]] was initially restricted to White veterans of the [[RedOctober Russian Civil War]].

Sometimes, this is deliberate and the club members are perfectly fine with the club's eventual demise. Other times, the disappearance of the club is undesirable, and it is not unheard of for [[ObviousRulesPatch rules and requirements to be changed]] to ensure the organization's survival.

* ''Discworld/NightWatch'' has the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road, the survivors of a short-lived rebellion that sprung up during the anarchy between the assassination of one Patrician and the ascension of the next. They memorialize the event every May 25th by [[ThePoppy wearing a lilac]], and tend to be surly about explaining its meaning to others. Only those who were "there" are encouraged to join in, most of whom happen to have become members of the night watch since.