If there's a dick in a group or a clan and everyone is aware they're being a dick to you, and nothing is being done about it, I don't think the group/clan is worth joining honestly.
It's hard to find nice people who will help you learn something because most people just want to mindlessly play the game and blame their losses on everything but themselves, and I find the majority of communities in any given game are either silent or toxic. Very few are vocally helpful. That said, it's sometimes hard as a veteran to tell whether people actually want help and advice on something: In 700 hours of playing TF2, I've been asked for advice only a single time. Meanwhile, the majority of people who play the game are like, really, really bad at it. They could seriously use some help. Basic tips like shoot rocket at feet instead of at body. But if I start giving out advice of my own accord, I doubt anyone would ever listen to me, because I doubt a lot of these people even care that they're bad.
The only surefire way to have a nice introduction into something is to try and see if you have any friends at all that are experienced enough in the matter to teach you everything about it.
It's hard to find nice people who will help you learn something because most people just want to mindlessly play the game and blame their losses on everything but themselves, and I find the majority of communities in any given game are either silent or toxic. Very few are vocally helpful. That said, it's sometimes hard as a veteran to tell whether people actually want help and advice on something: In 700 hours of playing TF2, I've been asked for advice only a single time. Meanwhile, the majority of people who play the game are like, really, really bad at it. They could seriously use some help. Basic tips like shoot rocket at feet instead of at body. But if I start giving out advice of my own accord, I doubt anyone would ever listen to me, because I doubt a lot of these people even care that they're bad.
The only surefire way to have a nice introduction into something is to try and see if you have any friends at all that are experienced enough in the matter to teach you everything about it.