To the first question about tips/techniques to use when making a quilt top - some do, some don't.
To the second question - I don't think that 'old' techniques vs 'new' techniques has a thing to do with the personality of a particular group of quilters. People are people, and most of us tend to associate with the people who are most like ourselves. That can make 'new comers' feel unwelcome in a particular group, and, in fact, sometimes a new comer is unwelcome. But just as often, it's not intentional, it's just a personality mis-match.
So we keep going until we find (or begin) the right group for us.