I've been loosely following this sub for two years. I believe a good chunk of it, but try to weed out the extremism, just like any mindset.

My (albeit few) friends are not RP by any means, but they're also not white knight pushovers. Just kind of run-of-the-mill Joe Schmoes. We all seem to share the same humor, which mostly consists of wise-cracks and jabs at one another. It's been like this since college five years ago. I've carried this over into my dating life. I know many of you don't agree with LTRs, but I've had one. And I treat her just like one of my friends when I'm around them.

I've recently come to find out that they've all been talking shit about me behind my back. The LTR showed me the messages when they invited her into the chat. Bringing up all of my joking insults, but apparently neglecting the times where I've given them places to stay when their girlfriends kicked them out, or lent them money to pay bills, or even just went out for drinks when they were having a crappy day.

Obviously I'm cutting them from my life, but it's really eating away at me that those I considered my brothers, those I trusted, would all agree that I've "become a dick recently". Why me? They crack jokes on each other all the time. Why are mine "dickish", but theirs are all fun and good?

It's led me to believe that the line between being alpha and just a straight-up asshole is far narrower than I had imagined. As someone who is admittedly bad with social cues, can anyone explain this line a little more thoroughly?