Release the hounds!

thx

I disagree:

The phrase 'tight-knit community' exists, and is fairly commonly used.

A 'loose-knit community' would have... less direct ties, less overlapping ties between everyone to everyone, would be more... islands of people connected by a few inter-island connections... maybe less frequent interactions between members...

A social network is often mathematically/academically/professional ly described as a bunch of points, clustered, with connections between them.

Even the very word 'network' is etymylogically derived from a net, an interwoven mesh.

You very much can literally loosen or tighten a net, make one that is more pourous or more dense in terms of threads in any given surface area.

Hey there ya go, even Threads is an actual name for a social network.

I think the metaphor or analogy of social networks being described by other terms that literally apply to an actual net or fabric is... actually incredibly common.

... You've never heard a person being described as having 'loose ties to (other person/group)?

Have you never watched any kind of detective show, a 'stop the terrorists' political action thriller?

Lol, then that's a you problem.

That exact phrase is how it would be used, and has been used, in print, for decades

You can loose, or loosen a knot, or lasso, or if you are rather good with ropes nets and knots, you can actually do that to an entire net, give it more or less slack, grid density.

I guess its just become far less common for people to have practical, hands on experience with knots and ropes... its pretty important if you want to moor a boat to a dock, or make your own fishing net as humans have done for millenia...

Same goes for knitting, weaving, making clothes and garments of all kinds.

Ever loosened a waistband, or tightened one?

Less and less people have actual hands on experience with any of this, so I guess the metaophors/analogies aren't as obvious anymore.

Heck, loose, as a verb, just like that, also basically means 'to throw' or 'to project away from you'.

You loose an arrow, or a javelin.

You let loose a hail of bullets, ie, throw them downrange, away from you.

You loose a dog, to set it free, or perhaps to go run off and chase/attack something.

Which is differenrt from losing a dog, which is when it fails to return from you loosing it.