A shared interest needs company that leaves room for different levels of skill.

An interest stays shared only if the gap in ability is allowed to sit there openly. Groups that quietly rank people drive the newer ones out, and then wonder why the same six faces keep meeting. What holds a group together is whether a less practiced person can still say something without paying for it.

If you are the experienced one, ask what someone is working on rather than testing what they know. Answer the question they asked, not the more advanced one you would rather discuss.