I don't use the word, "tribe" myself, except perhaps to designate groups that are traditionally described with it or that perhaps self-describe in that way (e.g. a particular native american tribe), but what connotation I do have of the term really rubs against the grain of what you and others in this thread are saying.
The feeling I get from "tribe" is that it is the most broad unit of societal organization, usually at a level of cultural development where this organization tends to be highly local. Tribe is level of social organization. It is the level at which taboo is defined. To the extent that there is social rule and social imposition of ethics, it is at the tribal level. Leaving one's tribe is at least traumatic, potentially dangerous and, at least in the less developed cultures that usually are described by the term, probably fatal and almost certainly unthinkable. In tribal cultures, banishment from tribe is often the most dire punishment. At the very least, being outside of your tribe makes you a stranger, an outsider who rather than claiming the right of known and established mores, taboos, etc., must abide by those established by others. My tribe shakes hands. His bows. If I go where his tribe dominates, politeness dictates that I do it his way. If he visits my tribe, we're more likely to consider him polite if he makes an effort to understand and conform to our ways. That sort of thing.
The notion that tribe is a chosen grouping, probably very small, and having as essential characteristics such things as trust or love seems to me to be at best poetic metaphor. It seems like such would be a recognition of the fact that modern technology has caused the level of social organization that I'm describing to encompass not hundreds, but millions of people, and with this broad change comes a withering of the concept of tribes, and further a desire to re-create it, in a sense, to regain some of the sense of closeness, propriety, shared interest, etc. Though I can see the value in that, "tribe" still seems to be an odd word to attach to it. If you think of what are clasically called tribes, the element of choice in membership is an odd characteristic, let alone a highly selective one like what you've described.
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The feeling I get from "tribe" is that it is the most broad unit of societal organization, usually at a level of cultural development where this organization tends to be highly local. Tribe is level of social organization. It is the level at which taboo is defined. To the extent that there is social rule and social imposition of ethics, it is at the tribal level. Leaving one's tribe is at least traumatic, potentially dangerous and, at least in the less developed cultures that usually are described by the term, probably fatal and almost certainly unthinkable. In tribal cultures, banishment from tribe is often the most dire punishment. At the very least, being outside of your tribe makes you a stranger, an outsider who rather than claiming the right of known and established mores, taboos, etc., must abide by those established by others. My tribe shakes hands. His bows. If I go where his tribe dominates, politeness dictates that I do it his way. If he visits my tribe, we're more likely to consider him polite if he makes an effort to understand and conform to our ways. That sort of thing.
The notion that tribe is a chosen grouping, probably very small, and having as essential characteristics such things as trust or love seems to me to be at best poetic metaphor. It seems like such would be a recognition of the fact that modern technology has caused the level of social organization that I'm describing to encompass not hundreds, but millions of people, and with this broad change comes a withering of the concept of tribes, and further a desire to re-create it, in a sense, to regain some of the sense of closeness, propriety, shared interest, etc. Though I can see the value in that, "tribe" still seems to be an odd word to attach to it. If you think of what are clasically called tribes, the element of choice in membership is an odd characteristic, let alone a highly selective one like what you've described.