Not a newbie, but a question still......

I know there are all kinds of little offshoot boards from here (SWAP, SIF, etc....)Is there a listing somewhere of them, and the requirements to join? It would be nice to see what all might be out there to be a part of.

No, there's no list. Periodically you see mention of certain groups and that's or someone tells you when an issue relates to you, but there are other groups that are more private, for various reasons and they don't get mentioned.