I read somewhere {maybe in other Mudcat theads} that visiting active online discussion forums is very much like listening in on other people's conversations.

IMO, lurking on a discussion forum is alot like being behind the scenes of a dramatic production {or a comedy or a sometimes even a horror show LOL!}...And posting on a discusson forum like Mudcat is alot like being in a improvisation skit. Anytime you provide an on-topic {and especially an off-topic} comment you might for better or worse temporarily or permanently change the spirit & direction of that thread.

And-continuing with that analogy of an improvisational dramatic production -the thing that takes some getting use to for me is that the cast that you are working with keeps changing. New actors are always being introduced, and old ones departing, sometimes abruptly.
{Sometimes this is definitely a good thing. But other times you wish that people you've come to 'know' wouldn't just disapear}.

Since I like stability in my life, all this coming and going is somewhat disconcerting to me. But I get a sense from veteran Catters that, for a multiplicity of reasons, with online discussion forums the addition and departure of 'regulars' and 'extras' {if you will} is par for the course. This just takes some getting used to for me....

And as to the Mudcat 'docudrama' being better or worse this season than past seasons: it all depends on the person, right?