There was a famous quote from Yogi Berra about some restaurant:

"Nobody goes there any more- it's too crowded."

Somehow-- in addition to the relevant mention of the all-too-many obits, a significant number of the 'old guard' and others have decided to either leave or seriously limit their participation...citing their dislike of various trends and personalities. Once 'major' contributors begin to abandon ship, it becomes a trend.
No one seems to realize... or care.. that the way to make a forum what you WANT it to be is to stay and overwhelm & outnumber the perceived problems. We used to do that! There have been a number of posters... both member & 'guest'... whose 'contributions' were widely condemned and debated. The majority of us either debated them or ignored them.
   

Now, it IS the case that Facebook has usurped so much of some folks' attention that they can't be bothered to share life & opinions here, but it is also the case that Facebook allows one to see & interact only with folks they care about. (Mudcat did too, but many seemed unable to avoid wallowing in the MUD areas of Mudcat. "If you don't like it - don't read it!" was often suggested...but....)
Facebook, with its huge resources, also allows posting of pictures... and that is its major virtue.

So... when Mudcat started (and I have been here since Nov. 1996 and watched the song database be created in the 3-4 years before that) it was a music forum.... and 97% a FOLK music forum. If no one EVER discusses religion, politics or condoms (look it up) again, it will still be a valuable MUSIC resource.
   The thing is, music in general, and folk music in particular, have always been windows thru which to view and evaluate the world. It is totally natural to discuss, debate, share & analyze "life, the universe and everything" among a group who sings about it all! We have opinions.... it is just sad that some can't 'share' without anger, rancor and accusations.

I could write for hours about what IS... what OUGHT to be and what MAY be... but... I'll just say that, as one of those older members (75 last month), I find the format of the Mudcat forum to be far superior to Facebook for creating and following topics. Perhaps it's just that my 'aging mind' won't easily adapt to FB's 'scroll off the page in an hour' format. (yes, I know there are ways to find things, I just don't with to spend 6 hours a day doing so! :>(
   I'm on FB... I just prefer here, so I'll 'mostly' be here...for the music and for the occasional topic of discussion... as long as Max cares to keep it going.

YMMV