Guest JJ,

By now you've probably sussed out why this is such a bitter place. It is the guest thing. Way back in the mists of Mudcat time, Max created a two tiered hierarchy for posters, in order to "protect" the assumed name indentities of some regular posters here.

Needless to say, it is obvious that members are way on top on the top hierarchical rung, and guests, anon or otherwise, are just below pond scum, regardless of their good intentions when they come in here.

One Really Big Lie posted in this thread I would take exception to is the idea that 9/11 is making the rude, bitter Mudcat members do it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mudcat Royals ran out one of the most knowledgeable people about British folk music in the spring of 2001, and the summer of 2001 was some of the worst flame wars I've seen in a decade on Usenet.

So, you seemed to have gotten it right in your initial post here. The all too predictable rude and nasty response to your post was swift and immediate, as it most always is.

My solution is to never limit myself to reading this forum about folk music. It is much too cliqueish, and there are much more knowledgeable people about folk music in the Usenet forums. When the flaming gets bad, I just check out, and come back later.