I agree Allan C, that there is little hide left on the dead horse, which is why I'm asking if it is futile to dredge this subject up yet again.

I am pleased for you that you have so much hope about Mudcat. But what I am asking--or is it who I am asking for--is those of us who have lost hope for Mudcat being the kind of on-line folk music community we are seeking.

For me, it has strayed very, very far from what I once thought was going to be the best on-line folk music forum on the Internet. I wish I did share in your hope and vision for Mudcat, but now, I'm just feeling defeated and bitter about it.

But perhaps that means it is time for those of us who feel that way to create a totally new forum for folk music, and no I don't mean Jon's annexe, well-intentioned as it is. That is what I'm feeling at this point, and am wondering if others have reached that point of impasse here as well.

Maybe it is time for a totally new folk music forum, where we can learn from the mistakes and shortcomings of Usenet, the folk music mailing lists, and Mudcat. It seems to me, that maybe Mudcat is trying too hard to be more than it really can be.