I have been here for some time, and it is really confusing in the best sense. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. My happiest personal moment on the site -- apart from hearing that Catspaw was going to make it -- was a couple of years ago finding an Internet cafe in Borneo (well, a rundown coffee bar with a lunatic computer geek in the back room), and being able to get a long delayed Mudcat fix. Now that was confusing, but great fun!!
You should also know that there are, as in all villages, some stories, amusing feuds, and repartee that go back a comparatively long while for the Internet. The return of the "How To Write A Folk Song " and "How To Write A Blues" are indications of how truly weird people were even before they became truly weirder as now. You could check other threads out!! Joe, Bert, Gene and of course Max, Dick, and Susan are elders (in the young sense) here. There are others, too numerous to name -- check out bbc's resource page!! Oldsters on the porch are particularly fond of "The Great Women's Circle/Tree House" feud that got the guys and gals at each other's throats until dinnertime for a long while. This was when the inimitable Shula spread her considerable wings (and how is she, by the by?). She doused us all with wit and humour for months. There was also the "California Dreaming" controversy (concerning the definition of what music was to be encouraged here). The anarchists among us were rapped on the knuckles by the inimitable Elsie (and how is she, by the by?). There are others of note: the Diana death thread was pretty grim, but more thoughtful than most of the commentary at the time . Others have their favourites. In fact, there was a recent thread about favourites!! We do need to watch the self-referentiality.
As I have said many times, one of the secrets of this place is the continuing elegance of Max's efforts, and that he continues to be interested in doing this. Lots of other people have started sites and let them rot.
yours, Peter T.