"Folks just plain were nicer, less likely to take or give offence. ... Maybe it is partly ebcause there are so many new folks, but I don't think we can blame it on them"

I really do not think anyone is to blame, because I do not think there is problem.   It is the evolution of any website, we are no different.   Some people take offense, others do not. Some people act like assholes, others do not.   I honestly believe we are seeing an increase in the "traffic" on this site and when more names are involved, this happens.

Lets face it, some of the early threads were harmless chats between a handful of people that got to know each other. Some people had history with each other before ever coming to this site.   Some of those early threads were rather cliqueish and newcomers felt like they were interupting a private conversation. I know, because that is the way I felt initially.

As someone also pointed out earlier in this thread, times are different. There is a lot of crap going on in the world and everyone now has an opinion to share.   Instead of conversations about histories of English Ballads or memories of the Fox Hollow fest, we are now spending more time discussing politics, race and religion.

Nothing has changed but the times and attitudes. You can't freeze time, nor can you freeze people. Everything evolves and I think we need to roll with the punches more.