bbc: There are still a few gems among the sludge. I have enjoyed the shanty threads, the songbook threads, and of course the Hearme sessions.

At the risk of re-starting old (and tired) debates:

The Mudcat community is becoming distributed though with different sites taking on different roles. As this continues will the Mudcat site itself become like Grand Central Station connecting different neighborhoods and activities together and providing a meeting place to touch base with one another? Will it become a village square?

Right now, it like one large folk festival in a field with jam sessions everywhere. You roam through the night and perchance stumble on a great one. You often see many others that may be Ok but aren't what you are looking for. Sometimes a friend lets you in on where a good jam will be ahead of time. Most of the time you wake up the next morning and hear about the incredible shanty sing that occurred over in the next grove. You still have a good time and promise to come back next year for more, but keep thinking... if only I had been able to find...

Even a village develops streets, neighborhoods, and communities. The question is how will these develop in the Mudcat if it is to continue to grow? distributed/centralized? formal/informal?

You are right, it is hard to find what you are interested in and contribute as the threads flow by,,, AND,,, as even the serious threads suffer from chronic thread creep (see above). Its like listening in on an old fashioned party line with 100 different conversations going at once. The content is still here though.

AND I Still LOVE THE MUDCAT and I am not complaining. :-)

JAB