With a huge grin on my face Little Neo, I can tell you I asked THE VERY SAME QUESTION THAT YOU JUST DID, about a year ago. It was at a time when the actual IDEA of non-musical threads seemed to be the big issue. I was firmly on the side of those who wanted to be able to discuss politics, current issues, philosophies etc. In fact Heather and I used to read many of the threads together just for the interesting and skillful way many presented their arguments. You'd get the occasional "hey stick to music", or "I'm outta here" comments, and Gargoyle could be counted on to intersperse knowledgable posts, with real nastiness, but since we knew what to expect from him he was often a "unifying force" (which probably annoyed him even more. The main argument for the "Music only" folks always seemed to be that good resource people couldn't take all the "Chat" and "self-revelation" and were leaving in droves. I believe Joe Offer answered my query and named quite a few who had departed. I took his point, and modified my position slightly. Something that I feel is totally neccessary every so often unless you really enjoy "diggin' in yer heels fer a fight". I guess a lot do.

But for heaven's sake, most (not all) folk scholars are gettin' up in years and if 250 newbies have joined us in recent times it's pretty unrealistic to think that more than 10 or so of them are REALLY "trad knowledgable". No one seems stingy about passing on info, so I'm happy with that. The only problem (if it's REALLY a problem) is that there are so many more of us here now. It's simply harder to control when folks go nuts.

If this thread carries on in a civil and mannered way (not passive, just opinionated without fear of flaming or reprisal) then you'll be able to see EXACTLY what the old Mudcat was (and can certainly still be at anytime when folks choose it) I guarantee you'll enjoy it. If it reaches 50 or so without any "oh yah, yer mother wears army boots" stuff, you'll probably see some unfamiliar names pop up to give their points of view. They may be folks who have been around for awhile looking for a spot to jump back in where they might actually be listened to.

Rick