Well, I just spent much too much time reading through this thread! I saw it start just before I went out of town for a few days, was tempted to comment on it then (before all the nasty sh*t started) but it's not the kind of thread I usually respond to, and I didn't have much to contribute.

... when I got back in town, I saw from comments among other threads that a furious row had occurred somewhere at Mudcat but I did know where, (I didn't look here right away). I poked around for a couple of days, looking at threads of interest, answering a few, reading a few, then I looked in on this one again. I was floored! Y'all must be joking, right? All this nastiness is because someone doesn't like it when someone else asks a non-music question? Is this for real? WHO CARES? IF YA DON"T LIKE THE THREAD: DON"T ANSWER IT!!!

I have spent lots of time here, and have run into very little that angers me ... you can spend hours each day learning, and TEACHING issues related to music - you'll never have to worry about stuff that doesn't interest you.

To make such a stink over what someone else is talking about is rediculous. It is to be, as Monty Python might put it; a wiper of other people's noses!