Oy am I relieved Aine! I wasn't actually mad...I just tend to use CAPS and "quotes" and exclamations! a lot. What caught me was not being criticized (cause that happens everyday while I'm trying to force people to play "F" chords, or making silly obscure jokes)....but that anyone could think I want ANY (see there I go again) exclusivity in a folk music community. I became a professional musician for only ONE reason...I couldn't do anything else well enough to earn a living. The "professional" Music Biz is so rife with hypocracy, and brown-nosing, that I wish I didn't have to deal with ANY of it.

Change is inevitable, and had Mudcat stayed primarily a trad ballad discussion group, I would not have been able to make several wonderful new friends, and especially read and join in the great debates on so many topics. The "non-music" threads are where we show our personalities (good, bad and goofy) and that's where the lasting value is to me.

Sorry to over-react, Aine,....that's what 10 cups of coffee will do to ya!

Rick