This is long but please read it, it has a real idea in it to propose!!!!

I suppose this is going to sound incredibly snotty, and honest, I don't mean it to, but after I calmed down (it took a long while this time and hurt like a son-of-a-bitch), I began to think about the issue raised here.

And here is the first snotty-sounding question I came up with: Is it more important to treat people decently, or to be right? Guess what! I often am not treated decently! So what is so right about the opinion of someone who is being out and out rude to me, and why am I supposed to honor it? Well because my values say so, is why, but it is a question, admit it. If someone is technically right about something, but goes about making their point hurtfully, is that really right? They are the ones who are supposed to be in charge?? Whew. I'm glad they aren't! I'm glad Max is! (Max, if I go too far, do please tell me!!!!)

Second snotty-sounding question. OK. About people who want music threads AND get really upset about other kinds of threads. A lot of times, in response to this concern, someone has said, well, go ahead and start a music thread then! OK. My question: Is it possible that it is not a thread ASKING for knowledge that the person would start, but what they are hoping for is one where someone else wants THEM to give the answer?

In other words, is the solution of "go open a music thread" just not working because these people would have to title it, "Please ask me a question I know the answer to, and here is my area of expertise"?

Is that what it boils down to? That we have a lot of folks here who are dying to transmit vast stores of knowledge, but the asking has dwindled? And they aren't getting to share what they know and this feels awful?

(Please. Believe it or not, I am really trying to get it. Do those of you who assume I disagree with you try at all to get what I say or does it go right past you in a haze of your own ill feeling? Am I all alone over here on my side of the question trying to understand your viewpoint? Do you see there is a view from over here too?)

OK. Here is why this second one is a GOOD question. If that really is the problem, we need to add a forum feature to harness it better, that's all! Call it the Mudcat Experts department or whatever... a listing of some of the areas of expertise you-all have!!!

Here is an example. I DEEPLY want to know some stuff about Eriskay Love Lilt and My Love is Like a Red Red Rose. I got them on a Seamus Kenndy CD, so I asked Seamus, but it was because of an older recording on hammer dulcimer that I had fallen in love with first. The two versions were so different. I will start a thread on it, having exhausted what Seamus could tell me, and I did contact the other artist and I have her e-mailed thoughts to share as I ask more questions in a thread.

BUT-- if we had an expertise listing, what a benefit! To PM the expert listed, "Hey, I have a question, can you please help me over in this thread [link provided]?? We had a thread like that actually (I STARTED IT) where I asked about the process of researching songs and several respondees said, hey, go PM so-and-so and get them in on this thread, they know a lot about what you have raised and I bet they would love to know this is being discussed. IT WAS A GREAT THREAD partly because I did that. They DID love it.

SO what do you think about that???

~Susan