One does have to ask whether a dishonestly-conceived thread can really be a good thread.

On just about every forum I've ever been on, a significant proportion of the most interesting discussions have been started and occasionally prodded by trolls, crazies and utter idiots. How good a question is depends on what answers you give it. I think of inputs of spluttering nuttiness into a thread as something like the randomized, pattern-disrupting suggestions you get from the I Ching. They're a challenge to your imagination to do something constructive wih them.

Selby: I seem to see an unusually large proportion of English concertina players come adrift playing by ear, even after years of experience - either they can't do it at all or it sounds stilted. I don't see the same in many players of bisonoric instruments. My guess is that the ergonomics of the English isn't a good fit for most players' low-level neural processing.

I am always delighted to hear how many people at Whitby manage to play the English with guts and expression - I don't hear much playing of that quality in Scotland. Maybe there's more of a community for them in northern England? If so you need to find it.