well speaking as someone who has occasionally bailed out of mudcat when faced with ignorant and hurtful comments - I'm not really sure there is an answer to this vexed problem.

mudcat is to me simply the best folk music site. On a day when we are all reeling from the impact of the news of Jed Marum's death. You have to take the rough with the smooth.

I would never have known of Jed's work without mudcat. And his music enriched my life.

Its a pity we have this unfortunate aspect to mudcat. I have a feeling it says more about the kind of people and their intransigent attitudes,
who have emptied the folk clubs and turned folk music into a minority music than is comfortable for us to contemplate.

Because what it has meant, is that those of us who started out as youngsters, when folk music clubs were to be found in every town in England - have in many ways devoted our lives to a dying artform.