There have also been some good past discussions about posting styles-- for example, all lowercase, short and apparently-obscure posts, posts with a lot of trouble in spelling and grammar--

What was pointed out a number of times in those threads was that some of us realize that these posting styles may indicate a lack of facility with computers or the written word, not a desire to be rude, sloppy, or stupid... we do have a number of people who find Mudcat and don't know a whole lot about the Net, or computers... or who know a lot about music but not much about writing-- and yet these are the same people you would love to have in a song ciclre or at a Mudcat gathering, because they are smart, articulate in speech, great players, or generally good eggs.

But some people do make value judgments based on how people post, and there's no controlling that, either.

I've corresponded with Bob and Glenda (who share a membership as "53" out of personal choice), and they are quite good eggs. I hope people will take Bob as he is and not read things into his posts that aren't there-- if something he posts confuses or upsets someone, that's what PMs are for!

And we do have people who post kinda in your face-- one day it might be Bob, another day it might be Sorcha. I have a turn myself once in awhile. But there is a difference between this and people who aim to hurt-- no one has died yet as far as I know, though some harmful, deliberate hurting has been done by others, in the past. I think the difference is, will the person clear up a hurt feeling with you, or will they not only fail to do that but give every indication of doing it again in future?

But gee, I've even grown to appreciate Clinton Hammond-- if we have room for CH, I'm sure we can handle having Bob around the Mudcat!

But Bob-- the best way to make friends here at Mudcat is to talk about the music you love, and what you are doing with that, or to ask help with music stuff. Do that and you will see some fast friendships form. And you will find that the other stuff fades as people get to know you musician-to-musician.

~S~