Here's a reprise of something I entered in another thread:

"Here's a vote for everybody being more relaxed about gaffes (maybe because I make so many of 'em.) The forum could be a friendlier, more comfortable place if we live by the convention that people get to do dumb things from time to time without having attention called to it. ... I may start a thread about this. But I'm afraid it may become another bone of contention!"

So, here's the new thread and I hope it becomes the starting point for a fun discussion, rather than a bone of contention.

A Mudcatter e-mailed me and said she hardly ever posts anything any more for fear of being criticized or fussed at for incorrectness. I sure would like it if we could go back to being a little more free-wheeling in our attitudes.

I've been guilty of some pretty snotty-sounding comments in the past myself, so have to remind myself to read and re-read what I've written, to see how it will sound to someone who can't see my expression or hear my tone of voice.

I think, if we want to send someone to the forum search or the DT, a simple statement, in the friendliest, least annoyed-sounding tone possible, would be a lot better in the long run than allowing one's annoyance to show. Those are the biggest problem areas.

The other biggest problem is people who want stuff that isn't really folk music. My spouse is Bill D, who is the purist of purist snobs. But my love of music is more eclectic, and I very much miss the off-the-wall song requests we used to get. One of my happiest Forum moments was when I bought the sheet music of "Poor Little Robin, Walking to Missouri" at a thrift shop, and a couple of weeks later someone asked for it in this Forum. What fun!

Can we leave a little more room for fun along with the scholarship? I hope so.