I described early Mudcat as more naive, I think, because I was reminded of myself in my 20's, when I didn't know much about human nature. Since I was an honest and nice person, I though everyone I met was honest and nice, too.

Although people who came to the Mudcat forum in the beginning were not necessarily naive in the "real world", the cyber world of the internet was evolving. The communication was similar to what you expect when people meet face to face. Some of us had been online since early BBS (I recall only meeting school teachers looking for info when I first went online in about 1989). The internet has changed, more people online all the time, and communication styles have developed that are different than what we do in face to face meetings.

The analogy to changing sessions is interesting, Jon. I like the session we have in my town, being friendly and open, but the music is well played and fun at the same time. People come for the music, not to party. There is a more strict session I know of in another town that almost died because the leader had so many taboos and controls on what and how music was to be played. I hope this forum finds a good balance between information and fun, and moves toward a more courteous attitude.

Alice