Sorry for the previous post, I had my panties in a bunch. I want to say too that this was not a ploy for money or gratitude.

Sometimes I feel like the host of a party, so much responsibility that I fail to enjoy the party. Truth is, I really have no right to complain. For the most part, I get out of the Mudcat exactly what I want. I learn from all of you, I find friends and people like me and that like the things that I do. I enjoy taking your suggestions and critisisms, and even the long hours that go along with them.

Perhaps I will play another joke next year, but certainly not about the Mudcat going away. I can surely say that the Mudcat's existence is about as solid as could be. We have consulted lawyers, and get permissions and licenses to publish all the things we do, we are non-profit and are not making money off of others' hard work. We are an educational resource, and it would be a grand injustice to shut us down. For now, my other company Onstage, needs all the same technology that the Mudcat does, so the expenses are managable and intertwined. As long as Onstage is OK, so shall be the Mudcat. If anything ever happens to Onstage, worste case scenario is that we need a raise some funds to host the Mudcat.

The Mudcat gets about 2.5 million hits (about 80,000 unique visitors) per month, more than ever anticipated, which does require more computational power than we may have at any given time. Again, worst case scenarios are temporary outages or slow service. We do the best we can with what we have and can afford. If these things bother you, either go away or make a contribution or buy a t-shirt or some cd's and books, and we'll buy a new server or better software etc. We are not suffering here. If you can find a better way to spend your money locally please do. If you can take your kids out for ice-cream instead, please do.

Perhaps from now on, no one is allowed to complain or criticise or suggest unless accompanied by a contribution or sale. If no money ever comes in, the Mudcat and Digitrad will still be here. I want more though, I want to always be able to make it better and bigger and faster and more reliable. I would like to see Dick doing it full time too. And it's as simple as that.

So lets take the edge off the situation and put an end to this thread. No more posts here. Lets talk about better things like FOLK. Thanks everybody.