I can understand where you're coming from, GUEST,30 Jun 05 - 12:59 PM, but as you say, "JMHO".

Your outlook is shaped by the way you have experienced this forum and the way you define the "folk community".

I think I probably have a very different definition of "folk" than you, and so for me, having a larger pool of people to interact with is a benefit for me. Since I play a fairly unpopular instrument and my favorite music to play on it is also not very popular (accorion/trad Finnish), the Mudcat has become a better place for me, musically, with the addition of new members.

I have noticed that many of the people who are from the original pool of members don't even acknowlege instrumental music as "folk". If it doesn't have lyrics, it isn't a legitimate subject for discussion in the Mudcat. Back in the early days, a lot of people seemed to be wedded to their own definition of what constituted "folk", and there were many, very spectacular (and not the least bit "civil"), fights and arguments about what was to be considered legitimate discussion under the lable of "folk".

I don't miss those times at all.