Selma or Patty - I hope you stick around for a bit, and give Mudcat time. You'll see a lot of stuff worthwhile. I prbably spend more time in the DT then I do at the forum, or reading through the old music threads, but I do get sucked into some of the 'opinion' threads form time-to-time, and have seen some of the nastiness and even hatefulness you've alluded to (occasionally had it aimed at me). But it's easy to ignore, and it isn't prevalent.

You'll find some great folks posting here, some good thoughts, and some wonderful music. I am happy to say I'm a Mudcat fan!