Seems we forgot the rules somewhere along the way. From the Membership page: You are free to be anything you want EXCEPT unkind, impolite, argumentative or snooty.

Folk singers, especially in the American sense of the term, tend to have strong political views, so some political discussion is pretty inevitable.

I first visited the café as a guest to ask a question about the words of The Maid/Lass of Aughrim. Within less than 24 hours as my enquiry circled the globe following time zones, I got a fuller answer than I ever hoped for, and the info kept coming. I was quite amazed at the helpfulness, and joined to share what knowledge I could even though I'm one of those surly uilleann pipers, not a singer.

Eventually, precisely because it was a community, I joined the discussion on the off-topic topics, and ranted with the best of them. I think the Bush Iraq invasion was what removed any inhibitions I had, because I was so outraged by it and wanted to communicate my views as a European to US members. But then I realised that whenever I visited the forum, I was reading the BS threads before even looking at the music ones, and tried to restrain myself.

I never deliberately left, but stopped visiting for a while for a variety of reasons, including the fact that Chiff and Fipple was a better fit for my interests. But I still have fond memories of here, and still can't think of the Campsite at Drumcree threads without laughing out loud. What an outpouring of collective wit and creativity!

Recently, while learning a slow air, I automatically came here to find the words so that I could play the air properly, and was reminded of how much scholarship is available here.

I then posted a request for information here and encountered the same helpful reaction, both here and on the main C&F thread.

I'm probably best described as a lapsed mid-timer, not quite an old-timer but far from a newbie (BTW, how do I find out when I joined?). Sometimes a random event reminds me of past Mudcat discussions, e.g. when I recently saw a history (!) programme about the Vietnam War I tholught of some vets I got to know here.   And it's good to know that a genuine enquiry is still met with a helpful response.


PS
Just last week, Joe, I went to a singing session, and was delighted to hear a Lehrer fan sing the Vatican Rag, which I hadn't heard in 40 years. It came as Ireland is in the midst of a nasty national argument about a constitutional amendment to permit same-sex marriage. Must have been providential ;-)