Jerry,

In the 60's you were involved in "the" folk community, from your perspective. Then and now, folk music has/had many faces and aspects and there are/were many sorts of folk communities.

In the 60's I had no experience of "the" folk community; I just natcherly loved folk music, had grown up with it, listened to it and sang it when I found it.

At my college, I found an odd kind of "folk community" -- get this -- at the Sigma Nu frat house. It was a couple of decades later when I realized the reason I loved their parties: they started singing about the time they started their second drink. I loved to sing and had no purist snob tendencies whatever. I spent a lot of time there. Most of the music was basically "folk," but you didn't hear protest songs: it was, "Have Some Madeira, M'Dear," "The Winnipeg Whore," "The Sloop John B," etc etc etc.

Now I've found a very different folk community to enjoy, mostly people from FSGW and their far flung network of friends. And one can participate in the activities of many other, overlapping folk communities just here in the D.C. area. Some of them have little or nothing to do with FSGW, for example the Ships Company who run the Royal Mile Pub shantey sing. The common bond is a type of music, not protest or politics or whatever.

There are other regional groups: e.g. people involved in the rural music tradition, f'r instance the people who gather at the Galax Old Time Fiddlers' convention. And the ethnic folk communities ... many more.

There are inclusive and exclusive subgroups in most of these groups. And, there are arguments and differences and jealousies and divisiveness from time to time, in every group of which I have any knowledge. Some musicians in some communities won't even look at you if you don't meet their musical standards. (When I wrote that I was thinking of certain regional old time musicians I know of. It has Nothing to do with the fact that my husband wore a "Purist Snob" T shirt for years.)

But, all of these communities have one thing in common, that they get together for music. The music is the bond. People at Galax don't ask you about your politics or religion. They listen and hang out with you if they like your music. Otherwise they hang out with somebody else.

Mudcat takes in more people and more kinds of Stuff than any of the above. I just don't think you can call the membership of Mudcat "The Folk Community." It isn't. It's people from a LOT of communities who may have more or less folk music in their lives.

A general interest in folk music isn't the same kind of common bond as an interest in hearing and performing live music together. If everyone in Mudcat got together in one place it would be a lot like our Getaway. For many, the music would become the basis for wonderful long-term friendships. For others, music would form a bond and they would relate wonderfully through the music, but they would not relate well at all in any other way, and would not get together later except to make music.

Some people would be thrilled to find musicians who shared their interests: some would go off and jam, some would form singing sessions, but some would sit in the corners and argue politics. When they got tired of it, though, they could walk away and find some music. You can't do that here.

Not sure if this is leading anywhere or really adding anything, still I guess I'll go ahead & post it....

Guess the point is, I really think it's unjust to look at what happens on Mudcat as if it's happening in "the folk community." Mudcat is just one "folk community," and it's constrained by being all about words. There's no shared (live, experienced) musical memories to form bonds between folks with strongly different opinions.

In my experience when conversation starts deteriorating into argument in a live get-together, someone says, "Oh, this is tedious, let's have some music!" And the ones who are really enjoying the argument go continue it in a corner, and everybody else starts some music.

That's the main difference. There's no way to just go play some music when you're arguing on Mudcat. So arguments get bigger and suck in more people who otherwise would go in the next room and jam.

Rita Ferrara