I can't say that I am surprised, dw. But I don't mean that in a bad way either. I have only been a member for 3 years or so myself, so I only know about the "glory days" of Mudcat second hand. But it strikes me that the Mudcat community has evolved over the years: From a web-based community, whose members mostly had not met each other, to a mixed group, many of whom have met each other (at Getaways, MudGatherings etc), several of whom have formed friendships and relationships and have even married.

That puts a whole different context on Mudcat as a forum: Not simply a resource dedicated to music, but also a meeting place for friends, with frequent announcements of gigs for members, of CD launches, of reviews of events jointly attended etc etc.

Where it once was like a "temple" dedicated to music, it is now more like a Community Centre that serves other social needs as well, for its members - the need to share a joke, to discuss a problem, to just be with each other (albeit in a virtual sense).

I think the separation of BS from mainstream music threads is a good thing. But I don't begrudge the number of BS threads or the interest of some members in one section only. It simply mirrors us and our needs and characteristics as a community, and a particularly diverse one at that. Dave Van Ronk, for example, means little to me (no offense to anybody, the loss is mine) and so I opted out; I had little to add.

At least I kept out of the Why Left Nut thread... pheww!