I thought a long time about whether I should post to this thread or not. I try really hard to be nice, but I guess I have a right to occasionally succumb to continuous provocation.

The person who started this thread appears to have had nothing to do on New Year's Eve; so, in an attempt to liven things up and bolster her own ego, she made a valiant attempt to start what is known on the Internet as a "flame war." She made statements that were clearly intended to provoke strong responses from those who are annoyed with her. She is well aware that these negative responses would then draw equally vitriolic retorts from her supporters. And so on. And so on.
Well, I hope the flame war was interesting and constructive. Didn't seem so to me, though. It just got me upset, and made it very difficult for me to remain patient and kind and reasonable.

Let's examine that first post a little more carefully. I think there was some good advice there:

• 1) THINK before posting a reply;
• 2) ask yourself, if what you are about to post is really necessary;
• 3) determine if a thread is even worthy of any comment.

That all seems like good advice to me. I wonder if the person who started this thread would like to honestly say whether or not she has lived up to those rules. If not, would it be unfair to ask her to try to follow those rules for just one week? It would be interesting to see what effect that might have on things around here.

Along that vein, I'd like to ask something. If a person walks into a respected folk music forum and posts thousands of messages that have nothing whatsoever to do with folk music, can she rightly expect to escape disagreement and criticism? Is it unfair of people to question that?

The poster claims to be vocal and opinionated. That's fine - I just have never figured out what it was that she was vocal and opinionated about. She claims a right of "free speech," but what is it she's talking about? Early last year, she posted a few newspaper columns she had written. The columns were fairly good, and they received a favorable response, even though they did not have anything to do with folk music. I've been trying to think of what she's said since then that has any substance, and I can't think of anything. Maybe she has said something of substance, but it is clouded in so much verbiage that her actual ideas can't be found.

Then she complains that people are angry about "religion and philosophy being here." Well, there's a difference between discussion of religious and philosophical ideas, and actual religious practices. I realize that's a thin line, but let me try to explain. If I were to post a prayer or a hymn here, for the purpose of discussing it from a musical or literary or cultural or philosophical standpoint, I think that would be appropriate. If I were to post a prayer here for the purpose of praying, then I'm not sure that would be appropriate - especially if the prayer were something of a sectarian nature, something that would make certain people feel unfomfortable or excluded. Personally, I think the Mudcat Healing Circle crossed that line, and it would be more appropriate to express such sympathies and rituals in private e-mail messages.

OK, that's the reasonable, philosophical discussion of this whole thing. Now I'll lay it on straight: Kat, this is a folk music forum, intended primarily to the discussion of folk music and related topics. You came in here a year ago and posted thousands of messages that have nothing to do with anything. All your messages do is fill up space and get people angry at each other. If you have something to say about folk music, or if you want to ask questions and learn something about folk music, stick around. If you don't, go away.

Thank you.

-Joe Offer-