On my first visit to the Mudcat Tavern, I entered the place as a hulking, schizophrenic, beached whale. After three weeks at Mudcat, as an excited, overzealous, self conscious computer illiterate with an inability to strike up a conversation with anyone, I was feeling rather lonely and confused. I got so engrossed in "composing" my entrance to the tavern, that I had myself in stitches of laughter and tears and by the time I pushed the "submit message button", I had learned something about myself and this wonderful place and that was: quite often just the doing itself is its own reward, stop looking for feedback and if you want someone to talk to you, sometimes you have to bite the bullet of your own awkward, shyness and be the first one to reach out to others. Quite the learning experience, when something you've known on an intellectual level all your life, finally becomes visceral. Oh yeah, the schizophrenia was the result of my husband's occasional posts, regarding his own technical areas of passion. Also, like others, I have sent the occasional anonymous post, until I finally understood what a "cookie" was.