I was a frequent poster in the days when I was paid by someone else to sit on my arse and stare at a screen, but these days I'm my own boss, and thus time here has become something of a luxury.
And it has to be said that the place is more acrimonious than it used to be - far more chips on shoulders and axes being ground these days. And while I am far from a reasonable man, I do find it hard to summon up the energy to reply to all the stuff with which I disagree.
The fall-out from 9-11 also made a difference. The event itself was incredible in the way it brought the amorphous Mudcat together as something akin to a real community, but the aftermath - particularly Iraq - has seen some major divisions open up. Whereas once I felt that there was little difference between us, I now do feel that some people posting here are from another planet. I find their dogmatism and their beligerence unsettling, and that has put a curb on some of my posting.