I just happened by, refreshed an old thread, then saw this thread. I'm one who used to try to contribute here and enjoyed both shared interests and exposure to new things. I think I'm pretty thick skinned but, eventually, I too became weary of the insults and shallow attempts to dominate the discourse without the prerequisite background.

I think some of the information stored on Mudcat servers is a national treasure and should be preserved for all to share and research. Of course there is also a great deal of verbiage with no value whatever.

I do think that some of the posters here should establish their own calendar Websites to advertise events of local or regional interest. To use Mudcat as a communication resource for small regional interest groups seems selfish and rude to me. Mudcat has a links page and links to regional calendar sites can be placed there.

People with supreme confidence in the value of their own opinions can publish them free without fear of contradiction at Blogger.com. No doubt their readership will quickly outstrip the meager traffic here.

There are some things that should continue to be supported in the world even if I have no immediate personal association with them. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one example. The Mudcat Cafe (with The Digital Tradion database) is another.

      - Mark