This is going to be a long post, as posts go. But I'll break it up,into paragraphs to make it easier on the eyes.

At least the Anonymous-guess-who-I-am gave us a reasoned critical argument rather than just blowing a raspberry in mini-print like some people do.

I've been around since October or so, and I can't see the decline he or she is talking about. What there is is a constant flux, because quite a lot of things are happening in parallel here, just as happens in any gathering.

So we get the detailed explorations of the origin and meaning of songs, we get the technical stuff about making music and making instruments, we get the songs being added in from traditions, and the new songs bubbling up, and the occasioally angry arguments (Ireland, guns, potentially lots more), and there is the socialising, and the warm fuzzies. And there is the continuing, and inevitably at times repetitious, exploration of "What is Folk?" in various forms. And the Whither Mudcat discussion tradition, to which this one belongs to.

Tha balance at any one time is different, and at some times it's more to my taste than at others. The same is true I imagine for all of us - at different times. But so far, it always comes through.

I think it's brilliant. Some bits I tend to leave alone, because I spend too much time here, and it's a slow old connection sometimes.

I wish old anonymous up there had let us have her or his name, because it'd be easier to work out what he or she is missing. And I find that kind of thing irritating - are people really frightened that they might get a personal messages they don't like?

But as I said, at least it was a courteous criticism, and the only thing I don't like about this place have been the efforts made by a handful of people to bully us into some pattern that they like - regardless of whether that pattern might be good in itself. I hate bullies. I hate bullies in disguise even more.

Just a couple of pleas - I think it would be better if more people, when they asked for lyrics (which much ofthe time are reasily available on the DT anyway - but newcomers aren't to know that), could post in terms of - "could I have the words - and I'd like to know more about the song", or "I know this about the song", or "this is why I want it". And whether they ask it or not, that is the spirit in which we shoiuld respond to any request for a song.

And the same should apply when we post a song - we should say something about it, even if it's just that we don't know anything about it apart from the words, but that we'd like to know more.

And I like it when people in a BS thread (sorry kat, I know you hate the term, but I think we are stuck with it) bring in songs and referances to songs. Songs are our common frame of reference - if it's worth talking abouit, it's worth singing about.

And thanks you, Shambles for starting this thread.