"Shimrod--Why not? One might find that a lot of good points are made that would otherwise be drowned out by people running their mouths/fingers."

There was a thread a while back about a youngish, relatively new 'superstar' on the UK folk scene. Most of the thread seemed to consist of people saying what a lovely, talented guy he is (which, I've no doubt, he is). Now, I had listened to this person's most recent CD and I was seriously disturbed by it - because, apart from the fact that most of the tracks on it purported to be traditional, it seemed to me to have very, very little to do with folk music. In short it was 'pretty', bland and over-produced - more like a 'middle-of-the-road-easy-listening' pop record than a folk record. I was also taken aback by the most of the thread contributors who had developed, between them, a sort of cosy, uncritical consensus (a bit like the sort of consensus that might develop among a set of middle-aged Barry Manilow fans). I knew that if I expressed my objections in a polite way I would either be slapped down or ignored. I, therefore, chose to express myself a bit more robustly to the point of being a bit rude and objectionable. Sure enough there was a wholly predictable howl of outrage - but then a real debate began. Unfortunately, at that point, the thread disappeared off the board (I wonder why?).