I'd like to have the forum sectioned into American music and Uk music and Other so I don't have to wade through so much to find something of interest.

I suppose the formal application of "First past the post" voting rules might support both CrowSister and VirginiaTam but it seemed to me, when I first started perusing Mudcat, that many from north of the equator seemed happy to make blanket statements about various aspects of folklore, music etc, as though they were describing 'the universal set'; in my experience many of the blanket statements just didn't apply to the bit south of the equator that I know. So I became a member and like to think I have added a little value, here and there.

But I realise the problems of UK and Eire, Asia Minor (from where I sit, "Middle East" seems a misnomer when applied to the eastern edge of the Mediterranean) as US elections are dogfights in which I have no dog; all I can do is try to work for the recognition of peoples' better instincts and humanity. Very rarely have I felt I can contribute anything positive to such threads. And I'm engaged in enough domestic dogfights to keep me occupied without intruding on others'.

Early in the thread, someone posted the notion that people from the US and UK perceive the politics and religion generally (and, it seems to me, the BNP, Christianity and Islam particularly) through different lenses; both nations also have a different take on freedom of speech, which may have contributed to Mudcat's attractiveness to those from the UK.

Pleasingly, this thread has mostly stayed focussed on the worth of ideas and, while ideas have been strenuously attacked there has been an avoidance of ad hominem lines of argument; the one or two that have been, allegedly, so identified may well be due to the differences between cultures. Here's hoping other threads may benefit.

Cheers, Rowan