"...and it ***IS*** a damn shame that there is not a moderated forum similar to this just for moderate to serious music/song discussion..."

Funny Bill, I was thinking the same, not because I could add to that type of discussion but because I do see problems here. This is just my perception but I seem to be seeing:

No effort to at least make it easy for us all to live together on the BS/non-BS debate. As we are all here (I hope) becuase of some interest in music, I'd have thought that more effort could go into the "how can we help each other approach". I guess Peter T saying "They seem to be unable to digest the fact that even in serious music threads folk musicians and listeners are eclectic, chatty, and prone to take the mickey out of each other. We could try a grand experiment: get Max to set up a site where only serious folk music could be talked about, and all frivolity edited out. It would be really exciting -- for the 10 people who showed up" in answer to a suggestion made to help say's a lot... Sort of like "sod them, they're weirdo's"...

My worries run beyond the BS argument as I am pro other conversation but I don't feel easy when I see calls for censorship when people want things open - I mean, there are times, it seems to me the underlying rule is "you can say what you like as long as I approve of it..."

I've said my piece about Bruce O here...

I guess things will settle down again but I think that there is something seriously wrong here that maybe should be faced rather that buried to rise again.

As for other forums, anyone with sufficient web space with cgi/perl scripting could do it but a lot of the strengths of Mudcat would be lost and I don't know the cost of the package.

I spent the time Mudcat was down, looking at ASP with a view to setting up a non BS forum and it seems feasible at first glance - at least the package looks capable, and web hosts providing this seem to be plenty...

Now for the down side...

Let's look at what Max gives...

A LOT of time and effort and I believe LOVE.

He hosts the thing on his own servers and his own lines. Apart from the cost of doing this being FAR greater than using a 3rd party host, there are other less obvious implications - take copyright - a 3rd party host is likely just to cut you off with a challenge from HFA..., bandwith usage could become a problem, etc.

The legacy of information and threads here.

The wealth of knowledge of what people have to shere here.

I guess there would be lots of other things to consider and it is probably a bit of a kick in the teeth for Max that talk of alternatives have cropped up but with what seems to me to be an "if you don't like it f*** off" attitude from some here, perhaps the time will come when it does happen and there is somewhere else to go to even though there would be no reall winners.

Jon