I participate in a forum that is more receptive to me and the way I write--therefore, I perceive it as generally friendlier than the mudcat.

The reason I come back and lurk at the mudcat is generally because of the superb level of writing here. JenEllen, PeterT, LonesomeEJ, Gary T, Mark Clark, and Don Firth are unmatched elsewhere.

There are also a few here like Rick F and catspaw49 who dispense their knowledge with caring and wit.

As I mentioned in the "BS" thread, most of the unwanted BS would drop off in a week if the poster's name appeared with the thread title (I mention this relative to why this site is different)--this site usually recognizes a good poster within their first 5 posts and only gets irritated to take the time to call up a thread, only to find it was started by someone whom they decided was already less than interesting/worth their time.

JH