Thanks Alice and others. Some of those look worth bookmarking and dropping in on. I wondered if the Kitchen Table had an actual public list of outlawed expressions - that could be a bit awkward. I can imagine there being outlawed words that wouldn't even be allowed in the outlawed list in case the computers exploded.

I noticed this bit of advice there: "Please avoid topics like politics and religion where opinions vary widely and feelings can be strong." I'm inclined to think that if you don't feel strongly about something it's not likely you'll have anything interesting to say about it; and if everyone agrees, you can't exchange views very usefully.

I think that a policy of talking through differences, but trying to do so in a way that is respectful of others, is a better one. And of course with the Mudcat if we had a policy of avoiding topics where there widely varying opinions and strong feelings, the forum couldn't exist at all, since that would rule out much of the discussions about folk-music related matters.

I like the idea of specialist side-rooms growing up alongside the Mudcat, through the initiative of individuals - which is a very different thing from subdividing the main forum from on high. So I hope Jon's kind offer provides an opportunity for that kind of thing.