Actually, I think Mudcat is exactly like other on-line folk music forums. All of them have a hierarchy, and all of them have a core group of regulars who dominate the forum.

In Mudcat, the dominant group is heavily invested in what I would call "Mudcat social clubs" ie small groups of regulars who have met one another, and socialize occassionally. Some more occassionally than others, from what I can tell.

When we are too internalized and caught up in our personal dramas and dilemmas, opposition comes along to restore balance and remind us about other people and the outside world. Oppositions are, after all, about increasing our awareness. And when we can't handle the awareness, we project on others.

Because one of the main changes to Mudcat over the years was the introduction of the BS threads, we've seen the a small, core group of people use the forum almost exclusively as a stage for acting out their personal dramas and dilemmas. Others (both members and guests) who are here for the music take exception to that, and express their discontent about it. The predominantly BS Mudcatters circle the wagons whenever this happens, and they collectively attack anyone they perceive as threatening their status quo.

However, there are some music conversations happening among those who have chosen to ignore the dominant Mudcat group. This appears to be happening among the more independently inclined music afficionados who are here to exchange information about music. When the dominant Mudcat members enter these conversations, the result is often negative, because they almost immediately perceive the "outer ring" Mudcat participants as opposition. The quality of the dialog generally disintegrates quickly then, and then is reduced to the outer ring users complaining about it, and the dominant Mudcatters flaming them for mentioning it.

That, at least, is what I saw happen when Bruce Olson was driven out of Mudcat by the dominant Mudcat group.

This dominant group is so entrenched, because Max has institutionalized their power through the most significant changes in Mudcat since it's inception: introduction of the BS threads, and the creation of a Mudcat elite through the creation of two-tier posting.

It isn't going to change, unless Max does something to change it. Since he has said repeatedly that he won't, I think its time to bid adieu to Mudcat as forum which supports the on-line music community. It doesn't. It supports the needs, wants, and desires of a dysfunctional social life of a handful of regulars.