Everyone always carries on however they wish.

But when people become more attached to the BS than to the music in a music forum, you can pretty much tell which way the forum is headed. Anyone who would really be worried about what happens in an on-line discussion forum is already way too emotionally invested in it to be healthy.

It might take another year or two for Mudcat to sink into oblivion. But as a veteran of both music and non-music forums for a long time, I see all the harbingers of this forum burning out and fading away, despite recent heroic efforts to save it by the Mudcat regulars. (Usually that can be taken as one of the signs of overall unease that drives the group onto the rocks).

Those most heavily invested in maintaining Mudcat as their dysfunctional group support network will fight the longest and the hardest to keep their status quo alive, even if only on life support. Which is what seems to have been happening in recent months anyway. Eventually, this forum too will either disappear or be transformed so dramatically that it won't be recognizable to today's users.

Those current and former users who are interested in having an intellectually stimulating discussion forum will eventually leave Mudcat to find new and greener pastures for pursuing their interests, both on-line and off.

That's the way it goes, eh? No need to get one's knickers in a bundle over it.