My main focus is folk music. That's what drew me to Mudcat in the first place, and it has proven to be an incredible rich resource. I have learned a great deal by browsing posts, I've clicked on links that people have posted that have led me to more resources (such as websites other than DT where lyrics and MIDI files can be found) . . . in fact, I have found so many things of value to me in just music alone, that it would take me all night to come up with a partial list (and it's after 11:00 p.m. PDT here and I'm getting pretty sleepy). The base of knowledge and expertise here in many areas is mind-boggling. I know that if I have a question about any phase of folk music (or many other things), I can post a question, and there is a whole think-tank of knowledgeable people out there who will either give me an answer in a surprisingly brief time, or will take a helluva crack at it, or will put me in touch with a website or other reference where I can find the answer. And it has given me an opportunity to contribute whenever I feel I have something to offer. Believe me, to an old folkie, this is manna from heaven.

The Mudcat forum has informed me about all kinds of things in addition to folk music (more information and thoughtful opinions on 9/11 than I could have ever found in the news media, for example), and has also given me a chance to blow-off and exchange opinions and information on a whole variety of subjects, not limited to folk music. Politics, religion, Star Trek, joke threads, all kinds of stuff.

This, I believe, is one of the strengths of Mudcat. On another thread some time back I drew an analogy between Mudcat and hoots I have been to (and will keep going to). It's nothing original with me. Basically, it's the same as the tavern or pub analogy. At hoots, there are a batch of people in the living room making music. There are also a few people in the kitchen, having at the chips and dip and talking about a variety of things. As the evening progresses, people move back and forth between the living room and the kitchen. Song Circles are great. Their purpose is exclusively making music, and if that's not what you're there for, there's no point in you're being there at all. I like Song Circles and I go to them when I can. But I prefer hoots. I go because my friends are there, and I go to make music and to listen to others make music. But I also wander out into the kitchen to take a break, get a fresh beer, and see what's going on out there. Sometimes there are a lot of people are in the kitchen and not very many in the living room. But during the course of the evening, we shift back and forth. I like hoots the way they are.

And I like Mudcat the way it is.

Don Firth