kendall, in the last fortnight, I and others have provided at least two dozen links to other folk music website message boards, mailing lists, Usenet newsgroups, etc. If you never leave your safe and cozy Mudcat home, you have nothing to compare this place too. It is easy to find them, if what you want is to really do the research to find out what is available in the internet folk music world. But that isn't your intent, is it?

The most telling thing you have to say about your harrassment is the word "compete". None of the other websites are in a competition with Mudcat. None of them. They have co-existed in cyberspace--some of them even have been around longer than Mudcat!--and will continue to do so hopefully for many years to come.

As to the idea of paying for the DT, I wouldn't do it. It has become a less and less valuable tool over time, IMO.

When you compare DT to free sites like the Library of Congress, Contemplator, Cantaria, and the UK lyric websites like The Ballad Tree--they are so much easier to use, so much easier on the eye, they are more accurate than DT, not to mention regularly updated and maintained. So no, I wouldn't pay for a service to access DT, and I've already got my copy of the most recent DT, which I rarely have used.