Hello everybody!

Boy, this April Fools thing just goes on and on. I think I understand what Shambles was trying to get at (poor English, but clearly understood by the masses). I even suppose I was part of "mood". I could guess who wrote to Shambles about their concerns. One of the "things" that came out of the "mood" has been the use of NOI. I don't know if that is 'Net shorthand, but it has become 'Cat shorthand. The intent is to allow members to play and to be clearer about when we are joking.

I suppose old Catspaw is in for it on this thread. He is certainly one wild and crazy guy and sometimes for me he is over the top. But the only thing that beats success is a try and for him to be as humorous as he is so spontaneously, some of it is bound to sink like lead with a dull thudding sound. I wouldn't want to rope him in.

I truly appreciate Joe and all he does, and I think you are right about his being a role model of Catiquette. However, I'm not ready to give him the responsibility or the power to keep us in line (and I suspect he doesn't want it). Joe, since he really is human and not a program (I shook his hand), can get quite frustrated and "short" with others at times. We all fall short.

I believe Shambles is dead on target with the "Ask not" phrase. I try to do a little "housekeeping" from time to time. I learned those tricks from Joe. On the whole I try to be welcoming to most newcomers (this is where I fall short the most). I spent some time once e-mailing two members who I felt were losing it on the threads, trying to bring back some civility that seemed to be lost. I have sent my money to the Mudcat. I have gone out of my way to search for songs I did not particularly care about, but which I felt I might locate. I've learned enough HTML to post active links for people and I use them frequently. I suggest we all do this to the best of our time and ability.

Vixen, crashing on 50 threads probably means an upgrade would help. When it seems possible, I will try to move long threads onto shorter sequels when they reach 100. I would suspect it would be impractical to do so at 50, because so many get to 50.

Roger in Baltimore