Pete--

One of the other things that makes the Mudcat community work is that many of us wind up meeting each other in real life. We can spin personae here in print, but sooner or later, lots of us are going to bump into each other at some festival, concert, or jam session. That we've met each other here at Mudcat helps make for instant friendships when we do meet in person, as when Joe Offer suddenly turned up in Washington, DC. It also keeps us civil: we're not merely anonymous monikers in some newsgroup--we're real people with songs and stories to share, both here on the web AND in real life. and that's not to mention all the pre-existing relationships that also go on, in part, here at Mudcat. (As an example, at least four of my real-life neighbors are also contributors to this forum, not to mention all the pele I know from the folk world.)

--Charlie Baum