Well, Bruce - the text of messages is generally left alone, but we use the titles of messages and threads for indexing, to help people find their way around. Indexing demands a bit of uniformity. If people title threads in ways that don't work as well as we think they should, we add to the title a bit so the thread can be found more easily.

The Why Me, O Lord thread is a case in point. The thread has information that is quite interesting, but Lord Buckley fans wouldn't be likely to find it until I added (Lord Buckley) to the thread title.

I realize (with some dismay) that some people view Mudcat as simply a chat room, in which case there would be little value in indexing. I see it as a valuable resource of folk music information, and I do my best to see to it that people can find that information here.

The BS or No BS on your Frosty Morn thread was six on one, and half a dozen on the other. You didn't get any responses when it was labelled "BS," and it was dropping to the bottom of the list, so I thought it was worth changing it to a lyrics request. Besides, it's not just BS - it's something a musician might have some fun with. Your thread asked for "words to" Frosty Morn - but then your thread wouldn't turn up if somebody did a search for unansweered lyrics requests.

-Joe Offer-