Mudcat is a window on the world...not the only one, of course, and often smudged and distorted. And the S/N (signal to noise) ratio is sure a lot worse these days, but wow, when good stuff happens, it is worth all the blather in between!

Like Jeri, I am appalled at how many come here JUST to argue politics or nit-pick at others...but I have my choice as to replying or not. I often feel that when I DO reply to a BS thread that I am hollering into the wind, but composing replies allows ME to refine my own thoughts....something I don't do when listening to the evening TV news or reading the paper. I can truly say I have typed more here in a few years than I did in 6 years of college and learned stuff I never had a chance to learn in college.

Since reading Mudcat is just a part of "surfing the 'net", I integrate it in ways I never imagined...both the folk music parts and general knowlege mixed with silliness. (Unlike some, I feel the world NEEDS more silliness and humor, and I have found more quick wit and genuine creative repartee' than almost anywhere!

To me, the Mudcat functions very much like the Delphic Oracle....you toss an idea or question in, and because of the "critical mass" of minds and wide divergence of views, you get back answers, ideas, viewpoints that either solve your problem or send you off in the right direction...ESPECIALLY if it is about music!

Sure I'd be hooked...and if I arrived today, I'd be spending weeks and months trying to read it all! ...and grumping all the while that it wasn't 'exactly' right.....*grin*