I started hanging out here about three years ago. I didn't have a home computer, but I managed to sneak in regular visits from work for about a year. Then I quit my job about two years ago and was totally without Internet access for about a year and a half. When I finally got my own machine about six months ago, rejoining the Mudcat was one of the first things I did. I promptly began to wonder why. Things had definitely changed during the time I had been away. Everybody seemed to have lost their sense of humor. I saw someone suggest that another member be ignored because he tried to inject some humor into a discussion. I almost said, "Fuck it! I'll find someplace else to hang out.", but I didn't. I kept coming back because I knew that there were more people here with whom I have a common interest than I would ever find in any other forum.

Eventually, things did return to something more closely resembling what I had remembered. I guess the 'Cat was just goin' through a bad patch. However, if I had not had the benefit of having spent a fair amount of time here before - if I had not known what the Mudcat community was capable of being like - I probably would have not joined.

Bruce