Happy Birthday Mudcat!

Subject: Happy Birhday Mudcat!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 11:52 AM

7 Today!
[first message was posted by Max, exactly 7 years ago.
Thanks for keeping it going max, and all the time and efort youve put into it etc.

Subject: RE: Happy Birhday Mudcat!
From: MMario
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 12:06 PM

*sniffle,weep* they grow up so fast, don't they?

The MudCat Cafe is the first thread and the first post.

and might I suggest people (re-)read Art Thieme's Post from May of 2000.

Subject: RE: Happy Birhday Mudcat!
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 12:07 PM

Wow 7 years, that's great. Congratulations Max, I am relatively new to Mudcat but the people here have made me feel at home and I truly enjoy being able to talk to others about the things that matter to me. Thanks for keeping Mudcat alive and well. I hope it lasts for another 700 years at least.

Mike

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 01:23 PM

Well, we've had a good crop of Mudcat babies this past year or two, so if they keep begatting, it might make those 700 yrs., AM!**bg**

This calls for a little fancy footwork:

Happy Birthday, Mudcat!!

Thanks, John for starting the thread and MMario for the wonderful links!! And, THANKS, MAX!!

luvya'llkat

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Wesley S
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 01:41 PM

Pretty soon the Mudcat will be dating and asking to borrow the car keys. It's just around the corner.

Thanks Max.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Amos
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 01:50 PM

Max:

Just don't assume its going to be as wild and crazy as you were; whatever you assume it will come out different. They do it every time.


A

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Catherine Jayne
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 03:20 PM

Happy Birthday Mudcat!! and thanx Max for everything you're a star!!

Love
Khatt

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: AliUK
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 03:32 PM

Happy Birthday Mudcat and thanks Max for bringing such a beautiful child into the world.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 05:11 PM

Or as Mary Shelley said....

Oh my God, I've created a monster!

What a monster! Thank you.

LTS

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Mickey191
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 05:49 PM

Thanks Max for this wonderful meeting place. No place like it! Slainté

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Oct 03 - 11:42 PM

KUDOOS to John!!!

Carry-ON lad!!!!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 03:27 AM

What a long, strange trip it's been....
Thanks, Max. It has been a nice experience, hasn't it?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: sian, west wales
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 04:33 AM

So the little down times have just been Seven Year Itch?

Many many thanks for a tremendous resource, Max.

(And, Joe - 'has been'???? My stomach knotted up for a sec. there! Don't do that to a girl ...)

sian

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Gurney
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 05:01 AM

I'd be interested in some comments on the trip so far from the movers and shakers of the 'cat.
I'm a comparative newcomer, and from the homepage, the 'cat seemed to be a mostly blues site. Was it a surprise when it became the international general folk music resource it has become?

Did you expect such a large British and Commonwealth presence?

How much of your discretionary time does it take up?

How do you feel when (for instance) an English folk club advertises next weeks guest?
Happy Birthday, and many happy returns.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 09:54 AM

where would I be without Mudcat?
Ans - where I am when it's down (lost)

Thanks to Max, Joe, the clones & everyone who keeps it running, & to everyone who posts such interesting stuff that I stay up way past my bedime. There have been many nights that I got to bed around 2, knowing the alarm was set for 6.25. It'll probably be the same tonight as I have a lot to do as I'm going to a festival tomorrow night straight from work & nothing is packed or sorted out!!

sandra (midnight, Sydney)

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Max
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 10:21 AM

Wow, 7 years. I remember like it was yesterday. I was running my first server out of the Master Bedroom of my 2 bedroom apartment. I remember the somewhat early stages of the Internet and my blues obsession, out on the net looking for lyrics to a Leadbelly song. I found them but couldn't get to them. "Sorry", it said, "Xerox just can't take the heat anymore, we have to take the lyrics down." I think Dick Greenhaus's email address was on the site, so I sent him a note. It went something like: "I'm just a kid with nothing to lose, so I'll host your lyrics." Even then, I knew content was king, and I knew the Digitrad was important. Dick then called me. I don't think I knew I was talking to the oldest man in the world, and I don't think he knew he was talking to a punk kid who just quit his job to chase this Internet thing.

A great friendship was formed that day, and I'm as happy about that 7th anniversary as any other. Dick has been a great mentor and a great friend, and he kindly introduced me to a world that we virtually recreate here. The folks at the FSGW welcomed me into their real world, and then welcomed all the nuts that later came with me. A lot of what the Mudcat turned into came from endless suggestions and comments that I got when at the Spring and Fall Getaways.

I remember even in the first couple of months of the forum how much I tried to preserve the data that began to fill the forum. I was young and uneducated in a lot of the technology that went into making the Digitrad and Forum work, so it was always by the seat of my pants. In a lot of ways, it still is, and I think that is why I stay so patient and interested in the technical side of things. I treated every post as gold, and above all thought of upgrades and the time it would take, I always did my best to never let a post disappear. I think in all 7 years, we only lost a couple of days worth once. Considering all that we went through, that is a miracle.

I ran a tech business for about 6 years, and built and hosted hundreds of sites, but none ever came close to the popularity of the Mudcat. (Except maybe gwbush.com, which I had to kick out around election time.) People came… a lot. That means this place needed to exist, and I was lucky enough to be there to supply it.

So the net sucked me in, chewed me up, and spit me out, but left me with what will always be my finest creation (on the net that is). Mudcat has given me pride, which I surely needed at times. It also has given me friends.

So thank you friends, I am surely proud to know you.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Amos
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 10:29 AM

Back atcha, good buddy. Yer pretty smart for a young feller! :>))

Love ya,

A

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 10:31 AM

or pretty young for a smart feller - one or the other...

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 11:58 AM

Max,

Even at its worst, Mudcat is great. I can't count the ways it has enriched my life. Again, thank you for your efforts.

Barbara

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Peter T.
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 12:02 PM

Max Vobiscum. You have changed many people's lives for the better, including mine. I am sure you did not realize when you began that you would have such an impact (and perhaps in some way you still don't realize it, you can't know what goes on out there because of you). It was a great gift, and is. Still by far the best, and most elegant site on the Web. Happy Birthday, Mudcat.

yours,

Peter T.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 01:06 PM

Hippo Birdies Two Ewes,
Hippo Birdies Two Ewes,
Hippo Birdies Dear Muscat,
Hippo Birdies Two Ewes.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: vindelis
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 01:30 PM

I think the word is DEVOTED! Many thanks to one and all.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From:
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 01:31 PM

Sorry I missed the party yesterday. Just got home after the hurricane Sunday.

Hope everyone had a great time at the Mudcat Birthday party!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Mudlark
Date: 02 Oct 03 - 02:19 PM

A special place, indeed. Nothing quite like it, in my experience, anywhere. A wonderful resource, not only for lyrics and lore, but for friends as well. I feel very lucky to have the Mudcat. Profound thanks to Max and to all who support this site with their technical help, their wisdom and their wit. Happy B'day Mudcat!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Hrothgar
Date: 05 Oct 03 - 05:59 AM

Onya, Max!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST,magdaleno
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 12:59 PM

feliz    cumple   a?os      magdaleno

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 01:07 PM

Well 7 is my lucky number Max. How about you?

Giok

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST,Blackcatter at work
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 02:35 PM

For those who haven't noticed, this thread was initially started last year (01 Oct 03).   I'm not sure why is was reactivated, but the Mudcat will be 8 in a few months.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 22 Jul 04 - 07:52 PM

Ye Gods, that makes it the same age as my god-daughter - no wonder we've had hissy fits and tantrums this past 2 years!

I can't believe it's been that long.....


I feel so old.

LTS

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: ThreeSheds
Date: 23 Jul 04 - 04:57 AM

Oh I feel so humbled I didn't realise it was mudcats birthday I'm hosting a select musical soiree tonight to celebrate a new fridge (any excuse)Isuppose I should rededicate the event.
One thing thats always bemused me why the name mudcat ?.Being a dog person the finest thing I think off to do with a cat is to throw it onto a manure heap.Apart from their contribution to violin strings what have cats to do with music

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 23 Jul 04 - 05:07 AM

Nice to see some birthdays are observed, even when others are passed over yet again ... Not that I take account of birthdays, now I've become a grumpy old git!

Steve

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: mooman
Date: 23 Jul 04 - 05:10 AM

Happy Birthday Mudcat, thanks for everything Max, and here's looking forward to the next seven years!

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 10:25 PM

refresh
8 today!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 03:43 AM

Max, thanks for hangin' in there despite all the ups and downs, slings and arrows etc.
Steve, GET OVER IT! I never celebrated my birthday at work (allegedly 'cos I was too mean to buy cakes) and I tried to resist celebrating at home. My parents insisted I have a 21st- said if I didn't come home from University they'd have the party any way-so it was mostly their friends that came. 'Er indoors insisted I celebrate my 50th so we went to the Cook Islands to get away from everyone, and my 60th where we all went to the Jazz Club for a Blues night and I sang at 'em (served 'em right!). I don't celebrate it on Mudcat (self-righteous pompous prat that I am), you're still yonger than me, ower kid, you don't need us to blow out your candles.

RtS
(Even grumpier, even older git)

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Scooby Doo
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 03:56 AM

Thankyou for a wonderful site.
Happy Birthday Mudcat.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 08:23 AM

one more year of the wonderful world of Mudcat!!

and what festival was I attending last October? I have no idea. I only remember 3 last year (easter, june, sept).

sandra (having a senior moment?? or worse??)

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 09:11 AM

Ditto my previosu post of 02 Oct 03 - 01:06!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: JennyO
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 10:21 AM

Could it have been Uranquinty Sandra? I believe there might have been one at Bellingen too. I don't know, cos I didn't go anywhere.

Jenny

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: GUEST,bbc at work
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 11:15 AM

Wow! 8 years. I'm still here & still very appreciative. Mudcat is part of my daily life.

best to you, Max,

Barbara

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Ellenpoly
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 11:24 AM

Happy 8th, mudcat!

Glad I didn't get scared away.

Many more from many more, I hope.

..xx..e

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Mudlark
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 05:20 PM

I was glad to be here for the 7th...just as glad to be here for the 8th...Happy Birthday, to Max and all who keep this great site going. Seems to me WE are the ones getting all the presents!

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: skarpi
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 05:21 PM

Til hamingju, Skarpi Iceland.
Happy,happy birthday.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: black walnut
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 06:22 PM

Amazing. 8 years! Happy Birthday, Max.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Happy Birthday Mudcat!
From: Peace
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 06:25 PM

Happy Birthday.