The navel gazing singer songwriters definately did the folk club scene far more harm than the folk comedians

Are we talking floor singers/residents here or booked artists? Over the years I've not seen many, if any of the navel gazers as guests for whom the public paid. I do think there's far more of that in other countries than the UK.
The folk clubs were in a direct line from the 19th century singing rooms, through music hall to variety and then the folk revival...all entertainments of the people, for the people, by the people.A good folk club night served exactly the same function for a generation as a night at the music hall. And the operative words are "for a generation" that generation is now mostly retired and so are the folk clubs and the format that flourished in them. The comedy clubs served the same function in many ways in the 80's and 90's, in fact I have a book of stories about their early lives by the comedy club pros that mirrors the stories of the folk pros almost word for word. Same life, same audience, slightly different format.
Those left today are those for whom the music was the be-all and end-all of the night out. Those for whom it was just a night out to meet the opposite sex, have a beer, sing a chorus, have a laugh,express a political feeling have gone elsewhere.It was a young educated persons night out in the 60's and 70's. The working class were in the working men's clubs listening to Bernard Manning!