"The main aspect in which I strongly disagree with Professor Child and his ilk is the claim that a folk song had no individual author--ever.
Not just that the author was unknown, but that there was none. Folk songs, by their lights, as I understand it, sort of spontaneously appeared. That seems like so much bushwah, to me

The role of the scalp collector in academia is to set a standard by which his/her theory
has to be tested.

Child is one of those who believe that ballads start on paper with certain copyright dates that are identifiable in books or documents.

The "communal theory" of folk music transference assumes that there is a starting point by which the folk music changes. This starting point doesn't exist in a vacuum.