Fine. You can use RUS to lead song sessions anywhere you want. It is not however reasonable to call people who don't like such sessions jerks. It tends to imply you should look in the mirror for that. We do not call RUS fans jerks. It's just not our cup of tea.

And the vehement defenders of RUS on Mudat, including, it seems, the originator of the this thread, have not bothered, evidently, to actually read the article on which the thread is based.

Nobody denies that RUS is a useful book or one that belongs in many homes. That's where it belongs, in the home.

The author of the article talks about it as a bonding experience in her family. An excellent use--and one which I suspect every one of us who oppose RUS as a hymnbook in folk society singarounds will support. It is a wonderful tool for introducing kids to "folk music" in a very broad sense---in the home.

Point is: the article does not in the least address the idea of RUS as a folk society hymnbook.   That misuse, not the book itself, is our objection.

Only solution as I said earlier is:   different strokes for different folks. You RUS fans tell us where and when your sessions will be; the rest of us will be elsewhere. And please do not bring RUS to our sessions, including the Getaway.

Reason for this is, as many others and I have already said:   it just makes it too easy to not expend effort whatsoever to learn a song--and still expect others to carry the song. Those of us who do learn songs do not want that kind of musical experience--it's not in the least satisfying--in fact it's a waste of time. People who actually learn songs have too much respect for music--and communication-- to want that.

When you don't have a book to read from, you may forget verses, even start over in the middle of a song. Those of us who learn songs realize this--and totally accept it, having nothing but respect for the singer--who's actually demonstrated that he or she tried to learn the song--by the very act of not reading it out of a book. It's far better than the RUS hymn sing approach.

And anybody who holds the fond delusion that RUS singarounds "build community" is welcome to that delusion.   Just please don't expect the rest of us to share it.

The article cited at the start of the thread has exactly nothing to do with folklore society singaround use of RUS.