Malcolm, I agree with what you say about the term "Folk Nazi"; I never use the term and sometimes gently ask others not to use it as well. But why do you include "Folk Police" in the same complaint? There are lots of people who want to police other people's playing, so the term is completely apt, unlike "Nazi", which is offensively extreme.

I don't have any problem dealing with criticism -- I can take it in and learn something, or allow it to pass off of me if I don't respect the one offering it. That doesn't change the fact that loudly and publicly criticizing someone else's music because they are not playing according to your rules is rude.

I have often seen discussions like this come down to a preservationist vs. innovator debate. I don't think that anyone has any problem with preservationists or traditionalists. I don't think anyone really equates those things with being a member of the folk police. Obviously, all of us who are playing traditional music in a non-traditional fashion owe a huge debt to the preservationists. Hell, some of my best friends are traditionalists. Certainly many of my favorite albums are from that camp. These people are not a problem unless they start telling me that their way of playing traditional music is the ONLY way to play traditional music. That's who the folk police are.

Reggie, what a surprise that the session you went to didn't have anyone there -- who would want to play with such a nimnal?

John