Captain Ginger, I was referring to your post of 06 Apr 08 - 06:12 AM. Are you now unwilling to defend that position?
Certainly not. If you are expecting an audience to pay, then it's a two-way contract - the audience should get value for money or have the right to tell the performer that s/he's crap. Why, even Covent Garden has rung to the sound of boos and whistles before now.
But that's a line of last resort; it should be down to the compere/organiser to ensure that what gets presented is good enough for folk, and if that means having auditions and try-outs in front of a small group of battle-hardened veterans with a bucket of constructive criticism, so be it. Dave Polshaw's former club would appear to have adopted such a course.