...those who divide folkies into two kinds and those who don't.

Next!

Seriously, there are so many ways of slicing this particular cake. Among performers, do you sing/play traditional stuff only, or your own stuff, or the dreaded cover versions? Do you consider it a wasted evening if you don't get a floor spot, or are you happy to go and listen? If you go to a singaround, do you hang back/lurk in corners/arrive late or push yourself forward? And so on. It's all mildly interesting but not really worth getting worked up about.

I think the only for/against thing I do feel strongly about is amplification. I've sung a couple of times in a club with a PA and stage lighting, and can't be doing with it at all - when you're looking into pitch blackness and listening to the constant rumble of people chatting, it's hard to really feel you've got the audience on your side. This is where a guitar probably comes in handy, if only for drowning out the audience.